This Just in: More on Hokey Pokey...

Food technologist and author Jennifer Yee Collinson, who also happens to be a born and bred Kiwi, sent Editor at Large this missive:

"Hokey Pokey Ice Cream is as iconic as Whittaker's Chocolate Peanut Slabs and Buzzy Bee's in NZ." [You might recall images of Prince William playing with said Buzzy Bee when he visited New Zealand as a child with his mother and father].

"Hokey Pokey is what kiwi's call honeycomb - made by cooking sugar and golden syrup to a toffee and stirring through bicarbonate of soda so that the mixture bubbles and foams up. The resulting hokey pokey or honeycomb is light, airy and crispy with slight burnt caramel notes. Hokey Pokey Ice cream does not contain nuts but nuggets of this honeycomb blended into vanilla ice cream."

Groucho's Rule

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." -- Groucho Marx

Kiwi Chic

If you're shopping in Auckland, don't miss:

Ponsonby Road, New Market and downtown around Queen Street and look out for local style at Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, World, Zambesi.

NZ Nibbles

1. Vogel's bread -- the recipe hasn't changed since the '50s and who knew they knew about healthy stuff back then?
2. Manuka honey -- thick, delicious, creamy and good for you.
3. Flat white -- not as milky as a latte, not as frothy as a cappucino. Perfect.
4. Hokey Pokey ice cream -- vanilla ice cream filled with crunchy toffee and nut bits. Yum.

Forget Your New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc....

Word on the beach in Waiwera, New Zealand is that Sauvignon Blanc is old news. Instead, Kiwis recommend their Pinot Noir. Try Mt. Difficulty or Saddleback, both from Central Otago in the South Island, or the delicious Cloudy Bay.

Village Style

Head to St. Heliers in Auckland, New Zealand for some of the most inspired ice cream around. You'll find it at Village 88 ice cream, a father and son business in a tiny building, that serves up sensational flavors like Lemon Curd and Bourbon and Brown Sugar. Grab a cone or, even better, take a tub or two home.