the new favourite cafe & short-haul destination

We went to Waiheke Island for my best friends wedding - it is SUCH an incredible island. Only a 30 minute ferry-ride from Auckland and it reminds me of Italy (my favourite country) in more ways than one. The coastline, the vineyards, the incredible beaches, as well as the stunning views every which way you turn... it's safe to say this is my new favourite short-haul destination!

We stayed in Oneroa, and there's a strip of gorgeous little cafes and restaurants. One which stands out immediately is Wai Kitchen. With it's simplistic and neutral decor coupled with incredible water views, there's no wonder why it's in such high demand. Come on a weekend and you'll be waiting at least 30 minutes for a table, the weekdays are different - you can choose your table and order straight away. We obviously chose the latter!

The brunch menu sounds amazing, and offers the perfect fusion of traditional meals with a modern twist. We ordered the Vanilla pancakes with macadamia butter, cinnamon sugar and farm cove bacon and Pork Belly omelette with miso, ginger and black sesame.

The presentation of the pancakes was very basic, but the flavours more than made up for it. Without a doubt the best pancakes I've ever had. The inclusion of bacon to this dish is a must, however I was really disappointed to see two tiny strips for the additional $5.50 you pay. And they weren't crispy. Double disappointment... You get three layers of pancakes, which I thought was a little too filling. Two would have been perfect.

We weren't too sure what to expect with the omelette. Pork belly dishes are normally quite heavy, but this dish was actually the opposite. Flavoursome, fresh, and with the right balance and amount of ingredients. There was the perfect amount of pork belly chunks, and the flavours really tied the entire dish together. So good!

Properties Steve and Vanderput have done a fantastic job. The service was good, location incredible and food playful and delicious. As with anything on Waiheke Island, the price of dining is heavily inflated... but I guess that's just the norm here. Also it's worth nothing that there are no regular sizes for latte - just large (!?) - and they're 50c more than a cappucinno. Random.

This was my favourite cafe on the island, and will definitely be coming back here to try the rest of the brunch and lunch menus. The fresh fruit smoothies on offer also sound amazing!

Cafe: Wai Kitchen 
Total price: Food: NZ$44.50; Beverages: NZ$14.40
Hours: 9am - 4pm
Must order: Vanilla pancakes (request crisby bacon)
Coffee: Three Beans Organic Fair Trade Coffee

short trip + winery + buffalo mozzarella foam

Probably the place I was recommended the most whilst visiting Queenstown, Amisfield Winery is set amongst The Remarkables Mountain Range, overlooks Lake Hayes and is a short 15 minute drive from central Queenstown.

Established in 1988 the winery is one of the largest single vineyard estates in the Central Otago region, and is located within the iconic stone schist building. When you come to a place like this, the 'trust the chef' signature menu is an absolute must. Selected by the chef, the shared plates are based on the local produce and ingredients available on the day. And of course, we had the matching wines!

The lunch kicked off with our Amuse-bouche of Gazpacho, which was chilled, very tasty and refreshing. Our starter of Slow roasted pork belly rillette, fennel and watercress salad with hand made sourdough was so incredibly delicious. Very moreish! And one of my favourite dishes of the day. For our entree we had Heirloom tomato, buffalo mozzarella foam, reduction of balsamic vinaigrette jelly and basil. This was a delightful surprise! Buffalo mozzarella foam!? So light. So yum. All these were complimented by the Amisfield Brut 2010, which was the perfect match against the creaminess of these meals.

For our main we asked for a white fish instead of pink (I'm not a fan), and were greeted by the beautifully plated Lemon sole with mint grapes, walnuts, raspberry vinaigrette and verjuice. The fish was cooked to perfection with crispy skin and came with a side of some leafy greens, however I personally think the serving size was a little small.The dish was matched with the Amisfield Pinot Gris 2014, but I think it may have been better with the Amisfield Sauvignon Blanc 2014.

Our palate cleanser was Organic ginger beer, tapioca pearls and lemon foam - which I didn't like. At all. The flavours really didn't do it for me (but I don't like ginger beer) and the addition of tapioca? A tad random which I'm still not sure about. Maybe because it's a buzzword? Odd.

