Red Spice Road QV

Red Spice Road QV

31-37 Artemis Lane, Melbourne

(Ph) 8660 6300

I had come here ages ago but for some reason never blogged about it! So back-blogging now =)

After a very pleasant experience at the McKillop Road store, we decided to take some Brisbane friends here to try out some fusion food - they had initially wanted Chin Chin but we didn't want to wait like 2hrs for dinner. Came here on a Saturday night and surprisingly it was quite empty though we were pretty early like 6ish.

They have the paintings of three naked Asian ladies like at the McKillop store - different paintings but add to the Asian fusion atmosphere.

Quite a nice big bar area up the front...

And a long area of tables up the back, much nicer lit compared to the McKillop Road one where you get a lot of natural sunlight here =)

We wanted to try an entree as we hadn't tried one before. Watermelon with Sticky Duck and Cashew Relish $7.50

Quite an interesting combination of flavours - braised sweet duck meat with some cashew crunch on the outside and a sweet refreshing piece of watermelon, seems all a bit random together but is quite interesting.

Soft Shell Crab fried with Snake Beans, Wild Ginger, Basil and Black Pepper Sauce $34.00

Omg look at the proportion of snake beans to crab compared to the one we ordered at McKillop Road?! So even though it's the same menu item they make it very differently at the 2 stores - I think I like the McKillop Road one where they were more generous with the crab =P Also this felt like it was more deep fried than stir fried, though the other one was kinda like that too.

The famous Pork Belly with Apple Slaw, Chilli Caramel and Black Vinegar $35.00

Just as we remembered it from last time - pork belly was crunchy on the outside and soft and braised inside to perfection =) The only downside was they were way too generous with the coriander on the salad for my liking - more apple would be better!

We tried something new this time - Twice Cooked Lamb Ribs with Mint, Lychee and Avocado Salad $35.00

Lots of mint (and coriander ugh) in the salad. Had to really search through the pile of salad to find the lamb ribs =P They weren't very meaty and because of that the meat was a little dry, but I think lamb ribs are just like that, unlike pork ribs (my fave) <3 Still the flavours were good, and they tried to crunch up the outside and be soft inside but there's just not that much meat on them to achieve optimal results =/

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Another visit to Red Spice Road QV a few months later wasn't as pleasant as the first one =( We had made a booking for 8pm but when we got there the waiters said there was still a bit of wait for a table and asked us to take a seat at the bar. 20 minutes later we were still not seated and we asked the waiters again and she said unfortunately the table hadn't left yet - well if the table is booked for 8pm then they just gotta tell them they have to leave! Can't be nice to them but not to us! o_Oa finally at 8.40pm we were finally seated - we were soo hungry that we really weren't in the mood for much anymore =/ We of course had to order the Pork Belly and the Soft Shell Crab again, but also ordered the Crocodile Jungle Curry with Baby Corn and Apple Eggplant $35.00

I don't remember if I've had crocodile meat before - it tastes like a cross between chicken and fish! Actually quite interesting I thought it'd be quite tough. Though this curry was very spicy so beware!

Food~

8/10 - just as good as the McKillop Road one, pretty much the same menu, and again would definitely recommend the Pork Belly and Soft Shell Crab =)

Service~

1/5 - the first visit was good but the second time was appalling, they really need to work on their booking management =/

Atmosphere~

4/5 - much nicer and newer than the main store, better lighting too

Click here for a review of the McKillop Road store..