Review: GreenKeeper Cafe *CLOSED*

[Added 27 March 2017: This cafe has now morphed into Parked Up on the Green, a licensed eatery with catered events]

It's taken a few years, but it's finally there. After spending $140,000 on refurbishing the exterior of the caretaker's cottage in Victoria Park back in 2010, the Auckland City Council has found a tenant for the property, which was built in 1906.  For months, I watched with interest, as bare-chested workers laboured under the heat of the summer sun, carting wheelbarrows and such like behind a fence marked "The
housecafe that Jack
builtis renovating". One day, about two months ago, a sign announcing the "GreenKeeper Cafe" appeared over the northern entrance to the cottage, then it disappeared again, and I kept watching some more. Now the wait is over, and I can tell you it is worth it.

The former caretaker's cottage is now a cafe.

Admittedly, it can get a bit crowded between the counter (where you have to order) and the coffee station on the other side of the doorway, because people tend to stand around looking at the cabinet items or trying to decide what to sample off the menu.

Selection of salads.

But there is no shortage of seating, with two rooms downstairs (one with an antique pump organ in it, complete with carved, rectangular, wooden foot pedals) and one upstairs, as well as tables outside the northern entrance.

Downstairs room overlooking the sports field.

Apart from the changing selection of salads and desserts at the front counter, and the usual suspects of coffee and scones, the GreenKeeper Cafe offers three categories of food: breakfast items, pastas, and hoagies (a Philadelphian word for hot filled rolls).

Given this cafe apparently opens as early as 6:30am on weekdays, I am sure the breakfast options are popular with those participating in the morning boot camps in Victoria Park. Mostly, they are egg-based dishes, such as eggs benny with hot smoked salmon and greens ($16), but you can also order muesli and yoghurt ($7.50). I was surprised by how pale the sauce on my eggs benny was, not the yellow I associate with hollandaise, but it was still very rich and creamy. I also liked the range of sides you could add, from beer battered fries to smoked pork sausages to bubble and squeak ($3 - $5).

Eggs benny vege, with a very rich, if pale looking, sauce.

The waitress recommended the pastas ($12.50), and they were not only great value, but fresh and tasty. It turns out that most of the foreign-language ingredients are actually vegetarian. The pansotti (served with heirloom tomatoes and hand-pulled mozzarella) are just triangular-shaped filled pasta, not at all like the pancetta the word brought to my mind. The peperonata which came with the ravioli and sage butter was in fact a capsicum stew, not to be confused with pepperoni sausage slices. On the days we tried them, these pastas were filled with pumpkin, and pea and ricotta respectively, so perfectly acceptable for a meat-free diet. Having said that, the parpadelle with beef and rosemary ragout was the standout dish. You also have the option of adding extras to the pastas, such as bacon lardons or roast chicken ($2.50 each).

Parpadelle with beef and rosemary ragout.

The hoagies sounded by far the most exotic, with such fillings as Philly cheese steak with sliced roast beef, provolone cheese, peppers, onions and mushrooms ($10), or pulled pork with cumin slaw and chipotle aioli ($9.50). Once I saw that the sandwiches were sitting in the cabinet above the salads, ready to be heated up, however, I was less keen to try them. Presumably, the staff would make you one from scratch if your choice were not there. You can also get one with two salads for $12.50, which I may be tempted to do next time.

[Added 19 July 2013: Wow, this place is getting crowded! The space on top of the salads now holds a variety of wraps, and some new items have been added to the menu too: a soup of the day ($7), crockpot of the day ($10) and Fish 'n' Chips ($15).]

The old caretaker's cottage in Victoria Park is a great venue for a cafe, and it is nice to see that it has been done up inside and out, with some exciting food choices on offer. Whether you are here for a meal or just a drink and a nibble, this is a place where you can both grab-and-go, or just as happily relax and people-watch.

Note

Wheelchair access is via a ramp at the "back" or northern side of the building.

Panda Recommends

We still have quite a few things to try, but right now...

