Follow the Red Spice Road in Melbourne

Written by Tim Blight

Writer, traveller, amateur photographer, teacher. Based in Melbourne and Lahore.

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September 27, 2013

Red Spice Road

Red Spice Road is not your average South East Asian restaurant. For starters, the emphasis is on the food, not the decor. The sleek, clean lines and globular hanging lights hint at Asia; maybe Japan, although they could just as well be at home in an upmarket continental restaurant. The welcome is warm and friendly, yet classy – it doesn’t feel like the rushed, sometimes abrupt, sometimes happy-go-lucky service which is so familiar from many Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.

And then we are shown to our places – where we sit side by side with other patrons at a long banquet table. At first, I shoot a look to my friend to test if he is thinking what I’m thinking; this is a bit odd. However he is too busy looking at what our new neighbours are eating. Indeed, everyone at the table is in their separate groups, yet sitting together. They are too engrossed in conversation to care that they are sitting next to complete strangers. This communal dining experience is imported directly from the streets of Bangkok – and the fusion of high style, cordial service and back-to-basics eating seems to work perfectly.

The menu is a treat, filled with tempting appetisers such as Betel Leaf with Smoked Chicken, Prawn, Chilli, Mint and Lemongrass. Or how about Chilli Salt Lamb Ribs with Pineapple Tamarind Dipping Sauce? In keeping with the communal dining theme, mains are all designed to be shared, and include offerings such as Shredded Chicken, Cucumber, Fresh Herb Pickled Carrot and Lime Salad. The stir-fried Soft Shell Crab with Snake Beans, Wild Ginger and Black Pepper Sauce is also a standout, and Goat Rendang provides an perfect fallback option with an interesting twist.

We opt for the dinner banquet – a $75 per person spread which includes a selection of dishes (including pork belly, so advise the waiter if you don’t want it). The opening dish is the aforementioned betel leaf, and we eat our way through the delicious melange of South East Asian flavours until arriving at the Lemongrass Panna Cotta for dessert. The small dessert dish is the perfect way to end the meal for me – I’m not a fan of many Asian desserts, but this fusion confection is light, tangy and hits the spot.

Overall the experience is a pleasant one, and not one I’m going to forget quickly. Don’t come to Red Spice Road expecting authentic, or pure Asian cuisine, but rather a tasting palate of the region’s offerings in slick but charmingly communal surroundings – all carried off with style. How very Melbourne.