Red Piggy

Red Piggy opened its doors this week and offers Melburnians (and visitors) a modern twist on classic South-East Asian flavours, highly influenced by the vibrant and rich history of the old French Indochina region.

Located on the building’s rooftop, all you need to do is simply trot into the ground level elevator from Little Bourke Street and head-up to level three to enjoy views across central Melbourne; from Emporium and QV straight down Swanston Street to St Paul’s Cathedral on Flinders Street.

The rooftop terrace features festoon lighting and an 11-metre hanging wall garden, with 300 handpicked plants from a local greenhouse. The jungle continues inside with the restaurant’s fit-out transporting guests to a tropical Asian paradise. The inside walls feature green palms and large tropical flowers, while traditional French Indochina tiles cover the floor and handmade Vietnamese and Laotian farming baskets decorate the ceiling.

With a menu that is sour, spicy, salty and sweet all at the same time, Red Piggy features street and home-style favourites from the owner's childhood as well as from his travels around South-East Asia. The menu is designed to be shared with family and friends, with a 'feed me' option for two or more people: $30 per person for any five dishes.

We loved tasting our way through Red Piggy’s menu. Our top picks include the Asian-style ragu cooked with Robbins Island Wagyu on a bed of hand-cut flat rice noodles and Slow-cooked lamb neck in a rich Thai red curry, Thai basil and sticky rice. Whatever you do, make sure you save room for dessert. The callebaut chocolate anglaise is a whole lot of yum and served with honeycomb and black pepper chocolate shortbread.

On the drinks front you'll find a selection of inventive cocktails alongside a solid selection of wines and beers so you can rest assured you’ll be able to find a tipple that suits your tastes.

Location: Level 3, 263 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne

Phone: (03) 9654 0805

Link: www.redpiggy.com.au