Well today turned out to be an absolutely fabulous day. Tom and I did a food tour with Wellington’s Food & Spice Odyssey and to say that the tour was good would be gross understatement. I have been on tons of food tours all over the world, and this one was clearly one of the best from our host (Jon), to the food and the finally the commentary. It was absolutely first rate!
And as luck would have it, the tour started only a few blocks from our hotel. Tom and I were early so we took some time to wander around the area to admire the street art and some fountains along the pedestrian mall. (Tom was particularly offended by one fountain that sprayed water everywhere.)
Anyway, at exactly 9:30, Jon our tour guide and host for the morning appeared. We were joined by a couple from Colorado (by way of California) and they turned out to be super nice folks.
So Jon started out our tour by giving us a little history about the street we were standing on (Cuba Street), named after an immigrant ship and in the 1800s was THE retail shopping area. The Te Aro residences that one time filled the area were eventually torn down, the area fell into disrepair, but in the 1960s, a retail mall was built on the street and it now remains a vibrant, lively area filled with immigrant restaurants, shops, bars and tattoo parlors (apparently an obsession with the Kiwis). There are two Te Aro homes that remain and we would see them later on the tour.
After the brief introduction, we began a short walk through the area eventually ending up in Takina (Wellington’s convention center) where we had our first stop of the day at Zephyr, a lovely little café where we were served cheese scones (delicious), pastry with fruit on top and a lovely latte (or flat white for Tom). Now I could have eaten everything on my plate, but for heaven’s sake, we were only at stop number 1 and the amount of food we were given was already enough to fill me up. Pacing yourself on food tours is vital so sadly I left behind half my cheese scone.
And as we were exiting the convention center, we came across humongous statutes of Moana and Maui (yes I have seen and loved Moana 1). The statutes were advertising Moana 2. Anyway, pictures were necessary before we moved on.
Once we left the convention center, we crossed the street and Jon pointed out that the crossing and stop signs featured Māori figures doing the Haka (one in a classic pose to stop and one standing up with arms extended to go). Apparently they were installed in 2019 to celebrate a Māori festival and they proved so popular that they remain.
Anyway, once we crossed the street to the Haka, we passed a portion of a building that was labeled “Move” (you can see the letters in the upper right of my picture). Apparently this building was part of the old museum hotel that stood on the site where the new museum has been built. They wanted to preserve part of the hotel so this part of the building was moved across the street over the course of a week and is now part of the new QT Hotel.
We ended up walking through the hotel to take in some of the amazing contemporary art that is on display throughout the ground floor of the building before exiting and walking a few blocks up and across the street to La Ciel, a pastry and lunch type shop run by a young woman from Tanzania. She has been so successful that she has now opened a second shop in the business district.
Once we sat down, we were served a glass of L&P, a uniquely New Zealand drink (with a very cheeky label) that tasted like sparkling lemoncello. Delish. We were then served a mince (steak) and cheese pie followed by fish and chips. The fish was tarakihi (a local NZ specialty – delish) and was seasoned with kawakawa, an herb with medicinal/anti-inflammatory properties. Both dishes were outstanding. I can certainly understand why the business has expanded to two locations. Flaky pastry, light breading on the fish and fluffy fries. Perfection.
After we left La Ciel, we walked back down the street and stopped at a nearby store that featured spices, teas, chocolate and other over the counter products that you can select in small quantities. I loved this shop. Not only was the aroma of spices in the air, but the idea of being able to select a limited amount of fresh spices, herbs and teas without buying a huge bottle or box only to throw most of it out was right out of the Middle East. I loved the concept and wished there was somewhere like that at home. (And if there is, someone please tell me, and no I’m not talking Whole Foods.)
Anyway, after the brief stop at the spice shop we walked through an alley where we passed an art display featuring a cement sofa (looked real) that is heated. Seriously. Apparently WETA aka Peter Jackson had the art installed and it was really incredible (and really toasty although it was not needed on this fabulous, warm day).
We moved on and then encountered the Havana Bar that had been built from two old Te Aro homes. The bar was playing Cuban music, looked like a fun place and given more time, I would have loved to stop and have some tapas that they feature in the bar.
Once we passed the Havana Bar, we walked down the street, rounded the corner and walked to the Wellington Seafood Market, which features fresh catches of the day, smoked fish (they smoke their own) and a variety of shellfish. We opted for the paua (abalone) fritter. We waited only briefly while they fried up the fritter and it was definitely something I would eat again. Now abalone can be very tough so to ensure the abalone is done properly, the abalone is ground up and made into a patty, covered in a light batter and deep fried. Quite good.
