POW Kitchen

I must admit I had doubts about the rowdy Prince Bandroom getting an "oriental overturn" into a bar and restaurant in between gigs. The last time I was here my red velvet jacket was stolen by a shady hipster thief, and I wasn't mad on the punny "Prisoner of War" branding, or the website's invitation to pop in and "say herro", which has been wisely changed. But doubts aside, POW packs an impressive punch.

So do the spice levels on many of the south Asian dishes from executive chef Daniel Hawkins and head chef Woosun Choi (previously at the Newmarket Hotel). The Bang Bang chicken salad is loaded with creamy sesame dressing, pickled beanshoots, wood-ear mushrooms and finished with a five alarm Sichuan burn that will send hardened hotheads screaming for the teh tarik.

Even some of the drinks have a chilli sting, including the Tom Yum Rum cocktail, an oversized jar of white rum, lime and ginger with Thai basil, lemongrass and a blast of chilli up the nose. You might need to cool down with a flamboyant Coco-Nuts ($15), a vaguely Hawaiian concoction of spiced rum and "secret flavours" served in a fresh coconut shell, with mandatory paper umbrella. The rest of the drinks menu is also impressive, with 24 beers including a ripper house golden ale from the Mornington Peninsula Brewery, plus 28 wines by glass, bottle or on tap , and a dozen more festive cocktails.

The vibrant, share-style food is fun, fresh and pretty cheap – even by local backpacker standards – especially on Tuesdays when, if you live in the area and have some ID to prove it, you'll get 30 per cent off your food bill. Try the soft cubes of salt and pepper tofu ($12) tossed with segments of juicy heirloom tomato, sweet tamarind and toasted coconut, or a pile of crunchy battered school prawns ($12) swiped through yuzu mayo.

There's a gritty tropical holiday vibe about the upstairs nightclub, with artful sheets of newspaper covering the stains, strings of lights overhead and bamboo blinds rolled up over Fitzroy Street (at least until the cold sets in). Garage-style doors separate the dining room from the band room until there's a show on, when they swing open and the ticket holders flood in.

It makes economical use of a prime piece of St Kilda real estate, and riffs off many recent hits, like a rough-and-ready Supernormal meets Hawker Hall with a shot of Colonel Tan's. Come for the Bang Bang, stay for the club bangers – but if you see anyone shady wearing a red velvet jacket, let me know.

Drink this Tom Yum Rum cocktail, $18.

Eat this Bang Bang chicken, $16.

Know this Locals get 30 per cent off all food on Tuesdays.

Say this "What time does the gig start?"