Bootleg Bar and Italian Restaurant, Potts Point

Hello friends. Apologies for the brief absence, no excuses here - just be assured that I have missed you friends of the fridgers. Now lets get back to all things boozy, tasty and ridiculously good and forget about me going M.I.A. and slipping into a black hole of bleagh.

 So here we go...  Let me start with a confession. I dont consider myself as bonafide foodie; I don't fit the description of "Living, Breathing and OBSESSING over food" which is quite odd for a food blogger, no? The focus of this blog has always been about the experience - the good times and the fun times involving food. I've had a thinky thinky moment while I've neglected this blog and realised that although I do love a great meal; I'm more about the experience, the stories, the atmosphere... the fun, getting people together, the memories. Queue segway...

Good food experiences shared with a bunch of friends make for a great night out. Along with our friends Lu and E; Demos and I led the way to our venue for the evening. Bootleg was buzzing with the Potts Point crowd and was pretty busy for a school night - we were able to score a table in the back corner and get acquainted with a medium bodied bottle of Negroamaro. Such a thirst quencher on a balmy night and not too heavy to overpower the meal ahead. The lighly battered calamari ($17) could not be ignored on the menu. Light and crispy; we fought over the last few pieces and drowned them in lemon juice. Simple Pleasures really.

The arancini that came next were not your usual standard Italian fare ($10 2/pc). Topped with a tangy and almost relish like tomato sauce with some bitey provolone - it was a taste sensation; especially as we bit into the crunchy coating through to a treasure trove of more melted provolone.

Once inside and away from the hustle of Kings Cross, once can be forgiven when thinking about Bootleg as an escape. Framed photographs with scenes from a very hip circa 1990 New York era put a smile on my face as did the boomboxes and random religious statues. They could be channeling Harlem or Queens or Compton perhaps - without overdoing the kitsch factor and making it feel like an awkward themed Christmas party venue. Comfortable booths and tables line the walls and the neon lights above the bar give Bootleg a subdued liveliness..save the bright lighting for the Coca Cola sign around the corner.

Yum Cha at The Eight, Haymarket

Its amazing how your weekend can be dictated by your dining experiences. You shuffle dinner plans, catch up over breakfast or as often is the case for us - lunch after a big night out to cure some serious hunger pains! What better way to sort this out than with a big Yum Cha lunch at The Eight Chinese Restaurant in Haymarket. By the time Demos and I stumble around and adjust our eyes to the light of day, it was 1:30 pm on a Saturday and being a self proclaimed yum cha veteran - I knew it would be peak hour madness.

After shoulder charging through the crowd to get a precious ticket, we use our smarts and avoid the heaving crowd and wait it out at the adjacent Chatime cafe kiosk. Hydration when its needed the most! I think with any weekend Yum Cha visit - you have to know what you are in for. Let's be honest here - and I'm not speaking just for my immediate friendship group..but Yum Cha is THE BEST HANGOVER FOOD and we were at The Eight for this very reason.

That being said there are aspects of Yum Cha that do not appeal to that particular state of being. The crowds and the never-ending wait can definitely tip anyone over the edge, add to that the Yum Cha boss lady on a power trip with her portable microphone machine.. its survival of the fittest. If that doesn't break you then i'm sure the fluorescent lights will.

But enough about that, once seated - if its food you want, then its food you are going to get! With Yum Cha, I always feel like its luck of the draw. You either get a good table where all the trolley ladies seem to pass, or a pretty average spot in the corner where you get all the boring dishes leftover. This instance, we were seated with a prime positioned table and as long as the wait was - the food came hella quick. See that tidy table pictured above? Its about to get messy!

I practically tackle every lady with bamboo steamers in their trolleys to get to my favorites - Steamed Pork Siu Mai and Steamed Prawn Gow Gee. I was quite impressed by the generous size of these dumplings and both were very very tasty. We were off to a good start with these two dishes.

