Rotorua, New Zealand

Let's GO!

Move to another city was as exciting as move to a new house :-)

Rydges was the BEST choice!

Big room with a spa.. PERFECTO!

Makan malam pun tiba.. another exciting thing..

PILIH-PILIH Restaurant..

Ada beberapa menurut review yang enak 

Tapi antrinya itu loh ngga tahan..

Mac's

1110 Tutanekai St

Rotorua

"Don't waste the sun"

Secara musim hujan.. 

Jadinya pagi2 selalu kata-kata ini yang terngiang-ngiang

Skyline

Tempat mainnya anak-anak..

Luge, Gondola..

Recommended banger!!! Kalo ke Rotorua harus ke sini!!

Lunch buffet-nya juga memuaskan!

Lamb cutlet was AMAZING!

Harganya juga $25 for lunch.

HARUS COBA!!!

Rotorua artinya Second Lake.

Thermal activity yang paling dicari kale ke Rotorua.

Masuk kotanya pun sudah kecium bau belerang.

Lama-lama sih biasa aja :-)

"Nestled beside the cerulean blue Lake Rotorua, the township of Rotorua is home to one of the most unique tourism sites in the world. 

Aside from the breathtaking scenery of this volcanic-shaped wonderland, the 16 beautiful lakes in the region and the lush green of the abundant native flora, Rotorua is a geothermal paradise and the cultural heartland.

A visit to the museum located within the famous Rotorua Bath House will educate and intrigue with its extensive Maori heritage collections. Be enriched by the spirit of the Maori people and learn why the Arawa, the Maori of Rotorua, began the tradition of the cultural guides in New Zealand, bestowing the privilege of visiting some of the natural wonders of their homeland to the first Europeans here."

www.rotorua.nz.com

Next destination...

Paradise Valley Springs Wildlife Park

"Paradise Valley Springs is a beautifully presented New Zealand Trout, Bird and Wildlife park, along with a pride of African Lions and Lion Cub Patting.

Trout Pools 

Flowing through Paradise Valley Springs is the Ngongotaha Stream. This is the major trout spawning stream for Lake Rotorua and Lake Roroiti and approximately 20,000 trout spawn in this stream annually. The Trout are totally wild and are free to come and go as they wish. The Ngongotaha Stream is very popular with anglers and produces some fine fish."

www.paradisev.co.nz

New Zealand Farm Walk

Blue Lake / Tikitapu

"Lakes of stunning beauty, these smaller lakes nestle among steep, green hills, very close to Lake Tarawera. Tikitapu, the Blue Lake, is the closest to Rotorua and its clear, clean crystal blue water is popular with boa ties, swimmers and water skiers.

Green Lake / Rotokakahi

There is an easy walking track which encircles the lake with incredible views towards Rotokakahi, the Green Lake. A perfectly lovely spot for a picnic, there are delightful sandy beaches and grassed areas with barbecues and rubbish bins provided."

www.rotorua.nz.com 

Hobbiton, Matamata, New Zealand

Semua excited!!!Gimana ngga? Sebelum ke sini kita 'lahap' Trilogy Lord of the Rings and Hobbitons! Masih melekat banget di kepala Middle-Earth ini!

Sepanjang jalan menuju ke Matamata dari Auckland hujan deras! Sempet bingung mo ngapain nanti kalo emang hujan. The kids never give up!!! They prayed all the way to Matamata.. Stop in between kalo cuaca agak cerah. Praise God! Just in time waktu kita masuk parkiran, ngga hujan sama sekali!!! Sempet gerimis di saat kita naik tour bus menuju The Real Middle-Earth 

Gerimis pun berhenti waktu kita mulai tour.. PRAISE GOD!!! Malah matahari bersinar terang selama kita di The Hobbiton ini! The weather was so nice! Ujan malah bikin efek warna yang menyegarkan! Rumput lebih hijau, pohon pun ngga kalah cerah hijau nya walaupun ada 'Fake Tree' nya juga!

PERFECT!! All the details!!! Sampe lumut-lumut pun diperhatikan.. Biar kelihatan lebih alami! AMAZING!

