‘It’s the Nick Kyrgios of restaurants’: Inside Newstead’s bright newcomer
This inner-city newcomer’s hot pink decor is designed to attract attention but do the food and wine deliver?
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Everything in this restaurant is a lurid pink, as if Barbie and Dolly Parton collaborated on the design and then decided to ramp it up because they were worried they were being a bit tame.
The in-your-face hue spreads like a violent blush across the walls, the floors, the banquettes, the chairs.
Contrast comes from the cluster of bright, white, ping pong ball-like lights bulging from the ceiling.
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As I sit, wondering whether to don sunglasses, a waiter appears to advise the flavour of the cocktail “slushie of the day”. Pina colada, since you ask.
Have I entered a parallel universe and been trapped on the set of a US college Spring Break movie?
Apparently not. It soon becomes clear that Newstead newcomer Ping Pong is like the Nick Kyrgios of restaurants.
Talent lies beneath the brash decor.
Restaurateur Yianni Passaris, who owns in-demand haunts, West End’s Morning After and Newstead’s Yolk, has cleverly got everyone looking, which has got to be a good strategy when opening during a pandemic.
Then there’s the extensive array of Thai favourites, some with adventurous tweaks, and a serious drinks list.
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The menu, overseen by chef and co-owner Khanittha “Bowyo” Muangsong, begins with raw items such as beef tartare with Thai flavours and rice crackers, snacks from duck spring rolls to betel leaves with various toppings, mains including grilled Moreton Bay bug with chu chee sauce and charcoal OP rib on the bone with “ chilli aromatics” and stir fries, curries, rice and noodle dishes.
Sedated by a glass of pinot gris we decide on a sandwich showdown, sharing a sriracha and honey chicken bao ($6) and a panko chicken sanga with sriracha mayo, lettuce and larb spice ($8). There’s no fear of frying here, with the chicken crisp in both, the buns fresh and light. We declare the bao a winner by a (parson’s) nose.
Holy basil crispy prawns ($28) is terrific.
The prawns are fried and crunchy, contrasting with a bonanza of chilli, garlic, ginger, beans, bok choy and onion.
We’re told the signature dish is massaman curry ($32) and it’s worth its billing, made with beef cheeks, drizzled with a slick of coconut milk, chunks of potato and some macadamias thrown into the lush sauce for good measure ($32).
Sides such as turmeric coconut rice ($6) and roti bread ($6) are mandatory for soaking up every last bit.
Chiang Mai Thai pork sausage, served sliced with green sambal, fresh herbs and cucumber ($24) is nicely flavoured but is a bit dry.
Service is informative and friendly, dishes arrive quickly and are cleared promptly, and while it’s a pay-at-the-register-on-the-way-out scenario, it all seems to work efficiently.
“Happy endings”, as the desserts are saucily named, include a mango and vanilla ice cream bar with coconut and sticky rice, peanut parfait with coconut granita, chocolate and sago mousse with chocolate soil and tangerine or Thai tea ice cream sundae.
After being stunned by the in-your-face decor, the overall experience really is enjoyable. And when our photographer returns, his pictures reveal that out the back there’s a green-themed, plant-decorated space that offers an alternative reality. This seemingly secret sanctuary would be just the spot for the pink phobic.
PING PONG
Food 3.5/5
Ambience 3
Service 3.5
Value 4
OVERALL 3.5
Must try
Holy basil crispy prawns
Gasworks Shopping Centre, 76 Skyring Tce, Newstead, 3547 3933 lovepingpong.com.au
Open Fri-Sat 11am-2.30pm; 5pm-10.30pm; Sun-Thur 11am-2.30pm and 5pm-9.30pm