Andrew McConnell’s Moon Under Water, named for a fictitious pub invented by George Orwell, is to be reimagined as Ricky & Pinky, a Chinese restaurant named for the Hong Kong tattoo parlour where the peripatetic, shape-shifting chef received his first ink.

Housed at the Builders Arms on Fitzroy’s Gertrude Street, the restaurant will close on August 8 and reopen in its new incarnation two weeks later. While the public bar will remain untouched in the revamp, the walls separating it from the existing bistro will disappear, opening onto a dining room with seating for 130 pax, round tables equipped with the obligatory lazy susans, tanks stocked with clams awaiting a date with the XO sauce, and an open kitchen headed by Archan Chan.

Chan has previously held senior roles at McConnell’s Cutler & Co, Golden Fields and Supernormal restaurants and recently wrapped up 12 months at Sydney’s Moon Park.

While her background in Hong Kong will influence the menu, Ricky & Pinky will have a pan-Chinese vibe rather than a specifically Cantonese one and will rely on original creations rather than popular dishes from McConnell’s previous Asian ventures.