Monthly Archives: September 2014

Our Trip to New Zealand : Arrowtown

Posted on September 30, 2014 | 4 comments

One of the days while we were in New Zealand, we went to a small town near Queenstown called Arrowtown.

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From http://www.newzealand.com/au/arrowtown/:

“Arrowtown is a living historic settlement with many stories to tell. Wander the tree-lined streets of restored cottages and explore gold mining sites. One of the most picturesque settlements in New Zealand, Arrowtown sits alongside the gold-bearing Arrow River. The town was established in 1862, during the height of the Otago gold rush. People from all over the world, mainly Europe and China flocked to this town to claim their fortune. The settlement grew quickly as pioneers constructed cottages, shops, hotels and churches, more than 60 of which can still be seen today. “

It was a beautiful drive from Queenstown to Arrowtown, a lot quieter than Queenstown and I personally found it a lot more relaxing.arrowtown (16)

Once we got there, we parked and went for a walk along the river.

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Arrowtown has many easy hikes or walks you can do. We decided to hike the track called Tobin’s track. It is an easy uphill hike, which takes about 1 hour to get to the top. But once up there, you really get unsurpassed views of Arrowtown and the surrounding mountains. From here, we could also see Lake Wakatipu from a distance. We met a few people running or jogging there as well as few tourist who were there just to enjoy the town.

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There is also a fantastic path from Arrowtown to Kawarau Bridge (the home of the Bungy Jump) that follows the Arrow River.

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After the walk, we headed back down to the town. We went to the town centre where they had boutique style shops, an old sweet shop, a hotel that could pass as someone’s house and lots of historic character. It felt like we went back in town time.

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History has been preserved here in a way that you can actually reach out and touch. At the information centre, you can grab a pan and search for gold the exact same way people did it more than a hundred years ago, or walk amidst the restored original buildings and explore the Chinese part of the settlement.

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The town was really pretty and I could have sat there forever with the beautiful mountains in the background with snow on top, it was paradise.arrowtown (2)

On our way back to Queenstown from Arrowtown we drove through many beautiful green farms where sheep, cow and horse were roaming freely. That is the best part of New Zealand, beautiful landscape, greenery and easy drive everywhere.

arrowtown (13)arrowtown (1)

Overall, we had a great day and the weather was on our side with the sun shining in the blue-sky the whole day.

More from New Zealand soon.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate  your favorite blog .

Nominations open for NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

4 Comments

Posted in Holidays, New Zealand, Travel

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Pepper story

Posted on September 29, 2014 | 9 comments

I have a sore throat for the last few days and it is really annoying me. I am drinking warm water with honey all the time it still is not getting any better.

Last night, it was so bad that I couldn’t even drink water properly so AS suggested putting some whole pepper in my mouth. He asked me to leave it until it got soft and it would break apart by itself and chewing on small pieces helps the sore throat (it really does). As I had a few peppers in my mouth, we had the following conversation.

Me: “Babe what happens if I swallow the whole peeper by mistake?”

AS: “It will go inside your tummy”

I was asking what really would happen if I ate the whole pepper but in the midst of doing his things, it was the best answer he came up with. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate  your favorite blog .

Nominations open for NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

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Posted in He said

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Happy Dashain!!!

Posted on September 25, 2014 | 10 comments

Today is the first day of our 15 days long festival of Dashain. Like every year, we have plans to celebrate it with friends and family.

Today is Ghatasthapana, the day when Jamara is planted so it is ready to be used for Vijaya Dashaimi.

My Jamara in Tika day

This year, our Dashain will be extra special because AS’s uncle and his family are visiting Sydney and we will be spending a few days with them during the festival.

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We will also have our usual celebration with samay baji and Tika celebration as well as Dashain Nakhatey.

Dashain

A RELAXED mind, A PEACEFUL soul, A JOYFUL spirit, A HEALTHY body, A Heart full of Love, May U have all these every day. Happy Dashain everyone!!!

Here are the posts I have written regarding Dashian over the years .

Dashain Tika (13) Dashain Tika (3)

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate  your favorite blog .

Nominations open for NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

10 Comments

Posted in Celebrations, Nepali Festivals, Nepali food

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New Zealand Trip: Magical Queenstown

Posted on September 24, 2014 | 10 comments

I had been to Queenstown before but still every time I visit New Zealand I get excited. It was AS’s first time to South Island and I was excited to be there with him to enjoy the natural beauty of the country. I would have to say that one of the most spectacular moments is when you are flying in to Queenstown on the plane. The view is absolutely breathtaking and it always reminds me of going to Kathmandu for some reason. Must be seeing the mountains as we come to land at the airport. The flight was only 3+ hours so we entertained ourselves with many episodes of Big Bang Theory and Modern Family. We also had a light snack of chicken sandwich and tea on-board.

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The flight was smooth except for the time when we were close to landing and it got a bit bumpy. The plane fell for a split second and it felt like I was in a roller-coaster ride. Even though I have flown so many times, it always scares me when they announce a thunderstorm for the very reason. I don’t want to be on a plane which loses altitude suddenly.

