King 143, Modern French

Restaurant King 143

143 King Street

Sydney 2000

9231 0143

http://www.king143.com.au/

You probably walk past Restaurant King 143 every day without knowing it. Its right opposite the Lyric Theatre and its an excellent choice for pre-theatre meals. They also have a four course menu for $60 pp that includes tea &coffee.

Its located just around the corner of Pitt St mall and easy to miss unless you're looking out for the yellow 'Restaurant King 143' sign.

Run by chef Toshi Ishihara, the restaurant offers modern French inspired cuisine with a touch of Orient. The Japanese lady who served us (I think it might have been Ishihara's wife?) was sooo sweet. Best service I've had in a long time :)

Its a cute restaurant and has a very old-fashioned homey feel.

We're served complimentary bread as a starter.

And order complementary drinks to our meal:

We order a Grilled Prawns and Avocado salad ($19.00) as an entree to share. Delicious, fresh and tasty.

I order the special of the day, the Pork Chops with White Wine served with steamed greens ($26.00). This must be the healthiest dinner I've had all week (quite sad actually).

L orders the Braised Lamb Shanks with Mashed Potato ($26.00).

What a find! Its honest, simple and good food without all the glitz, glamour & pretentiousness. I'd definitely recommend it :)

The Good: Great value, great location (right off the corner of Pitt St mall) and genuine service

The Bad: The decor is 'homey' but some might think its outdated..

Ms G's, Vietnamese, Potts Point

Ms G's

155 Victoria Street Potts Point

8313 1000

http://www.merivale.com/#/msgs/msgs

Note: D reviewed this restaurant.

So its Saturday night which means a night out at the newest hottest place on the dining scene. Ever since Dan Hong's chiffon cake was featured on Masterchef, Ms G's is like the coolest kid on the block. But does it stand up to the reputation? Is it any good?

D & 3 other friends planned ahead and arrived early enough to avoid waiting for a table. I've heard the wait can be up to an hour if you go during 6-7pm.

Ms G's is predominantly vietnamese with a western fusion influence. I'm always skeptical about these asian western fusion restaurants because authentic asian food is cheap and simple and western food is neither cheap or simple.

Cocktails

I love these cups! They're so cute.

Mini bánh mì- crisp pork belly or chicken katsu ($6ea)

This was basically a mini vietnamese pork roll. Crusty bread filled with lettuce and pork.

Fried baby chicken, Kimchi Mayonnaise (half $15 whole $25)

A bit small for a whole chicken. Otherwise very tasty.

Char-grilled Angus scotch fillet, two sauces: hoisin mustard & smoked tomato salsa ($32)

QLD spanner crab, broccolini, silken tofu, shellfish dashi ($24)

Pandan chiffon cake, strawberries, coconut sorbet ($12)

This was the dish of the night. I can see why Dan Hong chose this as the 'signature dish'- to D this stood out.

Verdict

Lets start off by saying that the food was good. The only disappointment was that the portion sizes were way too small. The bill came to $220 for a table of 4 but it could have easily been alot more expensive. You could go to any vietnamese restaurant in cabramatta and find half the menu on offer for a quarter of the cost compared to Ms G's- but then again when you go to Ms G's you're paying for the atmosphere and the 'Dan Hong' brand. If you're willing to pay $50-$100 for that, then yes- I would recommend it. But otherwise I don't think we will be returning to this restaurant. There are other vietnamese fusion restaurants that I think pulls off the concept better- for one La Mint in Surry Hills.