Its stay home sunday today because the boyfriend is having a tummy upset :(

Seems like i'm slowly getting used to kiwi lifestyle. i'm the sort who can't stay at home because i love my shopping and meetups, but here in NZ, the pace of life is quite different. And like what Kat said, i seem to be enjoying early retirement lol.

His parents have been bringing us out for good meals or cooking in (mum's an awesome cook) and i'm really thankful.

Just 2 days back, we had teppanyaki dinner in the garden.

Apart from the usual pork belly and chicken (which were marinated in his mum's home-made sauce), we also had oysters and mussels from our trip to clevedon.

Clevedon Coast Oysters

His dad drove us down to clevedon for their jumbo sized fresh oysters.

Comparing it to the size of a fork, and its also a lot cheaper. The taste is a little raw and salty because its fresh from the sea but its so filling that i felt so full from eating just 4 of them.

Lunch was a nearby fish and chips shop which was so, so good.

Our crispy snapper and taranaki fish. The fish is so fresh and its not oily. Love the tartar sauce dip. Perfect taste!

Sichuan in Remuera Restaurant

I wouldn't think that there'll be nice tim sum in an ang moh country but i was so wrong. The portion here's a lot bigger and a hundred times better than singapore's yum cha.  Here's some of my fave items from the table.

Har gow, siew mai, salted egg custard bun (its even nice than the ones i had in HK) and char siew puff. Super love the crispy pastry! And a unique delicacy we had was this durian ball...

Its so addictive and tastes like mao shang wang durian ice cream, wrapped in icy cold skin. Yum!

The Sushi Room

After our staycation at grand hotel, we had sushi buffet lunch in the city after check out. i love the food presentation and all those cute little baskets they have, like the takoyaki balls, prawn tempura and teriyaki chicken in a fry pan.

Not forgetting dessert.

Kumara with ice cream and snow white. i love the daifuku which had chocolate and strawberry dessert. Its like mochi ice cream and not too sweet. Yum!

I'm actually getting hungry myself so i shall stop looking and uploading foodie pics =X

Besides shopping and eating, i've been doing quite a bit of dog-walking too. i don't own a dog back home so i'm more than happy to bring Geri out for walks.

(minus the poop-picking part which is usually not done by me hehe)

I suggested bringing Geri to half moon bay ferry terminal where i've seen a few doggies. He, being the alpha dog, started peeing on the poles and pots ><

Caught in action.

He wasn't familiar with the new territory but i thought the view was pretty nice, with all the sails.

And Geri seems to enjoy it too.

Tried taking a few pics with him hehe.

And then its home sweet home!

Love how he sticks his tongue out. Cute!

Firstly..

Happy birthday piggy! ♥

Was supposed to meet Lisa for his birthday celebration yesterday but the tornado wrecked our plans. The weather was so bad but ended up really sunny in the end. Sigh, what a shame.

Ended up staying home with the boys..

And counted down over dessert at denny's (its really hard to find 24 hour places in NZ).

That's his banana fritters and my macaroon brownie. No, there wasn't any macaroon :(

It rained again today and i found a new shopping paradise! Westfield manukau has all the shops i like, all under one roof. i feel kinda bad for making the birthday boy accompany me shop but its his idea so.. Hehehe. No guilt trap.

Hobbit craze in NZ has been pretty infectious. They even have an ice cream flavour called hobbit crunch.

Can't wait for the movie to be out next week!

My 11th day in NZ!

The last time i was here in june, i could only afford to spend 11 days. Time was pretty tight, especially when shops and attractions close at 5 pm. But now that i've a month, i can sink in to the slow pace of life here.

Happy places i've been to so far...

WAIHEKE ISLAND

The day after i arrived, Lisa and i went on a day trip to waiheke island. We got the ferry and hop-on-hop-off pass for 45 bucks.

Waiheke island is known for their vineyards but since vineyards look pretty much the same, we visited stonyridge, which is the most popular one.

We had lunch there as well and our table overlooked the vineyard.

And we definitely had to try the wine since we were there. So here goes...

Chardonnay and pligrim. i quite like the chardonnay which has a tinge of hazelnut. Food was equally awesome.

Lamb rump and eye fillet.

After lunch, we hopped back on to the hopper and spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach doing crazy stuff.

On our way  back to the ferry terminal, we were distracted by the smell of fish and chips from one of the shops and stopped by to get some.

'Twas became our snack on the ferry back. We almost missed the ferry 'cause we missed the bus back. Thankfully, there was a kind lady who gave us a lift back to the ferry terminal. Phew!

HOBBITON

Booked the hobbiton tour via intercity. Tickets to hobbiton itself is 75 bucks which is very expensive because its only a 2 hour guided tour and also because attractions in NZ are mostly free. The film set was pretty cool and everything is so mini!

Having said and seen, i don't think it was a very worthwhile trip 'cause the journey from auckland to matamata by bus was so tiring. Spent most of my time travelling and waiting. The worst thing was, my bus got delayed for an hour and i had to wait at bus stop, hungry and cold :(

Gonna stop here for now. i've become really lazy ever since i got here lol.