As a foodie there is nothing better than the two awesome worlds of food and drink uniting than one of my favourite local restaurants and the only gin that I enjoy drinking. Top it off as a surprise birthday present and you have one hell of a night.

Location

Red Spice Road is a quintessential restaurant that you simply must visit in Melbourne. I have been here three times now and each time, it’s service and quality has been consistently excellent. Set in the iconic McKillop place, the venue won’t be open for long as they move to their new location.

Gin, is the only drink, that has taken me a while to get used to. I’ve tried a few and nothing has come as close Australia’s own Four Pillars Gin. I fell in love with their Rose (hat tip to my friend for introducing them to me).

When I read that their sold-out inaugural annual event from 2018 was returning for 2019, I had to jump on it. And let me tell you why.

Food

The pairings of cocktails with food.

These were the drinks and food for the night:

Orange & ginger Peking duck

OUR FAVOURITE G&T – Rare Dry Gin, Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic, orange

~

The peking duck was phenomenal and succulent. And this G&T was insane. It was super smooth and really easy to finish.

Chicken skewers with kaffir lime leaf

JAKARTA PARTY STARTER – Spiced Negroni Gin, Fino, pineapple, mango, lemongrass

~

These chicken skewers with their crushed, I think cashew shavings was sumptious. But this cocktail was a winner in my book for the night.

Salmon with soy, ginger, sesame sauce

SHISO FINE – Navy Strength Gin, sour plum, miso, caramel, shiso

~

This salmon was intense. The gravy could just be consumed on it’s own. Don’t even get me started on how amazing it was. After the chewing portion of the meal was done, it was more the sauce. I could have had the sauce all by itself.

This cocktail was different. The sour plum and caramel really played off with each other in a rather complimentary way than the stark contrast I was expecting.

Vietnamese shaking beef

GHEE WIZ – Modern Australian Gin, Pepe Saya ghee, nashi pear x soursop, orange leaf

~

The beef was delightful. I am always in awe of how a cut so tender could be juicy too. Mind boggled.

Unfortunately, this was my least favourite cocktail of the night. It was good by all accounts but the previous cocktail had really spoilt my tastebuds.

Black sticky rice with coconut

MANILA – Bloody Shiraz Gin, berry medley, pandan, banana caramel

~

Everything you could hope for in a black sticky rice. But they topped it off with pomegranate. The duality of this was amazing.

Now this cocktail could be a party starter. And given this was the Shiraz gin I love from Four Pillars Gin, I was grinning from ear to ear. Though it could also have been all the cocktails I have had during the night.

The other awesome thing is that they also served us their famous pork belly. If you want the best pork belly in Melbourne, you need to have it at Red Spice Road.

Cost

This was a phenomenal event and one I intend on always attending. If you can make it, you should. It’s worth every single bite.

Ambiance

The atmosphere in Red Spice Road is one of it’s own. It changes depending on the time of day and is always welcoming and vibrant.

Service

As a dining experience they brought their A game. For people that have been spoilt here before, this is normal. Phenomenal service.

TDT: 5.0/5.0

I hope to see you at the next event!