Before even denting our dumplings, another lady with a tray of Peking Duck Pancakes passes by and I immediately grab her attention. I know from experience that you have to fight for these and that you have to be quick! Again, impressed by the generous chunk of duck in the pancakes - not just a sliver of meat here! The skin is still oh so crispy and both the duck meat and the pancake wrapper are still very warm. The plump meat with the sweet hoisin sauce made me want to hunt that tray down again!

The Fern, Redfern & a Dessert favorite.

"Poached eggs, smoked bacon, bacon gravy over english muffins" have I got your attention now? Because seeing that description on a breakfast menu certainly did, and boy did it get my heart in a flutter. But we'll get to that again later. Weekend Breakfasts are definitely our forte here at The Empty Fridge and boy do we love them. The more interesting, the better and everything about The Fern has grabbed my attention thats for sure. It is another eatery located in the up and coming fipster (foodie hipster) mecca of Redfern.

Gone are the days of Redfern being a rough and tumblesome neighborhood, dining precincts are popping up around the 'hood and what better way to spend a Saturday morning than getting to know a great new venue. Of course we start our mid-day (thank you weekend sleep-ins) with standard piccolo latte's. The freshly roasted Gravity Espresso blends from Melbourne add some cool coffee cred to The Fern, and of course a good caffeine fix is just what we coffee fiends need to get cracking.

 Things slow down once the coffee comes, and I do believe it's a tactic to get everyone calm down and enjoy the quirky surroundings. Taking advantage of some recent sunshine we prop ourselves in the courtyard and spot as many mini chairs and random objects we can find. The restaurant could just be mistaken for any small terrace in the area if it wasnt for the bustling customers dropping by. The "front yard" is quaint and leafy with added pops of colour from the mini chairs - super nostalgic for those childhood days when i'd actually fit into one of those kindy seats! Mis-matched furniture, vines and herbs growing and even a little chilli bush is quite a relaxing surrounding and fipster points for having issues of Vice and Acclaim magazines on hand.

 Now here's what we came here for.. the food. Grab on to your screens folks and behold The Fern Benedict. An English Muffin topped with two poached eggs, thick cut smoked bacon rashers and BACON GRAVY. Forget about your standard eggs boring-dict, this slaps it right in the face.

Oozy Egg. If this dish sounds a bit too sinful for you, don't fret. This breakfast dish is not just about the shock value, but very delicious also. The Bacon gravy isn't overpowering at all, and reminds me of a thin pasta carbonara sauce when the egg is mixed into it. Very very tasty - and that bacon? Thick rashers of bacon  is the healthier bacon option right?

Apertif with Chefs Miguel Maestre & Manu Fidel

"Am I the only chef in Australia who cooks these days?" the firey Miguel Maestre jokes as he spied his other half Manu Fidel demonstrating some suave salsa moves to a group of swooning women. It seems so fitting that over the weekend, Manu has taken the "Dancing with the Stars" crown.  Not that I ever watched an episode but I was definitely engaged in the playful banter that these two chefs were throwing around.

 How can one refuse and invitation aptly titles "An intimate evening with Manu Fidel and Miguel Maestre" yes ladies, let your imaginations run as you wish with that line! Demos and I found ourselves at Aperitif in Kings Cross (or Potts Point, whichever you prefer) which is owned in partnership by both chefs. I was very excited to re-visit this restaurant after it changed hands last year, having only previously stumbled through the front gates after some late night boozing.

 As soon as we walk in we notice the very striking decor - Demos comments that its a far cry from the old late night cafe that also occupied the space, Deans (im told they made the best snickers milkshakes known to man) The space was filled wall to wall with mostly women and poor Mr Demos gave me the distinct "Why did you take me here glare" Fangirls stopped both chefs in their tracks and both Manu and Miguel were so eager to mingle and pose for photos - it was lovely.

 And now for the tapas! 

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.