Vegan Travels in New Zealand

My sweet mom secretly bought some goodies for me from Rehab (rating in previous post) and surprised me with it for breakfast! The passionfruit slice was small but fabulous. I ate lunch at a "healthy" fast food restaurant called  Tank in the Auckland Airport. I got the Wild Child wrap instead of salad because it was cheaper. It was nothing to write home about. But the mango zest smoothie was a party in my mouth! (It did have sorbet in it which is kind of cheating but it seriously made the list of top smoothies I’m willing to overlook...)  Rating 4/5 stars since the food was average but the smoothie was awesome! I left New Zealand the same time I arrived on Day 1, about 1:30 p.m.

Honestly, I was still feeling yucky from last night so I didn’t eat breakfast. For lunch we ate at a restaurant called Rehab . I had a Malaysian curry which was very satisfying and just what I needed after my last meal.   Rating 5/5: Good selection of tasty refreshing lunch options and desserts. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant called Farelli’s Trattoria . I ordered gnocchi based on the servers recommendation (she also recommended the pizza but since I’d already had pizza twice on the trip I thought I’d switch it up) and all I could think about was how overpriced it was! This was in addition to the side of garlic bread we ordered.  Rating 4/5: Food was decent and portion sizes were reasonable but let me put it this way, it was the most expensive meal of the trip and it wasn’t the best meal of the trip! We treated ourselves to dessert afterwards at Mrs. Ferg Gelateria. I got a kiwi-flavored sorbet. It was on the tart side, which I like....

For breakfast I had the apple rhubarb slice from Modaks Espresso. It was evidently also loaded with coconut because it soaked through not one but two of those brown bags pastries go in. The flavor was nice but it was so rich I could only eat half at a time. The better part of the day was taken up driving to and from Milford Sound for a Real Journeys Scenic Cruise which I highly recommend. The lunch wasn't too exciting: apple, grapes, olives, and a carrot/lettuce/tomato sandwich, but at least they tried. If possible, bring some additional snacks because it was pretty low-calorie. We didn’t get to Queenstown until 8:30 p.m. I wanted to try out Fergburger since it’s world famous but was told there would be at least a 45 minute wait. Devil Burger had ratings just as good and was closer to our hotel so we went there instead. I asked if the buns were vegan and was told no immediately. Employees weren't sure about the wraps, so they read the ingredients on the package ...

I ate breakfast at the Black Cat Cafe. They were open when I got there but only serving two items for breakfast, one in the case and one in the back. I ordered the one in the case which was an apricot slice, and it just didn't hit the spot for me.  Rating 2/5 for having very few options and taste and texture of what I did get was off. For lunch I went to Modaks Espresso. I ordered a mexi loaded baked potato which ended up being some sort of chili lentil potato—they did come out and apologize for the substitution and make sure it would be okay first—plus a piece of the most decadent mocha cake. Planning ahead, I also bought a savory scroll for dinner and an apple rhubarb slice for breakfast.   Rating 4/5 for being out of what I ordered, plus the potato was a bit dry and could have used more sauce. Since Te Anau had not a single vegan-friendly restaurant open for dinner except Subway, which I have not eaten at since I got food poisoning there a...

I had a ginger slice from C1 Espresso for breakfast, which was delightful (rating in previous post). For lunch I ate at the Governors Cafe . I waited more than 15 minutes for my sandwich; when they finally brought it out and I saw how small it was I asked if I could add fries to my order. It was 3:02 p.m. and I was told no because they stopped serving food at 3 p.m. The sandwich was heated and all the ingredients I chose (hummus, relish, pineapple) were blended together into a paste, which I wasn’t expecting and never did decide if that made it better or worse.  Rating 3/5 for unfriendly service and unclear what you’re getting when you order. I wasn’t blown away by the taste/texture/portions of food. We ate dinner at Formosa Delight, which had a lot of options. The only bummer was that because we got there late (8 p.m. and they closed at 8:30) they were out of rice and we were holding them up from being able to close, which they were nice about, but it...

