Spice Temple Melbourne

LOCATION
Within the Crown complex in Southbank.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
A grandiose counterpart of Neil Perry’successful Sydney restaurant, Melbourne’s own Spice Temple explores the diversity of Chinese regional cuisine. Housed within the Crown complex on the former Bistro Guilliame site, this long awaited restaurant exudes a darkly dramatic, exotic feel with red hues, rich golden lighting, dark wooden furniture and black crockery. Gold bead curtains serve to partition the large space and give an intimate, sexy atmosphere that is reminiscent of entering an alluring opium den.

Regional influences range from the Szechuan, Hunan, Xinjiang, Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, and the dishes explore the vibrant flavours of these varied cuisines. Many dishes are punctuated with the fire of chilli in its various forms – fresh, dried, pickled, fermented and salted.

Enjoy the flavours of tingling prawns, hot and numbing dry Wagyu beef, or tofu and preserved egg with soy chilli dressing to start. Larger dishes are designed to share, and with descriptive yet characteristic names such as ‘fish drowned in heaven facing chillies’, ‘three shot chicken’ or ‘beef in fire water’, it becomes very easy to over-order. Stir fried quail and peanuts are served with chilli in its spicy, crunchy and creamy forms, but soothed with accompanying egg custard, while steamed flathead is cooked Jiangxi style, flanked by chilli turnip. There are a few particularly impressive dishes such as ‘eight treasure whole boned duck’ or ‘tea-smoked chicken with black vinegar’ which require 24 hours notice, but are definitely worth planning for.

A tightly constructed list of 100 wines serves as an integral partner to the menu, as does a list of cocktails named after signs of the Chinese horoscope. Carefully compiled to provide a holistic dining experience, the flavour profiles are designed to complement the complex flavours of Perry’s creations. A handy list of Chinese signs and their corresponding years also make for some enjoyable and diverting dinner entertainment, and interesting conversation starters. Neil Perry’s Spice Temple proves his expert grasp on the many identities of the Chinese cuisine.

Angela Costanzo