Rotorua market - part II

Not only does Rotorua have a Saturday morning Farmers Market, it now has a Thursday night market too. I'm back in Rotorua for Easter and a visit to the market was top of my activity list after hearing rave reviews about it from my family.

The atmosphere was quite different from the Saturday morning market, with live music creating an ambiance not unlike some of the markets I've been to in Europe. But unlike a foreign market, I could only walk a few stalls before bumping into someone I knew - or even if I didn't know them, eveyone seemed up for a chat!

This Mount Eliza Cheese tastes as good as it looks! We bought a slab of the Eliza Blue (not featured in this photo) and I can't wait to tuck into it with some of the quince paste we bought from the adjacent stall.

I dined on a $5 plate of Porcini Mushroom Ravioli with a creamy garlic sauce from Pastamia. I've been a fan of this pasta since I first discovered their ravioli in the frozen section of Thorndon New World. Ever since, I have been a ravioli snob, turning my nose up at the standard fresh ravioli from the supermarket which I find very gluey with its unrecognisable fillings. The delicious Pastamia ravioli is at the opposite end of the ravioli spectrum.

I was quite taken with this banana ice cream from Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten... the 'icecream' is apparently an old Rudolf Steiner tradition. Amazingly, the only ingredient is frozen banana, which is pressed into a juicer, and the result (served in a cone for $2) is a smooth creamy guilt free delight. Not quite so guilt free, but even more delicious is the baking at Sugar and Spice. Siobain's melting moments are perfect and great value at $2 a pop. This stall is oh so pretty and all the baking gets the LWD's tick of approval!

I finished my dining experience with a great coffee from the meanbeans mobile van. The perfect end to a great evening of food and meeting & making friends!