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Whilst Julie's Parents and Bro's Family changed cars and drove back to Christchurch to fly back to Malaysia, we were on our way to Rotorua...

We were taking another 2 days to check out Rotorua, the only North island place we were visiting... not counting Auckland lah... cuz we were going to just drive straight from Rotorua to Auckland Airport.

Rotorua... is the land of sulphur pools... mud pools and Maori culture...

with limited time at hand we had our days all mapped out...

But first, lets see what we ate there!

McDonalds!... unique burger called "The Boss!" - actually its a mesh of 2 quarter pounders with added tomatoes. We had initially just wanted to try Burger King, which had more unique stuff then Mc'Ds but we ended up here for lunch after helplessly wandering around a shopping venue looking for food... not cheap at NZ$9 (value meal)


After a relaxing dip in some thermal pools at Waikite Valley Thermal pools, we headed back to Rotorua for dinner. We were very afraid since it was late most places would be closed but thankfully after roaming around we came across a whole stretch of restaurants... We went to a pizza place first but it was closing... then wandering to another restaurant, they seemed so busy and would care less of us waiting to be seated, so ahh... we walked next door and stumbled upon the restaurant, "Solace Cafe & Restaurant" which offered us a steak special at NZ$19, which each of us took... it was lovely...


Seafood chowder for Hannah... (it was good with lots of fish and scallops)


& Tiramisu dessert to cap off the evening...


The next day after our trip to Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, we went to Fat Dog Cafe for some of their Nz$9 lunch specials... it was served with rice!

I had the Pork Ribs Special... awesome amount of ribs...


and Julie had the Chicken with Apricot sauce... the rice served was mash like...


Our last dinner in New Zealand was a Hangi dinner - traditional Maori dinner, after an excellent cultural show! It was all cooked via hot stones and steam in the ground... more modern now... but still a traditional method.


All the Kūmara (Maori, for sweet potatoes) you could eat; they were really sweet and nice!


Lamb central... it was a buffet... serving this much lamb is sinful...


Chicken galore... plus potatoes which was served with a thick creamy sauce...


suffice to say... it was an extremely extreme dinner... :p

It's over 100 years old...

and it's still in business...

they must have done something good...

and yes! EXCELLENT PIZZAS!

We came here right after our gondola trip... for a warm, toasty meal... we ordered 2 large and 1 medium size pizza plus a plate of pasta to share among us.

IT seems, their menu hasn't changed since it was first introduced... woo... i bet the prices has though... as the large pizzas were NS$30 each! and pastas at NZ$20.

The minute u enter the building, u are hit by how dark it is... as u enter u think, eh... is it actually open... only when your eyes adjust to the lighting, do u see the ever so dimly lit lights... and a fireplace with real wood still crackling! A top the fireplace as a mantle piece is an old panoramic view of Queenstown... all pristine with trees... not a hint of all the buildings nowadays...


There weren't many people for lunch that day and our food did come quite quickly...

We took a large Seafood Pizza... filled with mussels and chucks of blue cod! worth the $$ we spent!


Next was a large Royal something with all kinds of meat! and smothered with cheese! Lovely


A Small plain pepperoni pizza... also looked lovely...


The pasta was drenched with meat sauce... was nice but normal lah... not as worthwhile as the pizzas... but this was mainly for the kiddos to eat... so it served its purpose...

So if u do stop by Queenstown... and hungry for pizzas, don't look elsewhere... The Cow Restaurant is the PIZZA place to be!

After our Farmtour... we were wondering what to eat for dinner, and upon recommendation by our hosts we drove to Fairlie town... 3km away.. to this restaurant, The Old Library Cafe & Bar.

Wow... we didn't expect it to be a restaurant which had won several national & international awards a few years consecutively... in this obscure town...woo... what a blessing.

Prices weren't to say very ex... but it was considered and indulgence lah.... The deco and ambience of the place was nice... unfortunately i think also due to it being a small town... the restaurant really didnt have many cooks in the kitchen maybe only 2, and there was already a big group plus some other patrons when we went in... so food did take a bit long to arrive.


But overall service was good... and the kids did get have lots of books around to entertain time.

Julie had some BBQ pork - lovely, soft meat with crispy skin, with a huge bowl of chips,


whilst i took the rack of Lamb to share with Hannah (she developed this taste of lamb meat... she can eat more meat then rice) - super tender, unfortunately almost too little.


I later found out their desserts were highly recommended... darn! should have tried one! So... even if u don't stay at the Farmstay... and just passing by Fairlie, do it justice and eat a meal here...

On the day out visiting the Heritage places... we also had a lunch in one of those quaint shops serving authentic Khmer food... part of the experience Cambodia thingi...

The BP staff had scouted the place earlier and settled for a standard Khemer Set Lunch Menu!

For starters we had, Mango Salad with Smoked Fish - almost similar to the Thai kind... but not so sourish... and the fish was nice!


Mains were, Amok style Chicken served with Steamed Rice - very nice... and very small portions! the style is like a blend of otak-otak spice and mild curry...


It was also served with, Sour Soup with Fillet Fish & Long Beans - very tom yam like minus chilli... maybe its tailored for foreigners cuz it's not spicy hot at all... or Khmer food is a milder version of Thai food.


They also gave us some Tropical Fruits - watermelon & pineapple slices for dessert... the bill came to USD6/pax... not to say really cheap... but much cheaper then the proper restaurant one!

One of the nights, the BP Staff and some of the early arrived customers went for some Khmer Food at a restaurant downtown... It was a set menu - Khmer Cuisine Set, costing US$19/pax. Woo... so it had better be good...

