Forget any preconceptions you may have about "slam in the lamb" Kiwi cuisine with a pavlova for dessert, New Zealand's food scene has forged ahead in recent years - both in terms of the quality of the food and the places where it's served.
New Zealand's
gastronomic roots
were nurtured in the British tradition of overcooked meat and two nuked vegetables, an unfortunate heritage which still informs the cooking patterns of older Kiwis and hasn't been completely displaced at some farmstays and guesthouses. Indeed, it is only in the last decade or so that New Zealand's chefs have really woken up to the possibilities presented by a fabulous larder of super-fresh, top-quality ingredients, formulating what might be termed
Modern Kiwi
cuisine. Taking its culinary cues from Californian and contemporary Australian cuisine, it combines traditional elements such as steak, salmon and crayfish with flavours drawn from the
Mediterranean, Asia
and the
Pacific Rim
: sun-dried tomatoes, lemongrass, basil, ginger, coconut and many more. Restaurateurs feel duty-bound to fill their menu with as broad a spectrum as possible, lining up seafood linguini, couscous, sushi, Thai venison meatballs and a chicken korma alongside the rack of lamb and gourmet pizza. Sometimes this results in gastronomic overload, but more often the results are sensational.
New Zealand ingredients
New Zealanders have a taste for meat. The quality of New Zealand lamb is matched by that of other
meats
, beef, chicken and, more recently, farmed venison, which appears on menus as cervena. Farmed ostrich is also gaining fans for its leanness...
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Food and drink terms
butternut
type of pumpkin
capsicum
bell peppers
cervena
farmed venison
...
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Restaurants, cafes and bars
The quality of
restaurants
in New Zealand is typically superb, the portions are respectable, and with the current low value of the NZ dollar will seem wonderful value for money - especially at
BYO
establishments, where the cost is...
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The hangi
In New Zealand restaurants you'll find little or no representation of
Maori
or Polynesian cuisines, but you can sample traditional cooking methods at a
hangi
(pronounced nasally as "hungi"), where meat and vegetables are...
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Breakfast, snacks and takeaways
New Zealanders generally take a fairly light "continental"
breakfast
of juice, cereals, toast and tea or coffee. Visitors staying at a homestay or B&B may well be offered an additional "cooked breakfast" probably along...
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Self-catering
If you're
self-catering
your best bet for supplies is the local supermarket: the warehouse-style Pak 'n Save is cheap and found in most large towns and usually stays open until at least 8pm every day. The less common Big Fresh is also good...
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Drinking
New Zealand boasts many fine wines and beers, which can be sampled in cafés and restaurants all over the land. But for the lowest prices and a genuine Kiwi atmosphere you can't go past the
pub
, often known as a
hotel
from the days...
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