All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to the City of Sails and to the Land of the Long White Cloud and to the most wonderful people that I know…
We had dinner in the house that night with this very delightful salad…
…plus the potato salad…
…and mashed potatoes…
The French lamb cutlets were awesome – simply out of this world…
…so much so that the thick slab of lovely grilled beef was forced to take a back seat…
Even my missus loved it and she was never a fan of lamb as she would get put off by the smell no matter how slight it might be! This certainly was a really scrumptious meal and a fitting end to our most wonderful stay in Auckland, New Zealand and for the umpteenth time, we would like to thank my friend and her family for their very warm and generous hospitality and for everything…and most of all, for being such very loving and caring, such awesomely wonderful “friends” – for want of a better word for that, I would say, is a gross understatement in every sense.
I did feel a little bad as they would not let me foot the bill at any one time and they would not accept anything in return but I did manage to sneak off on one of those days to buy these for them – a father, a mother and a son and coincidentally, the father was fair-haired and the other two, dark…
*My friend’s photo from Facebook*
…and left them, gift-wrapped and ribbon-tied under their Christmas tree – a very very small token of our utmost gratitude and appreciation. All too soon, it was time to leave for the airport to catch the 1-something flight in the morning on the 21st of December…and with warm and affectionate hugs and held-back tears, we said our goodbyes and with one last glimpse at our lovely hosts in the waving gallery, a few final waves and flying kisses, we proceeded to the departure lounge to board the aircraft that was to take us back home.
Somehow, I feel kind of sad at this point in time as all this while when writing all the posts, it was like I was reliving all the fun-filled days, all the happy moments and all the wonderful things during those 6½ days in Auckland and also before that, in Wellington. It certainly was a holiday to cherish and to remember for always….but now, the reality seeps in, the reality that it is all over and this is indeed…
P.S.:
We have finally come to the end of my two-posts-a-day marathon and now, it is back to the usual one-post-a-day routine. Do make sure you come back each and every day to check things out. Cheers!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
well written, makes me wanna go and stay with Shereen… wanna go again?
Ang phee khang, pek bai bai
Bo lang chia, ka kee lai!!! Muahahahahahaha!!!!
Come to Sibu, always welcome…also very nice here. 😉
Hi Arthur! I can feel the sadness in this post but I have this quote for you:
“Don’t cry because you are leaving, smile because you were there.”
Thanks. That’s so sweet! There is also an English quotation that says: “Those who go feel not the pain of parting; it is they who stay behind that suffer.”
Sobsss! How true, Arthur!
Sobbssssss!!!! Hugsssss!!!!!
Goodbye to you my trusted friend ♬
You had joy, you had fun
You had seasons in the sun ♬
Yes, very appropriate lyrics indeed…
This is one of my favourite songs.
Eyewwwww!!!! Oldie but goodie. LOL!!! 😀
Yummy food, ah..nice mom dad & son gift
Nice, eh? 😉
Salad looks good! I think I should go salad based meals very soon to detox!
I really enjoyed the salad there. Everything’s so fresh – to steal the slogan from some place else, it’s “so good, you can eat it on its own”.
aside to the first one, all seems great and yummy
it’s just that i’m not much of a leafy eater haha
Gosh! It’s good for you! Must eat more of those… 😉
how sweet of you to give them that lovely doll family
i think you’re quite a generous man
I try to be…as far as I can afford it. 😉
I’ve enjoyed the trip to NZ too – through your blog 🙂 and getting to know your lovely Kiwi friends…. my cheeky daughter kept asking me :” mummy, why don’t you befriend Shereen too…she’s seems nice:)”…
but, I don’t mind following you around Sibu either 😉
God must have been smiling down on me the day when Shereen stumbled upon my blog out of the blue and loved what she saw…and there has been no turning back since. I am truly blessed.
Congrats again to your daughter’s graduation! The joys, the friendship, the goodbyes, the tears. They don’t last forever but memories do and I know you will forever cherish. Good friends are very hard to come by. Arthur, you have always been a great friend to all those you meet! And you deserve all the kindness and hospitality.
