So for someone like me to happen upon a place like Claret House is probably a bit of a waste, but I know a fancy time when I see one and these guys have got the goods.

This review only just touches the sides of what Claret House has to offer, as my visit involved a quick few glasses of white while my posse waited for our friends’ nuptials to begin over on the river.  They offer a wide range of sparkling, reds, whites and in-betweens, but also available is a lovely dinner and dessert menu, as well as cheese platters.

JPC happened to know the owner, so we were attended to promptly when our group of 8 descended on the Claret House porch front.  The smartly dressed waiter quickly assessed our (limited) requirements for thirst quenching and presented us with a couple of recommendations that were capable of satisfying our budget and palates.

A beautiful setting for an afternoon glass of French wine and a cheese platter, the Claret House porch is located down under the old Wool Stores in Teneriffe and is a great people watching spot.  Inside is a cosy, old school cigar-bar style get-up; a long, old wooden bar with a few lonely stools and a wall lined with a range of reds too great to even contemplate counting.  The ceiling of old wooden chairs hanging precariously overhead is a nice touch.

Back to our uncultured party of 8…we cracked a bottle of the Waipara Hills (NZ) chardonnay ($42) and the Domaine Schlumberger pinot blanc (very French and not sure on the price tag!).  Our crisp, clear medicine was poured into the most beautiful and delicate tall stemmed white wine glasses and imbibed with consummate ease.

Needless to say, we were all impressed with the ambience, service and range of wines available at Claret House – if it weren’t for the wedding we had to get to, I’m sure we would’ve settled in for a few more rounds and sampled the menu as well.  I’ll definitely be returning to sip a few more of their delicious whites, accompanied by a plate of creamy local and overseas cheeses.

• Claret House Wine Bar, Shop 5 36 Vernon Tce, Teneriffe +61 7 3257 0402

Having received a tip-off from Jetsetting Joyce that Grasshopper was offering 25% off takeaway for a limited time, I couldn’t wait to download their menu and make a choice of dishes for dinner.

I would like to point out that since it was just a takeaway order, I’ll not be able to comment on the ambience, service and food presentation that could only be experienced when dining-in. So this review is all about the taste of the food from this restaurant.

Jestsetting Dad and I are partial to both Vietnamese and Thai food, so we chose a bit of both from the menu. We started off with the green papaya salad with carrots, herbs and nahm jim dressing ($15). The strong presence of mint leaves and coriander , together with some crushed peanuts in a tangy and salty dressing gave the salad a refreshing taste which was good for the sticky summer weather.

However, the pad thai with chicken ($17) was a disappointment. It was just some stir-fry soft noodles with chicken, bean sprouts, a few egg strips and crushed peanuts and pak-choy(!). The chicken pieces were char-grilled and the smoky taste totally overrode what should be the subtle sweet, sour and salty taste of an authentic pad thai.

We ate the Thai green chicken curry with chicken and asian herbs and vegetables ($17) with a small serve of jasmine rice ($3). The curry sauce was some dark liquid which could probably indicate a heavy-hand with the soy sauce.  I thought I could detect a hint of coconut taste but wasn’t sure as there was none of the creamy coconut milk normally found in a traditional Thai green curry.  The few chicken pieces were moist but the veggies weren’t worth mentioning (the downside of takeaway food, veggies turn yellow and soggy). Overall, the curry was quite spicy but generally too sweet, leaving the mouth with an unpleasant sugary after-taste.

I’m open to Asian food with a modern twist but the original basic elements like flavour and ingredients have to be retained. The dish has to taste good too, irrespective of its “re-incarnation”. As Grasshopper is offering only takeaway dishes this week (dining-in returns at the weekend), I have a suspicion that the head-chef is on holidays, hence the sub-standard fare we had. Perhaps I will dine-in one day in the future to find out if the food is any better.

Update: After this review, the owner of Grasshopper contacted us. Ariane responded to our comments in an extremely positive manner, apologising for the poor experience and letting us know that our feedback was valued and had been passed onto the kitchen. She also offered us a voucher so that we could try the dining-in experience. Ariane’s proactive and genuine wish to satisfy customers should be commended and rates a HOT from us.

• Grasshopper Asian Kitchen, Shop 6, 36 Vernon Terrace, Teneriffe +61 7 3252 8622