Mains: Pastas, particularly the parpadelle with beef and rosemary ragout ($12.50)
Avoid the walnut bread french toast with apple jelly ($15). Ignoring a staff member's offer of sprinkling pepper over the top, I found the bread soggy, and what I had thought would be a delicate apple jelly turned out be bright red with some kind of chilli in it—more sweet chilli flavoured than fruity.
[Added 19 July 2013: The french toast now comes with banana and berry compote—perhaps the cafe owners have taken note of my complaints?]

Vegie Pandas
The vegetarian hot sandwich may sound tempting, with the promise of goat's cheese and truffle oil, but while those ingredients are there, be aware that the grilled veges are mainly pumpkin. Go for one of a pastas instead. The eggs benny vege ($14.00) was not bad either. [Added 6 August 2013: they now offer a hoagie with mushroom instead of pumpkin. Good stuff!]

Wall menu.

Restaurant Details

GreenKeeper Cafe
Victoria Park, corner Fanshawe and Halsey Streets, Auckland Central
(09) 302 0425

Opening hours:
Mondays to Fridays 6:30am - 4pm (kitchen closes at 3pm)
Saturdays to Sundays 8am - 4pm (kitchen closes at 3pm)

The old caretaker's cottage is a great location for a cafe in Victoria Park.

View Nom Nom Panda in a larger map

3 Places for Medium-Rare Burgers in Auckland

[Added 25 April 2014: Our favourite burger place in Auckland is now Burger Burger. And yes, it does medium-rare by default.]
[Added 7 March 2016: So many great burger places have opened in the past year—this list is well outdated!]

Eating in France was a revelation for us, not least because we tasted for the first time what we considered to be real American burgers, beautifully cooked and with the patty still pink inside. You didn't have to ask for them medium-rare, because that was just how they were, every time. The restaurants even used that lurid orange processed cheese, though occasionally someone would slip in a slice of camembert or something as well. We have not tried burgers in America yet, but that was how we imagined they would be.

The best such burger we have tasted to date, though, was actually in Hong Kong earlier this month, when we visited an independent burger joint called BurgeRoom. Look at what a piece of art that bun is, and how juicy the filling.  We also approved of the excellent service in slicing the burger in half for easy eating, with a skewer in each portion to hold the pieces together.  This is currently our benchmark for the perfect American burger. And yes, even the fries were good.

Bacon Cheese Burger at BurgeRoom.

Of course, this meant we were on the hunt for the same as soon as we returned to Auckland.  How could you make do with what Jesse Mulligan calls Murder Burger Fuelconsin after such an experience (never mind that Murder Burger isn't around any more; you could substitute Handmade Burgers if you like)?

We have yet to find that perfect American burger in Auckland, but that didn't stop us from trying to recreate it ourselves at home. Sadly, though we managed to produce some pretty tasty burgers, we could not find the same sort of cheese, and there was always just something that was not quite right. It is hard to articulate what the difference is, but our burgers were not American burgers.

If you are happy to settle for a burger with a medium-rare patty, skilfully and freshly cooked, then it turns out there are at least a few places in Auckland where you can get this.  You only have to ask... Below are the eateries where we have successfully ordered a medium-rare burger, in the order of how we rate them. None are in the same category as that BurgeRoom burger, our idealised American burger, but there is no reason why you can't enjoy them anyway.

1) Vinyl Coffee Shop

Top on our list is the cheeseburger from Vinyl Coffee Shop. Don't forget you need to ask for it to be cooked medium-rare. Since we last reviewed the place two years ago, this tiny cafe has upgraded their menu, but the burger is still going strong. It is now made from beef rather than lamb, which is definitely closer to our expectations of a classic burger, though the rocket leaves used do push it towards a more gourmet direction. We like the fact that the staff manage to keep the standard consistently high, while throwing in minor variations. The last time we ordered the cheeseburger (before we discovered you could have it medium-rare), it was filled with fancy lettuce with frilled edges, for instance.

Cheeseburger from Vinyl Coffee Shop.