It started with drinks... I tried their local beer... "LAO" Beer... not bad!


For Starters we had Fried Spring Rolls (Vegetables Fried in Rice Paper & Served with Mildly Spicy Peanut Sauce) - This really is just normal Spring Rolls u can prolly get anywhere in Malaysia lah... maybe for some foreigners this is special.


Then came our soup, Siem Reap Soup (Lightly Spicy sour with Seafood & Vegetables, Cooked in Coconut Milk, served with Jasmine Steamed Rice) - most of us ate up all the rice with this dish thinking it was the mains... cuz it had enough condiments to be a full meal! It was "tom yam" like... but lemak!


Our Mains, Khmer Fish Amok (Fresh Water Fish Steamed in Coconut Milk with Local Greens, served with Jasmine Steamed Rice) - It really tasted like Otak-Otak - Penang style with lots of fish... quite alot of them was not used to it and couldn't even finish half of it, whatmore with more rice being served... woo! it was very filling!


For Dessert we had Banana Chef (Small Khmer Bananas Sauteed & Topped with Passion Fruit Sauce), keh like grilled bananas... the sauce was very nice... definately a sweet-tooth dream!


Everyone was very full by the end of the meal... but i still can't believe the price... fooh! Ex man! I guess since the place was air-conditioned and a proper restaurant, u pay for ambience also kua!

A French Dinner was also included in our working trip to Siem Reap. It was prepared by "Le Bistrot de Siem Reap" quite a reputable restaurant at the Resort we were staying, Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa. It was supposedly quoted "the best French restaurant in town" by Condé Nast Traveller Magazine... i suppose the best in Siem Reap, heh!

I've never really eaten any french food per se except for one time when Justine Wong who was still training as a chef, volunterred to cook for us! Heh! It was nice... so this is my 2nd try on french cuisine.

Our 5-course dinner began with Starters, we had a choice of either;

Snails in Garlic & Parsley Butter - my first time eating this fellas... snails... i guess its not your garden variety kind, keh! it was very "lala" like in texture...


or Shrimp Ceviche with Green Lemon Juice & Herbs - err... this is not my kind of thing, Julie enjoyed this more... sourish cold prawns... eck!


Then we had Soup, Vichyoise - Served Chilled... tasted like very fine mashed potato soup, when you get over the chilled state, its really unique.


They then served us a cup of Champagne Granite to wash your palatte before enjoying your main course!


For the main course, We had either Traditional Lamb Stew - oooohhh! This was superb! Very tender Lamb pieces in a delightful mix of vegetables - very very nice.


or, Beef Fillet with Sauteed Foie Gras - Also nicely done, with melt in your mouth goose liver...


Dessert was Lemon Pie with Glazed Chocolate... hmm...not great... looks nice


Ending with coffee or tea, there were also free flow of drinks the whole night through... so i must say my first formal introduction to french food was a special one, incidently it cost each person USD50 for the set that night!

Heh... yeah... as in the title... Siem Reap, Cambodia was literally is like a gigantic theme park of old ruined temples ("Angkor" in Khmer means "City", "Wat" is "Temple"). This small and truly third world town is wholly surviving on tourists! Admidst all the dusty roads & zipping tut-tut's are its many motels and 5 star hotels catering to its multitudes of foreign visitors. The US dollar is the currency used... and things are not cheap...


The town itself is not very big... with several roads making all of it... but the roads are long and lined with all the hotels, art & craft galleries, eateries and markets selling souveniors.


Of course will all the Tut-tuts (motorcycles pulling a carriage seating 4!) ferry all the visitors around for USD2 per trip, the place can get messy... with no regards to any traffic system and honks blaring very often. They traffic goes the american way... right side.

Overall the people are laid back... and very accustomed to foreign visitors...




Of course the main draw is the UNESCO World Heritage Angkor Archaeological Sites. Which U pay USD20 per pax for a single day pass, USD40-3day & USD60-7day. With an estimated over 2 million visitiors per year... u can see where they get their money from!

The archaeological sites, are of course unbelievable... they are the biggest in the world... spanning across 3ooosq/km. Its both impressive and ludicrous what has been achieved... So many temples for WHAT! They said the main Angkor Wat took 1 million people 30years to build it!

We went to only 2 temples... & with such humidity and heat... it was enough... u seen 1, the rest are almost the same... but it's still impressive...





We did get a balloon ride to see the view from the air...

Julie's company customer event was being held in Cambodia, Siem Reap, home of one of the 10 ancient wonders "Angkor Wat"... and I was the official photographer... WOOT!

Siem Reap is totally run by the tourist industry... practically all their roads are occupied by Hotels... from Super budget... all the way to super High End!...

I think ours, Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa was a Mid-High end one... it was a tastefully mid-sized Resort... with very attentive/hospitable staffs... excellent food too...

The room we got was very nice... a king size bed with extra pillows... the only thing wrong was the ethernet port was busted and the wifi coverage was bad... so we ended up switching rooms later the night we checked in.




The toilets are nicely decorated... a bit cramped but ok lah... the soaps and shampoo were all poured into jars... so was kinda messy/hard to use... not very practical...



All over the Hotel were crafts and handicraft of cambodia... very antique but nice... with lots of lotus flowers too... since it was also blooming time.



They do give lots of extras... not sure it's because it was a company thing or not but... u do get a nice welcome fruit platter every 2 days... and if they turn down the bed at night... they leave u a small gift...

keh... they also had 4 baby crocs in a glass enclosure...