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.


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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Merry Macarons best in the Philippines

No I am not trying to be precious or fancy by ordering several boxes of French Macarons. In fact I do not see the value in paying as much as $3 per piece (in NZ and AU).

Red Velvet, Cookies and Cream, Chocolate
But my attitude towards these little French delights changed when my good friend visited Paris and started making macarons in the Philippines as soon as she got home. I have known Maye since University....  She was one very close friend.  She would make picture collages of our girlfriend trips up north. We studied Psychology in UP Diliman but her creative inclination made me wonder if she made the right choice. :) Kidding, Maye!

She regularly attends food fairs to showcase her creations. Her prices are affordable but the value you get is much more than value of macarons you get at the local cafes.
She must have experimented on hundreds of flavors for her business Merry Macarons.  

My favourites are:
Coco calamansi
Cookies and cream
Red velvet

She does custom shapes and flavors too!




The presentation, flavors and price prompted me to give justice to her craft.  Every year,  on special occasions and for special people, I would order a few boxes of Merry macarons!

Recent feedback from people whom I have given these macarons are:
Soft filling, not dry like other Macs
Rich and exciting flavors! We want to taste all the flavors!
We didn't use to like macarons...
Can I have more? (after having 3 already...)
My recent merry macs order!!

Super yummy Merry Macs!

The Magic of Mochi

My love affair with Japan is not yet over.

It started when I was 26 years old, when I tried looking for a way to find work and live in Japan. Since then, I often would just look at internet photos of the values I see in it:

Simple but efficient
Small but self-sustaining
Traditional yet futuristic

Japanese people are extremely creative and systematic. These two traits are too hard to combine.

A simple mochi displays how these two values are highly integrated in the Japanese culture.



This is just a simple set of instructions on how to make Mochi. Note that to make the mochi featured in my blog requires skill and a lot of creativity.

Ingredients

1 cup Mochiko (Mochi flour)
3/4 cup water (180ml)
2 cups sugar - you may reduce sugar definitely 
cornstarch
Anko (sweet red bean paste) or
Add filling if you like - you can add different types of ice cream, chocolate or nutella, cream or caramel, fruity jam or fresh fruit like mangoes, banana 

Remember only your creativity can stop you! 

Instructions

Mix Mochiko and water in a glass (or other heat proof) bowl and mix well. Add some more water if it's too dry, 1 Tbsp at a time.
Steam the Mochiko dough (leaving the dough in the bowl) in a steamer for 20 minutes.
Transfer the steamed Mochi into a pot and cook at medium to medium low heat with 1/3 of the sugar (2/3 cup). When the sugar is completely dissolved, add another 1/3 of the sugar and mix well. Add the last part of the sugar and cook some more until the sugar is dissolved. Take the time to melt the sugar, but be careful not to burn it.
Take the hot Mochi out from the pot onto a sheet pan liberally dusted with cornstarch. Shape as you like.






There is a discipline and technique in making mochi - and making them consistently the same each time - in terms of taste and presentation. And yet, there are hundreds of mochi varieties. Each train station would have an entire 500 ft area where you can buy an assorted range of mochi!




These are my parents shopping for mochi at Osaka train station.


Peanut Butter Sandwich with a Twist

I seriously do not like repeating tasks, let alone recipes. This is a big issue in my restaurant dream! Hopefully I will learn a psychological balance one day.
But since I am still that free spirit when it comes to cooking, let me share with you my peanut butter and jam sandwich with a twist!
This is made specially for mum!
Ingredients

White bread
- multi grain is better but since I made this in the Philippines, I do not have much choice
Crunchy peanut butter
Jam, any fruit jam would do
Banana
I sprinkled crushed choconut after I spread the  peanut butter and topped it with thinly sliced bananas. I think chocolate powder would work too :-)

I spread the jam on the other piece and made a sandwich of the two slices.
Then I used the regular oven toaster to heat up the sandwich. It takes three to five minutes.
Watch it closely to prevent burning.
Mum loved it! She didn't like the idea of a banana sandwich before but she finished the sandwich in ten minutes! Hehe =)

Jollibee in Lipa City

There are five Jollibee branches in Lipa City: city center, hospital area,  inside SM, inside Robinson's mall, and the latest is next to star tollway.

This is the Filipino counterpart  for McDonalds. It is actually not that  bad.

I particularly like the 1 piece burger steak with rice. It is about 350 calories.  This is the only  meal I would think of buying.  Just like any fast food chain,  Jollibee  is not a healthy choice.  Gravy, fried chicken and chips,  sugary sundae ice cream,  white bread are killers if eaten daily. It is a cheap  alternative and a harmless meal twice a month.

There are no vegetable dishes at Jollibee.  It's  targeted towards kids and their parents.  The restaurant is a place where kids can be noisy and have fun with family.

They are also famous for jolly kiddie parties.

So if you are visiting the Philippines why not try them. Spend about $10 and you can feed a family of four!

Avocado delight

Avocado is one of my exaulted fruits. Here are some of my ideas in using avocado as part of your diet:

1. Avocado dessert, half a fruit, expect to gain 200 calories of monosaturated fat! Yeah well I do not care! =) My heart smiles as I write. This is good fat and the only fat which you really need.