Thanks, Mary.
Perhaps it’s the way of the nyonya/peranakan folks. I remember ever since young, when my uncles, aunties and cousins would visit my grandma during the long school holidays, we would all commune every day at my grandma’s house and there would be lots and lots to eat and to talk about….and we would go to town – to eat kampua, for dinners at Hock Chiu Leu and the like…and my aunties loved to go to the shops selling cloth along High Street or the goldsmiths’ shop along Blacksmith Road…and spend hours and hours there. I must say that my time in Auckland was somewhat like that too…
So sad that the NZ posts as come to and end. I’ve been enjoying the posts very much. It is such a joy to spend valuable times with family and friends there. Similar to your wife, I can always put off by the smell of the lamb too. My wife does not have this problem though.
The doll families are cute. I’m sure they will like that 🙂
They did, and I’m glad. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the NZ posts – I certainly enjoyed writing them. They say the lamb smell is from the fat – trim it off and it will be ok…but the imported lamb here is too fatty. Not much left once you’ve got rid of it.
French lamb cutlet looks yummy to me!! Anyway dont be sad.. This year u gonna go somewhere again right. 😀
Hopefully… To Penang at least, perhaps? 😉
I love the salads, the mashed potatoes and the meats! What a superb farewell meal. Oh dear, we are all going to experience withdrawal symptoms now that the NZ posts have come to an end. Sigh….
Hahahaha!!!! Pass the hat around, make a collection and get me an air ticket – I will go over again…and then, there will be more NZ posts for everybody… 😉
LOL! That’s a good one….withdrawal symptoms! 🙂
I think quite a number are missing the NZ posts…and also the two posts a day thing. 😉
wow what a nice meal with the lamb and potatoes to end your NZ trip!! hooray!!! finally this is the end of the marathon, we are all going to see kampua noodles again~~ :p
You miss kampua so much meh? No worries…coming soon! LOL!!!
yeah, miss King Kampuarthur so much!! like i suggested before, since you have a one-month marathon for NZ trip, you can also have at least a one-week marathon dedicated for Kampua.. great idea huh?? probably that would earn you a Guinness Record~~ LOL 😀
You’re probably the only one who would want that – most kampua look the same or similar at least…
Sad that everything has come to an end but truly speaking I enjoy reading every post on your trip to NZ. What not with all the awesome photos of the food and the places of interest to share with us.
😦 So, get ready to be bored to death after this… Sobssss!!!!
sob sob! enjoyed yr Nz trip too, you are a great story teller, so shld take opportunities to go new place more often so we can read abt your interesting trips! yr dolls a bit cina puchow looking! LOL!
Do Foochow dolls look like that? Hand-made…and there is beauty in that as opposed to the factory-made ones which may look perfect but lack soul! That is why paintings are always a class above picture-perfect photographs.
P.S. Come! Send me the air ticket to Melbourne…and you can take me around and feed me too and I can write all the nice posts about the place. Hehehehehehehe!!!!
All have to do is dream dream dream! haha
Well, dreams can come true… AirAsia sale is on right now…and that day, I saw a promo for Chinese New Year – RM349, all in…return to cities Down Under. Guess nobody wants to go around this time…except those who want to get away from all the fun, festivities…and the food!!! Nom! Nom! Nom!!!
so sad ya to leave such a beautiful place but then, hey, welcome back to SAMBAL BELACAN country! I always look forward to eating sambal each time I comes home from overseas :p
See what I ate – the post after the next one… 😉
Enjoyed reading your NZ posts. Beautiful photos too. Looking forward to your ‘regular’ posts 🙂
No worries! Back to “normal” tomorrow onwards…
Not The End..but a Beginning to Real Friendship… yes, such a lovely family… I would be very touched too…
Yes, real gems…so hard to find and precious like anything.