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When we landed, we realised that it had been raining. We caught a cab to our hotel and it was drizzling all the way. The lady at the reception told us that it was the first rain in 29 days in Queensland and me and AS looked at each other and hoped it would stop and not ruin our trip. We definitely needed days with the sun out so we could enjoy the beautiful place.

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As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the best thing about Queenstown was the view from our hotel room. It was in front of the Lake Wakatipu with the snow-capped mountains in the background.

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Coincidentally, I realised that it was the same hotel I had stayed at when I visited previously as well. Must be the view that was bringing me back again and again to the same hotel.

Since it was already afternoon, we decided to spend the rest of the day exploring the town itself. And honestly, it was worth every minute.

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The people, the view, the environment; everything about Queenstown is just amazing.

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We had already booked a few trips and a car for the next few days so it was nice just walking around the town.

Apart from walking to the town and enjoying the views and shopping round Queenstown Mall, we went to a few other places in Queenstown.

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Skyline Gondola

One of the sunny afternoons, we decided to go on the Gondola to the top of Bob’s Peak. The Gondola skyline sits atop the steepest lift in the Southern Hemisphere, with a top terminal reaching half-a-mile high.

Once we were on the top, the view was spectacular.

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The water in the lakes truly is as blue as my photos show as the lake is fed by a glacier.

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We spent a couple of hours on the viewing platform outside the restaurant observing the Luge, Hand-gliding and the 360 degrees of spectacular sights over the Bay and surrounds in the brilliant sunshine. Another hugely memorable highlight of our journey.

There is also a very nice restaurant and some cool gift shops where you get off the gondola and we could not resist the lunch and dessert there. The food was nice and the view priceless.

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I loved this sign at the top and could not resist taking a photo :).

Queenstown

Eating in Queenstown

We tried different foods while there and here are some of the highlights:

Fergburger

Everyone who has been to Queenstown before constantly talked about the famous Fergburger and for some reason I had missed it the last time so we decided that we had to go there while we were in town. This burger is so amazing and it is only found in Queenstown.

Fergburger

This place is so popular that it is always busy every day. The evening we went was no exception but we got a seat after we ordered. We order Cockadoodle Doo (chicken burger and chips) waited 15 minutes for it to be ready. I have to say it was worth the hype and the money as it was very flavoursome. The burger was almost as big as my face and I couldn’t finish it all.

Finding Momo

It is amazing to meet Nepalese people wherever we travel. As far as I know there were not that many Nepalese people living in Queenstown but we were so delighted to find a Nepalese café in the middle of the town. We had momo there and it was really tasty as well. Made from scratch and very juicy.

momo

Sake bar

A nice cool Japanese place. AS wanted to have some sake so we tried it out, he loved it. The ambiance was great and we loved the food too. Very cosy and staff were good too.

sake bar (2) sake bar (1)

Bombay Tandoori

The guy at the information centre recommended this Indian restaurant to us. The restaurant was really busy but we enjoyed our food. Because we ordered the set menu, it was two much food for the two of us but it was very nice.

Tandoori Place

More posts from New Zealand soon.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate  your favorite blog .

Nominations open for NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

10 Comments

Posted in New Zealand, Travel

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Lamb Seekh Kebab

Posted on September 23, 2014 | 2 comments

I had friends over for lunch during the weekend so I decided to make this lamb kebab.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For Kebab

  • 500 gms of lamb mince
  • 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
  • 1 cup chopped fresh coriander (stem, stalk and leaves)
  • 1 medium red onion chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 green chillies, stalk removed, broken (optional)
  • Reusable chopstick or 1 skewer stick

To garnish

  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
  • 1 small red onions cut into rings
  • 1 teaspoon of Chat masala (optional)
  • 1 lemon cut into wedges

Lamb Seekh Kebab (3)

Steps

  • Place lamb mince and all the ingredients for the kebab in a bowl and mix well.

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  • Divide the mince into 8 equal parts and make equal-sized balls.

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  • Wet your hands and using your fingers, slowly spread the mince on the skewers (I used chopstick) to make kebabs 8-10cm/long. Once it is in the desired shape(as shown in the photo), slowly take it out and place it on a plate and continue with the rest of the balls.

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  • To avoid the mixture sticking, keep your hands wet and intermittently run water over the kebabs as you make them. This will smooth the outer texture of the kebab. Make sure the kebabs are quite thick, as this will help retain the flavour and juices.
  • Wrap the freshly made kebab with glad warp and put in the freezer for 1 hour or till the meat becomes slightly hard.
  • To cook them, you can BBQ the kebab or put in grill option in the oven. I used the oven.
  • Preheat the oven to 200 0 C and cook the meat for 10 minutes on one side. Then turn over and cook another 8-10 minutes. The meat is cooked if it is golden brown in colour.
  • Take the meat out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.
  • Sliced the kebab into small one-inch pieces and transfer to the serving plate.

Lamb Seekh Kebab (1)

  • Now sprinkle the chat masala on the top.
  • Squeeze half the lemon on top of the meat and the remaining half on the plate to serve.
  • Add the onion rings and coriander and the kebab is ready to eat.

Lamb Seekh Kebab (2)

  • Serve warm.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate  your favorite blog .

Nominations open for NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

2 Comments

Posted in Foodie, Recipe

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