Overview
Back in the '60s and '70s, country Aussie pubs didn't just house on-site bistros — they boasted their own Chinese restaurants on the premises. Trust Andrew McConnell to revive the trend. In fact, he's revamped Fitzroy's Builders Arms Hotel to reintroduce pub-goers to the idea of eating dishes like drunken chicken before, after or while they're having a drink themselves.
Gone is the chef's previous eatery, Moon Under Water, with Ricky & Pinky taking its place. As well as a completely fresh culinary focus courtesy of its Hong Kong-style Chinese food selection, the new restaurant looks remarkably different, too. Think colourful and open, with a more than a few knocked-down walls, a now-visible kitchen run by ex-Cutler & Co, Golden Fields and Supernormal alum Archan Chan, and that traditional staple: fish tanks filled with swimming market seafood, crustaceans and molluscs.
Menu-wise, Ricky & Pinky mightn't call its delicious range Asian fusion; however it is rather keen on mixing classic and innovative cooking in its dishes. When you're twirling around the lazy Susan sitting in the middle of your table, you might just share the likes of mapo tofu, fried rice with preserved vegetable and salted duck egg, fried prawn and chicken wontons with sweet and sour sauce, or pippies and XO sauce with fried doughnuts. To cap things off, end your meal with an extra-large fortune cookie or banana semifreddo with chocolate caramel and crisp batter.
If you've been known to grab at pint or a bite in Builders Arms' trusty front bar, don't worry. There, you'll still find good ol' choices like burgers and whipped cod roe. Everything else might've changed, but some icons just keep in keepin' on.
Find Ricky & Pinky at the Builders Arms Hotel, 211 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. For more information, visit their website.
Images: Harvard Wang.