New Airlie Beach restaurant set to turn up the heat

THE Whitsundays may be known for its hot climate, but that temperature has not translated to the region’s cuisine, until now.

A new Korean restaurant, The Red Plate, will open in Airlie Beach on Thursday and is sure to pack a punch for lovers of all things spice.

The Red Plate’s owner Scarlett Park said the new restaurant was born from a distinct lack of spicy food in Airlie Beach.

Mrs Park grew up in Daejeon, a city in the centre of South Korea, and has distinct memories of sitting on the kitchen bench while her mother prepared flavoursome and spicy dishes.

This was one thing she missed after her move to Australia, and so five years later she made the decision to quite literally bring her mother’s cooking to Airlie Beach.

Mrs Park flew her mother over earlier this year before coronavirus restrictions came into place to help start the restaurant.

She is now passing her family recipes to The Red Plate’s chefs.

While Mrs Park admitted she preferred eating to cooking, she promised the new restaurant would bring a taste of Korea to the lagoon-side location.

“It will be the best spicy food in Airlie,” she said.

“There’s so many options; we have pork spicy, beef spicy, all different types of spicy food.”

Mrs Park also hoped the restaurant would provide a “date location” with a bar serving Korean traditional vodka and rice wine.

The menu includes a range of meat and vegetarian dishes with soy and chilli paste based sauces.

The Red Plate will host a grand opening on Thursday and from then will be open seven days a week.

From Monday to Thursday, foodies can sample a taste of Korea for lunch and dinner and from Friday to Sunday The Red Plate will be open from 9am to 9pm.

The Red Plate overlooks the Airlie Beach lagoon next the The Treehouse cafe.

Source: Whitsunday Times