Kiwi Food Tales

Coffee, Eggs Benedict, Fergburger and more.

You must go to New Zealand for the scenic beauty and adventure sports and the lovely lovely people, but once you get there, believe me, the food is nothing short of awesome. You get pies everywhere and they are nice.

Pies are nice.

Let me give you a heads-up, you can have the breakfast your hotel offers or buffet if at all, OR you can out, not too early in the morning but about early breakfast time and explore the 'EGG'. Did I put the most viral picture in your head.

The Egg Benedict is common at all breakfast places and comes in a platter with a coffee of your choice.

No. No. No. Please don't believe me. Whenever you get there, try it. Then thank me. It is like a race to the top of the 'Eggs Benedict' mountain for every cafe. they have their own style, own seasonings and own toppings. Each is different and better than the other. When it melts in your mouth, you mumble 'Purrfekt!'

And of course, COFFEE was our constant. You need it as you have long road trips and longer days.

Let me give you an overview.

1. Indian restaurants are easy to find.

2. Lamb is the common mutton.

3. Beef is food.

4. Ice cream and sorbet is popular.

5. You don't get chutneys as complimentary.

6. The fast food chains are pretty much the same- Subway, McDonald's and others.

7. You will find pies in every cafe. Don't forget to try 'em out.

8. Fergburger entertains queues like those at ZARA cash counters.

9. Fish n' Chips is over-rated.

10. One dish is assumed to be for one person. The concept of sharing is a little unnatural.

Let me just put it out there that Fergburger is the most delicious burger I have ever had. Not loud enough?

Fergburger is the best burger we've ever had.

Obviously there were way too many beef options but even from the limited range that was available to us, it was Wallah! The burger was juicy and scrumptious. It was worth the wait of thirty odd minutes. Imagine the shop has no seating indoor. At all. And like two waiting benches right outside. (Left) This is me waiting for our burger after having placed the order and the line behind me is for placing the order. I miss you Fergburger.

Let me also point out for you that their definition of spicy is really not spicy. So, if you like your food spicy and if there is an option to make it hot (spicy), then ask for very very hot or like burning hot (two level above medium hot). The Indian restaurants there understand your plight but will not really delight you the the spicy quotient. However, the Indian food has charm no matter where in the world you go. The feeling of fulfillment that you get from chapatis or daal or butter chicken or biryani is beyond comparison with any other cuisine.

Thank you, those who make sure that Indians can find Indian food in foreign land.

Let me also tell you about one of our Kiwi Food Trail that did not end well. So, on our road trip to Cape Reinga and back. We planned to stop at two places- Champion Bakery Cafe and Italian Bakery. Now, this is over a course of two days. So, we left Auckland without breakfast planning to stop at Champion Bakery Cafe for breakfast. And dude, were we blown away. We were really among the first few customers and the pie Oh My God. It was a breakfast we didn't expect. Now our expectations from the Italian Bakery were much higher. A day later while returning, we stopped for breakfast at the Italian Bakery. And dude, we were blown away for unfortunately finding our worst food experience in New Zealand. It was indeed a sad breakfast for me. I need my breakfast, and I want to be able to be thrilled about it. So stop twice or even thrice at the Champion Bakery Cafe but not once at the Italian Bakery Cafe.

Allow me to highlight one place to eat at from each major city we were in when in NZ-

1. Fergburger in Queenstown

2. The Noodle House in Christchurch

3. Hangi Feast (Tamaki Maori Village) in Rotorua

4. Zane Grey's in Paihia

5. 1947 Eatery in Auckland

Obviously we went to so many other places and they were great, but I am only highlighting one each.

So, here is another one for you. Our final supper in New Zealand was grand. I mean we tried to make it special by going to a comparatively expensive place and authentically Italian this time. I am talking about Gusto At The Grand. This restaurant is in the SkyCity Grand Hotel building and is actually a grand experience. We had a a somewhat difficult time with the menu but the staff was at our service. We ordered some sort of an Italian started which was gustoso. And for the main course we settled on a simple Pasta. While we waited second-thinking our choice of ordering a basic pasta at a luxury Italian place in New Zealand, we thoroughly enjoyed our cocktails, and accepted the choice we had made, to eagerly then wait for the Pasta to arrive. When our special authentic vegetarian pasta arrived, we felt as if we were dumbest people on earth. The authentic Italian pasta was extremely consistent in color and did not show so much as a sign of a veggie. It was just pasta. We had no choice but to eat it, right. It was mind-blowing. The flavour of Pasta was like none we had ever eaten in India. It was so simple and yet to so stunning. Now we knew how Pasta was supposed to be. And our date night most definitely ended on a high. Happy stomach, happy sleep.

You can follow us on Instagram and YouTube if you like our tales.