Asure PRINCE Taupo, New Zealand

Taupo is a very popular holiday town for Kiwis. However it is an overlooked holiday destination for many international tourists. I’ve been to Taupo several times, each time I admire the majestic lake view and snowcapped mountains in the backdrop.

However, it’s only when I stayed at Asure PRINCE Taupo that I understood why locals consider this a special town.

Taupo represents the ideal life for many Kiwis. It’s carefree, casual, close to nature and relaxing. It has a vibrant cafe and restaurant district - healthy, hearty and beautifully prepared food made from fresh ingredients. Good food, great nature, that feeling of peace and gratitude is what Kiwis want to share with their loved ones. This is why they go to Taupo. This is what I understood when I stayed at Asure PRINCE - the value of relationship -  sharing the good life with family and loved ones.

Asure PRINCE is a beautiful hotel located at the heart of Taupo. It’s clean, cosy and comfortable. It’s a minute walk to the Great Lake and the cafe district. Aside from its fantastic location and improved facilities, it is a professionally-run hotel with a very warm and friendly atmosphere. It’s an affordable place to stay and particularly perfect for a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 young kids. 

However the main reason I will be back in Taupo is to visit the lovely owners of the hotel. They make you feel like family and that means a lovely holiday home to me. 

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Springvale Cafe, Wanganui

I only go to Springvale cafe once a year in the past. A week ago, I visited them for a quick cappuccino and creative work on some digital banners. The garden was full of flowers. It was pleasant. I knew at that time that I will be back.

I heard about the citation that this cafe is nominated as the best cafe in New Zealand.  It is a good contender.

I had to try their masterpiece. Their entry to the competition: creamy black doris quinoa porridge.

Verdict!

I loved it!! $11.90 all worth it

- too much for a small person like me who is afraid of sugary sweets

I researched about quinoa and found out that it has very high protein content. I ate about 3/4 of the meal but was full for six hours! I couldn't eat. Now I understand why they said this meal can be good for lunch as well. 

- presentation - absolutely creative!

Coffee at Springvale is GOOD. I like their cappuccino.

Springvale cafe is such a lovely neighborhood cafe. Every 30 minutes or so, people were coming in! Groups and families are visibly enjoying their time.

This is an inspirational story to me. I couldn't imagine a neighborhood cafe can be a great contender for a national award.  This cafe is not located within the city center but in a nice suburb in Wanganui.

This cafe is one of the finalists in NZ's best cafe for the Lower North Island.

The real winner here is customer service. I met a lovely lady who just made me feel like a valued customer.  An extra smile goes a long way; eye contact shows sincerity; and perhaps the porridge became sweeter  because of her. I will be back soon... hopefully next time with my parents when they visit me here in Wanganui.

Fat Dog Cafe, Rotorua

Rotorua's Eat Street - Selection of award-winning restaurants and cafes

Fat Dog cafe is one of favorites - big servings, beautiful menu choices and free wifi! Most importantly, it's a 10 minute walk away from MALFROY motel, our accommodation of choice in Rotorua.

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The Best Cafe in Wanganui is Big Orange

No beating around the bush. The best cafe in Wanganui is Big Orange.
They have the right formula for taste of coffee, value for money, location, customer service and menu options. This cafe is practically a tourist destination in the Wanganui-Manawatu region and perhaps deserves more mentions online.

I consider these top 3 aspects as the main reasons why I would recommend any cafe.

1. Customer Service. Yes it matters. Cafe lovers like myself consider cafes as our little escape on a challenging work day.  A cafe is where some of the best creative juices come out.  It's a place where I can be most productive at work.  I personally feel refreshed after seeing people who are happy and friendly. Most cafe lovers though want to feel they are welcome and they are part of the town's little coffee lover's club. I'd join that club if there was such a thing in Wanganui ;-) 

The entire experience starts with customer service.

2. Menu Options and Pricing

- Perfect combination of taste, presentation, ingredients, serving size and price

- Value for money is the key here. 

- $15-18 for eggs benedict and $4 for a coffee only sound ridiculous if do not get that unique flavour. Often, I pay $18 for eggs benedict... some are ultra-cheesy disappointments. However, Big Orange's Mushroom on Sourdough Toast is a breath of fresh air. It's just the right size and it's just the right price at $16.50.  It has, I believe, the little details which make me appreciate it more: a bit of pesto, parmesan, loads of mushroom, my favourite bread type and I think a bit of balsamic. So there, that's something I can't really make at home.

