Eat kangaroo meat, avoid Foster’s while Down Under

When comedian Dat Phan uttered the filthy-sounding name of what he considers the best Vietnamese restaurant in Las Vegas, I thought he was trying out some new material on me. Turns out the place really exists and the food is as good as he says.

Still, I was similarly suspicious when another professional funnyman, Paul Ogata from Pearl City (also among the performers at Saturday’s Laughs for Lions charity event), told me about a great place for Chinese food with a fusion twist. It’s in Sydney, Australia — a city that former University of Hawaii football player Paul Manera says has already been invaded by “everyone from Hawaii” for the Rainbow Warriors game against Cal on Saturday.

“It’s called Ms. G’s. Get it? M-S-G,” said Ogata, fresh off a month of shows Down Under.

That sounded as fishy as a bottle of Red Boat. But a quick check online verifies the joint is no joke, and most reviewers back Ogata’s very positive assessment.

Now, eating Chinese food in Australia when you’re from Hawaii might seem like eating Zippy’s chili when you’re on vacation from here in Vegas. Why? But keep this in mind: Honolulu is almost twice as far from Beijing as is Sydney.

Ogata says another good one is a place called Mamak, where they serve Malaysian food.

Scott Harding, the former UH punter from Australia, vouches for Ms. G and Mamak. His favorite spot in Sydney is Sake, a restaurant and bar in a popular area known as The Rocks.

While we’re on restaurants: It’s probably a good thing tipping is not customary … I might mistakenly leave the wrong fluorescent denomination for the server and not have enough left to pay for landing on Boardwalk later.

Just as important as where to go is knowing where to avoid, especially after dark. Locals say visitors have better places to be late at night than the Kings Cross area. My research tells me think Hotel Street … circa 1980.

Our sports department colleague, Brian McInnis, has family in Australia and visits Sydney often.

He gives thumbs up to Bondi Beach, Coogee Beach, Sydney Opera House, Harbor bridge walk, kangaroo meat (“preferably from a restaurant”), and Carlton beer.

Thumbs down go to driving on the right-hand side of the road and “touching random critters.”

Also, McInnis and Harding advise against trying to find an Outback restaurant where you can get a Foster’s beer. In reality, Foster’s is Australian for “We don’t have it here, and you’ll be considered dumber than Ryan Lochte if you order one.”

With the possible exception of Robert Allenby, I’ve yet to meet an unlikable Aussie. Maybe because I enjoy lots of social drinking among fun-loving, friendly people, even when it includes casual use of four-letter words that draw gasps in certain company in the U.S.

Maybe because it can be hard to tell if you’re being insulted.

“Expect to hear plenty of strange jargon,” McInnis says. “The Aussies have perfected the art of bending English like a Down Under version of Beckham.”

If you need some vocabulary lessons, check out Margot Robbie’s guide to Australian slang at http://808ne.ws/2bXa0K6.

One last thing: weather.

Manera said it’s been around 20 degrees the past week in Sydney. Don’t freak — that’s Celsius, which is 68 degrees Fahrenheit. And McInnis says Sydney is in one of the more temperate areas of Australia. It was raining Monday, but the game-time forecast is in the 50s and partly cloudy. You might need sweaters and jackets, not parkas and long underwear.

“You’re ending summer there,” Manera said. “We’re ending winter here. It will be good football weather.”

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.