Victor Liong has had a busy year. In August, he opened Brazilian-inspired sushi train Bossa Nova with Con Christopoulos, and this week he soft-launched Silk Spoon, a casual new concept at 500 Bourke Street – also home to Rosa’s Canteen and MoVida Aqui.

This is all while continuing to helm two-hatted Lee Ho Fook, where he’s been chef and co-owner for more than a decade.

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While Lee Ho Fook champions what Liong calls modern Chinese food, Silk Spoon casts a wider net, exploring China’s culinary influence via the Silk Road.

“The food that I enjoy is more diverse than just East Asian,” says Liong. “Instead of fusing flavours or ingredients together, I felt that it was a natural progression to explore similarities in [East Asian food and other] cuisines.”

The menu caters to a corporate crowd with grab-and-go options and mains between $14 and $18. “I wanted to offer healthy, flavourful food at a price point that was approachable,” says Liong. He’s adopted a self-service model where diners order via QR code and grab their own cutlery, reducing staffing needs and keeping prices low without sacrificing quality.

“I wanted to offer healthy, flavourful food at a price point that was approachable.”

Silk Spoon owner-chef Victor Liong

One lunchtime hero is the $18 lamb plate. Shoulder meat is brined, seasoned with cumin, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel, then braised overnight. It’s served with spiced burghul (a cracked wheat common in the Middle East), pickled red cabbage and flatbread. Alternatively, burghul and lamb can be subbed for chickpea salad and Liong’s take on duck confit.

There’s also a chicken pot pie he’s “obsessed about”. It swaps pastry for roti paratha, a similarly laminated flatbread, concealing a stew of curried chicken and root vegetables. “We serve it in a little lion’s head pot just like they do in France.”

Min Chun Tseng designed the al fresco dining area to evoke 1920s Shanghai with a touch of Paris – think green-and-white-striped banquettes, emerald tiles and dark timber bar carts.

Inside, a small kiosk that Liong visually compares to a “teahouse-slash-Chinese herbalist” stocks pre-packed salads, cold drinks, and soon, house-made retail items such as chilli oil and Lee Ho Fook’s signature steamed fish dressing.

There will also be wine once the liquor licence is approved. “Whatever’s on display, you can just grab and take home or to a BYO dinner,” Liong says.

Initially, Silk Spoon is operating for lunch only, but dinner service is planned when the liquor licence is secured.

Open Mon-Fri 11am-5pm

Upper ground, North Plaza 6, shop 1, 500 Bourke Street, Melbourne
instagram.com/silkspoon_