- I might sound like a broken record but for the others who just read about my posts on Big Orange, they have the best coffee (mochaccino, cappuccino and plain long black).

3. Ambience

- Music (Jazz, Classical, Guitar, some beat)

- Location (sun, sun and more sun) People want to go out and embrace that good vibe. If you don't have an outside area or not much of sunroom in your cafe, I suggest having brighter coloured rooms / furniture and interiors. Plants and fresh flowers help, too. 

- Did I forget to say Big Orange has free wifi on top of being close to a Telecom Wifi zone?

Big Orange transforms into Ceramic Lounge at night and jazz bands play gigs there occasionally. They have wider range of menu offerings now and I get the sense that the management and staff are quite keen to improve their game year after year! I like Big Orange because I like it's one of the cafes where I can see people proud of their work and make extra effort to make their food creations a bit more special... at an affordable price.

No I don't get any favors or fees to endorse this establishment. I just love coffee and I'm a foodie.
And when I get a unique and worthwhile experience, I make sure I write a positive review.

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Wonderful Gardens of Hamilton, New Zealand

I was not expecting much from Hamilton as it's always just been a highway from Auckland to Rotorua down to Lower North Island.

However, due to lack of reasonable good value accommodation in Auckland when there are big events and celebrity concerts, we were forced to book in Hamilton.

We were pleasantly surprised when we visited the Hamilton Gardens. You will definitely marvel at the variety of impressive cultures and learn how they showcase their creativity with gardens.

The most impressive garden is the Medici court - a replica of Italian Renaissance gardens.
However, my all time favorite is the reflective Japanese garden - all with its elegant simplicity.

This is a must-see attraction.

There are a lot of other sights in this garden like amazing Maori, Chinese, Indian and American gardens. There is also a fantastic and expansive Rose Gardens with Eucalyptus trees - best to visit in Summer - Nov to Jan 2014.

These gardens are also well in bloom in Spring - October to November.

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Morisson Street Cafe Nelson

I have not visited Nelson, New Zealand for more than thirty minutes in the past. This time I wanted to make sure I would at least try its best cafe - Morisson Street Cafe, 244 Hardy Street.

I was impressed with the menu on the website. I was even more satisfied when I had my eggs benedict. The serving was large and tasty. I ordered the ham eggs benedict while my partner had the mushroom version.

I am happy I tried this character,  Italian-inspired café with my partner.  It is close to a telecom hotspot so we were able to work.

I love the indoor and outdoor decor at Morisson café.  Very relaxing. High ceilings, open windows,  well-lighted, simple yet classy.

The price,  well not too cheap but comparable to others I have tried in the past.

They even have suspended coffee which I think is a nice touch or adaptation of an Italian tradition.

Will visit them again when I am back in Nelson. ♥

Beautiful Gardens in Cromwell

This beautiful secret garden looks very European with its tall hedges and abundant rose displays. This is a hidden garden in a highway fruit store : Mrs Jones Orchard.

The fruit store boasts a wide array of fresh local fruits - peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, blue berries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.

It also has dried fruit varieties: Papaya, fig, apricots and more!

The pricing is competitive. However you can easily spend $30 just by buying your favorite fruits in big bags! There are tons of tourists buying from the fruit stall all year round, especially during summer.

Just over the Kawerau area, you'll also find the Dam Good Fruit cherries where you are allowed to pick your own cherries!

Truly a feast for fruit lovers!

Cromwell is a quaint town, the area near the river is quite nice and there are some charateristic stores as well. The town center has free wifi cafes.

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Beautiful Cafe in Greytown New Zealand

Greytown is a must-see, beautiful town in New Zealand's North Island.

It's difficult to choose where to have a coffee as its mainstreet is full of wonderful little cosy cafes and restaurants. It even has a good share of boutique bed and breakfast.

In our search, we stopped by Main Street Deli Greytown. My partner choose this cafe despite is uninviting front door. Good thing I headed and we decided to have breakfast here. It is near the library so we had access to wifi to be able to check emails and do some work! Lovely!

We were surprised to see that inside this cafe is a wonderful outdoor courtyard. It's absolutel beautiful in there! We sat next to the counter, under hot sun!  We ordered eggs benedict and eggs florentine and we each had a coffee. I think the total price is reasonable at flat $40. It was great coffee and the meal was filling! I definitely enjoyed my eggs benedict!

eggs florentine $16.5

eggs benedict $16.5

We highly recommend visiting this cafe!

