Sloppy Chic

We installed NZ map on our phone so we can navigate around even more easily!

Driving in New Zealand is definitely enjoyable, drivers are courteous, speed limit signs are clear, roadsigns are obvious, although they don’t have much highway on the road, but all the trunk roads are very good in condition. And usually the speed limit is either 60km/hr or 100km/h.

Beautiful scenery along the way.

And oh, you might find huts like these which are public toilets. ALL FREE. And most of them are really clean even though they look deserted.

After almost 2.5 hr drive, we finally reached Kaikoura.

After checking in to our Willow Bank Motel, it was already almost 4pm. We headed out immediately to tour the town before the sky turned dark.

There will be another post with photos of all the motels we have stayed

Most of the seas or lakes are really beautiful! Clean and soft sand, and always blue sky. It is not easy to find garbage bin on the road but all the places are clean!

Even the stones look so beautiful!

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Visiting New Zealand was not in our planning, but since Japan trip was cancelled due to the quake, 2 of us immediately brain stormed for the next destination to go, after about 2 weeks of planning, we executed our journey successfully

We are really glad that we did this, although we really wanted to go Japan, but New Zealand is a beautiful place nonetheless

I will document our whole trip, if you are going to tour New Zealand (South Island) on self-drive, you are welcome to ask for my itinerary as a reference

*We picked a hot seat (+RM160) which I think totally worth it!

Air Asia flights to New Zealand are rather limited, there was only one flight to Christchurch in the morning (8.30am) and it’d be an 11+ hour flight so by the time we reached Christchurch, it was already near midnight.

Thank goodness our car rental Budget Car Rental counter was right at the airport, so it was a breeze to pick up our car. We had booked the car in advanced so there were not many procedures to picking it up. We rented for 12 days and it cost us about NZD$680 (~RM1632) which was not too bad. But, the petrol is not cheap in New Zealand, which is about NZD$2.2+- per litre. And more expensive in smaller towns.

New Zealand is UTC +12:00 so it is 4 hours in advance of Malaysian time, and the sky turns dark at 6pm!

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Hello Friday everyone! Have planned your weekend already? If you haven’t and if you are a mall-person, I have 2 places to recommend:

The Curve Shopping Mall

If Ikea is your favorite place to hang out, swing by Bubba Gump for a dose of shrimps!

The staff gets really excited when you flick the sign to : STOP FOREST STOP

Scampi @ RM31.90.

Linguini resting on a bed of shrimps. The pasta was yummy with the rather fresh shrimps + a piece of toasted garlic butter bread.

And I think there were like 15 shrimps in the dish!

Chicken Fingers @ RM23.90.

If you have been to Chilis/TGI’s for this dish, you MUST try this at Bubba Gump. The chicken fillets were still tender wrapped in the crispy and tasty batter. The batter is not like other flours, they have seasoned the batter too! And there were also 2 onion rings on top of the bed of fries.

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Looking for a place to chill out with friends after work on a Friday night? Perhaps The Daily Grind Gourmet Burgers at Bangsar Village I is a good place to go other than the same old Chilis and TGI’s.

At the first glance of The Daily Grind menu, you might think that it is similar to Chilis/TGIF, but soon you will notice their menu is actually way more extensive.

On a Friday night, we had a fun double date with witch couple since we have not hung out for quite a while.

The Daily Grind Gourmet Burgers @ Bangsar Village I is located at a secluded corner at LG (next to electrical shop), it is easy to miss if you don’t usually walk to that side of the world.

There’s also a smoking/bar section.

The interior of the restaurant is feeling quite the 60′s, it is not noisy and will be a perfect place for a good talking/catching up session.

TDG Crabby Caesar Salad RM25

As a starter, I really love the soft shell crabs in the greens! It adds colors to the healthy stuff, and the crisp and saltiness really spice up the leafs especially if you are not a salad person.

Nanchos with Cheese RM12

On the other hand, I think the nanchos is just alright.

Slow-cooked Lamb Stew RM28

The lamb stew is also a crowd’s favorite, the lamb cubes are flavorful and tender, wish we could have more!

TDG Dynamite Wings RM18

If you are a fan of buffalo wings, here is another type called the Dynamite Wings. It is hot! And the spiciness is not the immediate type, it will slowly explode in your taste bud after you swallow it. Nonetheless, I love it!

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