New cool venue just opened in Brisbane

Grasshopper Asian Kitchen - London Woolstores, Shop 6, 36 Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe
Phone: 3252 8622 www.grasshopperkitchen.com
Open 6 evenings from 5pm, closed Tuesday




Grasshopper Asian Kitchen is the newest eatery in the Teneriffe bar and restaurant precinct. Head chef Minh Le has had stints at Alchemy, Seasalt at Armstrongs and the Treasury. Choose from fresh and healthy starters such as rice paper rolls and sang choi bao. Mains look to be tasty too - ocean trout rolled in black sesame seeds with ceveche scallops or a slow-braised beef cheek in Vietnamese aromatic stock. And for dessert maybe try the fruit terrine with fresh berries. Grasshopper's wine list is brief yet interesting, designed by Todd Rumble to compliment the flavoursome menu. Keith Cameron runs the floor. With summer coming on, what a fab place to hang out with friends...

Email going around that i just had to share ...too funny!!!

These were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials .
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Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? ( UK ).

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
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Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? ( USA )

A:Depends how much you've been drinking.
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Q:I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? ( Sweden)

A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
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Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia ? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns , Townsville and Hervey Bay ? ( UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?
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Q:Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? ( USA )

A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe .
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not
... Oh forget it.. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
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Q:Which direction is North in Australia ? (USA )

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
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Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? ( UK )

A:Why? Just use your fingers like we do...
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Q:Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is
Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
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Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia ? ( UK )


A: You are a British politician, right?
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Q:Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? ( Germany )

A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers.
Milk is illegal.
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Q:Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can Dispense rattlesnake serum. ( USA )

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from.
All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
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Q:I have a question about a famous animal in Australia , but I forget its name.. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. ( USA )

A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them.
You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
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Q:I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? (USA)

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
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Q:Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? ( France )

A: Only at Christmas.
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Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )

A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first

Today More Great Qld Produce on offer.....

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries invited me as a guest to a private showcase of fresh, fabulous and different summer produce from regional Queensland.

i met some growers and sampled their produce which are now being used by some of Queensland's top chefs including David Pugh, Matt Golinski, Alastair McLeod...

On the menu:

kangaroo meat
rabbit and hare meat
buffalo milk mozzarella, feta, ricotta and yoghurt
QPIF smart science in native food - desert limes, riberries and lemon myrtle,
rainforest fruit
summer seafood - Red Throat Emporer
more.....
Wines by Ballandean Estate and Jimbour

Vannella Cheese Factory
Buffalo Cheeses ......
“Buffalo Milk”. Until now, the buffalo industry has been renowned for producing meat and working animals, especially for the live trade to Asia. But, now, buffalo milk is making its mark in the dairy industry. Buffalo milk is high in energy and calcium, but low in cholesterol, and while the industry is widely recognised overseas, it's still in its early stages here in Australia.
Bufalina-Buffalo Mozzarella and Buffalo Feta were sensational as was the rest of there range......
www.vannellacheesefactory.com


Gooralie Free-Range Pork

Gooralie is a mixed farming property situated near Goondiwindi, on Queensland’s fertile Darling Downs. After a lifetime of producing lamb and beef the natural way, they chose to grow pork free-range.
let me tell you it is divine, the ham the best i have tasted as good as good old bangalow pork over the border.....
check out there website cute.....
www.gooraliefreerangepork.com.au




Rainforest Bounty
Rainforest bounty is a joint venture value added business between 3 native fruit growers on the Atherton Tableland in tropical North Queensland
current products are created from Davidsons plum,lemon aspen and lilly pilly species
www.rainforestbounty.com.au
the Rainforest plum sauce was yummo !!!


Achachachairu- Achacha Fruit

The Achacha is highly prized Fruit, having been cultivated for centuries in domestic orchards in the tropical Amazon Basin of Bolivia and now guess what ??
we have this fruit growing in a farm south of Townsville.
i love our passionate little qld producers they are always full of surprises......



Taste
Delicious, refreshing, exotic, tangy, effervescent . . . no wonder the name translates as "honey kiss"!
It is refreshing to eat, at ambient temperature, when served cold or even frozen. There is a fine balance between its sweetness and its acidity, creating a unique taste sensation. It has exotic appeal similar to the mangosteen, longan, rambutan and lychee. The Achacha is a cousin of the mangosteen which is known as the "queen of tropical fruit" throughout Asia.
also rich in anti oxidants,vitamin c,potassium,riboflavin and folate
www.achacha.com.au

Australian Native Flavours

Australian Bush Food -

I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the Future Food Forum with Australian Native Flavours at the Maroochy Research Station with the Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries. Craig Squire gave a great talk re: versality and the wide appeal of Australian native foods. Craig is the chef/owner of Ochre restaurant in Cairns. This was of great interest to me because I have always been a little bit wary and I now look forward to experimenting with some of these products.

click on pic below to enlarge info courtesy of Ochre restaurant


Heather Smyth, a flavour chemist and sensory specialist, works as a research and development scientist. She at present is defining the unique flavour of Australian native foods and how best to describe them which will allow a more consistent and accurate representation of native plant foods.

