Ms. G's (Potts Point) - Dan 'The Man' does it again.

Potts Point's thriving food scene has another new opening, this time from the burgeoning stable of Justin Hemme's Merivale group, whose restaurant gestation periods seem to be getting shorter and shorter. It's difficult to recall a month when a hip new eatery of his doesn't pop up somewhere with eager diners flocking in, and Ms G's is the newest kid on the block.

Ms. G's, whose name is apparently a clever take on that polarising ingredient of Asian cooking - monosodium glutamate - is an Asian-themed noshery with a sly nod towards Vietnamese. Once again, Hemmes has corralled the talents of Dan Hong and Jowett Yu from another of his restaurants - Lotus from just around the corner - to provide a funky menu with food designed to share (what modern menu doesn't?).

The restaurant is situated on busy Victoria Street, where parking is usually limited to an insufficient one-hour period, making it inconveniently inaccessible.

The restaurant itself has three levels plus a bar, and decor is decidedly modern Asian: dark walls, black ceiling, wooden furniture, floorboards, ceiling fans, and a touch of jungle fever with thick ropes and hooked miner lamps dangling from above. Luckily, there is also a floor-to-ceiling glass window which has views of Woolloomooloo as well as a touch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (if you look carefully).

The menu is smart food-wise, with an array of starters, raw plates, salads and smaller plates, larger dishes, and desserts. Not extensive by any means, but enough to enjoy a variety of dishes with friends.

This is no fine dining restaurant, as the cutlery-in-a-box on the table indicates, but a more upmarket eatery with much better-than-average service. Even the serviettes are in the metal cutlery box, not unlike the box of no-name tissues common in cheap Asian eateries.

Mini banh mi - crispy pork belly/chicken katsu ($6)

Despite being only open for about a month, the legend of their mini banh mi is already growing, so we chose that as a starter. There is a choice of a crispy pork belly or chicken katsu, so naturally we ordered one of each.

And indeed the legend is justified, as these minuscule burgers are delicious and uber moreish. Little pocket-sized buns of fresh chicken or pork (both super crispy) with fresh coriander and red capsicum, doused in a tangy and sticky mayonnaise sauce is a flavour sensation. We could have had one more each but decided our tastebud avarice was to be avoided so close to New Year.

Crispy spiced tofu and fried eggs, cherry tomatoes, coriander, and Thai basil ($21)

The first larger dish was the tofu, which disappointingly came with only five cubes of the crispy tofu. I always think it is easier to have an even number, but what would I know? The dish was surrounded by segments of tomatoes that were fresh and juicy, as well as two fried eggs. Now, I really love my fried eggs, and they go incredibly well with tomatoes, but crispy tofu? I am not so sure. The tofu were fairly good, but not great, as they lacked a bit of punch and crispiness, and the tomatoes and eggs were scrumptious, but what made the dish was the sauce, which seemed to link the disparate components. We found ourselves mopping up the sauce with the tofu, then with the tomatoes and eggs, until it was all gone.

Fried baby chicken (half) with kimchi mayonnaise ($15)

The second larger dish was our final savoury dish, half a baby chicken deep-fried and served with a dish of kimchi mayonnaise. Half a baby chicken yielded only four pieces, so that was also a little unexpected, but that disappointment was somewhat rectified when we tasted it. The skin was fabulously crispy in a non-oily way, the chicken was perfectly tender, and the balanced herbs and spices used would make Colonel Sanders proud. If the pieces were from a normal-sized chicken, these would definitely give KFC a run for its money in the finger-licking good stakes. The kimchi mayonnaise added that extra-sharp tang and we lamented the waste as there wasn't enough chicken to dunk into it.

It would seem there wasn't enough food to satisfy our hunger, but there was a method to our madness, as we had our eyes and tastebuds on the desserts. There are only four items on the desserts menu, but each one sounded like sugary heaven.

"Stoner's Delight" - banana ice cream, chocolate, rice bubbles, pretzel, peanut brittle, marshmallow ($12)

The awesome-sounding "Stoner's Delight" is a mad melange of six components, assembled haphazardly but in a beautifully enticing manner, making it difficult to decide which part to tackle first. There is the ice cream, which looks decidedly un-banana-like but tastes like a wonderful banana cake; then there are the marshmallows, which are literally pillow-soft and tart in flavour; and then the chocolate rice bubbles squares which are super sweet and oh-so-moreish. Everything was linked by a yummy sticky caramel/toffee sauce, and there was so much of and to the dessert; subtle it ain't but wickedly delicious.

"Jam Doughnut" - cinnamon doughnut ice cream, raspberry jelly ($12)

The "Jam Doughnut" looks a little like a strawberry sundae from McDonald's or Hungry Jack's with bits of doughnut randomly chucked in, but that is where the similarities end. Two big balls of cinnamon ice cream lashed with a raspberry jam (or jelly if you will), covered in whipped cream, and pinked with dehydrated doughnut pieces? Wow. The dessicated doughnut pieces were oddly addictive: crunchy like a biscuit yet retaining all the flavour of a doughnut, and together with the ice cream, raspberry jam, and cream, transformed it into the best jam doughnut ever, deconstructed or otherwise. And once again like the "Stoner's Delight", it was a big portion and great value at $12.

Pierre's last public experience in 2010

Once again, it appears Justin Hemmes has hit the restaurant jackpot. With his eclectic and uncanny blend of casual chic decor, too-cool-for-school music, ambience, and tapas-style plating, there is much to like. Coupled with the prodigious cooking skills of two top chefs and the not-as-yet over-exposed Vietnamese fusion food, there are sure to be loads of Gen-Ys flooding through the door. I, for one, will be back for more, and you should too.

Other reviews:

http://www.theunbearablelightnessofbeinghungry.com/2010/12/ms-gs-potts-point.html

http://gastronomous.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/ms-gs-potts-point/

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