The local korean restaurant the koreans eat at. And so cheap! I generally get the beef, it…read morecomes sizzling on a platter , with boiled rice and traditional korean accompaniments. There's also more traditional meals. And Korean beer.

Our stop here was by chance. We were quite hungry and looking for a quick lunch on our drive from…read moreAuckland to Rotorua. We pulled into an unassuming building and were greeted by some wonderful smells inside. We tried a sampling cheese plate and a selection of other goodies. The inside was a bit spartan, but had everything we required. Service was a little on the slower side, but it was off-season. To be honest, it gave us just the break from driving we needed. Everything was delicious, service was friendly, and we bought a little cheese for the road.

Few food options for sale (it was fall there so maybe they put out more in the busier summer…read moremonths) but they do have foodservice options, great coffee and pastries...and oh so important - free wifi for which they give you a code on a slip of paper and once entered the code us good for an hour. Nice stop between Coromandel and Taupo.

I heard about La Cave from a colleague at work, and then realized that it's actually a very short…read morewalk from my home. It took me a while to finally get myself there, as the business hours mostly overlap my work hours. However, I had an afternoon "off" one day (I was home with a sick baby) and decided to take him for a walk and we found ourselves in La Cave, which is mostly French imported goods (and some other gourmet items from Europe) - including wines, pasteries, chocolates, and many other items. All of the stars must have been aligned, because that evening they were having a food and wine pairing event with items from Lauguedoc and Provence regions. My parent-teacher conference had been cancelled that night but I still had the babysitter booked. The hostess (Valeri) was on the phone, and I overheard that she was receiving a cancellation. I told her that I'd be happy to attend with my husband. She checked one person that was on the waiting list (but got no reply) and so, by chance, my husband and I snuck in for this fantastic evening. The price was $35 each, which included 5 courses of food/wine pairing. To be fair, I thought it was a dinner initially, but my much smarter husband realized it was more like "tapas" amounts of food with wine. However, Valeri and Raphael (her husband) were generous hosts, poured the wine fairly freely and made all the food themselves. It was all delicious and though the cooked with items from their stock and poured wines from "cellar" they were not at all pushy about getting you to buy things. They seemed very much that firstly, we enjoy ourselves and secondly, that they could impart a little French education/culture onto their guests. By the end of the night, I was very pleasantly warm-faced and glad that I only had to walk up the street to get home. I learned by joining the mailing list that they have other wine and food pairing evenings, some cooking classes and other one-off events. They also seve coffees in the mornings and have a lovely selection of frozen and par-baked French pastries that look amazing (though, I have not yet had a chance to try them). This little place is situated a short distance off SH 1, as you head south out of Hamilton toward Cambridge, in the Riverlea neighborhood. You could bike there from the CBD (which would be a fairly good ride) and by car it's about 5-8 minutes out of the CBD. It's well worth a little visit if you are looking for some wine, some fabulous chocolate (also stored in the temperature-controlled wine 'cave'), coffee, pastries, etc.

Over the Moon cheese factory was a delicious stop that was only slightly out of our way between…read moreLake Taupo and Rotorua. It would have been an even more convenient stop between Hobbiton/Matamata and Rotorua. Street parking was available next to the building. It wasn't busy when we arrived in the afternoon on a Sunday, and they greeted us right away to do the free tasting. It was conducted in a smaller, cooler room, with baskets of their cheeses lining the wall. Our guide/server was very friendly. We tried a handful of their more popular cheeses, and left with some delicious wedges to enjoy on the road. I liked their classic Just Ewe semihard cheese, which had a simple and light sheep's milk flavor, almost an even lighter flavor than basques that I've tried in the past. The peppercorn brie was unique, offering a kick of peppercorn flavor that paired very well with the mild nuttiness of the brie. They provided an ice pack to help keep the cheese cool while I was on the road, a nice touch. They also make coffee beverages here. Their long black was good, perfect for the drive ahead. Recommend for a stop!

If there's one place you should stop at when driving through Putaruru, this is it!…read more Over the Moon is an award-winning creamery that makes their cheese onsite at their shop front in Putaruru. Out back is a big industrial kitchen and in front, a temperature controlled cheese room & store front. Here the expert staff are happy to talk you through their different cheeses but if i'm honest, i've never had a bad one! My favourites would have to be their halloumi (the perfect amount of squeak and it hold it's shaped when fried, unlike some other NZ halloumi) and their washed rind, which is deliciously creamy but not too strong. They also sell coffee, crackers and chutney!

This is a Indian spice heaven tucked away from the main drag in Pukekohe. I noticed they have a…read moregood range of Gluten free goods as well. Need to try some of their must have ingredients.

This cute farmer's market was fun to visit precovid. It wasn't incredibly big, but had a good…read morevariety of produce and ready made items. I got a delicious coffee and some pastries.

Wow what a great find. Stopped in while we were staying in town. Coffee was super hot, but the…read moreturmeric bread was spectacular. Had the best vegan pasty of my life. The popcorn was the perfect snack for the road, not too sweet. Also got some feijoa chutney, I had never had it before but now I'd highly recommend. Sad we couldn't go another weekend.

Wonderful array of cheeses and specialty items for the gourmet. The range if liquorice is…read moreparticularly outstanding.

Fantastic. Very sweet owners and everything is handmade in house…read more Designs are unique and very cute. Several vegan options! My favorite is the orange ganduja. Highly recommend.