Chinese restaurants have long been a staple of the Australian dining scene, however much their repertoire of long soup and fried ice-cream might scandalise traditionalists in, say Singapore or Hong Kong. And now, with the opening of Ricky and Pinky in a mid-19th-century public house – along a street littered with eateries and boutiques, just a couple of blocks from the Melbourne Museum – we daresay the gauntlet has well and truly been thrown down.
The restaurant’s throwback moniker is an homage to the Hong Kong tattoo parlour where owner Andrew McConnell was once inked with a dragon. Its interior design is a modernist riff – Melbourne-based Sibling Architecture dispenses with expected tropes of a Chinese restaurant in favour of bright primary colours. Gold and blue pipings bend and twist to form transparent arches and room dividers (an ode, it seems, to Shanghainese art deco), while puce leather banquettes, Bentwood chairs, blackbutt tables, sea-green and dark blue carpets, and ceiling mirrors conspire to create a mood that feels more like the Jetsons’ living room than your average Chinatown pitstop.
Meanwhile, terrazzo Lazy Susans twirl with chef Anchan Chan’s exuberantly concocted dishes of mapo tofu, deep fried quail, homemade Chinese sausages and rice fried with salted egg.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
211 Gertrude Street
Melbourne
-
Do Ho Suh is searching for home in a major new exhibition at the Tate ModernDo Ho Suh's exhibition, 'Walk the House' at Tate Modern, sees the South Korean artist recreate his homes from Seoul, New York, London and Berlin.
-
We Are Rewind introduces Edith, the newest edition of its reworked portable audio playerChampions of cassette tape now have another outlet for their analogue fetish. The Edith WE-001 is a recording portable tape player with a bold palette and modern technology
-
A streamlined new concept cruise yacht creates a sleek boutique hotel that’s all at seaViken Group’s new REI concept is a superyacht-style ocean-going retreat, a floating palace of wellness and digital detoxing
-
Wallpaper* checks in at The Eve Hotel Sydney: a lush urban escapeA new Sydney hotel makes a bold and biophilic addition to a buzzing neighbourhood that’s on the up
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Lo Scoglio: an Australian vacation rental with regenerative principlesTucked away in Byron Bay’s hinterland, an Italian-style farmhouse presents a sustainable approach to luxury
-
Five influential women hoteliers reflect on the changing face of hospitalityAs women continue to gain ground in the hotel sector, despite still being underrepresented in senior positions, five female moguls share their experiences of the past and projections for the future
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Melbourne Place: ‘an alchemy of colour, texture and personality’Designed by Kennedy Nolan, Melbourne Place is the Australian city’s newest independent hotel, oozing creativity and urban energy
-
All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeysStay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
-
Six hotels where you’ll find the winter sun this FebruaryFrom intimate seaside inns to lush tropical resorts, here are six Wallpaper*-approved winter sun escapes
-
2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this yearFrom the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
-
The world’s best new hotels that we’re loving without reservationExplore the best new openings in the world, from Orient Express’ La Dolce Vita train and first-ever hotel to Capella’s debut in Taipei