Tibalah di The Green Dragon Inn 

"Step inside the bar at The Green Dragon Inn and you are immediately transported to Middle-Earth. The interior of the inn is an exact reproduction of that which featured in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Our Southfarthing range is traditionally brewed for Hobbiton Movie Set, right here in Middle-Earth, New Zealand. Served from the barrels of The Green Dragon Inn, our Southfarthing range captures the taste of The Shire, home of the Hobbits."

www.hobbitontours.com

Waktu kita dateng yang disuguhin GRATIS a.k.a FREE : Frogmorton Ginger Beer, Ginger Beer. ENAK.. SEGER!

Joelle got a big Mug of the Ginger Beer.

Jalan-jalan muter-muter menikmati indahnya pemandangan, sambil flash-back ke film lagi.. Apa yang terjadi di lokasi ini.. etc.. etc..

PUAS!!Recommended!!!

Abis jalan.. Laper dong ya.. Udah lewat jam makan siang pula.. Udah ngga sanggup lah nyari-nyari Resto. Mampirlah kita ke The Shires Rest Cafe & Function Centre

Picture :  www.hobbitontours,com

Left : Egg & Ham Sandwich

Middle and Right : Spinach Quiche

Ngemil-ngemil lah.. Ganjel perut.. Karena makanan beratnya harus nunggu, dan kita udah ngga bisa nunggu :-)

Makanan-nya OK-lah.. Wedges nya yang keliatan so tempting.. tapi nunggu 15-20 mins.

Bagi yang mo ke New Zealand!!

MAMPIR SINI ya...

Keren!!!

Dida's, Ponsonby

"Dida" is Croatian for "Grandfather". The Dida's tore, then, are a tribute to the vision of my pioneering grandfather who started Glengarry Wines in 1940. "

Jak Jakicevich

Tempat ini keren banget!! ASLI!!! Karena turis jadinya kan suka bingung ya mutusin mo makan di mana? Biasanya si ke Mr Google lah.. Paling ngga harus tahu dulu mo makan apa.. Kalo Breakfast.. ya biasanya kita cari "BEST BREAKFAST (CITY)".. It always works!

Pas masuk langsung berasa homy banget! Liat makanan, cemilannya bikin pengen di makan semua :-)

Inget... Inget.. Ini brekfast ya De'...

Baca menu-nya pun enak.. secara langsung di depan mata.. Gede-gede pula tulisannya!

Hayukslah diintip makanannya!

Cappuccino

Spanish Scrambled Eggs

With Chorizo, Olives, Roast Peppers, Shallots & Feta

$ 16.50

Scvrambled di atas ini JUARA!!! Enak banget!!! Ngga ada bandingannya!!! Berasa lagi di dunia manaaaaa gitu!

Fresh Fruit Salad

With Raspberry Compote, Yoghurt & Honeycomb

$ 13

Fruit Salad nya juga enak! Raspberry Compote bikin lengkap!!! Kalo menurut gw.. Kalo ke New Zealand jangan nyari buah deh.. Ngga banyak variasi.. Tapi kalo Daging-nya JUARA!!! THE BEST!!

A Breakfast Stack

Free Range Bacon, Roast Mushrooms & Wilted Spinach, served on a Crispy Potato Hash Cake, topper with a Poached Egg

$ 16.50

Sal's : Authentic New York Pizza

Sal's Pizza in New Zealand was started by 2 longtime friends - Nick from Auckland, New Zealand and Ciaran from Queens, New York. And here's how it all came to be...

Ciaran went to see Salvatore 'Sal' Leo, who owned Sal's Pizza in Little Neck, Queens, New York - and asked him if he'd ever share his recipes? Sal said whenever ready he'd be happy to! (keep in kind Ciaran had been eating Sal's most of his life and knew Sal [and his son Brian] for years.) So, that invitation stayed with him in the back of his mind for well over a decade.

So, fast forward to the afternoon of Thursday January 3rd 2008 (EST) - Nic and his brother were in New York visiting Ciaran and his brother for New Year's. Still suffering from the lingering effects of a slightly extended New Year's celebration - N and C decided to order a large cheese pizza from Sal's.

