Hong Kong, New Zealand and Indonesia in 6 weeks

3 countries in 6 weeks was madness when you equate that to a total of 8 flights and 62 hours up in the air. I'm going to condense all that in.......a single blog post.






Onboard the Aqua Luna. Probably the most relaxing thing we did in Hong Kong. They have these day beds on the upper deck where you could kick back and chill out with a glass of complimentary tipple. The light breeze and gentle rocking of the boat as it sailed from Tsim Sha Tsui pier to Central was enough to put my jet lagged self to sleep.







The real Hong Kong.






The make believe Hong Kong........I mean Disneyland. The girls (Lil L and her cousin) LOVED it while their mothers looked like death warmed over. 36˚C heat and high humidity are a killer combination. Not to mention lots of strategic maneuvers to deter a few fierce mainland Chinese tourists from jumping the queue MULTIPLE times and pushing our kids away from us. Scary.








I can't help but heap mega compliments on the amazing Crystal Lotus restaurant at Disneyland Hotel. The service, setting and beautiful chandelier...... I had to make a reservation and pre-order these special character dim sum. Not cheap but definitely worth the splurge. The character dim sum weren't only beautiful to look at, they were absolutely scrumptious. Just don't get the jellies...... They were kind of meh....

The staff really went out of their way to ensure that certain ingredients weren't added into my food. This is a lifesaver for those of us with severe food allergies or intolerances.






Next up.............New Zealand





It'd been 5 years since I've been back home to New Zealand. There were lots of catch-ups with family members and old friends, some of whom I haven't seen in 20 years.






I decided to take my parents and Lil L on a road trip, traversing through the Mackenzie Country on the alpine route to Queenstown. The journey took an extra 2 hours (a total of 8 hours) because we HAD to stop here and there to gawk at the stupendous landscape with snow capped mountains in the background. My parents and Lil L had just discover photography so all three disappeared in a flash the minute I stopped the car. Okay, okay.....so did I.




A quick flight from Christchurch to Auckland and then onwards to Hong Kong with an overnight stay before yet another flight to Jakarta AND a shuttle to Bandung. Yes, I'm feeling exhausted just reading this too.






A makeshift cafe utilizing recycled metal containers as stools. European style cafes are only just beginning to become increasingly trendy in Indonesia even though the country is ranked 4th in the world for coffee production. Surprisingly, the figure doesn't translate to actually having a coffee drinking culture like we do here in the west but that's starting to change now.







Traditional kue (Indonesian spelling) or kuih, as they're called in Malaysia. I made my poor cousin drive me back to Sari Sari twice because I couldn't get enough of their delectable snacks.






Dusun Bambu directly translates to bamboo village. The architecture and interior have an undeniably bamboo theme which made the place so unique. It has a resort feel where you can hire a bamboo hut or a suspended bamboo pod (no, I'm not kidding!) for a meal and a snooze fest.






The floating market in Bandung was a little gimmicky. There weren't many operating food sampans when we were there. Food hygiene wasn't high on their list either. Having had a 24 hour fever and an upset tummy from suspected food poisoning, I wasn't particularly keen to risk another episode of pain.



6 weeks of traveling came and went in a blur. Before I knew it, we were back in the U.K. As you can tell, I'd completely forgotten about outfit photos while I was away.





Wearing a 5 (or was it 6?) year old Karen Walker dress, panama hat, K.Jacques St Tropez sandals and CLUSE watch (available in the U.K here).






This Isabel Marant parka has been featured so often on this blog that you're all probably sick of it. I managed to nab this Isabel Marant dress on eBay from a reader. Lucky coincidence, I should add! Did you notice my blinged out Miu Miu sunglasses? A bling or two doesn't cut it so I might as well go all out.





Isabel Marant jacket, T by Alexander Wang t-shirt and R13 crossover waxed jeans.

My "can't be arsed to dress up" outfit which consists of The Kooples hoodie, The Kooples sweatpants, Golden Goose sneakers, Miu Miu sunglasses and ASOS t-shirt (amazing tee for only £6!!)

My favorite places in Auckland

I decided to compile a list of my favorite places in Auckland. We'll have to start with food as I seriously can't contemplate doing anything on an empty stomach *grin*

Favorite cafes
I guess you can call me a creature of habit or perhaps, loyal to businesses that provide me with exceptional service. I've been going to Bambina at Ponsonby for years and pretty much stick to my regular order of breakfast salad. It consists of lettuce, rocket leaves, shavings of parmesan cheese, pieces of ham, a poached egg and a slice of toasted ciabatta bread. There's a large communal table right in the middle of the cafe with the latest magazines which I devour along with my meal. Ahhh, perfect day to spend a lazy Saturday.

Or, if I prefer a more substantial meal, I head over to GPK which is a mere 2 minute stroll from Bambina for yummy wood-fired pizzas.

