New Zealand: vegetables and restaurants

Fruits and vegetables are plenty in New Zealand. Avocados, asparagus, kiwifruit, apricots, cherries, boysenberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries are among those many tasty options. A distinctively New Zealand vegetable, brought by Maori settlers from their Pacific Island homeland, is the kumara, a form of sweet potato. New Zealand honey includes some delicious varieties from native flowers. There are many special foods

Maori delicacies include seafood such as shellfish, kina (prickly sea urchin), mutton bird (tasting like fish) and freshwater eels, often accompanied by native thistle and watercress.

There are two main kinds of restaurants: the licensed, which sell wine, and the “BYO,” which stands for Bring Your Own.

Most of the BYOs are located near bottle shops where restaurant customers can buy their wine, beer or spirits for dinner.

Late night and 24 hours cafes and bar or restaurants are gaining popularity; some are fun by the major hotels. They will often have live entertainment. Local papers, especially on Thursday and Friday, print details of what is on at the different nightlife venues.

Meat pies, fish or steak and chips are traditional food from the British background of many New Zealanders. In homes, visitors may still encounter traditional roast dinners.

Several international fast food operators have franchises throughout the country and there are many independent fish and chip shops or burger bars offering tasty food which you can either dine in or take away.