Jam Jar Jan

The ‘Wellington Blown Away’ sign sits on the hill, Hollywood-style, on the hillside in Miramar, just outside Wellington airport, wecoming you in to the capital of New Zealand. 

The city sits on the southern-most tip of the North Island and is reputedly the world’s windiest city, due to its location on the Cook Strait which runs between the two Islands. I’ll vouch for that - I was glad of the layers I’d packed and my trusty blue scarf.

 It’s also a nod to the fact that Peter Jackson turned the city into ‘Wellywood’ as it became the centre of all things ‘Lord of the Rings’, and this was part of the appeal for Student Son to study Computer Games Art there. So yes, he may as well have a degree in LOTR by the end of his 3 years - he’s been to the Weta Workshop to see the special effects, he’s visited Hobbiton to channel his inner Hobbit, and he’s even climbed ‘Mount Doom’ in search of fire-breathing dragons.

During his time here he has toured all of these places, done the mega- hikes in both North and South Islands, and sent pictures of the views at the peak. This meant that I didn’t have to, so we happily settled for a much more relaxed stay in Windy Welly to explore all it has to offer. Just a boat trip to the South island is 3 hours, so staying put suited me for once.

On arrival S-son told us to purchase a Snapper card for the buses and we didn’t look back. We stayed in different locations and the buses were cheap, easy and efficient.

We stayed in different locations to really appreciate the contrasts to be found in the area - bustling city, the coffee culture of cosmopolitan Cuba Street, sleepy seaside towns, magnificent views from Mount Victoria, the tram ride to the botanical gardens and Zealandia eco-sanctuary, and Miami beach-style esplanades and wide walkways for lively harbour-side living and the Te Pepe Tongarewa museum.

We started in the City in the Movenpick Hotel, convenient for his student digs (tables were turned - how often do parents take their washing to their student children?!).
Now, while I’ve got your attention, let me tell you why you should stay at a Movenpick on your travels. It appears that a standard feature of the hotel offering is a complementary chocolate buffet with chocolate fountain every afternoon between 4 and 5pm. Yes, free chocolate, and yes, daily, you read that correctly. We didn’t know that at the time of booking, but Student Son was round like a shot when we told him.

It was also close to arty and inclusive Cuba street, Wellington’s bohemian pedestrianised quarter. Filled with cafes and restaurants catering for every cultural cuisine, we had Mexican, Italian, Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, even Ethiopian (where we sampled sour injera bread to scoop up dishes of spiced lentils and chickpeas), and we frequented  the Willis Street street food market and many pop-up vans for easy dinner options (we were of course S-S’s free meal ticket for the duration. We got used to a daily text ‘so what’s the idea for dinner??’).
Top recommendation was Ombra, where we dined on Venetian-inspired small plates for our intimate anniversary celebration. Well, it would have been, if our over enthusiastic waiter hadn’t have been so chatty, but that’s Welly for you - friendly and inclusive, and full of NZ and Aussies who have lived in UK at some point (invariably Ealing or Luton it seems) as a right of passage and want to share their travel tales.

In fact it was hard to identify traditional New Zealand cuisine, but it seems meat pies are quite a feature and we were sent to sample these from Puku pies in Lyle Bay one day. Steak and cheese was a winner, or cheesy cauliflower for a veggie option. I was also intrigued to see palusami - a Fijian dish of taro leaves and meat, which coincidentally I adapted for the English table as one of my first batch of recipes written for the Tesco Magazine back in the day.

I expected much more seafood, so our stay in the seaside town of Seatoun (sounds like a place for cartoon characters) certainly delivered. On the crossroads between Dundas Street and Falkirk Avenue, just back from the pebble beach with its mountain vistas,  there is a Little Sprig, a small wine bar with craft beers, serving delightful plates of freshly made food; Huckle & Co, a fish and chip shop; Arcimbaldi, a popular breakfast cafe selling a myriad of mouthwatering muffins; the Cameron & Harrison butchery and delicatessen; a small Four Square supermarket, and the ubiquitous Dairy store - a kind of newsagent/sweet shop/ice cream corner shop common in New Zealand. So for a tiny sleepy seaside town it Is a food lovers delight.
Standout breakfast dish at Arcimbaldi was busecca matta (pic top right) which literally translates as fake tripe. Fear not, no offal was involved, instead delicate omelette strips with tomato sauce, basil and bacon - definitely one to replicate at home. At the end of the day their muffins were reduced to half price, so we enjoyed half each of Persimmon & Blueberry Crumble and Fig & Pecan on our way back to our cosy self-contained Airbnb.

