Rice Paper Sister
Rice Paper Sister is an Asian-fusion restaurant at Hardware Lane, CBD. It is a "sister" restaurant of Rice Paper Scissors. Similar decor as the RP Scissors, you will find large tables with high chairs and bar stools facing the windows. The atmosphere of the room is warm and welcoming. The dark colour scheme is enlightened by the warm bare light bulbs hanging down from the ceiling. The main feature of the room is the colourful mural of a woman at the back wall which has injected a nice vibrant contrast.
The menu at RP Sister offers a good range of vegetarian, seafood and meat dishes. However, the dishes are more refined, not so hawker style as RP Scissors. The addition of Filipino and Balinese dishes which makes the menu more tantalising. Here are some of the dishes we truly enjoyed.
Fresh oysters
St. Peter's fresh oysters from SA topped with roast chicken stock, pickled apples and fresh horseradish. Beautiful fresh meaty oyster complemented by the savoury chicken stock with a slight vinegary diced apple, shallots and a hint of wasabi. Bang!
Sashimi
Hiramasa Kingfish, white soy, fermented rice vinegar and yuzu. First bite... so fresh and the sensation is complicated with a mix of the fattiness of the fish and the citrusy, vinegary taste. My mouth is watering just thinking of it!
Lobster roll
Tempura lobster roll, chrysanthemum leaves, nori mayonnaise and mustard pickles. The crumbed lobster roll is cooked perfectly which is crispy outside but still moist and tender from inside. The nori mayo and Chinese pickled mustard green is an interesting combination with the lobster roll. All sandwiched by the soft Asian style brioche bun... just delicious.
Charcoal grilled pork ribs
Black pig pork ribs basted in a "sang som" Thai rum sauce. The eight hours marinated time infused the meat with delicious flavours... truly finger lickin' good!
Indonesian roast chicken
Roast whole chicken with Indonesian "secret spices" served with betel leaves and lemon grass salad. The chicken is very tender... wrapped up the pulled chicken meat, bean sprout and fresh herbs salad with the betel leaves... the whole combination is amazing yum!
Babi Guling
Balinese roast suckling pig served with "lawar" young jackfruit salad and flaky roti. Again the roast pork meat is so tender with the crispy crackling. The roti, sweet jackfruit salad and chilli sambal made another delicious complement to the roast pork. Nom nom...
Kankung
I love "kankung" Asian water spinach whether it is cooked in Chinese style, Malaysian style or Thai style. This one is stir-fried with yellow bean sauce, garlic and chilli... simply delicious!
The RPS Apple pie
Star anise and cassia bark stewed apples wrapped in flaky roti served with condensed milk ice-cream. Sweet banana roti is common but this is the first time we had the stewed spice apple roti... definitely thumbs up from us.
Vietnamisu
Sponge cake layered with Vietnamese coffee mousse, chocolate, lemongrass and ginger infused Marsala. Tiramisu in Vietnamese fusion style... I have to admit the layers of sponge and coffee mousse are so yum but the lemongrass and ginger infused Marsala layer at the bottom is a little bit too sweet to my taste. On the whole, the lemony flavour works well with the coffee, chocolate and mousse to give the traditional dessert a refreshing note to the taste buds.
Vietnamese iced coffee
Cold coffee, condensed milk and a splash of chocolate... voila! Vietnamese iced coffee... Could not resist not to have one before leaving the restaurant.
The colourful mural on the feature wall by Byron Bay-based artist Glenn Mossop
Rice Paper Sister has a good selection of cocktails, mocktails, Australian and European wines as well as beers to match with the dishes.
My favourite dish - Babi Guling
My favourite dessert - Apple pie
If you are looking for pan-SE Asian food, Rice Paper Sister definitely would not disappoint you. The incorporation of Filipino and Balinese food to the menu is a wow factor. The emphasis on using fresh, organic and locally sourced ingredients which guaranteed high-quality food. Same as Rice Paper Scissors, it is a great place for catching up with family and friends, sharing food and having a good time. We had a very enjoyable meal and will definitely go back to try other dishes. Hope you will enjoy the dishes there too!
Rice Paper Sister
15 Hardware Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
03 9600 4949