The bun may not look as perfect as the one from BurgeRoom, the colouring not as golden, the sesame less evenly spread, but the bread was soft inside while having the slightest, delicate, crispy crust on the outside. The cheese was regular cheese rather than the orangey American processed cheese, but then we haven't found "proper burger cheese" for sale anywhere other than at the big fast food chains. The meat was juicy and pink in the middle. This was a very good burger, for a very reasonable price tag of $14.

A closer look at the filling.

This place gets extra brownie points for offering a good vegetarian burger and crispy curly fries too.

Vegetarian O.J. Burger, with onion rings and avocado.

Vinyl Coffee Shop
218 Dominion Road, Mount Eden
(09) 623 3821

Opening hours:
Mondays to Fridays 7:30am - 3pm
Saturdays to Sundays 9am - 3pm

2) Late Night Diner

It's an exciting time for Ponsonby, with new eateries popping up left, right and centre. Not just the same kinds of places either, but novelties for Auckland, like the collection of little restaurants in Ponsonby Central, where some businesses started life as food trucks and market stalls. You can have an Argentinian asado at El Sizzling Chorizo (Simon Farrell-Green has a nice write-up of its previous incarnation as a foodcart on Waiheke Island), for instance, and we are also keen to try Foxtrot Parlour's doughnuts, which you can inject with filling yourself, though we've heard their brunch and lunch options are excellent as well.

But I digress.  One of the new places to eat in Ponsonby is the Late Night Diner. This little spot has three booths and some bar seating, with interior windows looking into the Ponsonby Social Club next door (it's owned by the same people). You might have trouble finding a seat depending on when you turn up, but it sure has an attractive menu.  Where else would you go to get rabbit pot pie, crispy skinned fish on popcorn grits, hard shakes (milkshake with a shot of cigar infused bourbon or fernet branca, perhaps), or Oreo doughboys?

Our objective, of course, was none of those things.  We were here for the late night cheese and bacon burger with fries ($15), cooked medium-rare. It was a bit difficult to see what we were eating because of the dim lighting (we used the flash for the photos below), but this is not a beauty contest.

Cheese and bacon burger from the Late Night Diner.

The late night burger does a good job, though the patty was more medium than medium-rare, and it was maybe a little too dry. Simple yet gourmet at the same time, you can always order something else to go with it, as we did.

The patty was more medium than medium-rare.

This place does not pretend to serve healthy food, so we were surprised by how much we enjoyed the slaw we added as a side. Apart from the obligatory cabbage and mayo, the salad was sweetened by some grated carrot and date slices, and jazzed up with mint and lime. Now we have a balanced meal we wouldn't mind returning for.

Late Night Diner
152 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby
(09) 361 2320

Opening hours:
Mondays to Wednesdays 5pm - late
Thursdays to Sundays 5pm - 2am

3) The Flaming Onion

We weren't really looking for a takeaway burger, but with all the hype around The Flaming Onion (the Herald's Viva magazine picked it as Best Burger late last year, alluding to chef Alistair Bingle's background at the Engine Room and Euro) and with their own website saying "Don't be afraid to ask for it medium rare", we decided to give it a go.

Like the popular Big J's in Mount Wellington, The Flaming Onion has a burger special every week. Unlike most other takeaways, though, they also offer hand cut agria chips, and use free range eggs, homemade sauces and good quality ingredients in general.

We ordered the beef and cheese burger, as it sounded most like what we were looking for. Despite the beef patty being thinner than at the eateries we have already mentioned, it was still pink and moist inside. The bun was too fancy for us though. The rosemary in the foccacia bap added an unexpected flavour to the burger (that was our chief complaint with Murder Burger too), and where were the sesame seeds? Although they have taken liberties with the bread, and it was overall not as exciting as Vinyl's burger, it certainly was not bad, and represented good value at $10.

Beef and cheese burger from the Flaming Onion.

We enjoyed the agria chips too. We were not able to eat them all (we couldn't even finish the burger), but they reheated well in the oven. Not sure we would drive out to Northcote for another Flaming Onion burger, but if you are in the area, why not?

