Red Spice Road, Melbourne, Victoria

i liked the space and feel of the restaurant and the long communal dining benches but was also glad that no one else was seated next to mi. our very enthusiastic waiter for the night was quite informative and had a lot to share. their cocktail list was longer than the menu - definitely no complaints there although almost half contained egg white.

betel leaf with smoked chicken, chilli and lemongrass - the smoked chicken in this entree tasted like the smoked chicken from cole's deli section tossed in chilli sauce and the betel leaf not as 'crunchy' as expected.


chilli salt cuttlefish with mint, avocado salad - our calamari pieces were overly battered with no hint of chilli in the salt but the avocado salad with onion and coriander was a nice accompaniment.


beef cheeks with spiced star anise sauce, mushrooms, mint and bean sprout salad - this cow must've had a huge face as all the blocks of beef in the broth were bigger than my own cheeks. i liked this dish, smelled really 'chinese' due to the star anise.


lamb peanut curry with lychee and eggplant - good chunky curry with the slightest "blink and you'll miss it" hint of lychee. the lamb chunks were tasty but don't bother looking too hard for the eggplant, i was lucky to even get a sliver.


prawns with tomato chilli black pepper and coriander - these prawns came in a plate of thin tomato tasting broth (with the coriander and fresh chilli slices that seem to be the garnish of the day on all dishes) and lacked any excitement that chilli, black pepper and coriander normally brings to a dish. i do not recommend anyone ordering this.


lemongrass pannacotta, watermelon granita and peanut praline - it looked very pretty but was the final letdown of my meal, the texture of this pannacotta was all wrong (almost watery and 'grainy') and i had difficulty reconciling the peanut flavoured praline sprinkling with the watermelon icee crush.


Overall, thumbs up for the decor but red spice road felt like a less accomplished cousin of longrain.
Would i come eat here again? maybe. but will give it some time to improve first. -mi!