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.

Asian inspired minced beef

Andrew said this is flavorfulsome, interesting and healthy!

Ingredients
300g boiled minced pork
One carrot
Half red and half green big capsicum
Two onions, small
Some crushed garlic
1 tsbp minced ginger
Asian garlic
Green peas
Broccoli
Two small potatoes

For flavor
Three tbsp kikoman soy sauce
One tbsp sesame oil
Dash of Chili flakes
One tbsp mixed spice
Vinegar, 1 tbsp, rice vinegar if you have it
Black pepper and no salt!

Add all flavors in the end when veggies and pork are all cooked.

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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Amazing Tokyo

 From the moment the plane landed, I knew this journey was going to be a blast.
Tokyo is hands down the best!

The technology and information overload are overwhelming. I shake my head everytime I see public toilets of the newer malls.  Not that I love the bidet feature but the bidet has nature sound features, drying feature and the ultra luxurious (and funny) powder feature.

 The entire city is a great testament of how nature, culture, technology can coexist in one location.

From the airport, coffee shops, malls and with cheap mobile wifi rentals, I had no difficulty connecting to the internet to connect with my other responsibilities abroad.

The towers and buildings are some of the tallest in the world and most earthquake-proof.

The surroundings are so clean, Japanese people take pride in keeping their environment pretty. They make gardens in the smallest patch of land.

The people, at least in my experience, are very polite. Especially the service staff in boutiques and malls. It didn't matter that I looked like a scrooge, they'd smile at me, same smile they'd give a polished, manicured, face-lifted lady.

Trees that lived a thousand years still flourish in the middle of Tokyo.

The traditions are so preciously preserved - in fashion, food and architecture.

I've looked into living in Tokyo myself.
It's cheaper to live in Tokyo than NZ or Au.

This book can be a good reference for living / investing in Japan. http://sheldonthinks.com/japanproperties/

Japan Foreclosed Property - A complete guide for foreign and local investors! 

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Steak and Ale House, Whitianga, Coromandel Peninsula

Steak and Chips Dinner

Steak and Ale House, Whitianga

There are a lot restaurants to choose from in Whitianga. But nothing beats the simple marketing of ALE!

Where there's cold beer, that's where my partner wants to go after a long drive from Wanganui.

Since this is a cheat day, well I just decided to have some red meat! The servings were big and the price was affordable at $20 per person for a meal. The cold beer is an extra.

Fish and chips meal - never fails. All time kiwi-favorite!

View from where we stayed - Admiralty Lodge, Whitianga

www.admiraltylodge.co.nz

69 Buffalo Beach Road, Whitianga

Coromande Peninsula

The sunset view was amazing.

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Kirkton Park Hotel, Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia

This is a massive feast! I shared my partner's barramundi and I had goat curry! My partner and I always try to order something different so we can share and have more variety. 

My partner's mom has a tradition to take her family to Hunter Valley, Wine Country in NSW. 

We ate at Kirkton Park hotel for dinner. She treated us out and it was quite an experience! 

I had black rice with my goat curry and steamed botchoy and some kind of mango marmalade. 

My partner's dish had pumpkin feta and spinach.

The meal was $35 per person plus wine if you like to have a good time! We had a wonderful time and I wish to take my own family to this place too one day! :) Good times!

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Mosman Cafe Sydney

This is a definite treat which fits the budget! Mosman Cafe is located next to Mosman Library in the middle of Mosman shops.

My order was baked eggs with spinach and parmessan cheese and sourdough bread, only AU$12.  My partner had a AU$16 gourmet sandwich. It was a hearty and enjoyable meal. A lot of locals frequent this cafe because it's affordable and delectable. We'll definitely be back.

This is a rare find in Mosman considering this is one of the most expensive areas in Sydney, Australia.


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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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Happy Hearts, A different kind of Omelette

Happy Valentines Day dear Readers! :-)

Yes this is made from eggs!
So hard to think of a gift for Andrew so I thought, well I might as well just create a nice meal for him.

I used some curry, salt, capsicum, alfalfa and 5 eggs for this meal. I used Japanese/Korean style omelette cooking technique. They make really nice egg side dishes.

I made this using chopsticks!

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Nothing Beats Korean Food, Auri Wanganui

This is my ultimate $10.50 favorite Sunjubu Stew! Spicy Tofu meal with rice and kimchi and egg. This is so sublime in its simplicity. It's a delight just to have a hearty and yet healthy meal at least once a week.

This Auri Takeway Korean food along Victoria Avenue is such a bargain. Korean food in the Philippines is quite pricey! For a third world country, I have to pay $10 per small meal in the Philippines and no, that's not a fancy restaurant.

Did I say that Auri owners are the most lovingly accommodating owners of takeways/cafes in town? :-) I'm probably biased but they deserve the credit.

They serve wonderful, generous servings of carefully prepared Korean food. It's good to eat in places where people take pride in their business.

Yes you can order takeaway ;-)

Cheers!

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Orange Cafe Wanganui

It's been a while and this is the only time we're back in Orange Cafe, Wanganui, NZ.

The place is always packed - with it's beautiful orange umbrellas stealing the scene.

This place is located in the center of Wanganui City. 

What's going for Orange? It's one of the most successful cafes in town:

1. Great value - prices are affordable... eggs benedict at $16! Moccachino at $4 

2. Great location! Quaint brick building, center city.

3. Love the umbrellas beckoning you for a great cup of coffee

4. Best coffee in town - seriously!  You can feel the kick and the coffee taste is very distinct

5. From last year, I think staff are much friendlier (female ones)

6. Nice music

7. FREE wifi - but I guess you can't stay more than 1 hour using it even just to check email... not sure but it seems that only Mcdonald's doesn't care if people actually use their *free* wifi.

What can be improved?

1. Well the outdoor umbrella place is great but I think the inner section needs a bit of oomph! It's still the same bar scene from last year... not to cosy inside. As I write this, the windows inside the cafe aren't open, would be great to have some fresh air.

2. Toilet section can be cleaner

3. Interior decoration can be more inviting - not cold as it is (the place isn't cold, just the 'feel')

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Wanganui Parnell Cafe

I love this vegetable Eggs Benedict from Parnell's cafe. It's great value. I think Parnell has competitive pricing now. I appreciate the generous serving too! I love their setting and the leafy trees and the roses. The place has wonderful art works displayed as well.

This cafe is a great and cosy choice for a good and hearty breakfast. They are located in Victoria Avenue, very near accommodation district of Wanganui. The staff are friendly and helpful.

They advertise wifi and I think they really need to fix that to attract more tourists and guests.

If it helps, having facebook users "check in" their cafe would be a great marketing tool!

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Rotorua Bath House

Everyone loves a cafe if it has this setting! It's absolutely refreshing. I loved the stained glass windows so kudos to whoever pushed the idea to setup a cafe in the Rotorua Museum. I must have seen about 200 tourists, arriving by the buses on that day.

Bath House cafe had a wide food selection, quite reasonable too and the servings were generous. However, I ached to find out wifi is not available. Why!?! NZ is an international luxury destination! Nevertheless, people of Rotorua are sure happy that there's central wifi offered. It's great for tourists!

The Rotorua Museum is a must-see destination in Rotorua. It's also called the Government gardens, initiated by Engr Malfroy. The grounds are beautiful - with different flowers blooming per season!

We visited the Bath House Cafe as part of our client visit. We stayed at MALFROY motor lodge, just 1.3 KM away at 51 Malfroy Road, Rotorua. It's decent and impeccably clean cafe with reasonable rates.




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