Ms. Gs

LOCATION
In Potts Point, just a minute’s walk from Kings Cross train station.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Take the industries of cool – fashion, music, food and art – sew together all their latest obsessions with some wit and humour, spread it over five split levels and you have Ms. G’s. The mash-up sees twisted ropes hanging from the ceiling, beer crates used as bar stools, ‘stoner food’ served as share plates, and cocktails heat-sealed in slushy cups and spiked with pearls of flavoured jelly. Tropical tapioca beads float through the Pina Pearls Colada mix of yoghurt sorbet, Appleton VX and Havana Rum for a pre-packaged holiday feeling. Traditional unpackaged cocktails are no less interesting. Liquefied Aloe Vera tastes like Tinker Bell in a cocktail – the pastel green mix of limoncello, Absolute vanilla and crushed lemons is topped with a creamy white aloe vera foam that brings back flashbacks of fairy floss.

The culinary concoction of stoner style, Asian street foods and some creative thinking results in indulgent dishes spruced up to the deliciously inventive level of chef Dan Hong and Jowett Yu. Pocket-sized bánh mì burgers hold crispy chicken or pork belly with tangy mayonnaise and fresh coriander between the bitty buns. Crunchy prawn toast is piled high with mint, coriander and a citrusy yuzu aioli that make a moreish accompaniment with quirky those packaged cocktails. Deep-fried chicken drumsticks with a peppery coating hint at finger-licking junkfood, but aren’t greasy or overly salty, instead having a delicious crunchy edge and tender meat ratio to be dipped in kimchi mayonnaise. A neat pile of noodles topped with shreds of soft braised duck and a poached egg becomes a tangled mess with streaks of yolk and XO sauce. All elaborate nights end with equally indulgent food and the Stoner’s Delight plates up all your late-night weaknesses. A honey-coloured scoop of caramelised banana ice cream is surrounded by a sticky chocolate rice bubble slice, broken pretzels, shards of peanut brittle and goey squares of toasted passionfruit marshmallow.

The restaurant’s tongue-in-cheek name that hints to the enhancing chemical MSG completes its ultra edginess. With so much flavour, Ms. G’s is sure to stay the coolest kid on the Merivale block for a long time.

Edwina Storie