Favorite Yum Cha restaurants
THE place to go for ambiance and the best yum cha in town is either Grand Harbour at the Viaduct or their sister restaurant, Grand Park at Greenlane. I promise you that the yum cha is just as good as what you'll get in Hong Kong (their chefs are from there) and the service is speedy too. However, a word of advice, book in advance or better still, get there by 11am or else you'd better be prepared for a long wait.

Best Fine-Dining Restaurant
The French Cafe. I've written about it here. There's only one word to describe the food. WOW.


Favorite shops
When it comes to shopping, I avoid malls like the plague. The only mall I'm not allergic to is Selfridges where everything is laid out systematically and it's easy to navigate from one department to the next. Don't get me started on Harrods......

I adore catching up with a girlfriend and strolling down Ponsonby Rd to check out the local designers. The food scene is pretty darn good too. Uh oh, I'm back to talking about food. My apologies. You've got the likes of Superette, Karen Walker, Widdess, Natalija Kucija and more. Adorno stocks all the popular international brands such as K Jacques, Phillip Lim, Hanii Y, Velvet by Graham and Spencer etc. Next door, MeiMei used to stock the only Jimmy Choos in town but they've moved to more edgy brands since.

Newmarket is another staunch favorite of mine. No visit to the area is complete without checking out the largest Karen Walker store in Auckland. The service is always terrific. I've been going there for a decade and bought my wedding dress there which was originally an evening dress.

Best Vietnamese Restaurant
The best Vietnamese restaurant which goes by the strangest name I've heard " Try It Out" which I guess it's better than the Flying Horse, Golden Horse, Golden Phoenix or worse, 888. It is located in Otahuhu, not a particularly nice suburb and the decor is rather tatty BUT boy, do they have the best pho and banh mi in town! Their clientele consists of mostly Vietnamese so you know you're in the right place for a decent meal.

Enjoy Inn at Greenlane, Auckland

My absentminded hubby decided to book a family get-together yum cha meal at Enjoy Inn, a Chinese restaurant at Greenlane, Auckland. Clearly, he'd forgotten our last meal there almost 5 years ago where I found a sharp and jagged shard of plastic in my food. We approached the manager there whom we knew fairly well from years of patronage. To our disbelief, I was accused of foul play. We paid, left and never stepped foot in the restaurant since. Until today.

We waited half an hour for someone to bring a pot of tea after 3 requests. 4 reminders and an hour later, our plate of deep fried squid arrived. By then, the children were ready to climb the walls from extreme hunger. Oh, and let's not get into the repeated requests for them to serve the yum cha dishes to which I was informed curtly to wait for someone to push the food trolley over.

The carpet was filthy and looked like it hasn't been cleaned in years. The glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf dish has gone off and stank to high heavens. I showed it to the duty manager who made a face when she took a sniff but quickly recovered and retorted that it was fine. All she said was that she'd "cancel the order" for the dish but no apology was offered. I wasn't impressed with the plate of limp looking choy sum veggie I'd ordered.

 I took a peek at the kitchen and I'm beyond disgusted by the black gunk on the walls and dirty kitchen.

The panel under the tank broke and all the pumps and pipes are exposed, not to mention filthy.

 They're selling these "fresh" fish to their customers. Imagine eating these fishes from a tank that hasn't been cleaned in years and water filled with faeces from the fishes. Imagine eating these fishes!!

Look at the blackened walls of the tank. I caught a glimpse of "something" swimming in there. The lobsters were drowning in a tank of murky yellow water whereas the fish were swimming in a tank with walls so filthy, you could barely see any living organisms in the water. Can you believe that they received an A grade for cleanliness and hygiene?!

I've learned my lesson well. Never EVER again shall I eat at this disgusting restaurant.

The French Cafe, Auckland

The French Cafe is an institution in New Zealand. They have won countless awards ever since they opened their doors. This year, they won, yet again, the coveted title "Cuisine Restaurant of the Year". Hubby and I took a client to The French Cafe years ago but sadly, we didn't try their tasting menu. Since it was our 10th year wedding anniversary recently, I decided the momentous occasion required an unforgettable meal.

Unfortunately, due to time constraint, we were only able to try the 6 course tasting menu (which was actually 7 as the first dish is complimentary). Luckily, it was only 6 courses because I was bursting at seams and could barely walk out the door. Conversely, hubby who has a bottomless pit stomach could easily inhale another 4 dishes. If given the choice, I'd always choose simple food served at little hole in the wall type restaurants. I've sat at tiny stools slurping down noodles by the roadside and shared simple peasant-type meals with Chinese officials. I rarely, if ever, frequent fine dining restaurants. Hubby has always prefers quantity over quality though, I think after 10 years of marriage and being dragged somewhat reluctantly to numerous food markets, trattorias, bistros and cafes, he's slowly coming around.

