Ms G's, Potts Point

If you happen to see the numbers 621 on your ingredients list, you know your food is gonna taste good because it has MSG! Ms G's name is a play on the notorious flavour enhancer used in many Asian restaurants, reflecting its modern take on Asian food and presumably how delicious the food tastes as well.

Mini bánh mì - crispy pork belly or chicken katsu - $6.50

The restaurant decor is quirky, with jars hanging from the ceiling and mismatched cutlery and plates on each table. The menu is designed to share with snacks, smaller share plates and larger, more substantial dishes. We start with some mini bánh mì with crispy pork belly and chicken katsu, both with pickled vegetables and sandwiched between soft buns. Both of these were delicious, with the chicken katsu having more of a crunch and the pork belly being soft and tender.

Ocean trout tostada, green papaya, guacamole, red nahm jim - $19

The Smoking Panda, Sydney

I always get a little thrill when I find the doorway to a hidden bar. It's that rewarding feeling of solving the puzzle of where the bar entrance is, and of knowing something that's maybe a little bit secret.

That's how I felt when we walked into the Hotel Coronation, a dingy looking pub on Park Street that I've walked past hundreds of times. We knew there was a small bar around here somewhere but it certainly didn't look like there was one when we entered the pub. We wandered upstairs to what I think was the actual hotel guest rooms (yep, definitely no small bar there), back down the stairs again, and up another flight of stairs where we began to see the fluorescent glow of pink neon lights of The Smoking Panda.

Blackberry and Sage Smash - $17

There's an old skool Chinese takeaway restaurant feel in the decor, with booth seating and Chinese restaurant-style chairs and tables, but we wander past these and the lanterns straight over to the bar, where we fix ourselves up with a cocktail or two.

Interestingly, the drinks list deviates from the Chinese theme, with an American slant on the cocktails and a big focus on bourbon - there's more than 50 types of bourbon available from the bar! Our first cocktail of the night, the bourbon-based Blackberry & Sage Smash is fruity but not too sweet, with the tart blackberry and lemon flavours layered over the bourbon.

Georgia Peach - $17

The Georgia Peach is also a bourbon-based cocktail with fresh peach and mint over crushed ice, making for a refreshing drink.

Blue Lagoon - $17

We spy someone order the Blue Lagoon, a lurid blue drink that by all accounts was actually quite tasty. That blue stuff? That's blue curaçao, gin, vodka, lychee and dragonfruit which is topped with a lemonade foam and popping candy. We got a little taste of the lemonade foam which tasted kind of like a Sprite creaming soda.

San Choy Bao - $5 each

The Rice Den, Chatswood

Tempura quail egg skewers (6 eggs) - $8

Those that know me will know that I love food on a stick. Even more when it's been deep fried. And the deep fried quail eggs from The Rice Den are no exception. The eggs are soft and have a slightly runny yolk, and are encased by a crisp tempura batter and drizzled with a sticky teriyaki sauce.

Sesame prawn toast soldiers (3 pcs) - $6

The Rice Den is the newest addition to Chatswood's burgeoning dining scene. It's a small restaurant with Asian comic strip images adorning the walls, and a combination of two-person tables, large wooden tables for shared seating and bar style seats. The food is a mish mash of Asian cuisines rolled into the one restaurant and given a modern twist. The sesame prawn toast soldiers are a good example of this, with the Chinese prawn toast, Japanese wasabi mayo dipping sauce and the overall presentation of the dish being reminiscent of the Western boiled egg and soldiers.

School prawn stack - $12