As dessert, I simply add a tablespoon of condensed milk. Heaven!

2. Avocado on toast and vegemite

3. Avocado as my mayonaise on my chicken sandwich

4. Avocado in my salad!

5. Avocado dips

Salmon Dish: Simplicity is the Key

I LOVE sashimi, grilled or baked salmon...but pan fried? Well not until I learned to make this salmon dish myself.

It took me four years to perfectly fry this succulent dish so do not be too hard on yourself if you don't get it right the first few times.

First, pick a fresh Norwegian or New Zealand salmon. Second, cut it right and pat it dry. Get a fillet cut if you are not very good with knives. Some people like me love to eat skin. Most do not. So this salmon I bought has the skin peeled off already. I bought this from South Supermarket in Lipa City. There is no other place you can buy this variety in Lipa, with this level of quality. The fillet is 225 pesos each.

Once the fillet is patted dry, cut in two. Salmon is rich and fatty so taste can be overpowering if served in too big a quantity.

Drizzle the fillet in good olive oil. Then season with salt and pepper liberally.

Heat pan, no need for extra oil in pan. Once it is hot, fry the salmon, 4 to 5 minutes on each side. That is it!

Place it on top of mashed potatoes!
This delectable dish is filling and it is healthy.

For my mashed potato recipe:
4 potatoes boiled
Two tbsp cream cheese
1 small tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley
1 calamansi or lemon juice 1tsp

I am so happy that I had a chance to make this meal for my parents! They loved it!

Smallest Banana in the World

I do not particularly love bananas but there are tropical varieties which I enjoy. One of them is the senorita banana. Small as it seems, it is packed with sweetness.  Cute and bite-size, it is a great healthy dessert alternative.

Bananas, like the cavendish variety, contain 90 kcal per fruit. 

This photo shows the senorita is no bigger than my credit card.

Westfield Food Court Sydney Australia

It's not cheap to eat in Sydney - in any restaurant. You might expect $35/person, drinks included... 
So if you are a tourist and already paid a fortune for accommodation and airfare, it makes sense to look for best value food or pack some lunch. 

I take pride in finding value deals so you may like some of my advise below:

1. Dunkin donuts coffee is just $1 but it will not wake you up... better find a cafe which sells long black for $3, it's good value, any cafe selling long black for more than $3 will definitely have more expensive items on its menu.
2. Restaurants are expensive. Cafes would be a good choice. The price point for a regular egg benedict meal shall be considered. A good value cafe would only charge $16 for eggs benedict, 2 eggs and some mushroom at least. Usually good value cafes can be found in suburbs. But do not be mislead, some suburbs have ultra posh prices because of their location. This is particularly true for lower north shore and eastern suburbs in Sydney.

In terms of city cafes, well it's just best to visit the Myers food court. See my photos below. This cafe offers a clean and modern ambience and a good range of food choices:
Malaysian
Chinese
Indian
Japanese
Italian
French





This Westfield Food Court Sydney Australia offers free wifi so you may work or post your selfie immediately online. This food court also has restaurants within the same floor.

If you order from Food court stalls, expect to pay $15 per person for a good meal.


I ordered this meal for less than $15 only. I am a small person and this is good enough for me. I ordered the same for my 6ft 1" darling and he liked it and it satisfied him. At the end of the day, we ate healthy and filling food. That's good enough. Anything too sweet is an indulgence for us now.




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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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Accommodation at Kirkton Park Hotel

Our view from our room, early morning

Kirkton Park Hotel is our number one choice when visiting Hunter Valley. My friend Barbara just loves to host the family reunion in this place every year.

The drive to Hunter Valley from Sydney took about 3 hours. When we arrived at Kirkton, I was impressed with the vast, manicured surroundings blending smoothly with the Aussie outback.

The view is relaxing, majestic and calming. I think Barbara chooses this hotel all the time because it caters to all age groups. Couples can have a relaxing walk along the plains. Kids can swim in the covered pool, watched by their parents.

The rooms are spacious and very comfortable. The bed is also just right. The rooms are clean and I had a good sleep.

The place has its own restaurant serving unique and tasty dishes.

I am happy to visit this place every year. It was free wifi internet which is always a plus for me.




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Vila Chaumieres Port Vila Accommodation



Vila Chaumieres is a true gem of Port Vila Vanuatu!

It's a great place to take your loved ones for a quiet and peaceful holiday. Surrounding Vila Chaumieres in Port Vila, Vanuatu are unique, natural cascading falls, beautiful flora and fauna and the friendliest people.

Vila Chaumieres has private villas and beautiful gardens. It has its own pool and a water-front restaurant. The Vila Chaumieres restaurant is well-known in the region for its wonderful meals and sumptuous menu. The hosts make sure that their staff are well-trained to offer excellent customer service to tourists. It's a great idea to ask for the day's special or the most recommended dish. They serve the best and freshest seafood!

We recommend staying at least 3 days (2 nights) in Port Vila to thoroughly enjoy the best the Efate Island in Vanuatu has to offer.




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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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