The Flaming Onion
1 Lydia Avenue, Northcote
(09) 419 0325

Opening hours:
Tuesdays to Wednesdays 4 - 8:30pm
Thursdays 4 - 9pm
Fridays 12 - 9pm
Saturdays 1 - 9pm
Sundays 4 - 8:30pm
Mondays closed.

A Feijoa Cider... of sorts

What do you miss from New Zealand while you are overseas? For me, it is neither Marmite nor Weet-Bix*, nor L&P nor Vogel's (oh all right, maybe Vogel's), but something that did not really originate in New Zealand at all: that highly seasonal little green fruit known as the feijoa.

* By the way, did you know that these two kiwi favourites are made by Sanitarium, which has a tax-exempt status because it is owned by a religious organisation, the Seventh Day Adventist Church? This "charitable business" is actually very good at marketing, with news of our "marmageddon" spreading as for as the UK.  And remember that jingle which goes "Kiwi kids... are Weet-Bix kids"?  Apparently, in Australia they had the same advertisements, only they sang "Aussie kids... are Weet-Bix kids"! I have always thought of the breakfast cereal as a New Zealand product, but it turns out it was invented in Australia.

Pile of feijoas.

Native to the highlands of South America, this aromatic fruit plays on your heartstrings like no other. If you have a feijoa tree, you will have more than you can give away for a month or two, to the point where you get sick of their unique juicy sweetness. Then just as quickly, your supply runs out, and you are left longing for your next feijoa for most of the year. If you don't own a tree yourself, however, and don't have a desperate friend or neighbour trying to get rid of their excess stock, then you are forced to pay up to $13.99/kg at the supermarket. Such is the divide between the haves and the have-nots.

Vertical and horizontal cross-sections of feijoas.

While I love feijoas eaten fresh, in a crumble, or in a cake (I particularly enjoy this spiced feijoa cake with crumble topping), I wanted a way to save their fragrant flavour for later. Obviously, you can freeze the pulp, and use it for making ice cream or baking. My in-laws pickle the small ones whole (just minus the tops) in a secret solution of what might be salt and vinegar. Or you can use the traditional fruit preservation method and turn it into a jam (if you are ever in France though, and the waiter doesn't understand what you mean by jam, don't think "preserve" and ask for préservatif or you will get some very strange looks indeed). I decided that I wanted to make feijoa cider. After all, the first one I ever had, thick and strongly alcoholic at the Wine Cellar four years ago, was a deliciously memorable experience.

I found plenty of feijoa wine recipes online, but I didn't see much written about feijoa cider. I had no experience with brewing anything (unless you count a cheat's version of ginger beer), and was intimidated by the special equipment, fancy yeast, sterilising washes, and things I had never heard of before (like airlocks, hydrometers, pectin enzymes and campden tablets). So when I was forwarded an extremely simple recipe from a friend of a friend, I stopped my research and went for that instead. Based on Lynda Hallinan's apple cider recipe, which in turn comes from Walter the Saint, it looked like this:

Put 1.5kg of feijoas in a bucket (cut off any bad bits first, and I usually remove the tops, too). Squash enthusiastically. Add 6.5 l of cold water, stir and cover. Stir 2x a day for a week. Strain out solids and mix in 1 kg of sugar and the juice and rind of 3 lemons. Leave overnight. Strain and bottle in clean PET bottles (I usually fill 3/4- 4/5 of the bottle then squeeze out the air before capping). Drinkable after 2 weeks. Open with caution.

I didn't actually follow it to the letter. I couldn't bring myself to put the skins in as well, for instance. It looked like a pretty loose recipe anyway, so I had no qualms about using a stick mixer instead of squashing the fruit, or brown sugar instead of white.  I also unscrewed the bottle cap ever so slightly once in a while, to let out some of the trapped gases.

Feijoa pulp, blended with a stick mixer, and some cut feijoas in the background.

I tasted the drink after a month or so, and let's just say it was nothing like the feijoa cider from the Wine Cellar. This was basically a rather sweet lemonade, in which the scent of feijoa was all but gone. I shall leave it for longer to see if more of the sugar will convert to alcohol, but I do not have high hopes.

