Keys to the kingdom
Sydney’s “not Italian” pasta crew is turning Mr Liquor’s Dirty Italian Disco into Kingdom of Rice.
Acme’s Mitch Orr and the team behind Sydney’s favourite ItaloAsian pasta joint will roll the garage doors open on Kingdom of Rice this month. The former drive-through bottle-shop that housed the Mr Liquor’s Dirty
Italian Disco pop-up will be transformed into a street-style Cambodian eatery for six months, referencing the look and feel of Phnom Penh’s bustling market stalls, shopfronts and street vendors.
The inspiration behind the concept is Sophia Thach, Orr’s friend and Acme front-of-house gun. Thach is of Cambodian descent, and recently spent two years in Phnom Penh working for an NGO and reconnecting with the country’s vibrant flavours. “Sophia’s an amazing cook,” says Orr. “I’ve known her for eight years now, and in that time she’s cooked so many traditional dishes for me, introducing me to Khmer ingredients and origins.”
It may seem like a far cry from Acme’s baloney sandwiches, halal snack-pack carpaccio and riffs on cacio e pepe, but Cambodian flavours aren’t uncharted territory in Orr’s cooking. Acme fans will recall him serving steamed pipis slathered in a lime and pepper sauce, or barbecued calamari with a pork fat and scorched spring onion dressing at The Dolphin Hotel’s Aperitivo Hour in March.
At Kingdom of Rice, expect whole fish from the grill scented with lemongrass and coconut, and vegetables with salted egg, oyster sauce, dried shrimp or green peppercorns. Diners will be rewarded with jasmine tea on arrival, and a wander through the walk-in fridge is still a drawcard. Merivale’s rockstar group somm Franck Moreau is stocking it with Asian beers and hewing to Acme’s natural lean with the wine. Thach will run the floor, and former Acme sous-chef Lillia McCabe is on the pans, fresh from a stint at Blackwattle in Singapore. Orr and Acme frontman and partner Cam Fairbairn will split shifts between the two venues so there’s always a familiar face at each. Kingdom of Rice, 952 Botany Rd, Mascot, NSW, merivale.com