Bouzy Rouge restaurant and bar - Richmond

 The wife was required to see a specialist at an Epworth clinic (nothing too serious). Figuring it was right on lunchtime she looked up a restaurant nearby. We booked, arrived early and for a while had the restaurant to ourselves. The decor at Bouzy Rouge cannot be described it has to be seen. An eclectic collection of interesting items, very large and small from all over the world. I believe the owner is French and food is Mediterranean influenced. I wanted two courses but we were pressed for time so a main is all we had time for. 

You may feel you are in France or Spain the surrounds are so foreign and elegant to what we would expect to see in Oz. And there is sooo much you just can’t take it all in. The food is good, very well priced and the service prompted and friendly. Parking could be tight but go when quiet in the Richmond area and you should be OK. We are already planning our return and will be taking friends who I know will appreciate the unique spectacle that is Bouzy Rouge. 

Thai Orchid - Christchurch, New Zealand

 Staying at the Chateau on the Park in Christchurch and not being a big fan of the restaurant at the hotel, we looked further afield for dinning. We didn’t have to look far to find Thai Orchid within a short walk from our hotel. It was recommended by our Ola driver that day on our way back to the hotel. Glad he did because we had an excellent Thai meal. In fact it was more than a meal with enough food to feed another two adults. No scrimping on food quantity here or food quality both were well covered. 

Cocktails were excellent also and service very good. The ambiance is Thai though the music was soul. Both entree and main, for my wife and myself, were delicious and almost too much. We should have shared those well presented fried king prawns. Absolutely no complaints here, all-in-all a great dinning experience. Should we be back in Christchurch we will definitely eat here again. 

Mac’s Steakhouse - Rotorua, New Zealand.

 Searching on a cold wet night for somewhere to cocktail and eat and found Mac’s in a covered street called Eat Street. One all under over street has many restaurants and bars covering many food styles. Lets get down to it; at Mac’s not only was the three courses delicious and generous - for both my wife and self - but extremely well presented. The kitchen knows its craft to a “T”.

From onion rings to steak to creme brulee and throw in a few cocktails, everything and I mean everything was perfect. Well maybe not the Syrah wine, it was awful but not the fault of the restaurant. I would love to break every meal down but I would have to get flowery and it would become tedious. We both even added extras to our mains which was no problems for the kitchen. The extras, in my case sautéed mushrooms, again were perfect and a big generous serve to go with the steak and all its trimmings. Just go. Nuff said.