It's been a while...

but lots of things have changed for me lately, the biggest being that unfortunately Bighead and I have parted ways.

I'm thinking that Gone Beach has run its course (a short one at that!) it's especially sad for me because I've had so much fun writing it.

I'm contemplating starting a new one at some point but until then,

Ka kete ano x

Yum!

QQ Rice Hits Welli!

Oh my gosh! This is what has been driving me (and probably my friends) completely bonkers recently. I can't stop thinking (and talking) about it.

QQ Rice opposite the bus stop on Dixon Street, Wellington.
It's a franchise store from Taiwan. They serve up very tasty, affordable rice rolls. It's kinda like Subway but heaps better and with Asian flavours. Yummy.

People are begging for quick healthy food options and this my friends is the way to go!

You choose from eight different types of rice (e.g. sesame, purple, red, wholewheat, mixed grain etc). They lay it out flat across their palm and then add the fillings of your choice. There are so many different combos to choose from that I reckon if I go there every day for the next few months, I'll be able to have a different roll each time :)

It comes in a lovely little bundle like this (NZ$5.90)
This one is one of my favourites so far. Its one from their menu (Teriyaki Chicken) as opposed to custom made.
This is one of Bigheads custom made rolls with spicy peanut chicken, crispy caraway, egg slice, mushrooms and emperor vegetables.

I love QQ Rice!

Reason #4

Before we left I posted this. The pic was taken in Kuala Lumpur when we passed through five years ago. This guy and his wee coal bbq is where our satay infatuation all began, so it was fitting that on our last night in the city we stumbled across him once more. He was in the exact same spot, we weren't even looking for satay but we absolutely had to stop. I'm so happy he's still cooking up a satay storm!He can be found on Julan Sultan, on the left just past Julan Hang Lekir as your heading towards Julan Cheng Lock.I can't remember exactly how much it was but it was cheap as chips - like 50sen a stick or something.

Four excellent reasons to stuff your face in Kuala Lumpur

Reason #1

Exceptionally cheap, mouth watering South Indian food.

When Bighead and I set foot in India years ago we were expecting to go crazy on a whole lot of malai kofta's and butter chicken's. Little did we know that there's actually a whole range of other regional delights. In New Zealand the main style of Indian cuisine is Northern (which is fairly expensive) but if you hunt it down, you can find some well priced Southern styles.

Here's just a small selection of the delights we sampled in KL (take me back!).

Puri Bhaji

Vegetarian Thali

My Fav - Mango Chutney

Vada Sambar

Masala Dosa

Paneer Uttupam

Chai Masala

Reason #2

Malaysian Roti. We certainly don't get roti like this here in little ol NZ (Well I can really only speak for Wellington). It's surprisingly light, crispy on the outside, stretchy in the middle and just plain yummy!
Check out all the different types and check the prices! Oh my giddy Aunt. That's Malaysian Ringgits (half that for NZ$).

Reason #3

The multitude of Chinese food on offer.

The Gourmet Food Stall on Jalan Petaling in Chinatown has a range of different counters offering all types of Chinese food. This counter in particular is exactly like a little restaurant we went crazy at during the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, offering buffet style meals where all dishes are completely vegetarian. One plate served with rice costs about 5MR (NZ$2.50). Love it!

Reason #4

Can you guess? There's a clue in my early posts.

How long has it been?

You know what, I've been feeling quite guilty about not having blogged in so long. I didn't even finish my rant about KL. The western world has sucked me in and sapped me of any spare time I once had... gone are the endless days of daydreaming in the hot hot sun... ah who am I kidding? I've just been plain lazy.

I'll have to get back to KL later because what actually inspired me to write again was this:
We bought this wee bbq for just NZ$40 and she's a little ripper. We've been spoilt with a few extremely calm, sunny days of late (not all that common in Wellington) and Bighead has been chomping at the bit to crank up the old barbie. We had two problems with this, the first being that we no longer own a bbq (problem solved with said ripper), the second being that the few friends we have left in Welli are all vegetarians! A vege barbie is all good but I must admit we were keen to have a taste of some good old kiwi beef so I called up my trusty old carnivorous bro and we were set.Doesn't it make your mouth water? Nice job boys.

Mmm... Indian Sweets

When they're out on the street like this in massive piles, how can one possible resist?
We have Indian sweets like this available in NZ but I've never tasted any as fresh and light as these. Absolutely scrumptious. It certainly brings back fond memories of travel through India where dedicated sweet shops could be found on every corner.