Distinction Hotel Te Anau (Te Anau, NEW ZEALAND)

It's my first-ever trip to New Zealand. I won't say I was super excited about it but it was a convenient one to check it off my list en route to Australia. 

Jelloman wanted Milford Sound as part of the itinerary. I wasn't so sure about that. After all, we needed to make a special tour driving a few hours non-stop. And as a Canadian, I thought it looked way too similar to Lake Louise and Banff, only less impressive.



We did some research on the lodging options near Milford Sound and it turned out that Te Anau was the closest town in the area. The closest town with food and hotel. And from there, it was a toss-up between a couple of hotels with Distinction Hotel finally getting the call.

I didn't like staying on the ground floor of any hotel but that was what we were offered. Well, at least we got a nice garden view from the windows.

Part of the catch from this stay at Distinction Hotel was the view of Lake Te Anau. There wasn't much to be seen though as the mountain view was always blocked by the fog.

I didn't get the chance to take a shower after we checked in and it's time to hit the road again.

Rating: ❤❤

Price: $$

Address: 64 Lakefront Drive, 9640 Te Anau, New Zealand

Tel: +64 3-249-9700

Website: www.distinctionhotelsteanau.co.nz

Kingston Corner Shop & Cafe (Kingston, NEW ZEALAND) ★★☆☆☆

We are finally in! I thought it would be a short flight from Sydney to Queenstown but when we finally touched down, it was almost 3pm already. Time to pick up our rental car as we have a lot of ground to make up.



There really wasn't much to see from our drive to Te Anau, where we will be spending the night. In fact, we didn't even spot a restaurant/cafe except this one called Kingston Corner Shop & Cafe in a small town called Kingston. It's a gift shop, bar, cafe and restaurant. Whatever you want to call it.....

I really wasn't picky about what to eat for my very late lunch this afternoon. I figured anything that's warm I would just wash it down with my coke.

This didn't take long. We were watching our watch very closely hoping to get into Te Anau just before dark. 

Price: $$

Address: 1 Kent Street, Kingston 9793, New Zealand

Tel: +64 3-249-8596

0pening Hours: 6:30am - 7:00pm (Mon - Fri), 8:00am - 7:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Glass Brasserie and Wine Bar (Sydney, AUSTRALIA) ★★☆☆☆

Glass Brasserie and Wine Bar in Sydney is the latest project by celebrity restaurateur Luke Mangan. Situated in the Hilton hotel on George's Street, the restaurant invited world-renowned New York-based designer Tony Chi to handle the interior design and I thought it was tastefully done.

Our first impression of the restaurant - well, it was a little cramped. Just not enough spaces in between tables and seats. We had a party of 5 and had to scramble into a table that normally fit 3-4 maximum.

The second thing we noticed was the service being very slow. We ordered a bunch of food to share but after the arrival of our first two starters, we had to wait over an hour for the remaining dishes. And sadly, consulting with our server did not help speeding things up at all. 

Okay, so back to the food here. The crab omelette was our first starter and it was quite nicely done. 



The next dish, roasted quail with quail egg was also a good one although the portion could have been a little more generous.



As I have already mentioned, most dishes arrived way too late so I lost my patience to take a photo of each course. This was one of the few that I did remember snapping a shot of - beef tenderloin in a light wine sauce. If my memory serves me correctly, it was just average at best.



Food rating: 4.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 2/488 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9265 6068
Website: www.glassbrasserie.com.au