After polishing off the pizza Nick got to saying how great it would be if only there were pizza 'that good' in New Zealand.

Sal's

Left : Pepperoni Pizza $5 per slice / $28 Large 18"

Right  : Garlic Knots $1.5 each / 3 for $3

Their ingredients are AUTHENTIC imported to New Zealand - the Wisconsins mozzarella, California tomatoes, New York state milled flour, pepperoni, and meatballs.

"We are proud to serve you AUTHENTIC New York Pizza..."

Last year kita pertama kali makan Sal's Pizza ini. LnTJ senang bukan kepalang.. The BEST Cheese Pizza they ever taste! haha!

Malam itu berhubung kita udah rada cape', jadinya take-away aja.. dan sayangnya Cheese Pizza-nya SOLD OUT! OUCH! We ordered Pepperoni Pizza, Garlic Knots and Original Buffalo Wings.

Original Buffalo Wings $8.50 per 1/2 lb

 Ternyata Buffalo Wings nya cukup pedes buat TJ, tapi tetep aja di makan :-) Garlic Knot's nya enak.. Garlic nya berasa banget! Bisa di liat di foto di bawah ini.. betapa besarnya ukuran Sal's Pizza per slice nya..

Defenitely we'll be back!!

Or langsung ke Sal's New York!

Raviz, Auckland

Raviz

The Home of Authentic Indian Cuisine

61 Hobson St

Auckland 1010

New Zealand

+64 9 309 8800

Tahun lalu diajak dadakan liburan ke Auckland. Tahun ini liburannya lebih terencana. Ke Raviz inipun salah satu rencana yang ada dalam list. Beberapa kali ke sini, Restaurant-nya ngga pernah penuh.. Ngga pernah kosong juga.. Apa mungkin karena tempatnya lumayan luas dan kursinya banyak? Yang datang pun dari berbagai macam negara, misalnya kita.. Indonesia, ada juga yang asli India, tapi ada juga dari Korea dan Eropa. 

Plain Naan $3.50 ; Cheese Naan $4.00 ; Garlic Naan $4.00

Kalo ke Restaurant India di mana pun juga, Naan pun ngga pernah ketinggalan.. Dan pesanannya pun hampir selalu sama.. Plain Naan, Cheese Naan and Garlic Naan.

Butter Chicken pun ngga ketinggalan.. Favoritnya LnTJ.. Butter Chicken nya enak.. One of our favourite! Sauce nya kental tapi ngga bikini neg' trus spice nya PAS banget!

Left : Navratan Korma $14.50

Right : Butter Chicken $16.90

Navratan Korma ini campuran sayuran yang dimasak dalam saus 'creamy' dari Kacang Mete, Almond dan di 'garnish' dengan 'Fruits and Nuts'. Enak dan seger! Cocok buat Vegan.. Apalagi kalo dimakan pake Naan.. SEDAP!! Saus nya itu berasa 'NUT' nya.. Campuran dengan SPICE nya pun bikin lengkap!

Sebenernya kalo kita (Baca : The Tanasale) masuk ke Restaurant India, sebenernya tanpa liat menu nya kita udah tahu mo mesen apa. karena yang kita pesen sebenernya itu-itu aja, variasi biasanya di Sayur ataupun nambah Lamb or Fish Curry.

Nah.. Dua desserts ini juga selalu ada dalam pikiran sebelum masuk Restaurant.. Mango Lassi dan Gulab Jamun.

Left : Mango Lassi

Right : Gulab Jamun $5.00

O ya.. The food was AMAZING. Tapi.. Nunggunya LAMA! Kalo mesen jangan segan buat ngingetin pesanan kita biar cepet nyampenya :-)

Ngga tahu kenapa pelayannya cuma satu, dan di cashier juga satu, entahlah yang di dapur berapa. Kayaknya dia harus nambah pelayan, kesian juga ngeliat Mba-nya berlari kiri-kanan, depan-belakang.. 

RECOMMENDED!