Vudu Cafe & Larder

After long days and long nights and just not enough hours to enjoy the comfort of the hotel’s bed, it’s that time of the day again. Yes, it’s morning time, and yes, it’s the best time of the day: breakfast! I adore breakfast but it is actually the meal that I have the least often. I am not a morning person and won’t wake up just to eat breakfast - although I really should. A wise person have once said something along the line of an army or a troop cannot continue on an empty stomach, in which I find very true. We dedicated a huge portion of our four days in Queenstown to driving and exploring places. We soldiered through towns, forests, lakes, mountains and the most important thing we need to start off our day on the right foot is breakfast. Specifically, we needed breakfast at “Vudu Cafe”. 

Vudu Cafe actually refers to two different places in Queenstown. From my understand, there’s Vudu Cafe, which us located on Beach Street, and there is Vudu Cafe & Larder, located on 16 Rees Street, which was the one that we had visited for breakfast. Since I haven’t been to the other place I really can’t comment on the differences or who’s better, but one thing I could confirm is, go to Vudu Cafe on 16 Rees Street for breakfast/brunch!

If you’re read my post on HollyBelly in Paris, you will find a lot of similarities here. The cafe has a very cozy feel to it and this shines brightest through their lovely staffs. The place was bumping in the morning with hungry people everywhere. The staffs were calm and composed and did well in serving us. We were seated and given the menu. I really liked our table since we were pretty much in the middle of the cafe, back against the wall with a great view of the people crashing their face into the food, the barista working the coffee magic, and plate after plates of food passing by before our eyes.

For breakfast, the four of use all ordered different items. Like every good cafe, they do have their seasonal specials, I believe was gravlax or something like that. The menu as they have it now is quite big and there’s always something for everyone. First and foremost, we needed some coffee. There was no way we woke up early, went a bit deeper in our wallet, and just to be half asleep and dreaming about our bed while on our breakfast table. The solution at the time (actually the solution all the time) was coffee. We love our coffees and this place did not disappoint. Considering how many coffees they make, we were happy with the consistency in its quality. I order my signature coffee, a skinny latte - in Australia and New Zealand, the term skinny latte or skinny flat white refers to skim milk being used rather than full cream milk. It’s a slightly healthier option from the full cream milk, but is on a different level with say, soy milk or almond milk. Anyhow, I enjoyed every single sip of my skim milk latte. If you take a look at my picture before of my latte, you will also see the items they had on the menu when I was there. 

After a few chats about how our amazing trip was going, our orders arrived. I love eggs and that was exactly what I had ordered. My dish was appropriately called “free range poached eggs with grilled halloumi”. Halloumi cheese, for me, is the most delicious cheese to ever reach the grill. It comes from a Greek background and it’s something I always order excessively when I’m in Cyprus - I actually lived there for a good two years! Other than the main characters in poached eggs and grilled halloumi, hidden underneath were some smashed up avocado, quartered cherry tomatoes, a few leaves of green, thinly shaved radish, and of course, a bed of thick cut sourdough break that’s been drizzled with olive oil. Other than bacon, sausages, hash browns and sautéed mushrooms, this was everything I love about breakfast in one dish. Do I even need to mention how good everything was? It was delicious. The egg was soft poached as I had asked for, and when you get beautiful, yellow egg yolk spilling into all its neighbouring ingredients, you know you’re in for a good breakfast. 

Enough about mine, let’s move to what my friends had on the table. Another friend ordered “brioche french toast with crispy bacon, fresh banana and berries”. You need to look no further for the the real deal. You could see from the photo I took below that it was both stunning in appearance and in taste. I personally like bacon with my french toast or pancakes or even waffles. I just think that the neutral taste of these items go really well with the saltiness and pork-y-ness of the bacon, and the maple syrup just bring everything together. But imagine that, with various types of fresh berries, a rich compote and of course, a banana. This french toast dish was a game changer. 

Moving right along, another friend had something else that was super simple, a dish consisting of just “free range eggs and either bacon or sausages”. I think he went for sausages. But just hiding below the toasts were some really really good pan-fried potatoes. It was very simple and very delicious. The kitchen clearly did not over complicate anything here, and well-played to that. 

Vadu Cafe & Larder on 16 Rees Street is a must go breakfast place if you’re in Queenstown. I am confident to make this claim and am sure you will fully benefit from the delicious food, friendly service, and great ambience this cafe has to offer. As always, if this post has really inspired you to and made your stomach frustrated in hunger, be sure to check out their website as I will post the link to it right below. If you’re one of those that’s into the “picture speaks a thousand words” thing like I am, check out their gallery section or simply type in the hashtags for their cafe on instagram. This has been such a good strategy for my friends and I in finding good new places to eat. After all, it is really true that we do eat with our eyes first, rather than our mouth. Enjoy!

If you like the content of this post, or just want to check out some pictures that I take on my adventure, feel free to like and/or follow me on instagram at oat93, cheers!

PS: 

Not at all in any sense or shape related to our amazing breakfast experience at Vudu Cafe & Larder, but I would recommend of another place should you crave for Asian food in Queenstown.. like we did for some reason. There is a good Chinese restaurant at the end of The Mall, on Ballarat Street towards the side of the main road. If I’m not wrong, it’s just opposite the Starbucks around the corner. The Chinese food there is really good and portion is quite kind as well. If you want to try a more modern Asian cuisine, check out the menus at Madame Woo, also on Ballarat Street but just the opposite side. They’re represented as a fun and modern take on Asian cuisine, but for us, the only fun thing about it was the ambience and the presentation of the food. The taste was, so-so. Booking is essential for Madame Woo since they do get really busy most nights. If you’re there, you might as well try something from there as I’m quite confident that they rotate the menu around with some new doses of good food. 

Vudu Cafe (both locations) - http://www.vudu.co.nz/vudu-cafe/home-vudu