And if you are a sweet tooth, you may like their pecan pies! Heavenly!



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Martinborough Hotel, Martinborough New Zealand

A quick 3 hour trip the vineyards of Martinborough from Wanganui is worth it.

We had dinner at the Martinborough Hotel  - good food, reasonable price and great wine and beer.

The Martinborough Hotel is actually one of the more affordable places in town. We visited other cafes / restaurants in Martinborough last year and we paid $75 for 2 people for dinner, excluding the $12/glass of wine. With Martinborough Hotel, we only paid $50 plus our drinks which were below $8 each.

The Martinborough Hotel is located at the square, town center. It's the only two-story building so it's very hard to miss. I believe there is a wifi hotspot in the location but you'd need to pay for it - eg Zenbu.  I think Martinborough needs to sponsor free wifi for tourists - even just 100 mb per day is good - just like Mcdonald's does it.

Martinborough is a 60 minute drive from Wellington.

View Larger Map


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Paper Road Cafe Masterton New Zealand

Paper Road Cafe

I truly enjoyed my experience at Paper Road cafe. I had a ham and cheese platter for only $18. Instead of wine I had long black coffee. The drive from Wanganui was long and dehydrating. We didn't intend to stop for lunch here but this was the first vineyard we saw and we were very hungry we couldn't wait for Martinborough where we intended to have a fashion shoot for a men's fashion line of stylish suits and shirts.  

This cafe has fast and free wifi which is needed by travelers these days. 

The manager and staff were all friendly and very accommodating. 

I would recommend visiting this place because of the great value they offer!

Red Eye Cafe Wanganui

Wow free wifi! Awesome service and very friendly owner! It is open on Saturdays in the quiet Guyton street in Wanganui.

This is a simple cafe with a great cup of all black at $3.5

Small cakes are available!  Perfect!  I can have a bite size sweet treat and not worry about packing more calories!  I just love the idea of offering smaller sweets for sweet tooths like me who has a family history of diabetes. No I don't want to fall into the same track as my grandfather but I still want to eat a bit of sweets. Thanks Red Eye for offering this option at a fantastic price of $1!

The coffee is good too!

The exterior of the cafe matters to me if I have to try a new place. This is only the reason why we haven't tried Red Eye!  I think a big pot full of flowers,  more colorful sign outside would help.

I also think new funky paint or something more appealing like purple, yellow or something with red outside would attract people.

We've passed by this cafe many times by car but we get lost in the signage so that needs revisions one day too.

But once inside you will appreciate this cafe. Simple. Affordable. 

I wonder if they are on Facebook?  I wonder if they serve lunch? I heard they make eggs benedict, my other favorite! Still have to try it.

What's great is the potential for this cafe to be professional-friendly and tourist friendly.  It already offers free wifi. Many people would appreciate this.

Wanganui really has a great cafe culture!

Wanganui's pride - Big Orange

Today is quite a regular day except that it is a start of summer in New Zealand.
I had to have a quick treat so I head to Big Orange café.

This time I will indulge and pack extra calories with a moccachino. I have been having long blacks lately so I felt I deserved some sugar. I try to stay within 1500 cals a day.

For small $3.80 I was happy.
:) that's an extra four hours boost of mental awareness as I was finishing up a deadline for design works.

All the calories, around 125  I think were worth it.

Definitely the only coffee preparation I will highly recommend to anyone visiting Wanganui.

This coffee reminds me of the documentary - Jiro dreams of sushi. It is about spending a life time coming up with the perfect recipe. I used to think I could run and own a cafe one day. But now I decided, I will leave it to the experts. Little things make the perfect cup. Consistency of taste and preparation - I get the same coffee taste I expect every time I visit... with Orange, I've been visiting for almost five years now.

Visit Big Orange cafe - orange building, next to old fountain. The menu is affordable and delectable.

Mint Cafe Wanganui

The Mint Cafe is a relatively new entrant to the Wanganui cafe and restaurant industry.  We've visited Mint three times this month!  Obviously we're very pleased.

Mint has very affordable cafe lunch menu, potentially most affordable in town for lunch menu. The servings are small but filling.

Coffee and cakes are priced almost similarly to other cafes in Wanganui, they are not as affordable as Orange but cheaper than Mud Ducks.

