Maybe i am asian so my standard for Asian food is a bit high, but for a Japanese with sushi on…read moretheir menu, they seem to only have salmon lol. The salmon was also a bit fishy to be honest. Aside from that, the bento box was passable, and satisfy our craving for Asian foods.

Keep in mind that Lake Tekapo is a small town with small city centre, so dining choices are…read morelimited. Kohan Japanese Restaurant appears to be the only Japanese restaurant in town, and it might be the usual, basic items, but it did not disappoint at all! It's been here since 1993! It's located at the righthand side of the city centre. Finding the entrance was confusing as it was connected with the Aotea Gift shop (that we didn't go in) from the inside, through the parking lot. The inside felt like those old-fashioned diners with the faded red cushioned chairs, wood colored dining tables, and wide open dining area. There's big windows with unobstructed views of the beautiful mountains and pristine Lake Tekapo, which makes the experience all the better. The special was Popcorn Chicken, which was not bad. Chunky, tender pieces of deep fried chicken coated in a tasty, sweet Teriyaki sauce. The Agedashi Tofu was good. Lightly battered, and lightly fried tofu. The sauce was on the light side, but still acceptable. The Buckwheat Soup hits the spot if you're looking for something light, homey, and warm. The broth was clean and light with a good amount of shiitake mushrooms and chicken along with the buckwheat. Lastly, I had the Tempura Sushi Bento to try a little bit of everything. It came with salmon and ahi sashimi, tempura combo (shrimp, blue cod, kabocha, and sweet potato), teriyaki chicken with salad, miso and sake malt marinated fried salmon, broccoli with walnut miso sauce, edamame, Japanese omelet roll, a slice of orange, and a choice of teriyaki chicken roll or 2 piece avocado salmon roll (chose this one). Can't say everything was a hit. Chicken was OK. The salmon sashimi was good. It was more so light and firm rather than soft and buttery. Ahi was the same. Fried salmon was good, but a touch on the salty side. The sushi roll was ok. Rice was bland, and basic quality. The tempura was good though, and the tempura sauce was excellent. Overall, if I compare this meal to my personal experiences, it wouldn't be that good. But thinking about where this restaurant is located with the amazing views, and other options to eat around the area, this was a decent meal. The service was very good. Friendly and attentive servers. Good atmosphere. Food came out quick.

Snakebite is named after their signature beverage, which is a 50:50 mix of their berry cider and…read moreusually a beer, selections from a lager to a Hazy IPA possible. Otherwise, they also have other alcoholic beverages along with some beers on taps. The freshies from Altitude Brewing -- namely the annual Hazy IPA, "Cones of Gratitude", brewed with Riwaka from Eggers Hops (ICONIC kiwi hop butt logo) -- was ordered in earnest, its dank, passion fruity notes savored to max effort. Probably my favorite NZ-style IPA to be had. I much preferred the Altitude beers on tap to the Snakebite concoction, the cider being quite natural, slightly fermented, and a little too funky. In addition to beers, food is to be had with pretty much every Asian cuisine under the sun. We had some Tumeric Chicken Kebabs which were a little dry and room temp though the peanut sauce was a yummy and required pairing. Prices are what they are for one of the few operating restaurants in the Franz Josef area. It served well for the afternoon downpour which made its appearance upon our arrival for lunch.

We enjoyed the cashew chicken and the Thai beef salad for a mid-afternoon lunch during a…read moreweather-induced power outage in the area. Both had fresh ingredients with just the right amount of spicy flavor. The portions were generous and filling. Atmosphere was cozy. Figuring out that we needed to order at the counter was a bit confusing, and gathering details about the drink offerings was a little harder than it needed to be. Overall, I recommend Snakebite as a place to try when visiting Franz Josef.

Not many restaurants to choose from in this small town, but we made an excellent choice in coming…read morehere! All 4 of us ordered different dishes and we were all pleased with the food as well as the service. Pictured below is the Gaeng Panang Curry. Initially, the dish presented to me was way too hot, spice-wise; i had asked for mild. The server took it away with apologies and the replacement was perfect.

We had the chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, Thai chicken basil, and pad Thai with shrimp. The…read morefood was tasty and excellent but the price was a little high