Chef Victor Liong of Lee Ho Fook opening Silk Spoon, a casual Melbourne CBD restaurant – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Lee Ho Fook chef Victor Liong is opening a second restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD. The casual eatery, nestled on the terrace of a Bourke Street office tower undergoing a $150-million revamp, will be a boon for city workers.

The building, 500 Bourke, currently counts MoVida Aqui and Rosa’s Canteen among its hospitality tenants. Liong’s Silk Spoon will join them early next year, moving into a 40-square-metre space previously used by MoVida Terrazzo and Paco’s Tacos.

With a menu inspired by the Silk Road trading routes snaking from China to Europe, Liong’s new restaurant will operate from morning to early evening, serving a vast array of vegetable dishes at lunch, with simply cooked proteins an optional side order. Drink-friendly evening menus will hew closer to the Chinese cooking Liong is best known for. Takeaway will also be offered.

Liong says he chose to focus on the Silk Road’s cross-section of cultures because of the freedom it affords. He plans to celebrate…