This town was the perfect place to unwind, quiet but with the city just a 30 min bus trip away, with stunning coastal walks to Breaker Bay and beyond, and I’d thoroughly recommend the Happy Seagull B&B should you ever choose to visit.

I was a little surprised at the lack of bakeries, serving pastries and sourdough. Cake and muffins seem to be the go to. But I was happy to discover the Shelley Bay Baker at our next point of call, Oriental Parade, where we stayed in an apartment with a picture window looking out on the harbour, enjoying the prime position to watch the runners, cyclists, swimmers and rowers intent on getting fit as we sat and ate our bakery goodies. We discovered alfajore biscuits, a chocolate coated cookie sandwich filled with Dulce de Leche, to go with our daily caffei fix, as we sat watching dog walkers and keen cold water dippers (we only managed to paddle, the sun and blue skies are misleading - the wind chill brings the temperature down).

Chocolate, cheese, and vineyards also featured (of course) so read on for more discoveries.

One highlight was a drive over the Ramutaka ranges north of the city for a voyage of food discoveries

First stop Featherston for cheese and deli goods and a cafe stop to recover after the winding mountain roads

Then Martinborough for vineyards and tastings at the Margrain vineyard and pizza with grapes (of course)

Craft beer at the Martinborough brewery

Greytown for dessert - for Schoc chocolates. Belgian chocolate combined with New Zealand flavours

Chocolate had to feature, didn’t it. It’s reassuring to know that there are just as many craft chocolate makers in the Southern hemisphere, and we certainly found them. The Wellington chocolate factory didn't disappoint. We enjoyed peppermint cacao husk tea in the cafe, and took home packs of single origin chocolate and chocolate coated hazelnuts. S-Son later did the Chocolatier experience, amazing value at $65NZD (about £30) to learn about craft chocolate and custom make 3 bars, enjoy a hot chocolate drink and enjoy 20% off in the shop.

Fishy Business and fantastical fruits

Feijoa fruit - fabulous in muffins.

Feijoa, or pineapple guava, is a New Zealand favourite with a distinct frangrant perfume all of its own and a flavour reminiscent of a number of exotic fruits. Some say strawberries, kiwi or pineapple but I also got lychee, perhaps because of its perfume and jelly like interior. The green skin is edible but bitter, but it works well cooked in a muffin.

Red skinned pears - crisp and delicate,  perfect with Camembert in a salad

Golden Kiwi fruit and lemonade apples from the Sunday fruit market on Wellington Harbour. The golden kiwi lack the hairy skin and are bigger, sweeter and juicier than the standard green we are used to, so eat the whole thing for a jam packed blast of vitamin C

Tarakihi Fish is one of New Zealand’s most common wild-caught coastal fish with its firm white flesh with medium-low oil content, similar to sea bass in taste and texture.

I tried grilled fillet at Little Sprig in Seatoun with roast butternut squash, grilled courgette, red pepper, radicchio, shallot and caper evo sauce. Light and low carb with the perfect combo of bitter and sweet.

Or battered and fried with chips wrapped in paper to eat on the seafront, no cod & chips here - tarakihi and chips sounds much more exotic.

Orange Roughy in Lakes Entrance at Off the Wharf Seafood Cafe

New World fruit displays

And of course I finally got to KL, and visited all the places Malaysian chef Norman Musa recommended that I missed out on last year (see March 2025 archive) such as Central Market and the Jalan Alor street food market and it was well worth the year’s wait.
KL may not be as slick and clean as Singapore, but it has character with plenty to see and do as a stopover destination. I love the food and found many innovative products in the markets, although rather too much focus on Durian for my liking -all you can eat at the Durian-fest was definitely not on my must-do agenda. My experience of this smelly blue cheese custard tasting fruit is that it’s not for my timid Western tastebuds. But you can buy Durian white coffee, freeze dried durian, fried durian, or just tuck in slo guide other durian lovers. They’re not allowed on planes due to the delicate aroma of cheesy feet, so sadly I couldn’t bring any home to share. I bet you’re devastated.