Red Lantern on Riley

As the original Red Lantern in Surry Hills celebrates its tenth birthday, its new baby brother ratchets things up with a smart designer fit-out that nostalgically recalls Vietnam's French colonial past. Smart hand-made floor tiles mix it with faded floral wallpaper, marble-topped communal tables, family memorabilia, including a framed black and white photograph of Luke's dad, and yes, even the odd red lantern. The menu blends favourite Vietnamese dishes with Red Lantern classics and a few new party tricks. Traditional goi cuon prawn and pork ricepaper rolls lacked character, but a dramatically piled salad of master stock-poached Burrawong chicken, cabbage and jellyfish has real get-up-and-go. A whole, upright baby snapper in a tomato and beer sauce with jackfruit gives sweet and sour a delicious new twist, and crisp, five-spice quail with beetroot salad is snappy finger food. And rest assured, the noise levels are high enough to drown the loud crunch of you munching your banana fritter. Also at Surry Hills