First one up is Amuse Bouchon, a complimentary dish which is a concoction of gazpacho jelly with tomato sorbet and an orange infused wafer. I never thought to marry the flavors together but somehow it worked beautifully.



This was followed by sugar cured salmon with crab, avocado puree, shaved fennel, tiny but sweet orange slices and drizzled with vanilla dressing. I normally avoid raw food but this was delicious! Who would've thought vanilla dressing would go so well with raw salmon?



Hubby's eyes lit up when he saw a dish with meat on it. Caramelised pork belly with seared scallop, celeriac puree and black pudding. I can't fault this dish either.


The next course was apparently the chef's signature dish. Roasted French goats cheese with caramelised onion and beetroot tart with red wine syrup. A beautiful edible Borage flower was placed on top of the cheese.


I couldn't wait to dig into my pan-fried snapper with lobster, asparagus and pea risotto and lobster consomme and iberico ham. My only complaint was that it was slightly too salty. However, it could very well be me as ever since I cut down on the sodium intake, I've been finding food at restaurants too salty. The peas and asparagus were sweet and cooked just right.


To cleanse the palate, green apple sorbet was served. The sorbet was covered with butterscotch foam with apple compote as a base and a sprinkling of spiced bread. The chef and owner, Simon Wright is a master at experimenting and fusing flavors together. I could easily eat another glass of this.


Our last course was chocolate souffle tart with caramel, orange, hazelnut double ice-cream. I'm still dreaming of this delectable dessert. I ordered a cup of flat white and I was surprised to find the coffee over-brewed and bitter. Our ever cheerful and attentive waiter offered to make another but we had to dash for hubby's meeting. All in all, it was an unforgettable culinary experience. Not to be missed!

The French Cafe
210 Symonds St
Auckland
New Zealand
Tel: 09 377 1911

The Cupcake Collection

One cannot miss the bright pink counter with all the exquisitely made cupcakes and iced cookies at Riccarton Mall. Since I've been away for so long, I had no idea there are now shops upstairs at the 1st floor. This located at the far end at the foodcourt. Little L who normally isn't a fan of cakes insisted on trying a snowman cupcake. It wasn't bad at all. The baker is certainly an artist. Check out the amazing details and fine workmanship on the cookies! Impressive! They were tons better than the cupcakes made by Primrose Hill or Lola's Kitchen at Selfridges.








This cookie Christmas tree was sold for $150. Having iced cookies myself on numerous occasions, I can imagine the amount of painstaking labor that has gone into making these.


The Cupcake Collection
140 Colombo Street
Beckenham 8023
(03) 332 8432

Or

Foodcourt at Riccarton Mall

Akaroa

Akaroa means long harbor in Maori. It's the largest French settlement in New Zealand. What attracted the French in the 1800s was the lucrative whale trade as the oil from the mammal is used to light the street lamps of Paris. In 1840, 62 French nationals arrived aboard Comte de Paris to settle in two neighboring towns, the other presumably Duvauchelle which is a short 10-15 minute car ride away.


The view as you're driving on Motorway 75 into Akaroa


I've just noticed a sheep lying on its side. Somehow I don't think it's playing dead.




Off to see Hector's dolphins, one of the smallest and rarest in world. The population of Hector's dolphin has dwindled to a mere 8000. The cause of this? Humans.


The Akaroa lighthouse began its life at Akaroa Heads in 1880 but was moved to the township 100 years later where it is currently situated.


Cannon


These gigantic cast iron cauldrons are in fact called try pots. They were initially built into the deck of whaling ships where blubber (fat of the whale) is boiled to make whale oil. These two try pots are located on Beach Rd, right on the waterfront.


Pohutukawa tree or our Kiwi version of Christmas tree. It's native to NZ.


Due to the recent massive earthquake where the epicenter was in Darfield, Canterbury (located less than an hour from Christchurch), a lot of buildings were affected. I saw many that were cordoned off with a warning note stuck on a visible place. Here, the chimney has cracked and is supported by wooden planks.


The jetty at Akaroa where one can be relieved of a massive fortune to see Hector's dolphins.

Lunch was at Bully Hayes which came high recommended by Tripadvisor. It's an alternative from my first choice, Vangionis which only opens for dinner. It's not cheap but that's to be expected in a very touristy town. My fish and chips wasn't bad at all. The service was cheerful and professional despite incessant demands from my traveling companions.


Scone baked in a terracotta pot


Fish and chips


Kiwi burger. Beware it's MASSIVE!


Smoked salmon with kumara mash

We stopped briefly at Barry's Bay cheese factory which is located on Motorway 75, a skip and a hop from Akaroa. I'm ashamed to say that I've seen their cheeses at the supermarket all these time but never really checked to find out where they were made.


Making Gouda cheese.