Anne Osborne from the Australian Produce Company is a specialist in the supply of native Australian produce. Some year round Queensland grown Australian native produce incudes finger limes (green, red and pink), bunya nuts, riberries (lilly pilly fruit), lemon myrtle, anise myrtle, cinnamon myrtle, lemon aspen, davidsons plums and native tamarinds.
www.australianproduce.com.au

Another one of my favourite Queensland food producers would be Martha Shepherd from Galeru. Martha and her husband David grow their two native Australian rainforest fruits they have named rainberry and raincherry. Raincherries are fresh and clean on the palette with flavours reminiscent of tart cherry and plum, great in desserts or yoghurt. Rainberries have the intense natural spicy flavour of ginger and cloves. I think these would marry well with kangaroo, turkey or in a chutney.
www.galeru.com.au


This is me with my lemon myrtle lamingtons which went down a treat...

Finger Limes are one of my favourite native foods. They are awesome for salad dressings or garnish on canapes or with seafood. The tiny caviar-like beads explode in your mouth, they are fast becoming chefs favourite garnish or point of difference around the globe.
www.fingerlime.com or www.limeburst.com

Should you be wanting to grow some Australian native bush foods in your garden, contact Graeme White or Veronica Cougan as they own Witjuti Grub, a bush food nursery and are so knowledgable. They have most varieties from the list in the image above.
www.witjutigrub.com.au

Also in attendance was Celebrity Chef Matt Golinski, having whipped up 2 dishes: kangaroo meat garnished with Rainberries and Scallops with finger lime dressing, yummo. Matt is a regular chef on Ready Steady Cook and co-owns Noosa based catering business The Rolling Dolmade. Besides catering, the business also has a meal delivery service and is a producer of Mezze ,which is made from locally sourced ingredients and seasonal produce and is sold at the Noosa Farmers Markets each Sunday. Well worth a trip to Noosa on a Sunday for his products. Or if you should be staying at Freestyle Escape he is one of our chefs available for intimate dinner parties at the house. www.freestyleescape.com.au, http://www.therollingdolmade.com.au

The Orchard, Noosa and more....

Brekkies at Freestyle
haloumi cheese with baked baby vine riped tomatoes seems to be a winner on the weekend at freestyle

Freestyle Escape
check out my pics below of Pomegrenates, Davidson plum in flower and coffee beans woohoo








The Arthouse

oh my lord the outdoor bathtub is awesome i tried it out under a nearly full moon overlooking the lights of the coast, girls would really dig this ..... champers anyone?

Dinner at The Spirithouse
This is one of my favourite restaurants on the coast and its only 15 minutes from Freestyle Escape. The setting here is stunning day or night with large pond and Asian inspired garden. The food is a delight to the senses, amazing combination of sweet, sour and hot (chili), staff are friendly, efficient and unobtrusive letting the setting weave its magic...
Char Grilled Cuttlefish & Pomelo Salad with Red Chili Nam Jim
Crispy Pork Belly with Garlic Chips & Black Vinegar Caramel
Hot Jungle Curry of Pork with Green Pawpaw Pickle
Whole Crispy Reef Fish with Tamarind Chilli Sauce
Wairau River Pinot Gris from Marlborough, NZ..heavenly

day trip to Noosa approx 30 mins from Freestyle Escape
we had brekkie at Organika with girlfriend Leanne who makes jewellery, her business is called young eve with stockists all around Australia. Organika is an amazing organic food store with cafe, menu very small and simple but perfect spot to catch up with glimpses of Noosa river through the trees
www.organika.com.au

then a walk along Hasting street and the beach, beautiful!!
then lunch at Berardo's on the beach
this is one of my favourite little cafes in Noosa, located right on the Beach,
its always a winner for brekkie, lunch or dinner, staff always friendly and food always good. the fish and chippies, deep-fried local snapper with roast garlic and rosemary salted chippies, yummo!! http://www.berardos.com.au/berardos_bistro.html