Now our next stop was one I had been waiting for all day as Jon had raved a few times about the chili oil dumplings we would be eating. So we walked about a block down the street to the Satay Palace where we sat down and were each given one paper napkin from the proprietor. (Jon told us not to lose the napkin because the proprietor was apparently stingy on the napkins and you only get one… seriously!)
Anyway, once seated, we took a look at the menu and chose the pork, shrimp and chive chili oil dumplings and the pork and cabbage fried dumplings. Now I absolutely LOVE my dumplings, and these dumplings were sheer perfection. Jon did not undersell the dumplings one bit. The wrapper on the dumplings was thin and light and the chili oil was not overpowering and had a hint of lemongrass. Absolutely brilliant. And while the fried dumplings were also good, the star of the show was most definitely the chili oil dumplings. YUM.
By now, I was approaching my limit, but Jon insisted we had to try the home made ice cream at kaffee ice, directly across the street from the delicious dumpling shop. And it turned out to be a good call. Some of the ice creams featured flavour only found in New Zealand. I opted for the Indian Summer, which featured cardamon, ginger and turmeric. To say it was delicious was an understatement. Tom opted for a combo of the Indian Summer and Fiejo (a fruit in NZ).
So after the ice cream, it was time for a little walk down the street, past the David Bowie mural and down an alley to … a chocolate shop, where they make chocolate from cacao nibs (i.e. from scratch). Fortunately, this stop was a pass through where we saw them mixing the chocolate and were given a small sample. It was really all I could eat at this point.
By now, it was well past 12:30 (the ending time for out tour), but Jon told us we had to stop for a drink at Rumours, which bills itself as a “Rum, Records and Brews” joint. Robin the proprietor greeted us and between he and Jon they put on quite the show. Characters and best of buddies would be an understatement.
Anyway, it turns out that Robin brews his own kombucha and this is not the vinegary kombucha from the U.S. This kombucha is home made and features a variety of flavors. We ended up trying (i) ginger and goji, (ii) coconut and lime, (iii) pomegranate, kiwi fruit and lime, (iv) peach and passion fruit, and (v) tangerine and mango. Now I have not been a fan of kombucha, but this stuff was fantastic. And the tangerine and mango was off the charts good. And while I enjoyed the kombucha, Tom ended up having a taste of a couple of Robin’s on beers on tap.
And while we drank, Robin and Jon spun tales about travel, TV shows and New Zealand, talked about Robin’s personal life, rum and beer and generally yucked it up the entire time we were there. It was an absolute blast. As I said, characters is the best way to describe these two. I think they spent more time talking over each other and laughing than actually finishing their stories.
Sadly, it was now well after 2:00 and it really was time to go. We had taken up and extra hour and half of Jon’s time. He had been an absolutely outstanding host and just when I thought he couldn’t do any more for us, he walked Tom and I outside and provided us with directions to the Museum of New Zealand, where Tom and I were going to visit the Gallipoli exhibit created by Peter Jackson.
So we said our goodbyes and walked down the street, paid our entrance fee and entered what turned out to be a very sobering hour and a half walk through WW I history and the slaughter of New Zealanders at Gallipoli. (And we decided to go because literally everyone we had run into told us it was a must do and they were 100% right.)
Now the exhibit features a half dozen or so enormous life like figures of New Zealanders who were sent to Gallipoli to try and defeat the Turks and you hear their stories in their own words.
However, the crux of the exhibit is that it takes you from the original invasion, which began in April 1915, and tells the story of the hell the men went through over the next eight months before their withdrawal in December 1915. All told, 100,000 plus soldiers lost their lives (including, Aussies, Kiwis, Brits, Newfoundlanders and Turks) before the withdrawal in December 1915.
Throughout the exhibit your hear stories from the men themselves, you see and feel what it was like to be there with actual pictures of the men in trenches, at the mud base they called home for months, hauling water, manning gun posts and in battle. There were hand written letters to loved ones back home. And there were stories about individual soldiers and their fate. It was gut wrenching, informative and heartbreaking. I read literally everything and listened to every story. It was a brilliantly designed and incredibly educational.
Now the museum holds a number of other exhibits, but after the Gallipoli exhibit, my heart just wasn’t in it. I did wander around the nature exhibit which feature birds and mammals of New Zealand (living and extinct), earthquakes and volcanoes and dinosaurs, but really only spent about a half hour there. Tom ended up wandering around this exhibit as well as a couple others on another floor, while I sat those ones out.
After the museum, we walked around the waterfront for a bit and then stopped into Dirty Little Secret, a roof top bar, where we had a drink and enjoyed the view. Tom had a bite to eat, but I was still full and said “no mas”. We then called it a day. Tomorrow we jump on the train for the loooooong 12 hour ride north to Auckland and my last full day with Tom.