I will have to wait till next year before I have enough feijoas again to try Linda Isbister's recipe.  In the meantime, I guess maybe I should read up on proper brewing technique.

This post is part of Our Growing Edge, a monthly blogging event aimed at inspiring us to try new things. This month it is hosted by Sonya from And More Food.

Another Week in Hong Kong: North Point Sweet Treats to Queue for

If you have ever been to Hong Kong, you will know that there are not just people and buildings everywhere, but also plenty of good food to be found.  In fact, fantastic fresh food is so prized in the city that they have a serious problem with food waste: apparently up to 40% of food there goes uneaten, and most of it ends up in the landfill.

You have a good chance of a great meal just wandering in to anywhere that looks popular, but one area I make sure I go to every time I visit is North Point, particularly if I have a craving for something subtly sweet. I already shared with you last year a shop selling Chinese dessert soups, which has queues going around the corner.  That is certainly a good option for a post-dinner treat if you are in the neighbourhood, but what if you are looking for a little snack earlier in the day? Then I would recommend these egg-based crispy snacks...

Eggettes, or gai daan jai (鷄蛋仔) @ LKK (利強記)

Eggettes in Hong Kong.

A typical streetside snack in Hong Kong is the eggette, or gai daan jai (鷄蛋仔, "little eggs"), basically a waffle which is shaped like a honeycomb pattern of oval balls. You can find it for sale in many places, but the only ones I have purchased which have been consistently fresh and crispy on the outside, with the centre variously hollow or soft and chewy, have been at a hole-in-the-wall vendor called Lee Keung Kee (利強記).

Often hollow with just a bit of dough on the inside, the best ones are served hot and crispy.

Although this shop now has eleven branches, I have only tried the one in North Point, which I assume is where the business became famous, since it's also known as "that place in North Point".

Eggette-making in action.

Stalls that sell eggettes invariably also sell a waffle which looks much like what you would get here.  Known as gaak jai beng (格仔餅, "grid-patterned biscuit"), the difference is that this waffle (which is not really crunchy like the eggettes) is served folded in half with the delicious sauces of butter, peanut butter, condensed milk and sugar.  The only problem I have with it is that it is impossible to eat without the sauces dripping everywhere!

Hong Kong style waffle, opened up to reveal the sauces inside.

* LKK North Point Eggettes (利強記北角雞蛋仔)
492 King’s Road, North Point, Hong Kong (香港北角英皇道492號)
+852 2590 9726

Opening hours:
Mondays to Sundays 10am - 11pm

Paper bag with LKK branch addresses.

Queue outside LKK. You purchase the waffles through the little window hiding amongst all the newspaper clippings.

Egg Rolls, or daan guen (蛋捲) @ Duck Shing Ho (德成號)

I have mentioned egg rolls, or daan guen (蛋捲, "egg roll"), from Duck Shing Ho (德成號) in my blog before, but had not actually planned to buy them until someone reminded me again.  Apparently, once upon a time, you could just walk into the shop and buy your crispy delights, but these days, they are so popular that you have to queue.

Crispy butter egg roll from Duck Shing Ho.

We ended up visiting the shop three times to make a purchase. The first time we turned up, it was a Sunday, and they were shut.

Attempt #1: closed on Sunday

The next time, we turned up too late. The business was still open, but all the boxes I saw inside were already pre-sold to other buyers.

Attempt #2: shop open, but sold out

Finally, we turned up at 9:30am as instructed (though some recommend coming at 9am), and joined the already long queue.  Unfortunately, they did not have any more tins of the coconut flavoured egg rolls, but I did get to try the original and butter versions. I preferred the latter, which were more golden in colour than the pale original egg rolls, as well as crumblier and, well, more buttery.  Yum!

Attempt #3: queueing in the morning, 25 minutes in.

By the way, the queue on the left is for payment, while the queue on the right is for collection. I didn't realise until I got to the front of the payment queue that there is a restriction of 4lbs per person.  What that means is that unless you turn up with a friend, you are only allowed four of the smaller 454g tins. Makes it fairer on the people at the back of the line, I guess.

