Gingerboy

Established by Teage Ezard as a sister restaurant to his now-closed Ezard, Gingerboy has been dishing out refined but not too over worked South East Asian hawker-style food since 2006.

Large, red threaded chandeliers dominate the dining room, dispersing the ambient light and imbuing the space with a sense of the unknown. Juxtaposing Kartell/Starck Louis Ghost chairs with dark black tables and cladding the ceiling with a series of tactile bamboo poles, the designers provide the room with a sleek but tactile edge.

The menu is broken down into small plates and larger shared dishes. The famous son-in-law eggs – a delectable mix of textural elements that has its roots in Malay and Thai street food – is best eaten whole, in one mouthful. Crispy duck and banana blossom salad with ginger nuoc cham shows off the balance between richness and earthiness.

Larger share plates include vibrant red duck curry flecked with Thai basil; whole fried snapper drizzled basted in szechuan black bean dressing, fennel and blood orange; and braised pork belly juxtaposed with green apple slaw and sweet plum and ginger sauce. These dishes exhibit an approach that tends more towards the traditional (infused with contemporary touches) than the overly technical.

For those more inclined towards sweeter things, Gingerboy also serves a dessert share plate that perfectly references the sweet, salty and creamy offerings that could easily be found at a roadside stall in Thailand.