JoandDean

Hi All

Just found this website!!

We are a family with two young children and are hoping to be moving to Hamilton in 8-12 weeks OH has secured a job which he is really excited about and the employer is fantastic and willing to wait up to 3 months for the visas to be sorted out.

OH is a vegetarian and I was just wondering what the options in NZ are for veggies is it like here where most restaurants carter for them and what are the supermarkets like can you buy things like quorn over there?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jo

TeamEmbo

Don't know about Hamilton area but Cch seems to have plenty of choice. Most restaurants & cafes we've been to (here and BOP) have Vege choices marked as in uk. Lots of health food shops and choices of rice, beans, pulses, lentils, cheeses, fresh fruit and vegetables - haven't seen any Quorn but then I haven't looked for it in particular! Hope this helps. xx

sarahw

My OH is veggie and in the 2 years since we arrived in NZ we've noticed things improving for veggies. Whilst there's no Quorn there is a similar product available in our local supermarket called Fry's and they do burgers, sausages and mince. Also there's a pretty good range of tofu chunks, burgers, fake bacon.

The one thing to watch out for is the lack of vegetarian cheese - there are a few makes such as Mainland Vegetarian Cheddar but it's quite mild. We spent hours in the supermarket when we first arrived just reading cheese labels!

This link might help or you could try the Vegetarian Society website too:

http://library.christchurch.org.nz/R...Free/Shopping/

mazi

I do know about Hamilton and no, I'm sorry to say the choice was RUBBISH. I will admit I haven't been there for over a year now but I was there for three years and I absolutely despaired, I really did. It could well be better now - Hamilton is improving daily, I'm told. But, sorry again - being a veggie in NZ was VERY, VERY hard. The restaurant staff look at you like you've just murdered their child when you ask about the veggie options - and if they do offer (Ok, DID - as I said I'm not there now) an (yes, ONE) option it's 'veggie lasagne' . NZers generally are not clued up on vegetarianism - watch out for the chicken they'll cook you if you go to their house for 'dinner', as happened to me more than once. "But it's white meat - you eat that, don't you?" What a load of B*ll*cks.

Actually I started eating meat again in NZ after 10 years as a veggie- due in part (in PART) to the difficulties of being veggie there. But only white meat - so I guess I'm still really a veggie, aren't I?!!!

ewanainsworth

Hi there, I agree with Mazi. My partner and I are both veggie and have found NZ to be crap for choices in restaurants and cafes etc. Although having said that it is definately getting a wee bit better. I'm sure I heard somewhere that per head of population the kiwis were the biggest meat eaters in the world. Dont know how accurate this is though. I'm just looking forward to getting there and having a massive veggie patch in the garden...jubbly.

mazi

And don't eat the chips from the chippy - they're cooked in beef fat, or worse.

Boopy

It must depend on where you go, I've been impressed by the veggie stuff when eating out. The salads I've had are to die for, I've only started to eat fish since coming here. My son has turned veggie since coming to NZ, cos he enjoyed the veggie meals so much.

mazi

You're not in NZ!!! You went somewhere else by mistake and they just told you it was NZ when you got off the plane.

JoandDean

Thanks for that guys.

Sounds like I'll have to talk him into eating chicken like the other veggies in NZ