New Zealand

You’ll taste the Pacific Rim influence in restaurants in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland, which has more then 900 establishments to choose from, including Japanese, Thai, Malay, Chinese and Indian food. For traditional hearty fare, referred to as Kwisine Kiwiana, you’ll have to travel to rural areas, where you’ll enjoy fish and chips, meat pies and the famous dessert called pavlova, a meringue-type sweet. Tea used to be considered a staple of New Zealand existence, but the popular café/coffee culture has taken over, so you’re as likely to find a good espresso as a perfectly brewed cup of tea.

For a true New Zealand experience, go to a Kiwi barbecue for the traditional outdoor cooking called a Maori hangi. Kumara with chicken, pork, lamb, potatoes and other vegetables is cooked underground on hot coals, and has a smoky flavor. Local items—lamb, pork and cervena (venison), Bluff oysters, mussels, scallops, pipis and tuatua (shellfish); kumara (sweet potato); kiwifruit and tamarillo—abound on menus. Accompany any dish with New Zealand’s excellent wine selections. Of the ten winemaking regions, those most famous are Marlborough, Auckland’s Waiheke Island and Hawkes Bay.—Denise Shoukas

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