259755 Thu Nov 09 21:27:58 -0800 2000 2 26 International 0 1373050 Please provide recommedations for Auckland, Christchurch and points between the two. Thank you. Trying to gather information for November trip. Thu Nov 09 21:27:58 -0800 2000 0 OPWilliams 1 1373122 Ahhhhh! It's the once-annual request for NZ food! Well, as an expat American in Auckland, I might as well update. Be WARNED, however, about dining out in NZ from late November to January. NZ tends to shut down for Christmas. Many good restaurants are fully booked for all of December with large office parties; these same places then shut down for part of January from Christmas to Epiphany or even later. If it's not a casual eatery, call first and make a reservation!!!! Another WARNING-- In Auckland, avoid the eateries on Prince's Wharf! Yes, it's downtown. Yes, there's about 10 to 15 restaraunts there. It's the biggest tourist trap imaginable, and since the America's Cup finished, the restaraunts haven't kept their quality up, from what I hear. If you're coming from the US, you lucky person, you'll have the advantage of an EXTREMELY favorable exchange rate. If I was you I'd take advantage of it and eat at some better restaurants. If you drink wine, may I recommend the Te Mata and Bradford vinyards, both NZ wines praised by an oneophile friend of mine who came to visit recently. Auckland-- Chinese - Empress Garden on Jervois Road. Reservations recommended, even though the place is a very basic eatery. The place serves a pleasing blend of Cantonese and Szechuan. Peking dumplings and soups are recommended. Korean - Nol Bu Ne on Queen Street, next to Real Groovy records (a very large store, so you can't miss it). The atmosphere is not winning, but the food can't be beat for a flavorful, varied cheap meal. Indian - Khyber Pass Tandoori. This is a new one for the list. It's at the top of Khyber Pass Road near Symonds Street--astonishingly good and cheap. They do a brisk lunch trade feeding computer geeks from nearby offices, and I'm unsure of their evening hours. Also Moghul on Lorne Street downtown. Also Rasoi vegetarian Indian on Karangahape Road, right near upper Queen street--don't let the cafeteria atmosphere scare you. Try the dosai (South Indian/Fijian crispy rice crepes filled with a delicious rich potato curry) and the rich lassis. Get roti flatbread instead of rice with the curry plates--it's good. Cafe - Bistro Bambina on Ponsonby Road and the Organic Food Cafe immediately beside it. The "cafe food experience" is very NZ. Japanese - Ariaki, downtown under the Air New Zealand building. It's very accurate--intimidatingly so. Also, the Sushi Factory on Vulcan Street downtown--one of those places with a conveyor belt that the sushi comes out on. I love that place! Be cautious about sushi in general. I once saw a nigiri-style sushi at an Auckand sushi bar made with cooked strips of bacon and a sliver of raw avocado, bound to the rice with strips of nori....... Thai - Sawadee Thai on Ponsonby Road. Mmm mmm. Seafood - Seamart, and Seamart only! Avoid Harbormaster and Kermadec if you want to eat in the company of people who aren't locked into corporate frozen-ness. Actual human beings on their own time and dime go to Seamart, and the food is priced for actual human beings correspondingly. A new restaraunt, Mikado, has garnered lots of praise and has a dramatic view and dramatic price tags to match. Fancy European - Pluson on St. Mary's Road, my eternal favorite. I was there about a month ago and had the best french onion soup of my life and an appealing Quartet of Meats--venison, lamb rack, beef filet, and a chicken tenderloin, each in its own elegant sauce. Pluson remains almost a local secret. Pluson does tend to get booked up in December, and to shut for the first three weeks of January, so call ahead. I've also had Five City Road strongly recommended. Go there if you want to take advantage of NZ's dreadful exchange rate over the US dollar-- a four-course prix fixe is about $75 NZ, but when you convert that to $35 US, it's an incredible bargain. Italian - This is only if you're really craving it. Non Solo Pizza on Parnell Road. I'm not very impressed with Italian food in Auckland overall. Meat Pies -- I'm going to deviate from a local favorite here (Ponsonby Pies, closes at 3 PM) and instead cite Peter's Pies and Pastas on upper Queen street as my favorite. They're also open until about 6. To me, they have the pie/meat balance just about right, and their pastry is flaky and durable without being overly architecturally sound, i.e., you can cut it with a knife and fork. Tasty pies and they do a pie/french fries/salad plate that's a great mix of rich (pie and "chips") and light/tart (the salad and its viniagrette). Okay. Christchurch. Um. I've visited Christchurch a few times--and I find the restaurants there very consistently good. Unfortunately, my memory for names ISN'T as good. Dux deLux at the Arts Center for funky bohemian NZ food (smoked salmon and cream pasta recommended)....and here we get vague. Also at the Arts Center, on Saturday and Sunday, there are some of the coolest, most varied food trucks I've ever seen in my life. I've never seen Eastern European food trucks anywhere else. They do something like a big, light latke/potato pancake topped with meats and vegetables and sour cream. There was the great French place just a block from the Arts Center. And the Greek place a few blocks from there--was it La Taverna or Santorini? And there's this restaurant strip along the Avon river through downtown that, unlike Auckland's Princes Wharf, is a safe bet for a good and intriguing meal. I also got guilty pleasure from the messy souvlaki kebabs done by the Greek takeaway place right off Cathedral Square. Two or three or four dollars---I don't know if they were good so much as that I miss Greek food, which doesn't exist in Auckland. In Christchurch, AVOID the Oxford roast restaraunt! It's not very good, for all that it's a major tourist attraction, and the "roast" potatoes are not roasted -- they're deep fried!!!! Hope all of that was helpful, Emily Cotlier Sun Nov 19 03:58:26 -0800 2000 1373050 0 Emily Cotlier 1 1373123 "You didn't mention Kaikoura?" said my husband, when I told him about this post. I slapped my head. How could I forget? You might be doing it as a day trip from or on the way to Christchurch. And if you're not...well, read this..... Today, Kaikoura is a small town on the east coast of the South Island of NZ. The place name "Kaikoura" translates from the Maori language as "The place where we eat seafood/crayfish." A crayfish is the local equivalent of a lobster; some say it is lighter and more delicate. It lacks the heavy front claws. The local ocean ecosystem at Kaikoura is very rich, and there are dolphins, whales, and flocks of seabirds in the area, dining off the sea's bounty. If you can find the Kaikoura marae (Maori community house/sacred space), it's worth visiting for its exceptional and beautiful sculpture and to pay your respects to the area's energy. Summertime is crayfish season. And crayfish are a speciality of the cool but rich Kaikoura waters. If you go to Kaikoura, and you eat seafood, you MUST go to the Crayfish Pot restaraunt. Oh, it's good, if you like seafood. I'm not a huge seafood fan, but I broke down and tried a 1/2 crayfish there and I liked it. Now I have a new, expensive taste. The Crayfish Pot may be crowded in season. We went there off-season and had a very pleasant meal indeed. In Kaikoura, there are also less expensive fish shops that sell cooked crayfish. Kaikoura is absolutely stunning--great glassy waves, undersea kelp tangles, a beach of pure white stones and the rough mountains plunging into the living sea. Wheeling birds, sea lions, whales..... Enjoy, Emily Cotlier Sun Nov 19 04:12:09 -0800 2000 1373050 0 Emily Cotlier