Post Tagged with "New Zealand"

Picture Postcards: Pasifika in New Zealand

Happy New Year! This month we are looking at photos of fairs and markets around the world. Today’s photo is one that I snapped at Pasifika, a Polynesian festival here in Auckland, New Zealand which is like giant market. You can buy Polynesian goods from the various island nations and wonderful food such as keke pua’a (steamed pork buns) and raw fish which is mixed with coconut milk.

Keke pua'a and raw fish for sale

See more Picture Postcards:
Houses in Switzerland
Dragonboat Races in Okinawa
Diwali Celebrations in India

Best of of 2010: a world tour in twenty-three posts

We’d like to say goodbye to 2010 wıth a world tour of favourite posts from each of our contributors. Here they are, in the order in which each one celebrates midnight. Happy New Year!

Marie (New Zealand): The New Zealand Dairy

“Where would Kiwis be without the local dairy? Certainly situations such as running out of the milk needed for the perfect cup of tea or not having enough snacks to share while watching a film on TV could get quite hairy.”

(more…)

New Zealand's Cafe Culture

Many people are unaware of the vibrant cafe culture that exists in New Zealand. And although coffee is very popular, there are a number of reasons Kiwis go to cafes. Here is a little breakdown.

1. Good coffee- Well, of course this has to be number one. Since the 1980s, New Zealanders have slowly started losing their taste for instant coffee and started demanding the good stuff. We still have to import the beans, of course, but much of New Zealand coffee is roasted locally by small roasters who take pride in their craft. Our baristas also win awards in world competitions.

(more…)

The New Zealand Dairy

Milton Street Dairy by Goeftheref on Flickr

Where would Kiwis be without the local dairy? Certainly situations such as running out of the milk needed for the perfect cup of tea or not having enough snacks to share while watching a film on TV could get quite hairy. Well, OK, it’s not as dramatic as all that, but the dairy, the local word for a small shop, is an important part of New Zealand culture.

(more…)

Chocolate fish: a New Zealand delicacy

Have you ever caught a chocolate fish?

Chocolate fish by Marie

Every country has special sweets that children grow up with and New Zealand is no exception. One of the favourites of Kiwi kids is the chocolate fish. It is marshmallow, either white or pink, wrapped in chocolate. They are usually about 10-15cm long but you can also buy giant ones and tiny ones, known as sprats. Go into any dairy, the New Zealand word for a small shop or corner shop, and you’ll find chocolate fish along with lots of other goodies from open boxes. Although it is changing a bit these days as more things are individually wrapped, you can still choose what you like from the boxes in dairies putting them into a little paper bag and paying by the piece. There are variations on this theme in the form of toasties, a block of marshmallow covered in chocolate and toasted coconut, and pineapple lumps, smaller squares of pineapple flavoured marshmallow covered in chocolate. But the chocolate fish has become one of those images in New Zealand we call “Kiwiana” as it represents lots and lots of nostalgia.

Do you like sweet things? Try:

Alfajores from Argentina
Mooncakes from China
Tort de ciocolata from Romania

ANZAC Day: An Australian’s Pilgrimage to Gallipoli

Last month marked the 95^th anniversary of the Anzacs landing at Gallipoli.

Each year on the 25th April Anzac Day is commemorated as a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand. On this day we honor the WWI Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs) who landed at Gallipoli, Turkey, on 25th April 1915. It also signifies a time we remember all who have served and died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping missions.

(more…)