Mint has great location and beautiful design. I love the section under double glazed glass ceilings. That's very cosy.

Unfortunately the are near the TV is too dark and uninviting.

Sometimes children can be noisy but I understand this is a family café and they did a good job targeting that market segment.

One time we wanted to have a Wednesday dinner out at Mint and we were surprised they were closed at seven pm.

The lunch menu has good range of options. Affordable and tasty options.

The coffee is decent. Not the best.

The cakes are too sweet so I would just share my fries with my partner so we don't eat too much carbs. Fries is good value around $6 for a big bowl. Very filling.

Their toilets are clean! ")
Staff members are nice!

Easily Mint falls into our top five in Wanganui and the biggest issue for us is lack of wifi. Although if you sit closer to direction of the main street, you'll get free inspire wifi.

New Zealand Vodafone now offers cheaper mobile Internet so wifi access may be less of an issue for more people in thw future.

Yes I will recommend this cafe :)
I will also visit it again in future!

My recommendations:

1. Perhaps add some light near tv area. Add some colour if light isn't possible. I noticed people don't ever sit in this area too much. People tend to pick a comfortable corner in restaurants. If their regular seat is taken, they would like some more options. I believe each corner of a restaurant or cafe needs to be inviting otherwise waste of space and people would not get a satisfying experience. 

2. Wifi!!! :) 100mb or 50 mb free.  Just in case tourists are also the secondary market here.

3. Signature dish! What could it be? Has to be something people would talk about. There are forty cafes at least in Wanganui. A cafe needs to be known for something uniquely its own to make a mark.

Rotorua in spring!

This is the highlight of my recent trip to Rotorua!

Amazing display of flowers at the Rotorua government gardens!

As always, we had the pleasure of staying at MALFROY motor lodge,  51 Malfroy Road, Rotorua.  This motel is close to the city center and central to key tourist destinations in Rotorua. Highly recommended motel accommodation, affordable, cosy, very clean.  I always get the luxury of eight uninterrupted hours of sleep. That in itself is a treat.

Robert Harris cafe New Plymouth

Robert Harris cafe is located on the second floor of New Plymouth mall, facing the rough seas. New Plymouth is quite a windy city!

Robert Harris cafe is actually a franchise.  The price is pretty good and they offer up to 100 mb free wifi.

I like this branch because of it's fantastic view!

We love the service too.
The price is affordable and coffee is decent.

It is a safe bet. You'll enjoy a boutique experience even if it's a franchise.

Rapido Cafe, Wanganui

Rapido cafe in Wanganui - This cafe has good coffee, brewed coffee and cappuccino.  I've visited this cafe a couple of times this October. It's better to visit them in the afternoon when it's a sunny day, otherwise, it's a little cold and dark inside.

Their cake selections are not very good though and this time I made a mistake ordering the carrot cake. Carrot cake is easily my favorite so I would think it's a safe choice in cafes I go to. However, this time, it's just not my taste. The best carrot cake is Mischief on Guyton's carrot cake.

In terms of look and feel, this cafe has a semi-50's (old style appeal). It's located off the road from Victoria avenue very near Parnell's cafe.

Rapido cafe doesn't have wifi.

Just my two cents on what can be done to improve customer experience:
1.  new choice of pastries - a bit of taste tests


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Revisiting Orange Cafe, Wanganui

And I am back in Wanganui! It's time for another article about Orange Cafe in Wanganui. I wrote a review last year, inspired by the cafe concept. 

Orange cafe improved, overall. I enjoyed going to Orange cafe, almost every other day on my first 2 weeks in Wanganui.

This is your view from a window while having your coffee inside Orange Cafe, Wanganui

This year, I am watching my weight a bit more. So I stopped ordering the mochaccino. I now order the cappuccino or the latte. The price is still the most competitive in town. The food choices - affordable and good serving size. The cappuccino is the best I have ever had... in all the places I have been to. Yes it is still the best-priced, best coffee in town.

latte

passion fruit cheesecake

New improvements this year:
1)They added lights in the bar area. I thought that was interesting idea. It certainly looks good and inviting at night.
2)They may have changed the layout a bit because something seems more inviting inside the bar area now.
3)The toilet is ok. I think cleaner. Windows slightly up bringing fresh air in!
4)The staff - several occasions, they are quite friendly. They even converse with customers more now.

