Gingerboy is Ezard’s other half: a funky interpretation of traditional Asian dishes and flavours from various parts of Thailand, Malaysia and China; street and family food dressed up for the urban hip. It’s a modern Australian interpretation of an overt cuisine and culture, and there is nothing demure about the place: metallic gold tiles line the Crossley Street façade, making this discreet CBD laneway one of Melbourne’s most congenial (Becco is right next door, with some interesting retailers opposite). Architects Elenberg Fraser, designers of Vue de Monde, helped give Gingerboy its brash Hong Kong-meets-Melbourne look. Inside, it’s Ferrari-red for the open kitchen, a funky backlit bar festooned with Asian graphics and that cave-like bamboo and mirrored dining room, all black, twinkly and comic book complete with transparent Philippe Starck Louis Ghost chairs, high-gloss tables and an oversized low, red light shade. They’ve sorted potential acoustic issues cleverly, too, because even at night, the buzz doesn’t fatigue.
WORDS JOHN LETHLEAN
