The Boy at the Supermarket

July 25, 2015July 25, 2015 ~ Swisa A ~ 1 Comment

Today at the supermarket I overheard a conversation between a young boy of about ten years old with his mom. They weren’t Thai and were most probably expats living in Bangkok. The young boy made such a funny and pleasant remark that I want to share it with you.

As you know, ever since I lost weight around 5 years ago, I’ve become a lot more healthy, aware of what I am eating, and avoiding the fried or sugar infused foods. Growing up I didn’t really have a concept of what was healthy, or what wasn’t. My mom is a wonderful cook, but once I went off to college and worked, dinners ended up whatever was available in my fridge. My often late dinners were simple pasta and pesto. My snack at work was raisins. Hey, they are dried grapes which are fruits, what’s so bad about them? Answer: they are high in sugar.

Okay, so what was it I overheard? It started out with the mother asking the boy “What would you like for dinner today?”

The boy answered, “Potatoes, mashed potatoes and oh, I want some salad and vegetables Mom! The food at school is so sweet! They put sugar in everything even soup! I might have to stop having soup at school!”

Wow, that really hit me.

He was only around ten, but with health conscious parents, he has grown up being aware of what he is putting into his body. It’s great. He will grow up healthy.

Now it’s up to the schools to serve children healthy food. Parents really should check out what’s being served at schools and perhaps like Jaime Oliver, fight for healthier servings. No sugared pink milk please!

Wellington Sunday Farmers’ Market

July 18, 2015 ~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

Whenever I am traveling, I always try to find out where the farmers’ market is and make a note of visiting it. Many times I’d even plan the trip so that on Saturdays or Sundays I am in cities where there are markets. There’s something about walking around rows and rows of fresh food, straight from the farm that just makes my heart glow. I love the hustle and bustle of the place and to be able to ask the seller all sorts of questions. Wellington, of course, has a lovely farmers’ market on Sundays and without doubt, Alex and I had to visit.

We went to the harbourside market (http://www.harboursidemarket.co.nz). It’s not too far off from Te Papa museum and as it’s name, it is right by the Harbourside. Unlike the Saturday night market, it is significantly larger with a lot more shops. There are stalls selling everything from fresh vegetables, fruits, breads, to duck truffled onion soup and pizza. I love it. It’s a good walk in the morning and if you wake up early, it opens at 7.30am so you can visit it before you start your day.

The market is outdoors and in a large space, so you don’t feel crowded and the noise level doesn’t get high. I love it. You can take a leisurely stroll and everyone is in a pleasant mood. I mean, who wouldn’t be surrounded by all the food! There are clowns there to entertain children and benches on which you can have your sandwich or roast chicken.

Being somewhat avocado crazy, I had to check out the Avos or avocadoes at the market. Imported avocados from New Zealand in Bangkok costs around 80thb each (2.50 USD) so I wondered how much there were locally. They were around $1 NZD (less than 1 USD) each and if you bought a large bag, the price was even lower. Wow, needless to say, I did have to buy some avocados to eat. The price doubles though if you are out in Wanaka but that is understandable considering transportation costs.

We had the duck truffled onion soup from “La Rotisserie de Canard” where the owners were speaking french. I didn’t ask where they were from but I do know the soup was good. It really warms your belly up on a chilly day.

We saw signs going to the covered city market (http://www.citymarket.co.nz/) but sadly we were out of time. There was the lovely Te Papa museum waiting for us to visit.

Hmm, I feel like some onion soup now.

Fish and Chips at the Wellington Seamarket

July 5, 2015July 5, 2015 ~ Swisa A ~ 3 Comments

It’s Sunday night in Bangkok, it’s hot and humid with a little breeze. I could do with a little more cold weather but for some reason today I’ve been thinking of fish and chips. Hmm.. there’s nothing quite like having hot fish and chips after a cold walk outside in the rain. It just doesn’t taste as good in hot Bangkok. The fish and chips in Wellington was heavenly. The first afternoon Alex and I got into Wellington, it was raining, cold and windy. After twelve hours of traveling we were hungry. Okay there’s airplane food, but it isn’t satisfying.

So we checked in and headed out for some food. The hotel recommended we try out the Wellington Sea Market which was on Cuba street. It’s pretty easy to see with it’s huge signs and as it’s a standalone building it’s really not hard to find.

It’s an outlet of the Wellington Trawling Company which supplies fresh fish all over the world and also to top restaurants in New Zealand. At their outlet you can even choose your own fish and tell them how you want it cooked for a little under two kiwi dollars. They have all kinds of fresh fish and oysters as well. We just ordered their simple fish and chips and I have to say it was delicious! Their fries were equally good, not greasy at all and for a reasonable price of about $4.50. If you want mayonnaise or ketchup you pay extra. They have small packs on the counter for 90cents or larger packs in the freezer for roughly $1.50.

What fish do they use? They said they usually use Blue Nose or the Warehou. I honestly have no clue but it does taste good. You can dine in on one of their few tables or take away. Most of the people we saw, came in for takeaways. It’s understandable since it’s hardly a place you would go for service or ambiance. It’s a simple fish outlet shop where you come in for fresh fish and dine. I’m sure there are many more places in Wellington selling fish and chips, but Alex and I were perfectly happy with our Wellington Seamarket and did go back for seconds before we left. http://www.wellingtonseamarket.com Nothing beats eating food freshly cooked. Okay I’m hungry now.

Bon Apetit!