Kiwi Grub — Blue Trainer Travels

Te Waipounamu is well known for its beautiful landscapes that will leave you speechless and planning your move to New Zealand. Everything is gorgeous and well taken care of. However, the one thing that I most enjoyed about our time on the South Island was the food.

I'm a terrible food blogger. I don't always take pictures, and sometimes I don't remember the dish that I have had at some places. However, I do remember the places and most importantly, whether you should travel all the way there. Let's face it, although Aoteora seems like a small country when you are looking on the map, going anywhere involves dedication and in my case, mental preparation for the drive.

Our first stop on our trip was Christchurch. I found the town strange because it felt like it's a city still being rebuilt after the last earthquake. Many places, including the church, are still in ruins and you'd hoped that they would have restored it by now. Regeneration does lead to new and upcoming places and Christchurch has a few of those.
The Terrace is one of the new areas that has fantastic restaurants, and we had enough energy to go to at least two of them during our time there. Amazonita is cool. The restaurant makes you feel like you've stepped into the jungle and the food is good. One thing that I did find interesting was the presence of affogato as a dessert option since the menu wasn't Italian inspired. Never the less I also added that to my "Must try" list whenever it's on the menu.

We also went to Chiwahwah Mexican Cantina Bar which had a huge platter to share which J and I spent a long time trying to finish it. The food was delicious, and the drinks were expertly made, I'm pretty sure I left full and tipsy - personally a perfect combination.

If you only have one night in Christchurch, then you should have dinner at the Tramway Restaurant. It's a fantastic way to see the city as night descends while having a three-course dinner complete with wine pairing. I highly recommend it as an experience. Just don’t have a bottle of wine before you go or else you will be quite drunk at the end of it (or don’t have an early train the next day).

From Christchurch, we made our way North to the wine region of Marlborough and took refuge in Blenheim. Blenheim was surprisingly a small town and the food options that were there really impressed us. We went to two cafes for breakfast Figaro's and Ritual Cafe. Both have outside seating areas, although you might not want to sit at Ritual Cafe due to it's close proximity to the main road. The Huevos Ranchos, which is what I had, will distract you from the pollution. The pancakes at Figaro's are a must eat.
We also found The Tamarind Restaurant, serving South Indian food which attracted us because it said "dairy and gluten-free" on the sign outside. I mean those are the main ingredients of curry, in my opinion, so I was interested in tasting their take on it. Let me tell you - you will not be disappointed if you go here. In fact, please add it to your visit list when you go there. The owner was very helpful and gave us some must-see vineyards as we were going to be going wine tasting the next day.

When it comes to wine tasting, the first tip I have is to plan ahead. Many companies can take you around. Admittedly you may not go to the places which you want to depending on their itinerary, but you will find something that you like. We pretty much winged a lot of our experiences in New Zealand, although it worked out in the end. In essence, we might have had a better experience had I (because really let's face it, J goes where I say we go) planned better. Before the thought even gets into your mind, no. No, we did not drink and drive. Drinking and driving are not tolerated at all in New Zealand - you need to pretty much have 0% blood alcohol levels - so we used taxis. At every location, they are happy to call you a cab to either the next place or home if you have had enough. We went to Cloudy Bay and did a Cloudy Bay Indulge Experience. You get to taste five of their best wines and bubbles, and I definitely recommend it.

The next place was Moa Brewery which is next door to Cloudy Bay, so if you have a designated driver, it's a short drive, but also a walkable distance. J did a beer flight, and although I am not much of a beer drinker, I did have his delicious rhubarb one.

For lunch, we went over to Wairau River, a family run vineyard. . I highly recommend booking a table, especially if you are visiting New Zealand during peak season as you wouldn't want to miss this place. I had an Asian Salad, and it was the most amazing dish I had had so far on our trip. J had the WR burger, and from the way he devoured it, it clearly was not your average burger.

From there, we walked to The Vines Village, a cute place where you can buy some gifts or if you're into gin - you can do a gin tasting here. I thought this was the funkiest because you didn't have anyone telling you about the gin. However, it might have been handy, but you could go through the tasting experience on your own and discover the tasting notes. Ultimately by the time, we finished that, I was well and truly drunk :P

The next stop on our whistle-stop tour was Havelock, a town in the Marlborough Sounds famous for mussels. We stopped here for a break and some fuel, and we popped into Captain's Daughter for a late lunch. I've always had mussels in tomato sauce, this was not an option here, so I went for the grilled version with butter. Let me tell you. This is how mussels are made to be devoured. The simplicity of the dish left me wanting for more, and I don't think I will ever have mussels in tomato sauce ever again.

We spent the night in Marlborough Sounds before making our way down the West Coast towards the glaciers. The weather was not great, so we didn't really spend a lot of time there. If you do visit Lake Matheson, there is a lovely cafe serving some exciting food options such as goat pie. I'm sure the menu is seasonal, but it's definitely worth a stop.

Our journey continued onto Queenstown, where the food options are endless. As one of the bigger and more popular towns, there are a lot of fantastic options, but I wanted to try Fergburger because that's all everyone spoke or wrote about. The queues are real. I live in London and queuing for the latest fad is very typical. The first time around, I had a Little Lamby. I'm pretty sure I had a foodgasm. It was juicy and literally melted in my mouth. J had the Ferg Deluxe, which he loved it so much that we went back again. The great thing about buying a burger is that you get a discount at their sister cafe that serves ice cream. It was a welcome treat after J tried to get me to go for a hike. (I say tried because we abandoned it very early).

Te Anau was our next visit. Although we were disappointed that we were unable to continue on to Milford Sound, it did show us that it's also just as unique and deserves a chance. There are several options for food here, my favourite and therefore my recommendation is The Fat Duck. J had a duck salad which he highly recommends, and I went for the fish and chips, which were surprisingly very well done. Definitely worth a visit. There is also a cafe called The Olive Tree Cafe which we didn't visit, but we did have some of their creations. If that's anything to go by, their food in the cafe will be just as amazing.

Our journey around the South Island concluded in Lake Tekapo. When we arrived and had set up camp, J was desperate for a beer, and I was desperate for food. The Blue Lake Eatery and Bar delivered both in spades. The food was terrific, the sharing platters are a must, and their craft beer and wine selection complement the food well. I highly recommend any of their sharing platters. I was worried that we weren't going to be able to get a table because it was quite busy, luck was on our side. I do recommend that for any of the more popular places in New Zealand that you book before you can to avoid disappointment.

The scenery on the South Island made me want to move here for a little while, but the food really solidified that for me.
Have you been to New Zealand’s South Island ? Where was your favourite gastronomic place there?Share in the comments below :)

Much love xx