Finally, I get to collect my tins of egg rolls!

I was surprised to see that the butter egg rolls were only made of "fresh eggs, sugar, flour (cereals containing gluten), butter".  No secret ingredient like the vanilla essence in the recipe I tried (or perhaps just conveniently omitted?). There are no preservatives and the tin is not sealed—lift the lid and all you see is a sheet of waxed paper before you get to the crispy rolls. I guess that the success of making these, as with eggettes, is highly dependent on technique.

[Added 3 June 2013: By contrast, the egg rolls produced in mainland China under the October Fifth Bakery Macau brand not only come in vacuum-sealed packages (the 150g box I bought had five packets containing two egg rolls each, as well as a packet of desiccant), but also lists the following ingredients: wheat flour, sugar, egg, margarine [tallow, palm oil, soybean oil, salt, milk powder, emulsifier (E222, E471, E477), flavour, antioxidant (E320, E307), colour (E160a)], lard [contains antioxidant (E320, E321)], raising agent [E500(ii), E450(i), E341(i)], flour treatment agent (E928)!
]

* Duck Shing Ho Homemade Egg Rolls (德成號家鄉雞蛋卷)
Ground floor, 64 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong (香港北角渣華道64號地下)
+852 2570 5529/+852 2571 5049

Opening hours:
Mondays to Saturdays 9:30am - 7pm

Money Matters: OneSmart's New Fees and Terms

Up until recently, I have been positive towards using Air New Zealand's OneSmart card while travelling overseas.  As late as in September last year, I have tested making transactions in a foreign currency on my Visa credit card and on my OneSmart card on the same day, and found the rates from OneSmart to be more favourable.  Lately, however, OneSmart's exchange rates have taken a turn for the worse, and for purchases I made earlier this month, it actually cost me less money to use my normal credit card for payments in-store. [Added 23 May 2013: Just to clarify, the OneSmart was still better for getting cash out at overseas ATMs, due to the high fees my bank charges to use my debit/credit card that way.] To add insult to injury, I discovered only two weeks ago that OneSmart's fees and terms are changing - starting from tomorrow! The most inconvenient changes for me are that:

1. only three overseas ATM withdrawals per month will now be free
2. you can no longer escape fees while leaving money in your OneSmart account indefinitely, just by making sure you have it all in foreign currencies, and making a tiny transaction every three months (though this is softened by the fact that the Monthly Account Fee has been reduced)

Of course, I was not at all impressed.  And I was worried for all the people out there who might not know about the changes.  After all, I only found out because I happened to log in to my OneSmart account.  You might also have found out if you happened to read one of the major national newspapers in detail a week ago, on 14 May.  Otherwise, there was nothing.  No letter in the post, no email advising of the changes. This, despite an Airpoints newsletter being sent out just two days ago, with the following opening paragraph:

That's right, this newsletter "which has been designed to bring you up to speed on any programme, partner, schedule or business changes we think you need to hear about" didn't have a single thing to say about upcoming changes to the OneSmart fees schedule and terms and conditions!

[Added 21 May 2013:
Despite this outrage, I have to say that there is a pretty neat feature being introduced at the same time: a Virtual Card which "means a 16-digit MasterCard card number, security code (CVC2) and expiration date that is different from your Physical Card and can be used to access your OneSmart Account. A Virtual Card can be used for online and telephone transactions only."
This isn't much use if you mislay your OneSmart card when you want to get cash out, but it is reassuring to know that your real number is safe if your virtual number used online has been compromised. If only I had a virtual card for my normal credit card too!

Information about a Virtual Card on the terms and conditions page.

]

Out of interest, how did you first find out about these changes?  I've created a poll which you will find on the right (unless you are reading this post in the mobile view).