I would highly recommend their seafood pasta, less than $20 (lunch menu), big serving. You may not want to rely on me in terms of serving size evaluation because I am barely 5 ft tall. So I easily get full. The seafood pasta is very tasteful. I also love their eggs benedict with salmon and the price is also very reasonable. I haven't tried this year's pasta but the eggs benedict remains great.

They offer free wifi but there is now free wifi in key places in Wanganui via Telecom free wifi and Inspire wifi. Although I still think that offering free wifi is always a plus. Why? Because guests (specially tourists) can always check-in at Orange cafe on Facebook (for extra marketing on social media) and snap instagram photos of the place.

Orange cafe wins because of its location and *orange* concept. The orange umbrellas are very attractive.

So this leaves me to think about what they can do better...

1. More salads - pasta salad or vegetable salad options for weight watchers
I'd love to see this as I always feel guilty after having a piece of cake or a muffin.
2. Loyalty cards - just to encourage more people to visit the cafe more than once - 15 coffees = 1 free coffee
3. Their coffee is unique. I don't know what's in it. I ask for cappuccino in other cafes and it just doesn't taste the same.  This needs to be sold to tourists. So I guess they need to come up with a matching best-tasting pastry or cake that they will be known for.  People might want a combo meal :)

~~~~~~

Just a note, maybe not just for Orange but also for other cafes and restaurants in Wanganui, perhaps they can sponsor young singing groups every friday nights. Jazz music or young musician shows. There's lack of events in Wanganui and many people have an early night. I'd love to see Wanganui brighten up a bit more at night.

Wanganui (my last count) has about 35 + cafes. It's becoming a great cafe city!

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The Beauty of Coromandel Peninsula

The long winding roads of Thames under the dehydrating heat of New Zealand's endless 2013 summer have taken a toll on me on our way to Whitianga. This is on top of the drama over the uncertainty whether we left the stove on at home. We called neighbors and fidgeted, waited for anyone to respond to us in a 2-hour stressful period. At last someone told us our house was not on fire and turned of the main switch outside our home. So the journey began.

We worked in Whitianga library on the first day. It's great that the library offered free and fast internet. We had to be considerate and only stayed 2 hrs because there are other tourists and locals who may need our seats. We then continued working until wee hours in the morning in our hotel room at Admiralty Motel - known as Whitianga's best and only 5 star accommodation.  This Coromandel Motel is impressively new and spacious. We stayed in a studio unit, which seemed like 50 sqm. We had wide balcony looking over the motel's pool and right across us is Buffalo bay. The view is vast and I was awestruck. I was lucky to see the bay in several different situations - bright blue skies reflected on the blue waters in the afternoon, orange purplish hues by sunset and a cloudy stormy show with streaks of sunlight at sunrise.

We left early next day and took a couple of hours to trek the Cathedral Cove. I remember this walk as the best walk and happiest walk in New Zealand. It's a feeling that you know for sure that you're going to see something spectacular at the end of the journey -- although the journey itself was majestic. Below is a photo of the view while on the track. 

It must have been about 60 steps down when we reached the cove. Yes it was spectacular. We shared this view with at least about 80 tourists - young and old - all smiling, all excited. I guess that was part of the charm. I felt so much energy and happiness from people around me. Unlike any other walks in NZ, this walk had people. There was a lot of commotion at the parking lot, 45 mins walk away. There was close to 30 cars parked and we almost didn't get to find a parking space.

Just a mere 10 minutes drive from the cove is Mercury Estate. Below is our photo enjoying 4 of their 15 wine varieties. We chose chardonnay, rose, pinot noir 10 and merlot. All wines were a delight to our senses and their flavors exploded with the different types of dips and sides we ordered. Bear with me, I must list this down. There were 4 types of bread - whites and oats and whole grain. I am not sure if they are home-made. There was ground spice - composed perhaps of local macademia nuts and spice. Black olives. Locally made spicy onion chutney. Sun-dried tomatoes. Local olive oil. Some slices of meat - salami? Smoked tuna and mussels from the bay - local products. Three types of cheeses - blue and some cheddar and one which I didn't really like. And fruit! Fresh kiwis - dried apricots - candied figs. The wine tasting episode was a fantastic way to end the 2 hour trek. The music was calming and sweet. The price? Very reasonable. You'd forget you paid because you got so much more than what you paid for :-) www.mercurybayestate.co.nz

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