Images via Theresa Tran and Amanda Clark
Hawker centres in Singapore usually feature busy vendors with customers bustling through different foods and drink items, wondering what dish they’ll try next.
It’s often why we see bright, colourful neon signs hanging and decorating these street stalls – to grab visual attention amongst all the noise.
This signage has now made its way to Prospect, along one of the up and coming foodie strips in Adelaide. Prospect Road has featured in our social feed a few times this year, and this new Asian BBQ venue, Red Panda Barbecue, is catching the eyes of street strollers for all the right reasons.
Draped from the ceiling, neon signs light up the space from within, letting everyone know the late-night eats venue is no doubt open and ready for customers to pick from their selection of signature mala fried skewers.
Red Panda Barbecue founders Charlie and George, friends since high school, both grew up in the area and knew there was a gap they could fill. Inspired by the late-night food scenes of Melbourne and Sydney, they’ve created a lively, welcoming spot made for quick takeaway runs, casual dine-ins and late-night cravings.
“What we feel like is missing is something at night, like the late-night scene, which the other states have,” George told us back in February.
The restaurant is centred around skewers, with chicken, lamb, pork, fish and even rice cake available to select from and fry up. All are marinated in house-made spices and sauces, with spice levels that build gradually on the palate.
“We chose to be a fusion restaurant instead of completely authentic, (as) it just gives us more opportunities to experiment around, have fun with the recipes.”
The spice levels start at zero and work their way up to three and all levels feature their own animal name. First is level 0, aka panda, a no-spice for all ages, then red panda which is mild and comfortable, next is tiger which is where things start to get a bit hot with a noticeable kick and finally dragon, which brings intense heat best for the serious spice lovers.
“Our spice isn’t the one where, you know, you eat and it just hits you right away,” George explained. “The more you eat, the more it warms up, and as you stop eating, it calms back down.”
“We really like having fun with food, and hopefully that translates to the customers and the people enjoying it as well, and coming back more.”
This is where the drinks menu comes into play, especially if you get ahead of yourself and the spice hits a little late.
On the drinks menu, there are three signature teas: classic green matcha, creamy Thai milk tea, and a pretty pink rose tea. The branding carries through every detail, from the trays and cup designs to the tray liners, all tied together in the venue’s bold red and yellow palette for very Instagram-ready moments.
“Later down the line we’ll start introducing more flavours.”
The duo have big plans in motion, with hopes to grow Red Panda BBQ into a full-blown franchise and carve out a name as one of Adelaide’s more unique eats.
“Our biggest point for people wanting to come back would be the atmosphere. You can sit in, have some food, gather, talk. We want to create the hub.”
The venue is a fun addition to Prospect Road’s growing food scene, bringing something the strip hasn’t really seen before.
Red Panda BBQ
Where: 2/69-73 Prospect Rd, Prospect SA 5082
When: Daily from 12pm – 11pm
For more info, click here.