Yes.. treasure the friendship…
For always… 🙂
the salad not ngum me but the meat does makes me drool
Oh? I love mashed…and ok with potato – the greens – I loved the ones there! Hmmm…so when you come to my place for dinner, must not serve these things – give you ulam, sure you like!!! 😉
I’m the opposite, I will sapu clean all the vegan dish and maybe a bit or two of the lamb 😀
Balanced meal…everything in moderation – that is the key to healthy eating, not going overboard in favour of one over the other.
Yummy food…….
One thing to remember : friendship never ends.
True! 🙂
Yay finished! Nice “marathon” around NZ. 🙂
Yup, curtain falls!!!
gosh.. the lamb looked so gloriously charred!! oh and never thought I might say this since I m not a salad gal but that salad and Potato with Bacon salad is definately something I would enjoy… what a gorgeous meal! Nothing beats great friendships & awesome homecooked meal from the heart….
friends are plenty but genuine and true ones are hard to find! I also believe that when you are genuine to others, you will also be rewarded with genuine friendships too… 🙂
Yes, as they say, what goes around, comes around…and what thou giveth, thou wouldst receiveth…perhaps a hundredfold. The food was gorgeous – you know how fresh the meat there is…and they can afford thick chunks…not like what we would get here – paper thin slices. 😦
Wah, so fast already the end of your travelogue?
Anyway I bet you and family had a great time there! Thanks for sharing with us all the beautiful photos~
So fast? I had to put up two posts a day or else this would drag on till next month after Chinese New Year. I’m sure everybody would be bored stiff by then…and dying to know what I’ve been up to around here lately.
Sir,
The was sadness in this entry. The way you ‘pen-ed’ the ending of this entry. You feel it, your readers feel (i know i do!)… I figure Shereen will too when she drops by. But i’m sure this temporarily farewell would also mean the next gather together is getting closer too. 🙂
On the lighter note… er… i think the light haired is mama doll cos i could see a partially visible ribbon on her head. 😉 Hope my sight didn’t fail me as at this moment i’m all blurry & somewhat teary. 🙂
Psst… How come no woof-woof dolls one? Kakaka :p
No, it was actually at a flower shop…and probably the florist made them herself – 4 altogether…father, mother, son and daughter. When Shereen saw them, she loved them so much but decided not to buy – she said they were expensive…so after we had left the shop, eventually, I sneaked back to buy them for her – quite sad to leave the daughter behind though. 😦
I know if I go Sibu again, I will have the same treatment from you and Lucy, the ever generous and kind friends. I still remember when Lucy brought the girls to feed the fish. They simply enjoy the moment.
Of course, and can stay at my place…save on hotel, no problem…just squeeze a bit, whole family in the little room. 😉
no wonder there are so many post from you recently…
So fast come to end?
I want to see more…
You pay for my air ticket, I go again… Can!!!! No problem, anytime. Hehehehehe!!!!!!
Nice meal. Indeed a thick slab of grilled beef.
The family doll….really ngam!!!! Matches Shereen’s family.
Yes, that was what I had in mind. 🙂
I cried……tissue tissue please.
Here! Here! Take the whole box… Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
On 2nd thought…don’t visit me first. …Impossible to equal or beat the hospitality you got in Auckland and end up being painted a lousy host in this blog….
True also… Better you come here instead! 😉 LOL!!!
I like the first two salad and mashed potatoes. They indeed second to none as a host for your family.
