New Zealand Part 3 - Lake Tekapo

We couldn't believe the view that was presented infront of our eyes when we got to Lake Tekapo, the colour of the lake stunned me. It was so calm, blue, clear and absolutely pure. At first I almost thought it was artificial, or something is playing tricks with my eyes, that's how unreal it seemed like. For that one amazing moment, I actually thought we were in a completely different realm, like somewhere that doesn't even belong to Earth.

We decided to take different photos at different times from the Church of the Good Shepherd, just to reinforce the beauty of it. I loved the scent of the Lavenders, as they stood still under the sunset, glowing. We then stayed up until 1am that night, and managed to capture a few shots of the night sky. Trust me, this is the clearest sky you can ever find in the Southern hemisphere, and the wait was totally worth it.

In the morning, we saw this small cafe called Run 77 and decided to give it a try. Boy that was one of the best decisions we've ever made.

So here are what we have ordered for that lazy morning by the lakeside...


One thing I noticed was, the table actually formed a picture-perfect background for the food, I absolutely loved it!! Ok so um...I was staring at the Hot Chocolate with two marshmallows and really thought of doing a smiley face with it or something. It was sweet and rich, with loads of chocolate powder (yes I love them), I really liked it and it was one of the best I ever had.


Bun ordered the breakfast plate, full of eggs, potato, sausage, tomato, bacon and bits and pieces. It was neatly placed on the plate, and felt like it would seriously boost your energy level to start the day.

Ok, this was something I totally fell in love with. It was spinach and cheese, inside that amazing pastry. After I finished this, the plate was literally covered in golden flakes, and the taste of the combination was like throwing you next to the heater in cold winter, just what you wanted.


Address:
Village Centre State Highway 8
Lake Tekapo 7945, New Zealand

Phone number:
64 3 680 6900


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We also found this Japanese restaurant by the lakeside...

I liked the traditional decorations inside, like those handcraft objects or the curtains.



 I've ordered the typical lunch box (Tempura Bento Box) with tempura, tofu, vegetables, sushi, sashimi and chicken. Comparing to Australia, I have to say I felt $33.00 for this was a little overpriced. Though the food was still nice, but nothing too special or surprising. The good thing about this restaurant was its location, and you can pretty much see the Church of Good Shepherd and the lake without any interruption outside the window.



Address:
State Highway 8
Lake Tekapo 7945, New Zealand

Phone number:
64 3 680 6688

Opening time:
Lunch:
11am - 2pm

Dinner:
6pm - 9pm (closed on Sunday)


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*To Be Continued*

Coming next: Christchurch and Akaroa

New Zealand Part 2: Queenstown

Hello again! Hope everyone had a great start of 2013 and a good Christmas/New year holiday there! Now I finally get the time to go back writing my posts for New Zealand trip, here's the entry about Queenstown...


After 1 hour something of flight, we saw the realm of endless mountains, transparent rivers, and clear blue sky. The first breath of Queenstown was magnificent, we felt as alive as ever.

I've totally anticipated the moment when we stopped at the Skyline and we just couldn't wait to take a ride on the Gondola. The view was breath-taking, so great that I felt like I'm above the clouds.



We arrived at our table to find a perfect panoramic view of the alpines and flowing rivers, it was unbelievable to dine here.


The restaurant itself was huge, with groups of tourists gradually showing up to fill the tables.

They had a wide range of selection too, although I guess the main focus here is still seafood.


Here's my first plate, full of slices of beef that just got cooked on the spot, the fresh prawns, the potato and vegetable salads, and my favourite salmon and prawn roll wrapped in warm pastry.



I decided to go abit lighter with the second plate, so I grabbed a big chunk of Salmon, plenty of lettuce and cauliflower, another salmon and prawn roll, and a bowl of pumpkin soup (ohhh it's so delicious!). Ummm...ok the little cupcake was an accident (as if!)....actually I couldn't wait so I had to grab one!!



Finally, the plate of flooding desserts! I got the chocolate and caramel mousse, brownie, coffee cake and some other caramel cake. They were quite sweet so I couldn't indulge as much as I wanted to...

It was a brilliant meal and totally worth it, I would recommend this visit to anyone who goes to Queenstown.


Address:
Brecon Street Queenstown 9300
New Zealand

Phone number:
64 3441 0101

Opening time:
http://www.skyline.co.nz/queenstown/opening-time-qt/


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Some of the sceneries along the road trip around Queenstown/Milford Sound:

I took this at a pond I found on the way to Milford Sound, and the trees formed a perfect frame for the mountains in the background.



This is Milford Sound, the eighth wonder of the world?? The view was stunning! Highly recommend a boat ride there!



In a country where there are more sheep than human beings, no doubt they look so relaxed and happy everywhere!



One of our other stop was at the famous Fergburger place, we first noticed this place from Tripadvisor and decided to see why everyone loved it so much!

The place was actually quite small with very limited tables, and it was full of people in every corner! Surprisingly they also had a Japanese menu, guess there must've been alot of Japanese tourists coming to this place too.

The tables and seats are very limited, so we were very lucky to have found one after our order.


