Red Spice Road to receive $1 million makeover

• RECIPE: Red Spice Road's pork belly with chilli caramel and apple slaw

It's been a big year for Red Spice Road. In August, the Melbourne CBD eatery won The Age Good Food Guide 2016 People's Choice Award. Four months later it had to shut down for five days after a fire forced diners and staff to evacuate during lunch service. Now the restaurant is closing its doors again, albeit under better conditions as it undergoes a $1 million makeover.

"The renovation has been in planning for some time and is not due to the recent fire," director of marketing Vanessa Green says. "We have been working with an architect and interior design team for a number of months and planning to implement during the quieter weeks following Christmas."

The restaurant, famous for its chilli caramel-glazed pork belly, will remain closed from January 1 to 18.

Business owner Andrew Cameron opened Red Spice Road in 2007. "It was the first restaurant I built from the ground up," he says. "From an emotional and logistics perspective, it has been difficult to find the right time for a major renovation. We don't want to let our customers down by temporarily closing the doors – but at the same time we want Red Spice Road to remain a fantastic dining experience."

The renovations will touch every corner of the building from the exterior, colour scheme and airconditioning to the floors, tables and seating. The kitchen is also included in the revamp. The restaurant will reopen with a brand new menu with broader Asian influences and flavours.

"We'll continue with our contemporary interpretations of the flavours we find on our travels around Asia," executive chef John McLeay says. "As well as exploring food styles in my regular haunts around south-east Asia, like Thailand, Burma and Vietnam, over the last year I have also spent time in Tokyo, Japan, Korea, China and Indonesia and these flavours and styles will feature on the new menu too."

Sister restaurant Red Spice QV on Artemis Lane will remain open if you need a pork-belly hit in the meantime.