Rice Paper Scissors
19 Liverpool St, Melbourne
03 9663 9890
http://www.ricepaperscissors.com.au
Informal, dark, loud and in a small space down a laneway near Parliament station, Rice Paper Scissors is a restaurant in high demand, if the 2 hour wait time by 7pm is anything to go by. It gives off an air of exclusivity, with huddles of people in the lane waiting for a text to let them know a spot at the bar has opened up, and diners crammed onto the small sidewalk under heaters, tempting passerbys with the sight and wafting smells of steamed pork belly buns and thai fried chicken on wintery Melbourne evenings. Rice Paper Scissors (shortened to the hip RICE : PAPR : SCRS on their logos), opened about a year and a half ago and has been steadily gaining popularity ever since: for its bar vibe, tapas-style Thai-slash-Vietnamese modern street-food and cosy atmosphere – all at reasonable prices
Having been able to get a table straight-away on visiting last year, and reading on their website that they opened at 6 for dinner, we arrived right on time and discovered that we had hugely underestimated the following of the place with already a 1 hour wait for a table. With seating available for only 40 and 1 hour turnover of tables, wait times exponentially increase throughout the evening. Luckily, it was still early, so we were happy to go for a walk until the anticipated text came through.
Composed of small share plates priced from $10-14, the real steal of the menu is the $55 set price for two people for any 5 dishes. Think lots of fresh coriander and mint, fiery notes of chili, splashes of fish-sauce, mouth-puckering lime, and the crunch of green apple and bean sprouts: these dishes are full of sharp, fresh flavours that pack a punch. The BBQ lamb ribs are a must try: marinated in a sticky, sweet mekong whisky sauce with the lamb tender and falling off the bone, they immediately set the theme of hands-on eating – there is no time to stop and reach for utensils. Those at Rice Paper Scissors are prepared for this – diners are supplied with small bowels of water for finger dipping between courses.
Next came the crispy barramundi – tapioca dusted, fried, and topped with a spicy green apple and cashew salad spiked with a sweet-sour nahm jim dressing, which was perhaps a little overwhelming for the delicate flavours of the fish it was paired with. However, all was forgotten with the arrival of our sticky pork: large squares of meltingly tender twice cooked pork belly in a sweet tamarind caramel sauce, cut through by the herb salad on top. Something I could easily order two of.
Mini Vietnamese banh mi, stuffed with crispy soft shell crab and copious amounts of coriander and pate, were the next to go, though we wondered whether the soft, sweet, and flaky rolls were a little too croissant-like for their contents. Almost full by now, our last dish was spot on: a Balinese roast duck leg, covered in a heavily fragrant spice paste and served with a fiery coconut sambal and betel leaves. To eat, wrap pieces of slow-cooked and tender flaking duck meat and a spoonful of sambal (or more, depending on your heat tolerance), in betel leaf: the perfect holder for this conversation-silencing flavour explosion.
A buzzing, inner city cheap eat with food to rival all but the high-end Asian fusion eateries around town, I suspect that the wait time to eat at Rice Paper Scissors won’t calm down for a long time yet. Either turn up at 5:30pm, book a lunch-time table, be prepared to go for a decent city walk to rev up your appetite, or visit a nearby bar for pre-drinks while you wait – but for fast, friendly service and a meal with truck-loads of flavour that won’t break the bank, you really can’t go wrong.
Rating: 7.5/10
Do: arrive early!
Don’t miss: the BBQ lamb ribs or sticky pork
Pro tip: head round the corner to the Spring Street Grocer to finish off your meal with some of the best gelato in Melbourne
Don’t: ask for rice – they don’t do that here.
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