Here it is! The burger that's bigger than your face!


We couldn't believe how good the burger tasted, and the ingredients used here were so fresh and fulfilling. The only thing you gonna worry about here is probably how to eat it! I tried bitting it but had an epic fail, you can't seem to consume a mouthful even if you opened your mouth to the maximum width!



Our favourite city of the South Island trip is probably Queenstown, just because we were totally amazed at its sceneries. The beautiful mountain peaks were still covered in snow when we got there, which created numerous photos that could be used as post-card materials! We loved the air there, it was 200% pure and clean! If people ever get a chance to visit New Zealand, Queenstown is definitely the place you wouldn't want to miss out.


Address:
42 Shotover Street Queenstown Town Centre 9300
New Zealand

Phone number:
64 3441 1232


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*To Be Continued*

Coming next: Beauty of Lake Tekapo

Kobe Jones

Kobe Jones is located at King Street Wharf, looking out to The Star. The view there was magnificent, especially at sunset time.



As soon as we walked in, we noticed the design of this spacious restaurant. It was very tidy, with a sense of romance. Somehow I adore the contrast of red and black colours, as it's like the contrast of sugar and spice, very different but mixed together to form the essential elements for a good meal.

The atmosphere here was definitely excellent, and we just couldn't wait to see what the nightfall will bring to us behind the huge windows.


Now onto the food...

They had lots of deals on so we managed to grab some vouchers from Spreets, for the spring menu at $69pp with 13 dishes served over 7 courses.


Kobe Jones' signature crab salad with avocado

Avocado and seafood is just the most perfect combination I can ever imagine, it's so fresh to start off. It only took one bite to enjoy that blob of awesomeness.



Tantalising tasting plate (clockwise from top): Freshly shucked akuma oyster, calamari panko, seafood poke, lollipop sushi, saffron spider roll

If you ask us which dish was the most appealing one, we would point out the lollipop sushi. It was such a creative presentation where all the seafood just get wrapped by a thinly peeled cucumber to form a circular shape, that just makes you want to pick it up and eat it like a little kid. This one is definitely the winner out of all! Others weren't too bad, but rather abit too ordinary.



Chilli Wagyu tenderloin tataki

Tataki was always a nice little cold dish for entree, and we were quite pleased with the addition of chilli sauce. The onions served also add a bonus flavour where you won't get too much meaty flavours in the mouth.



Flamed scallop carpaccio

The tiny pieces of Hokkaido scallops with the drizzles of wasabi came at the perfect time to clear away any residual flavours in our mouths :)



Agedashi Tofu

From all the previous dishes, we could tell that Kobe Jones was very generous with the portion of their dishes, but we had no idea the Agedashi Tofu would be this GIGANTIC!!! While this may be good for some, it was abit overwhelming for us. Mainly because we had the image of a small portion of soft and wobbly fried tofu...This one certainly wasn't wobbly, and it wasn't that soft either. The core was actually abit dry and it just seems impossible to finish this. So as you can imagine, we only managed to eat half way until we totally gave up ><



Bondi roll

This dish was my favourite out of all! Whatever that spicy secret sauce is, they certainly worked absolutely well! Maybe the presentation was a bit messy but the taste totally made us forget that point. It was very hot, the prawns were totally immersed into the chilli sauce and every bite burns like a volcano eruption.



Slipper lobster tobanyaki

I remember reading the menu beforehand saying that this dish was "Western Australia slipper LOBSTER meat on a bed of rice with mushroom and Kobe Jones' seaweed butter, BAKED in a special CREAM sauce", see where the highlights was? Although, I admit it was quite a creamy dish...and it can make you feel quite full if indulged too much.

Wagyu hot rock

We were so excited as it was a DIY dish, and it was WAGYU beef! Mmmmm....so when this hot rock arrived, the waitress gave us a piece of fat so spread evenly (god that delicious aroma just rose into the air and gone straight into our nostrils). Then we put all our meats on the rock and watch it sizzle happily next to eachother. After a few minutes of waiting, flipping, staring and squeezing our chopsticks, they were finally ready! Look at them, those juicy meats were smiling at us...so satisfying!

(By the way, it's Bun at the bottom corner. Guess he will be popping out sometimes on my pictures...)



Kobe Jones tiramisu (the other choice was Flaming anko)

Ok, here comes our regret for the night. It wasn't bad, but just normal...so when we saw the waitress brought out the brulee inside that pot full of blue-orange flame, we wish we could've just swapped our one immediately. Even though we didn't know how that dessert tasted like, but the visual effect certainly amazed us!!


This deal was absolutely worth it! We don't think we have been to a lot places where the portion of the dishes were much more than we expected, but Kobe Jones is definitely one of them! Their dishes were also very creative, that fusion of Japanese cuisine and Californian twist was outstanding.



Address:
29 Lime St, King Street Wharf
Sydney

Phone number:
02 9299 5290

Opening time:
Lunch:
Mon - Fri 12pm to 3pm (open for lunch Christmas Day and Mother's day and closed on other public holidays)

Dinner:
7 days from 6pm


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