Orbit 360° Dining - Aucklandland Part 2

Orbit 360 had to be the most exciting and most unforgettable dining experience - it deserved a separate post. The day we arrived in Auckland was the same day we spontaneously decided to dine at the rotating restaurant located at the top of Auckland's Sky Tower.

We initially wanted to just visit the Sky Tower, the entry fee for an adult being $28. But we also discovered Orbit 360 as well as The Sugar Club, another restaurant & bar which provides the view. Orbit 360 was our choice - it revolves! We decided to dine anyway because the minimum charge for dining at Orbit 360 was $40 per person. Not too far from the entry fee, with fine dining too. Oh yeah, you have to have a booking to dine there too, just a heads up.

I was excited. For years I've been wanting to visit the KL Tower and eat at the rotating restaurant back in KL, but never got the chance to do so. And now I do - but in Auckland. Even better! Plus, it was a special night for us because we're celebrating our 1st anniversary the day after. :)

I'm wearing this jumpsuit by Sass and Bide, from my cousin who is almost the same build as me. Yay.

Red lips to go using my Doll Face Mineral Makeup I won from my finalist bundle from the Maxim Swimwear Model of the Year. I love the consistency!

Headed to Sky Tower and from there, we took a lift and went up, up up! From the main observation level to the sky deck, before our eyes were glittering lights, which was the life of Auckland on a Friday night. It's such a good change from Wellington.

The lift had a glass panel, everything looked smaller and smaller as we went higher. There was also a clear floor at the sky deck and we could see everything beneath our feet. Not for the faint hearted! Although it is safe and is as thick as a regular floor. Heh. I can almost imagine my dad trying to freak Kim & I out and jumping on it, if they were here. Miss my family. Would love to take them here if the did visit New Zealand.

We headed to Orbit 360 shortly after, and ordered some grub.

Although the menu did not have a vast selection of food, the quality of the food was very satisfying, and not some tiny spoon of "fine dining" stuff you get at some restaurants. It was a very proper dinner. I was so stuffed! 

Our potato side dish, served with plum dipping sauce. Bon apetit!

I had the lamb loin dish. The meat just melts in my mouth, everytime. 

Mmm. So, so good. Best lamb I've ever had. I hardly good lamb that's as tender as this. Blends really well with the roasted pumpkin and veges.

Doug had the Grilled Market fish Risotto. 

Not your average risotto - this one had a punch of lemongrass and coconut, like the kind in tomyam, but without the red and spiciness. It was so creamy and smooth. I loved it too! I wish I could have both, but my body won't let me.

Eating while revolving, there're always firsts at everything. Haha

Just a tip though; ladies, try not to leave your bag by the window, that area does not rotate.

I realized that someone's bag was at my side after sitting and eating for awhile.

It is our anniversary and we're celebrating it up high in the sky in Auckland city. I couldn't be happier. But us being us, just chatted about nonsense and gaming (I started playing this MMORPG game called Aura Kingdom with Doug), making fun of people's conversations we tend to overhear (some people were so loud..lol), and talking about all the dimsum shops we saw so far. Of course, there was a bit of reminscing about last year.

From strangers, to friends, to waiting tables, lepak sessions at the Waterfront at night, to getting used to seeing me being "in a relationship with Douglas Lee" on Facebook (in a good way, of course). I think we did pretty well. We've had the most eventuful year...in a not-so-eventful place.

 But hey. We made it, bibs! 

Happy Anniversary.

xxx,

Ashley M.

Aucklandland :: Part 1

This post is seriously due. It's been a month since this really awesome trip and now I finally have the time and leftover energy to write it. To preserve its awesomeness, here it is! Our Auckland trip.

Being in New Zealand for 2 years now gives me a reason to travel out of Wellington, since there's just so much to see out there, and to experience. What other place than the closest city, am I right? Wellington is great, not a countryside full of sheeps and farms, if that's what you're thinking, but not exactly a lively place either. City girl misses the city. Thus, Auckland as the most fitting destination for Doug and I during our Easter break!

Super, mega tired faces waking up at 4am to go to the airport for our early morning flight. Morning flights aren't actually that bad... makes me look forward to a nice breakfast after landing. :)

Civilization! 

