受澳大利亞美食啟發而開的餐廳：口渴的考拉（The Thirsty Koala）
在這一系列的有機和非轉基因餐館之旅中，我們將您帶到紐約的阿斯托利亞（Astoria），到一家受澳大利亞美食啟發而開的餐廳：口渴的考拉（The Thirsty Koala），這裡交通便利，距離Astoria－Ditmars Blvd NW地鐵站僅幾個街區。
餐廳的標誌是一個可愛的考拉拿著一杯啤酒和一個大型玩具考拉與她的寶寶在餐廳門口迎接您。
我們進入餐廳時，廚師凱瑟琳熱情地歡迎我們，介紹她過去六年為其食客提供澳大利亞風味美食的過程。
聽說澳大利亞人在家鄉吃的甜點是多麼的美味後，我們決定偏離常態，直接先品嚐甜點。
我們嘗試的第一道甜品是Pavlova，一種以蛋白甜餅為基礎的，加上鮮奶油，草莓，獼猴桃，藍莓和百香果的甜點。寫到這道甜品時，我對那美味的口感依然回味無窮。儘管它不含奶製品，卻有一種柔軟，輕盈地融化在你口中的乳酪般的味道。
Pavlova帕夫洛娃
第二道甜品是Lamington，這是一個海綿蛋糕，使用有機雞蛋，有機椰子，有機椰奶做成的，無乳，無麩質。吃起來感到很舒服，因為您知道它是有機的。
Lamington 拉明顿
第三道甜點是用椰子脆餅做的酥脆甜焦糖片。它有焦糖層和一種Callebuat比利時巧克力，是餐廳自家融化的，並在表層添加一些海鹽。如果團員沒提醒我，緊接著還有更多的美味菜餚可以品嚐，我還真想再多吃一片。
Caramel Slice焦糖片
為了增進您的食慾，您可選擇LSA Bowl，這是由亞麻籽/亞麻籽，向日葵種子，杏仁，有機自製椰子汁，新鮮水果，屋格蘭諾拉麥片，龍舌蘭和nigella種子組合成的開胃菜。
LSA Bowl開胃菜
如果你喜歡海鮮，這裡有一道菜你必須嘗試，那就是野生緬因白水貽貝，海鮮蝦和香腸的海鮮飯。單單地看著這道菜就讓我直流口水。
Seafood paella海鮮飯
烤羊羔羊肉是不容錯過的。這就像回到過去吃牧羊肉的日子裡，而不是吃著現代美國商業化食品工業生產的商品化肉類。這道菜漂亮嗎？這就像欣賞一件藝術品一樣。
烤澳大利亞荊棘種子和草藥結痂的牧羊排與佛蒙特楓葉釉南瓜，芝麻菜和石榴種子。
如果您喜歡吃一點辣味菜，不妨試試紅燒的杜佈雷頓（Dubreton）豬肚。
您知道Dubreton是北美第一家獲得Humane®認證的豬肉生產商嗎？令人欣慰的是，肉類來自允許在開放，無籠子的天然環境中生活的動物，在整個生命週期內不使用抗生素，不注射激素。
紅燒豬肚橙薑辣椒釉
如果你喜歡雞肉，他們有來自喬伊斯農場的雞肉。味道很棒！
用燒焦的檸檬甘藍和大蒜土豆泥混合在一起的不含麵筋的喬伊斯牧場雞肉
餐廳使用自家花園種植的有機蔬菜烹製特色菜餚。看著這張圖片裡的各種傳家寶西紅柿，茄子，甜椒，西葫蘆和檸檬黃瓜……讓我想起了我年幼時，奶奶為我們準備了從菜園中採摘的新鮮蔬菜烹調的美味菜餚……這張圖片給我帶來了過去的甜蜜美好回憶……
有機蔬菜的菜園（以上圖片來源皆為看中國）
餐廳菜單隨季節而變化，以確保您吃的食物是由最新鮮的食材做的。
我們一定會再次回來，品嚐更多廚師凱瑟琳的創新菜餚。因為她是一名負責任的廚師，為了食客的身體健康，懷著一片愛心，提供給食客們野生海鮮，來自牧場動物的肉，來自花園裡的菜，搬到餐桌上，無麩質。在這裡用餐，很放心。
當您來「口渴考拉」用餐時，告訴服務員您有對任何食物的過敏，他們會滿足您的需求。
In this series of our Organic and Non－GMO trail，we bring you to Astoria in New York，to a restaurant inspired by Australian cuisine：The Thirsty Koala，conveniently located just blocks away from the Astoria－Ditmars Blvd NW train subway station。
The restaurant’s logo is a cute Koala holding a mug of beer and a big size toy Koala with her baby greets you at the restaurant entrance。Serving Australian inspired cuisine to its diners for the past six years，Chef Katherine welcomed us warmly as we entered the restaurant。
Having heard so much about the delicious desserts that Australians enjoyed back home，we decide to deviate from the norm and jumped straight into the desserts。
The first that we tried was the Pavlova，a meringue based with fresh cream，strawberries，kiwi，blueberries and a passion fruit cooling。My mouth still waters as I am writing about it。It is soft，light and melt in your mouth with a cheese－like taste although it is diary－free…Mmmm…。
Next we have the Lamington which is a yellow sponge cake using organic eggs，organic sugar with organic coconut milk，dairy free，gluten free。You have the comfortable feeling eating it because you know it is organic。
The third dessert is the crunchy and sweet Caramel slice which is made with coconut shortbread。It has caramel layer and a Callebuat Belgian chocolate that is melted in－house with some sea salt added on top。I would love to eat another slice had I not been reminded that we have more dishes ahead to try。
To stimulate your appetite，you can order the LSA bowl which is a combination of Linseed/flaxseed，Sunflower seeds，Almonds，organic housemade coconut labneh，fresh fruit，house granola，agave，and nigella seed。
If you like seafood，here is one dish you have to try，Wild Maine whitewater mussels，gulf prawns with chorizo paella。Just simply looking at the dish makes my mouth waters。
The grilled pastured lamb dish is something not to be missed。This is like going back to the olden days where you can have pastured lamb instead of the commercialized meat produced from today’s American commercialized food industry。
Isn’t the dish beautiful？It is like enjoying a piece of art。
If you like a bit of a spice in your meal，try the braised Dubreton pork belly。
Do you know that Dubreton is the first pork producer in North America to receive the Certified Humane® certification？
It is comforting to know that the meat come from animals that are allowed to gaze and live naturally in an open，cage free environment，without anti－biotics，injected hormones for their entire life span。
If you like chicken，they have pastured chicken from Joyce farms。Finger－licking good！
The restaurant uses organic vegetables grown from their own garden for their special dishes。Look at this picture displaying a variety of heirloom tomatoes，eggplant，bell peppers，and summer squash along with the lemon cucumbers…。It reminds me of my younger days when my grandmother cooked for us vegetables freshly picked from her vegetable garden…it was sweet memories brought back to life by just looking at the picture…
The restaurant menu changes with different season to ensure you get the freshest ingredients available。
We will definitely come back again for more of Chef Katherine’s innovative dishes，assembled together with love and concern for her diners’ well－being；striving for wild seafood，meat from pastured animals，garden to table，gluten－free。
Chef Katherine is a responsible chef。You feel safe eating here。
Tell the waiter of any food allergies when you visit The Thirsty Koala。They will cater to your needs。
