What to eat in New Zealand

Would you believe that this is a bagel? Fricken Chicken (NZD$13) from Best Ugly Bagels is presented with its hand-rolled and baked bagel as base, spread of red pepper pesto, then topped with chicken, crunchy slaw and drizzled with smoked garlic aioli. Yummy! 😍

Mamaku Blue - the multi-award winning winery has more to offer besides its famous wine and liqueur. Made from the finest blueberries from its own orchard, this Blueberry Soft Serve Ice Cream (NZD$5) is velvety and berry berry yummy! 😜

Our Singaporean "teh peng" (iced milk tea" has made its way to New Zealand! Introduced as an exotic flavour, this Singapore Milk Tea (NZD$5/Regular; NZD$6/Large) from Chatime (@chatimenewzealand) is super smooth and creamy. 😋 Well, it's unsurprising as NZ milk is known to be premium.

But because of that, I can't relate how it is Singapore Milk Tea. 😅 I recall teh peng that we usually get from kopitiam (coffeeshop) has that familiar "siap siap" aftertaste. Unlike the strong hints of spice in Thai Milk Tea, I wonder what's our Singaporean tea flavour notes. . . 🤔

This is a cookie bar! Cookie Time has so many different cookies, we were so spoilt for choice. Some interesting ones include Lemon & White Choc Cookie, JAFFA & Hokey Pokey Cookie, Blueberry Hazelnut Crumble and Giant Cookie Birthday Cake (Cookie Monster confirm go crazy)! 😆

Well, we just couldn't say no to S'mores (NZD$4). The consistency of the cookies was fantastic. They had a good crunch that is not hard on our teeth like Famous Amos does sometimes. The slightly melted chocolate chips were so rich and smooth. Biting down with the soft and bit chewy marshmallow, perfect. 😍

Cookie Time
Address: 18 Camp St, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand.
Tel: 03-442-4891

One of the good things of being a Singaporean foodie is not being afraid to strike up conversations with fellow foodies from other countries. We met a friendly Japanese working in New Zealand who shared with us the good Japanese restaurants in Queenstown.

We found our way to Minami Jujisei Japanese Restaurant, an award-winning and the oldest Japanese restaurant in New Zealand! 😲 And their lunch deal for donburis are only NZD$12 (no need to tip, no GST, no service charge). 😲😲

We got ourselves Chirashi Don and Salmon Sashimi Don. Glad that the sashimi cuts were thick enough amd fresh but we were super taken aback by the XL portion of Japanese sushi rice. 😲😲😲 Minami pressed the rice down to every corner of that big donburi bowl. As famished as we could be, we just couldn't finish the rice. Thanks to Minami, we were walked out carrying our big bellies.

Minami Jujisei Japanese Restaurant
Address: 45 Beach Street, Queenstown 9197, New Zealand.
Tel: 03-442-9854

Named one of the world's best and bizarre burger experiences by Lonely Planet, Fergburger earned its popularity (look at that snakey queue) and fame for its use of exotic proteins, concoction of the best formulas for the burgers and keeping those delicious burgers at affordable prices.

We had Little Lamby (NZD$12.50) (bottom left pic) and Sweet Bambi (NZD$12.50) (bottom right pic). If Mary had a little lamb, I would send it straight to Fergburger. The Prime NZ Lamb might look plain and innocent but it unleashed powerful flavours with the compliments of its best sidekicks - the mint sauce and aioli! 😋

Not to sound cruel but darling Bambi tasted really sweet and tasty! Grilled crust on the surface but the meat inside was warm pinkish, tender and moist. The gamey flavours of this wild Fiordland deer was played down but the natural sweetness and fragrance levelled up because of the Thai plum chutney sauce. 😍

Fergburger
Address: 42 Shotover St, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand.
Tel: 03-441-1232

Before going for our stargazing expedition, we had to fill up our tummies with some solid food. Kohan was top of our list since it is the number one restaurant at Lake Tekapo. The owner, chefs and staff are all Japanese. Hence, the food is as authentic as it can be in a foreign land with alooooot of food import restrictions like New Zealand. 😎

The Tempura Bento (top pic) has salmon maki, sashimi, teriyaki chicken with greens, beef sukiyaki with broccoli, omelette, miso soup, fruits and a plate of tempuras consisting prawn, cod fish, and veggies. What a sumptuous bento! 😋

Kohan Bento (bottom pic) is like another pandora box where we found fried salmon, fried chicken with tonkatsu sauce, fried prawn with tartar sauce and greens, sashimi, omelette, miso soup and fruits. In NZ, tipping is not required and there is no GST and service charge. So we reckoned we stuffed ourselves more than what we paid for! 😆

Kohan Restaurant
Address: State Highway 8, Lake Tekapo 7945, New Zealand.
Tel: 03-680-6688

Wow, so silky smooth! The consistency and rich flavours of the ice cream and sorbet at Patagonia won us over! 😍 We had Boysenberry, Strawberry & Apple Sorbet (2016 Gold Award) and Dark Chocolate & Macadamias (2015 Silver Award). Looking at the vibrant colours, we can't believe that these handmade ice creams actually have no artificial flavours and colouring. 😲 And Patagonia uses only real fruits for their refreshing sorbets.👍

Patagonia Chocolates
Address: Lakefront, 50 Beach Street, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand.
Tel: 03-442-9066

I can confirm and double confirm that such a good deal is not available in Singapore. Grill a piece 200g Beef Prime Rump on hot stone or get a Land Lover's Trilogy comprising medallions of chicken, pork and beef. The lunch sets come with salad or fries. Besides the joy of cooking our meats, we got to enjoy our meal with the landscape view of Lake Tekapo. What an experience for NZD$18! 😙

Mackenzies Cafe Bar & Grill
Address: State Highway 8, Lake Tekapo 7999, New Zealand.
Tel: 03-680-6886

It is no wonder why Petro's House of Lamb topped the list of restaurants in Christchurch on TripAdvisor, even though the food is only available for takeaway and there is only one item on the main menu. This humongous whole baked lamb shoulder with rosemary and garlic comes with a generous portion of potatoes and cost only NZD$40. The staff recommended us to get the bread ($2) to dip into that sinful savoury gravy mixed with the fragrant lamb oil. Great advice! 👍 We totally loved the gamey flavour, how tasty and easily the meat fell apart. 😍