Feeling so at home as Doug and I grinned at each other when we entered the city. We miss the malls, the high rise buildings, the hotels, the life. And here we are! Ahhh that blissful feeling without the scorching hot sun. Made our way to a friend's place after!

More pictures when we made our first stop at Britomart. I was told that it was a place to go for food, shops and stuff like that. And true enough, the atmosphere was just beautiful - there was Britomart.Fm's DJ playing house music in the field outdoors, which just added to the awesomeness of it all. 

Looks like they were having a Saturday morning market here. Fruits, veges and food were sold here, but Doug and I had other plans.

Absolutely nothing wrong with sandwiches or scones, we just had enough of those in Wellington! Time for a change, since Auckland was just full of choices. Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, you name it, they have it. It's pretty awesome. SO much to choose from! So we went to Ortolana for a bite.

This Italian place has been reviewed in some websites and have had pretty decent reviews, so we decided to try it.

Outdoor dining area.

Indoors.

Chose to sit outside because it was pretty. Lol

Hi tired Doug.

Had this and a flat white here. 

This was the egg and mushroom pasta. Quite unique tasting... there were cheese shavings, with a tinge of sourness in the pasta, accompanied by the taste of the sprouts. I quite liked it, except that it was $14 for such a small plate and the coffee here is about a dollar more expensive than usual. $5 for a Flat White.

I don't think I'd come back here for breakfast though after seeing all the dimsum shops. Glad to have only ordered one thing from the menu before we moved on to the next thing!

Didn't hesitate to visit the Viaduct Harbour area, after doing a certain amount of research on places to go in Auckland. It is as pretty in pictures, if not more! :) 

So fortunate to have a nice sunny day; the perfect time to walk around and explore, which we did manually using a map my friend gave us. :P So proud of that by the way. Also proud that we did not stop to rest or anything after we've landed. Just too excited to be here!

Apparently, this thing lights up real pretty at night. :)

Looks like I'm not the only one taking a selfie. 

Maritime Museum, that we walked past. More interested in the ferry ride to Devonport and tour that we planned for the next day! Don't know what to expect, but that's the beauty of it. Pretty much did not have anything planned for the day, and go with the flow. Best decision ever, no stress, no disappointment and 100% enjoyable.

It was not long before our tummies started growling. Then we discovered this really awesome Japanese restaurant called Industry Zen on Customs St, really close to the Viaduct. Initially we were quite taken by the pretty decorations of the place... then decided to stop by for a bite. 

I can tell you for sure that this was one of the best discoveries we've made so far. The food was pretty amazing, so was the service. It's really worth a shot!

 Here's the link : http://www.industryzen.co.nz/. 

This had to be the definition of sex in your mouth. I'm being totally serious, it was just that good.

This was the softshell crab roll ($10) and was one of the best I've tried. Not only was it juicy and crispy, there was curry powder sprinkled on top of the crab and topped with some kind of mustard or mayo sauce. 

So. Damn. Good. <3

After that, we continued walking around. We also discovered one interesting place - Food Alley on Albert St, which looked like one of our usual food courts in Malaysia. Suddenly, it feels like home. Hahaha. Except that the currency is much bigger. 

Didn't get to eat here, although I wanted to, cos we had other things in mind and didn't have that much time. I'd definitely give this place a try when I visit Auckland again. There's a wide variety of Asian food here, prices ranging from like $10 a plate? I was more interested in the charsiewpaos (BBQ Beef buns) sold here too. Heh.

More pictures as we continued exploring in the day.

These 3 kids and their mom crossing the road were so adorable. Happened to be in my shot that I was snapping away. Haha

Visited Skycity, making Sky Tower our destination for tonight. It was such an awesome experience, but I will write about that in another post!

Also visited the Skycity Casino, watching all the uncles and aunties play Dai Sai. Had a go on slot machines and won $1. Haha. Oh, and also watched Doug win $50 from Dai Sai (Big Small) and stopped there. Lol.

It felt like it had been a really long day before we got back to Sara's and settled down before dinnertime. This is all for part 1. Damn, I'm gonna have to make a few part of this trip. It's amazing how we did so much, in just 3 days. So worth it.

Till the next one guys. I am pooped from exams, assessments, performances, assignments and essays. Really needing my beauty sleep since I've been zombified from period cramps for the past 2 days! 

This is just the beginning, more to come.
Stay tuned!

xxx,

Ashley M.