Longrain Restaurant & Bar, Surry Hills

I'd like to start this post by saying "Immmmm baaccckkk!".....  Yes after a long hiatus what can be more fitting than to sit and share with you yet another fabulous dining adventure with the ever so lovely Gianna. Yes that one girl whom we all love who happens to have an affinity for allergic reactions to coriander at the drop of a hat. I mean what could be better than tempting fate yet again by going to Longrain, a Thai restaurant which has defeated us once before.  Well just as it so happens tonight was a bit of a different story. 

So on the way to a friend's birthday party we were feeling a bit peckish and seeing as though we were in the area we thought why not stop past for a quick tipple and a bar snack before partying the night away. We had not been since Gianna's 2nd 22nd Birthday so why not.  Walking into Longrain brought back fond memories of betel leaves, egg nets and coriander infused dishes that I valiantly ate to stop Gianna from succumbing to asphyxiation. It was a truly Herculean task having to eat all that delicious food. We thought it would be a safe bet to start with only a few drinks but this thought didn't last long as we felt the need to put our names down for a table. Finding an inconspicuous corner we sat and enjoyed one of our favourite ciders (Rekorderlig) and a beer while we mused about the last time we had visited. 

A few things had changed since the last time we had visited. Mainly the fact that I couldn't remember the bar being downstairs. A very nice addition I might add. The bar has a very raw warehouse feel to it with a lot of block-work, concrete, steel, brass and worn out timber. The space is dim with cool looking lights,  a long bar and comfortable camouflaged seating for those wishing to stealthily sip away at their drinks and lapse into a state of chill. It's too easy to get lost in a sea of cocktails and spend your night drinking away in the bar especially because they do bar snacks. One could be content with this and opt to not go upstairs. Having ordered a small snack of betel leaves with prawns, peanuts, roasted coconut and ginger we were contemplating skipping out on staying for dinner but could not resist. 

Sipping away on my beer I thought to myself that this time we had to do things differently, we should both have the chance to enjoy a meal without the possibility of a night in intensive care. We didn't want a certain coriander allergy to come back with a vengeance. As these thoughts were swirling around my head I couldn't help but put it out there in the twitterverse. Then it hit me, the simplest of things to do that we have never done before because of someones 'hero' complex. Why not ask to 'hold' the coriander. No; such an outlandish idea, how can one do such a thing in a Thai restaurant. Well my friends, apparently not. Our lovely waiter for the evening said that they happen to take allergies quite seriously and would do their best to accommodate. Game on. 

Grilled Octopus with Crispy Pork Belly and Watermelon with Cuttlefish and Ginger

Ms G's - Potts Point

Its been a while in between posts here at The Empty Fridge - but rest assured we have not been starving or participating in a pre-easter lenten fast. It's been a crazy few days in our non-food related work life; which is why come the weekend, we can't help but get our Rebecca Black on and be so excited, we we so excited. 

A few weekends ago we found ourselves boozed up as a result of the NSW Cellar Door Wine Festival in Hyde Park. After having spent much of the afternoon tasting some delicious wines; we found ourselves a nice patch of grass and ignored the "not to be consumed on the premises" sticker on our bottle. Great start to the afternoon and no doubt it was bound to get better.

Since we were in the vicinity; quick thinking and a fast cab led us to Pott's Point, with nothing but  Ms G's on our mind. We were seated straight away and true to form the cocktail list was carefully studied. We we we so very excited to try every "packaged" cocktail on the menu.

Fact - I am a bubble tea fiend, and while others dream of whiz bang expresso machines in their kitchen - my ultimate appliance is a bubble tea drink sealer - purely for cocktails and maybe early morning milk teas. A few cocktails are served in heat sealed plastic cups with chunky colourful plastic straws. Im not sure who came up with this idea - Ms Gs Chefs Dan Hong and Jowett Yu or the Merivale Maestro himself, Justin Hemmes. Could it be that Merivale head sommelier Franc Moreu is a bubble tea feind too? Who ever it was that executed my bubble tea dream is a living legend, 10 points for the cool factor.

So yes, i'm a simple girl with dreams of alcoholic beverages in these sealed cups - the idea in itself has me waxing lyrical about Ms Gs - and we haven't even got into the name, decor and most importantly the food yet. Ms Gs, a reference to everyones favourite food additive MSG. I really like the name because back in the days of jigging school and roaming the streets of Ashfield with my bubble tea, my year 12 jersey had Miss G emblazoned on the back. How can you not like a namesake restaurant? We were meant to be.

The cocktails we ordered were very refreshing after a day spent sinking down wine. We were eying the lethal sake list, as well as the paddle of shots however our first tipples (ha-ha rhymes with nipples) had to be the Pina 'Pearls' Colada and the Green Iced Tea. My Pina Colada had little tapioca pearls which i lovingly refer to as goob. With Appleton VX, Havana Club Blanco rum, pineapple, coconut, yogurt sorbet, green pearls it was a fresh and zingy drink that got the party started. Demos' Green Iced Tea had Zubrowka vodka, Cloud & Mist tea, grapefruit bitters, green apple, soda - now whoever said Green Tea was always good for you?

Clockwise from L-R - Communal Cutlery, 6-2-1 aka scientific code for MSG, the front bar with the shot paddles hanging, stairs to the multi levels of fun.

Mini bánh mì- crispy pork belly or chicken katsu ($6 each)
These bite size burgers/rolls/sandwiches was the much needed hit of 'naughty' food we needed to line our stomachs! Having one pork and one chicken variety we were only able to have a bit of each but my goodness it was delectable. The crunch of the meat and the tanginess of the sauce was enough to make you want to order 6 more and we had to restrain ourselves from doing just that.

Of course there was some hidden sneaky coriander in between the buns, but we'll get to that later. Demos is addicted to the chilli sauce and proceeds to cover his serve of the bahn mi - he refers to this as 'Napalming the jungle' with epic sriracha rooster sauce.

We step outside for a breather and run into some familiar faces. The lovely Bianca of Eat Drink and Write blogging fame and her boyfriend Anthony Soprano - a mate of mine from way back are also wanting a piece of the Ms G's action. The place had already filled up with hungry diners waiting for a table. We managed to hustle and swap our lonely table for two and scored a table with our new eating buddies and hi-jack their romantic date.

Above: The front bar and the middle dining level with overhanging ropes and a peek a boo view of the harbour bridge.

Fried baby chicken, Kimchi Mayonnaise (half serve) $15.

Fried chicken seems to be a staple order when we see it on the menu. Just as well as it is because this was really tasty. Crispy and seasoned well minus the super oily headache. It was a shame that we only had the smaller serve as they also do a whole chicken with more pieces. Gives a reason to go back again.