I had a delicious cookie from C1 Espresso for breakfast. I don't know if I can properly rate the restaurant since I only got snack-ish type items but I'll give my limited impression... Rating 5/5: Open fairly early which was a lifesaver. They offer several vegan options for breakfast and lunch. A tad more than I wanted to spend but I was totally okay with it once I realized how delectable the sweets I bought were. We went on an all-day Alpine Safari Day Tour. Unfortunately there had been a fire on the tracks, so it turned into a ride in a jeep instead of on a train. We were given a partial refund, so I imagine the train would have been more scenic. We drove through a farm where the driver pointed out the difference between the "wool" sheep and the "meat" sheep (the meat sheep hadn't been sheered recently) which was of course unsettling to me. Lunch was alright—I was given a plain baked potato and was able to eat some salad and bread. Ne...

For breakfast I had the noodles from the Green Time Cafe that I had meant to eat for lunch yesterday. They were quite tasty and just the right amount (rating in Day 3 post). For lunch I ate at a chain pizza restaurant called Hell . The sinister pizza was excellent and my only regret was it getting cold before I could finish it.  Rating 5/5: Very affordable and superb flavor For dinner we walked to Coriander’s , a fancy Indian restaurant about 10 minutes away. My entree was good but there was only had one kind of bread that was vegan and it tasted kind of funky, so I don't recommend paying the extra money for it. My parents absolutely loved their food including the naan (which wasn’t vegan).  Rating 4/5 because of the bread plus the service was slow (although to be fair the restaurant was completely full); otherwise the food is wonderfully seasoned and the portions were very filling despite appearing small, making the price more reasonable.

For breakfast I had a delicious slice of banana bread from the Green Time Cafe (rated in my previous post). Lunch took place at Hobbiton. Surprisingly, the buffet had several vegan options, including a chickpea curry that was quite good. You don't need to make the mistake I did of bringing along the $13 lunch bought the day before.  Mom and I ate dinner at a restaurant called Capers Epicurean . Risotto was the only official menu item that was vegan, but they had a deli section where there were several more and also an a few vegan desserts to choose from. I decided to go with the risotto, which was good. I also got a smoothie for dessert, which was very watery and overpowered by the taste of banana.  Rating 3/5 because of the cost compared to the portion size and because of the smoothie letdown.

Coincidentally I picked up a 50% off coupon off the ground for a cafe I wanted to go to called Revive , so we ate breakfast there.  Rating 4/5: They were already getting ready to clear out breakfast a half hour before it ended, but there was plenty of food. You can choose between sweet and savory or do half/half. Dad and I ate at a Vietnamese restaurant called The Bamboo Basket.  Rating 4/5: The ba minh sandwich I got was very good, but the restaurant was a little tough to find since it wasn't facing the walkway. Just look for an adorable bike near the food court- or go into the food court then come out and you should see it! I went to a vegan restaurant called Green Time Cafe to get lunch for the next day and ended up just eating dinner there. Rating 4/5: The noodle dish and banana bread were quite good. The burger I got was closer to average, and I thought it was on the pricy side to not come with fries or any other side.

We arrived in Auckland at about 1:30 p.m. after 17 hours of flying time and 25 hours of travel time. Mom and I went to dinner at the Sunflower Thai Vegetarian Restaurant.  Rating 5/5 stars. The whole restaurant was vegan. We split a pad thai and some curry puffs. The food was delicious and reasonably priced.

We flew Fiji Airlines from Los Angeles to Auckland. There were 6 total meals provided, 3 each way, and only one was questionably vegan. I did have to email them ahead of time to specify I wanted vegan (it wasn't technically a dietary option when purchasing the plane ticket) but it was pretty easy considering the outcome. They seemed to go to a lot of effort to not only honor my request, but to make sure they delivered the right meal to the right person, and to actually make it taste good.  Rating 4/5 stars