Red Spice Road

Last night we went to Red Spice Road to celebrate my mum’s birthday, we had a fantastic night. The décor was modern with a bit of funk, the staff were friendly and attentive and the food was amazing. We went to the QV location, which was quite a large venue. It’s perfect for a birthday dinner or a corporate lunch or anything really. The restaurant is dimly lit and these beautiful red lights are hung around the bar, which created a chilled ambience.

On the menu they had a list of entrées where you order per piece. I like that because everyone who wants one can order one. You can avoid that situation where there are three people at the table and there is a serve of four pieces. Who gets that forth piece?  You can also avoid that ‘you have it, no you have it’ conversation. First world problems, i know.

So for starters we ordered the ‘Bahn mi with Bia Ha Noi (Vietnamese beer) battered flathead, fennel slaw and siracha mayo.’ It was presented as an adorable little burger, the fish was soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, it was tasty.

I also had a onesie ‘scallop with corn puree, cucumber, green chilli and soya beans.’ It was incredible!! The scallop was cooked perfectly, the corn puree was smooth and creamy, the cucumber and soya beans gave it a freshness and added texture and the green chilli packed a punch. It was a really great start to the meal. Highly recommend.

We shared a bowl of ‘chilli salt drunken chicken with pineapple, tamarind dipping sauce.’ The chicken was delicious and crunchy and when dipped in the sauce it was a sweet, sour, salty explosion. Yum! And it wasn’t very spicy, so for those who can’t handle too much heat, you can probably handle these.

For main we ordered the ‘pork belly w apple slaw, chilli caramel and black vinegar’ and it was sensational. The pork belly melted in your mouth, the apple slaw gave the dish crunch, lots of coriander gave it freshness, the chilli caramel was sweet and spicy and the black vinegar helped cut through the fat and sweetness. It was a showstopper, definitely one of my favourite dishes of the night. Yum! Yum! Yum!

We also got the ‘Wagyu shin slow-cooked in five-spice w mushrooms and smoked eggplant.’ The beef was falling apart and the mushrooms were gorgeous. The sauce was good, it had a really intense beef flavour without being too salty.

For dessert we tried the dessert tasting plate. It was spectacular! To think we almost skipped dessert because we were full. Lesson learnt. We got to try a little bit of everything.  There was a deep fried sticky-rice dumpling, which had bits of banana and toasty sesame seeds sitting in a palm sugar caramel. This was yummy but a little heavy with the rice and the deep friedness. Then there was the ‘chocolate delice with praline,’ which was a smooth and decadent chocolate mousse with a hint of chilli. It was yum and the chilli  didn’t go unnoticed in fact after the mousse I went straight for the peppermint ice-cream to cool my palette. The scoop of ice cream was sitting on a bed of toasted coconut, so pretty.  Then there was caramelised pineapple, butter cake and Sang Som (Thai rum) ice-cream which sort of tasted like a pineapple bread and butter pudding which was nice. In a cup there was sago pudding (yum!) with mango bits and granite on top and last but not least a yummy salted caramel macaron.

We had a really great experience from the moment we walked in to the moment we walked out. The food was absolutely delicious and the service was outstanding. Definitely a restaurant I’ll be visiting again.

I heart Red Spice Road!

Olives x

Address: 37 Artemis Lane, Melbourne VIC (QV near the grass strip next to Papa Rich)
Website: http://qv.redspiceroad.com
Phone: 03 8660 6300
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri: 12-3pm (lunch), 6pm-late (dinner) Sat: 6pm-late Sun: closed