We arrived at Christchurch in the afternoon and hence we had plenty of time to walk around the city before having our dinner at the well sought restaurant, Twenty Seven Steps. From the airport, we took a taxi to Quest Serviced Apartment. The entire journey would have taken about 20 mins if not for the congested traffic.
 |
| Spacious room with minimalist design |
 |
| decent size bathroom, spotlessly clean |
Quested Serviced Apartment is located in the city centre, within 15mins walk of Chalice and Canterbury Museum, near to the Christchurch Cathedral and within walking distance to the many retail shops @ Gloucester Street. We were also able to walk to Christchurch Botanical by foot from the apartment. Indeed, I was delighted to see that Quest Serviced Apartment was well furnished with modern amenities and equipped with microwave, plates and utensils for its guests. The apartment was very clean and the housekeeping services were superb.
5 years after a shallow, savage earthquake flattened Christchurch city, the story of its central business district is a "tale of two cities". Since then, the entire city is slowly undergoing restoration. In fact, the progress was quite slow and we saw buildings with visible cracks, the partially collapsed Catholic Cathedral and empty parcel of land where once the buildings stood remained on site. Looking at the extent of these damaged buildings, I could imagine the powerful force of the earthquake that shook this once beautiful modern city.
Located close to the center of Christchurch, the gardens are a beautiful place to go for a walk or take kid to play. What I particularly like about the Botanical Garden is that it is spacious, quiet, walk-able and conducive for prams and strollers. There are some different gardens to stroll including the New Zealand Gardens, Central Rose Garden, Azalea and Magnolia Garden, Temperate Asian Border and Herb Garden. The River Avon runs through the Botanic Gardens, and the visitors center, gift shops and cafe are worth a visit. By the way, the cafe serves very nice buttery scones, always delightful to have some for afternoon tea in a nice park.
The rose garden is a gem and the best that I've seen. These pretty and colorful blooming roses never fail to bring smiles to the ladies. I felt like I'm visiting a royal garden.
Another notable place worth a visit in Christchurch is the Restart Shopping Mall where dozens of colorful shipping containers combine to make one of New Zealand's most unique shopping malls. There are several food trucks selling delicious and cheap meals which looked delicious. We were too full from our tea and scones in the Botanical Garden and hence had regrettably gave the food trails a miss at this area.
We also chanced upon this memorial place with lots of white painted chairs. According to TripAdvisor, 185 chairs is the city's top landmark attraction. The oddball collection of white-painted chairs is a stark representation of the lives lost in the 2011 earthquake, created by Peter Majendie.
Lastly, I've got to recommend this fabulous restaurant @ New Regent Street, a pedestrian mall in the heart of Christchurch, constructed in the 1930s. The entire street was decorated with brightly painted shop houses and was car-free. However, do look out for the trams! There were lots of cafes and restaurants on New Regent Street and thus it was one of the nicest place in the city to hang out.
Twenty Seven Steps is a busy place with a hip vibe. The restaurant was so named because it took the guests 27 steps to reach the dinning area at the 2nd storey. Interesting isn't it. Personally, I like the ambiance of the restaurant. It's casual interior decoration really puts you in the mood to wine and dine. The menu of this restaurant changes seasonally and reflects the owners' desire for fresh, locally sourced ingredients. We had a fabulous dinner and every dishes tasted so good right from the appetizer, soup, main course consisting of beef steak and lamb shank to the dessert. I could taste not only of the chef's superb culinary skills but also the freshest of the ingredients used for the dishes. I would definitely love to return here again just for the food! The beef is definitely good, tender and juicy whereas the apple cider soup is a joy to have, refreshingly sweet is the word to describe this boiled creamy soup!
Of course the bill didn't came cheap but overall it was really worth-while to dine at this place because such food quality isn't easy to find back home @ the tiny red dot :)
Comments
Post a Comment