As a family we spent many of our school holidays visiting relatives in the coastal town of Napier. It was about six hours’ drive from Auckland, a long way to go with two restless children in the back, so we’d break our journey in different places along the way. Paeroa was a sleepy little North…
Category: Restaurants – let’s eat chic
Restaurant reviews, recommendations, eating out
Kiwi Cuisine 1: Growing up in The Land of Milk and Sheep.
I can’t remember exactly when I became a foodie, just that I would rather be run over by a double decker bus with a memorable meal in my stomach, as opposed to a mere lettuce leaf or two. Growing up in New Zealand we were unknowingly lucky and healthy. None of that GM food nonsense or EU…
One Night in Paris and London
Monsieur trots off to Paris for work. I stay in London. Yesterday morning on the way to the tube, Monsieur and I preview our days ahead. “Darling,” I say, “you’re so lucky. You’re going to Paris for meetings, have a cocktail event in the Louvre tonight, you’re staying in a lovely hotel with very soft beds and really…
Malaysia Part 12: In search of bound feet shoes
Back in London, I had been planning our Malaysian itinerary when something in the guidebook caught my eye: “Wah Aik, 103 Jalan Kubu. Renowned for making silk shoes for bound feet. With foot binding no longer practised, the shoes are now lined up in the window as souvenirs, at a mere RM75 per pair.” I…
Malaysia Part 11 – In the Night Market
Melaka was livelier in the dark than she had been in the daylight. Once we’d bade farewell to Cedric, we walked across to Jonker Street, past the miniature windmill surrounded by a perfect bed of flowers that would look more appropriate in Disneyland. It was a very different place to the one we’d left that…
London bites – Street Hawker
London is full of wonderful places to eat, both with or without Michelin stars, but as most Londoners will attest, some of the best eateries are local secrets. Street Hawker is one of ours. Located so close to Maida Vale tube stop that it might as well be part of the station, Street Hawker is tiny,…
Taverna San Trovaso, Venice, Italy
The Taverna San Trovaso has been a mainstay of Venetian dining for a great many years, with a faithful following that includes Yours Truly. When I was an intern in Venice (many years ago), this restaurant served as a home from home for our group of foreign students. Its warming atmosphere exuded from everything – the staff, the rustic decor and, naturally,…
The MITE-y wars
One of the best things about the weekend is Vegemite toast. I love Vegemite toast. Coming from south of the equator, as I do, it is natural to like Vegemite. It’s one of the most praiseworthy Aussie creations and pretty much everyone I know from Australia or New Zealand eats it in some way, shape…
Malaysia Part 9 – Melaka Moments
As Monsieur had selected most of the hotels for our Malaysian holiday, I decided to find something a bit different for our time in Melaka. Trawling tripadvisor, I found repeated reference to the Hotel Puri, its fabulous antiques and themed rooms and the über-efficient Madame Jo who ran front desk. If the five-star hotels we’d…
Malaysia, Part 8: Hey Mambo, Melaka!
We were soon to leave the island state of Singapore to return to Malaysia, but first we enjoyed a last breakfast on the terrace outside The Line. There was no more rain. Isn’t that typical? It had rained off and on the whole time we’d been in Singapore but on our day of departure the sun…
Malaysia/Singapore Part 7: Bumboats and hotpants
Monsieur and I left the bowling ball bullfrog behind on Clarke Quay as we jumped on a bumboat (a.k.a. junk) to take us up the Singapore River. It was late afternoon grey as our almost empty boat set off from the jetty. Up the green river we went, under the pedestrian Riverwalk bridge and adjacent…
A Tale of Two Mexicans in Paris
‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’, or so they say, but what about ‘when in Paris, eat as the Mexicans do’? Deciding to turn our backs on canard and moules and other typical French fare, Monsieur and I felt like dining on something different. That’s how we came to experience two very different…
Epicurienne 