The main didn't look fantastic, but the combination of all those flavours was second to none. We had Roast beef with horseradish cream, radish and celery leaf salad, roasted potatoes with sweet paprika salt, and homemade harrissa and aioli dip. This was definitely one of the favourite dishes of the day, and that horseradish cream(!), was in-credible. The Amisfield Pinot Noir 2011 may have been my favourite New Zealand pinot I have tried (and just so happens to be Amifields signature wine), and of course went perfectly with the roast beef.

We were lucky enough to try a range of their desserts - Italian meringue with white chocolate sorbet, lemon curd and blueberries; Marinated tropical fruits with coconut frozen yoghurt and nobel granita; Vanilla bean pannacotta with nectarines, pistachio and rosemary and Chocolate mousse cake with pinot noir berries and hokey-pokey ice-cream. The crowd-favourite was a tie between the pannacotta and italian meringue, and it was agreed that the chocolate mousse is nothing special. I'm not a fan of dessert wine (far too sweet for me), but I drank the entire glass. Because that's what you do at the end of a degustation with matching wines.

We left feeling content (stomach-wise) and very happy (delicious wine + beautiful food + amazing location + great company does that!). I would absolutely recommend this for anyone travelling to Queenstown. It's a little way out so you'll need to hire a car or get a taxi, but it's well worth it. The staff were incredibly friendly, the food and wine were exquisite and let's be honest it was fairly cheap in comparison to degustations in Australia!!

Restaurant: Amisfield Winery
Total price (for 5 ppl): Food: $325; Beverages: $300
Hours: 11.30am - 8.30pm
Must order: 'Trust the chef' with 4 matching wines and dessert

make an excuse to get here

My husband and I went to Waiheke Island for my best friends wedding (a couple of blog posts to follow from that incredible place - watch this space!), and then stopped off in Queenstown on the way home for a couple of nights. Queenstown is one of those places where you literally could come for a weekend. If you book enough in advance all the major operators such as Qantas, Emirates and Air New Zealand offer really affordable rates.

We arrived mid-morning and my husband is a huge coffee enthusiast, so naturally he googled the best coffee. TripAdvisor gives Vudu Cafe 4.5/5 stars, which in my book is pretty good! As soon as we had checked in to our accommodation we made a beeline for Beach Street.

Vudu Cafe is the epitome of "Melbourne cool meets Queenstown charm". It's quaint, has it's own distinct personality with very personable staff, and plenty of seating both indoor and out to suit all occasions. Opening in 1997, owner Michelle Freeman sources local and organic products to create her hard-to-choose-from menus.

We arrived at the perfect time - still serving breakfast (my favourite), but early enough for lunch. The menu is seriously hard to choose between. Every single item listed sounds mouth-wateringly tasty. We, of course, started with our much needed coffees. A 'trim' latte and a double shot 'trim' cap. Worth noting that all their coffees have two shots in there (not that you can taste it), and are locally roasted by AllPress and delivered daily. The coffees were great for NZ, but not up to the same standards as Sydney coffee. Was slightly bitter and could have been a little creamier.

I ended up choosing the Brioche french toast with crispy bacon, banana, strawberry and goji berry puree and my husband ordered the Pulled pork and fried egg roll with relish, coriander and jalepeno slaw. They came out relatively fast, and we were the envy of the entire courtyard. Everyone was wishing they ordered our dishes and we were told by all, including the waiter, we had 'chosen well'.

The presentation was immaculate, taste of both was delectable, but that pulled pork roll. Is seriously. the best thing I have tasted in a long long time. The flavours just complimented each other so well. The egg was cooked to perfection. The relish was ridiculous. And that bun! It was almost like a bagel, but because everything is made fresh in the store each morning it was super fresh, and soft, and tasty. I would order this 1000 times over and never get sick of it. The french toast was really good - could have done with a little bit more bacon and even more 'crisp', but the pulled pork was seriously out of this world. Make an excuse to get to Queenstown. Vudu Cafe is expensive, but it needs to be on your foodie bucket list. You absolutely need to try this!

Cafe: Vudu Cafe
Total price: Food: NZ$36.50; Beverages: NZ$8.50
Hours: 8am - 10pm
Must order: Pulled pork and fried egg roll
Coffee: AllPress