That I simply cannot deny! Simply the best of the best! Cannot imagine anyone trying to measure up to that. 🙂
ah, what a wonderful-looking home-cooked meal.and maybe the perfect end to the kind of holiday that most of us wish for, filled with good memories, good food and good people 😀
It certainly was a dream holiday come true!!! 🙂
I think that this was one of the worst meal that I had prepared! My heart just wasn’t into it. None of the dishes were cooked perfectly. Forget the salt la, potatoes cut too small la, salad too limp la, in fact everything that could go wrong, went wrong!!! It was so hard to see you, Lucy and Melissa walk away from us at the airport. Luckily, Auckland not flooded that night. Things just not the same anymore the day after and it lasted for at least a fortnight. Lots of sighing sounds in the house, felt the house was too quiet and even the 4 legged kids were sulking. Anyway, we love the dolls a lot, first thing we see in the morning and last thing we see at night. Thank you so much for everything. Your stay was definitely the highlight of the year for us. Come again for a visit soon as there is still lots to do and things to eat. We miss you guys a lot 😦
Sure, sure! Top priority…if ever we’re thinking of going on a holiday. No point going elsewhere – without you lot around, that would mean we’d miss half the fun already…or more than half. Things would get boring after a couple of days…but not when we were there with you all. I could have stayed forever…but no choice, had to come home…sooner or later. Took me quite a while to get used to life back here too – everything seemed so different… Dinner was fine – loved the lamb a lot! We can never get anything like that here, that’s for sure… 😦
woah! Lamb and Beef !! calories oh calories ~ ~ LOL 😛
Never mind, taking the next flight out…and no way we can ever get lamb or beef THIS fresh for a long long time – definitely not here.
lamb cutlet… omg… I ish hungry…
Bet you can get that quite easily where you are…not here! 😦
I can’t find lamb cutlets here… only lamb chops T___T. Even with that, they are all thin cuts and with lotsa of bones… Er.. I am hungry… I want my dinner!
Oh? Same as here too then…and the lamb chops are paper-thin and grilled till crispy…like bak-kua. 😦
Shereen , listen listen listen!! All the food above are my favourite!!! Lamb..beef..salad..mash potatoes, yum yum!!! Make sure you prepare this for me too IF one day I come by NZ!!
Ah…very sad and touching post! I hate to said good bye , it always make me sad. Lovely pressie that you get for Shereen, Simon and Justyn.
Hahahahaha!!!! I’m sure Shereen heard you loud & clear. So when are you going? Let me know… I may just want to tag along. 😉 Ya, we had such a great time that it really was so hard to leave. 😦
Nice! Great cooking from the Fieldens – I’m a huge fan of lamb! That’s very sweet of you – going out and getting them a nice doll family! 😀
The least I could do for all they’ve done – as they always say, it’s the thought that counts. Just a small gesture of appreciation.
Indeed! You’re always very thoughtful and kind. That’s what makes you different from others. 🙂
Thanks for your kind words, Huai Bin. You’re so sweet…as always. 😉
No more NZ stories already kah?
No more. THE END! 😦
Rancangan cuti-cuti ke NZ TAMAT!
Time seems to “zoom” by when you’re having so much fun and with good company, too. So lovely of Shereen & family throughout your stay in NZ. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts, certainly makes me determined to save money to visit the country!
And those are yummy looking salads! I love them, especially the first one…it’s with cashew nuts & pine nuts, rite?
Yup, Shereen made those all by herself! They’re really heaven-sent! I simply cannot imagine anybody else going out of their way to do all that they did for a friend. So thankful for all that, really. Our holiday would not even have been half as nice, I’m sure, if not for them.
Arthur, What a great friend Shereen and her hubby are to you. Hard to find such good friends nowadays and I am sure you will treasure this friendship forever. Know why you have good friends like them? That’s because you are a great friend yourself:D I love the gifts that you bought for them. So thoughtful of you. Although I may not have left a comment on each and every post of your trip to NZ, I read all about it. Thanks for sharing your happy time with us and love all the gorgeous photos you have taken. What great and precious time with good friends. Shereen, I also want to come visit you!! LOL! You all are such good people, I feel blessed to know you Arthur and Shereen, blessed to know you through Arthur virtually too 😀
Words just can’t describe what wonderful people they are – whoever said that “blood runs thicker than water” had got it all wrong… We had such a fantastic holiday, thanks to them. Truly, I am so very abundantly blessed…
Ok, Ok, I just want the lamb cutlets and salad with lots of cashew nuts……..
Wah, posting marathon……got lose weight kah? he he he
Yes, all the time spent on uploading the photos and writing the posts – no time to eat…so slimmer now! LOL!!! 😀
wow wow wow… the food looked so good especially the meat. Makes me all hungry now at midnight!
That’s ok. KL – the city that never sleeps… There will always by nice things to eat. LOL!!! 😀