Yummy Souvenirs of Christchurch
I just returned from Christchurch last evening. The city itself was quite boring, maybe because it was winter and most shops close early, not to mention the gloomy weather most of the time. Fortunately, I had LM and LYM with me. These 2 are real jokers and they really made my stay memorable.
The 1st day when we arrived in Christchurch, LM's host drove me to Thomas's Hotel, the hotel where I stayed for 4 days before shifting to YMCA, located just down the street. Maree, the friendly receptionist at the hotel, showed me my room at a quiet corner of the hotel. She then showed me an electric blanket on the bed and taught me how to use it. Before she left the room, I asked her if anyone has ever been electrocuted by the blanket. The amused lady giggled and said, "no, but you'll be the 1st one".
I then took a shower, and after wetting my hair, I reached for the shampoo and realised that I had forgotten to bring my l'Oréal shampoo and conditioner! After cursing at myself, I had no choice but to use the soap given by the hotel. Yuks! The next day, I was fortunate enough to find a l'Oréal hairdressing shop a few streets from my hotel, so I bought a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. I had many nice showers after that. Long live shampoo and conditioners!
Besides rehearsing with LM and LYM, and a little shopping around, there was nothing much to do at this time of the year in Christchurch. As we need to rehearse, get ready for the competition, and go for recitals at the festival, we can't really go out of the city. So we 3 found a solution --- EATING!
On the 3rd day, LM's host and her hubby brought the 3 of us to Willowbank to see kiwi birds and to have dinner there. The seafood (photo above) was quite nice, but I didn't like the raw mussels. I took one and nearly vomitted. As I didn't want to embarrass myself, I took big bites and quickly swollowed it. Then I rinsed my mouth with a glass of New Zealand red wine.
The next morning, LM and I walked to Harris' Cafe just next to YMCA for breakfast and we each had Pancake Stack (photo above: consists of fruit salad and yoghurt in between 3 layers of pancakes) for brunch. At about 5.20pm, the both of us and LYM went to the greek restaurant, "Santorini" for dinner, and I had Souvlaki (photo below), which is barbecued kebabs of lamb or chicken marinated in their specially created blend of nature's herbs and spices.
After that, we walked to "Party Warehouse" bar for a drink. We drank and chit-chatted till after 9pm. Then we left to return to YMCA, but we heard and saw a lady playing the keyboard at "The Viaduct" bar nearby, so we went in to listen to her instead. LYM asked for lamb chop and I asked for tea. LM burst out laughing while the amused waiter couldn't help grinning, and he told us that there're no lamb chops or tea at the bar. So we ordered a bowl of fries (photo below) and drank plain water.
On the 5th night, LM, LYM and I went to a vegetarian restaurant, "Deux de Lux" at the Arts Centre for dinner. The food was quite good, especially the fish fillet that I had.
On the 6th night, we 3 went to "Top Kapi Turkish Kebab House" for dinner and we had chicken, beef and lamb kebabs respectively. LYM also ordered garlic bread (photo above) as starter and it was really good. Very different from the garlic bread at pizza hut. It was a little oily but very, very tasty. Yummy!
The next evening, we went to the French restaurant, "Le Bon Belli" for dinner. After that, we visited a striptease club. As business was very slow that night, the bouncer charged the 3 of us NZ$10 altogether instead of the usual NZ$20 each. Aren't we lucky! LYM was quite fascinated with the dancers, and he jokingly asked why they entertained other men in the club instead of him. I told him that any sane nude dancers will hardly entertain a man sitting in between 2 female friends. After a while, LYM and I went to a pool table at the other side of the room and he taught me to play pool. It was very fun and I found that I played better with my left hand than my right.
On the 8th evening, we 3 went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner, and we also had homemade sake to warm ourselves up. Then we walked for about 1hr to "Garden City Bowls" to bowl. On the way there, we stopped by a huge Burger King fast-food restaurant for a drink to warm ourselves again as it was very cold and windy that night. At the bowling alley, we had coke, fries and sausages as snacks. We left at about 11.10pm, then we walked back to YMCA. On the way, we stopped by a Japanese restaurant for supper. We had fritters and seaweed soup and also more homemade sake.
On the 9th day, we had buffet dinner at a Korean restaurant. It cost us NZ$23 each and they had hardly anything on the buffet table. I wanted chicken meat and I couldn't find it, so I asked a waitress. She said "no chicken meat. Have chicken heart". Good grief! What kind of buffet is that??? In the end, I had wild mushrooms, vegetables, macaroni salad and potato salad instead. For a meal like that, it's really not worth the money.
The next day, I had omelette and toast for Harris' Cafe for brunch. It was delicious, but a little expensive --- NZ$11.
On the 11th day, LM, LYM and I went to "Red Lantern Hotpot Restaurant" for dinner. It was buffet style and it has lots of food to offer at a cheap price of NZ$20 each. We had our table filled with food and we ate and drank till we almost burst.
On the 12th night, and also the last night that I would be in Christchurch before returning home the next day, we 3 had dinner at "Tutto Bene", an Italian Restaurant and Pizzaria. The ambiance and food was very good. It cost us an average of NZ$30 each.
The next day, LM and LYM accompanied me to the airport and we had breakfast there. Later, on the plane, I had 2 fried fish fillets and mash potatoes for lunch, Tip Top Tub Vanilla ice-cream and Japanese rice crakers for tea, and spicy chicken with spaghetti noodles for dinner. I haven't had such delicious airline food for a long time.
When I reached Changi Airport, I had dinner at a Chinese restaurant with my family, who has came to pick me up.
In conclusion, this whole trip was a real feast for me, and I hope to have many more to come!