[Added 27 June 2013: The poll is now over. The results are as follow:

I logged in to my OneSmart account  5 (29%)
I looked on the OneSmart website  2 (11%)
I read the newspaper on 14 May  0 (0%)
I read Nom Nom Panda's blog  9 (52%)
I read some other blog  0 (0%)
My friends told me  1 (5%)
I noticed I was charged a fee  0 (0%)

]

Money Matters: A Snapshot Comparison of Currency Exchange Rates

A couple of readers have recently pointed out that the exchange rate of Air New Zealand's OneSmart card is not as good as it used to be. I decided to take a look at how it compares with banks and other travel card options these days. [Added 8 May 2013: I also just noticed yesterday that the OneSmart fees schedule is changing  from 21 May, so have added a column showing the changes in the last table.] [Added 22 May 2013: And vented my displeasure at the lack of communication about the changes.]

Exchange Rates: an Unfair Comparison

In the table below, I have taken the exchange rates from the various websites at around noon on Thursday. I have left out rates for international money transfer, as that requires you to have a bank account in another country. I have also not considered Western Union rates, as their pre-paid cards do not appear to be available in New Zealand, and apart from being the favoured form of payment by scammers, I assume you would also need to have a foreign bank account, or go out of your way to visit an agent at your destination country.

I have highlighted the best exchange rate for each currency in green below.  These are rates for buying foreign currency with your NZD at the major organisations, and do not take into account any commissions or withdrawal fees which may be charged.

	One Smart	ANZ	ASB	BNZ	Kiwibank		Travelex		TSB
	25 April, ~12:05p.m.	25 April, 11:59am	25 April, 12:06p.m.	24 April, 16:42pm	25 April,  12:03pm		24 Apr,  11:30am		24 Apr, time not stated
	One Smart	Cash	Cash	Cash	Cash	Loaded™ for Travel	Cash (Online)	Cash Passport	Cash	Cash Passport
AUD Australian Dollars	0.7959	0.8128	0.8109	0.8139	0.8076	0.8162	0.806	0.806	0.8112	0.7962
GBP Great Britain Pounds	0.5353	0.5458	0.5446	0.5454	0.5424	0.5465	0.5366	0.5366	0.5445	0.5305
USD United States Dollars	0.8177	0.8344	0.8309	0.8325	0.8294	0.8364	0.8253	0.8253	0.8322	0.8208
JPY Japanese Yen	81.3450	82.84	82.2535	82.37	82.0470	82.6479	81.1824	81.1824	82.6786	79.6696
EUR Euros	0.6282	0.6395	0.6367	0.6378	0.6352	0.6398	0.628	0.628	0.6364	0.6226
CAD Canadian Dollars	0.8383	0.8579	0.8541		0.8485	0.8534	0.8347	0.8347	0.8547	0.8285
AED United Arab Emirates Dirham				2.9552			2.7969		2.5459
ARS Argentine Pesos							3.8538
BRL Brazilian Real							1.5452
CHF Swiss Francs		0.7921	0.7833	0.783	0.7786				0.7847
CNY Chinese Yuan				4.8805	4.7814		4.7659		4.6691
DKK Danish Krone		4.7104	4.7282	4.7547	4.7367				4.7462
EGP Egyptian Pounds					5.1345				5.0377
FJD Fijian Dollars		1.4598	1.4534	1.4419	1.4490		1.4237		1.4772
HKD Hong Kong Dollars	6.3486	6.4950	6.4419	6.4433	6.3660	6.4051	6.2393	6.2393	6.4794	6.2324
IDR Indonesian Rupiah					7664 .0373		7153 .8364		7393 .4198
INR Indian Rupee			44.3985		41.1603	40.8478	42.4691		43.6899
KRW Korea (South) Won				901 .57	841 .0558		865 .1645		819 .1501
MYR Malaysian Ringgit				2.4008	2.3915		2.3831		2.349
NOK Norwegian Krone			4.8963	4.9071	4.8864				4.9068
PGK Papua New Guinea Kina			1.6970				1.5628		1.5783
PHP Philippines Pesos			33.801		32.8944		31.5497		34.0472
SEK Swedish Krona		5.4399	5.4798	5.5111	5.4419				5.4723
SGD Singapore Dollars	1.0157	1.0387	1.0269	1.0292	1.0223	1.0314	1.0052	1.0052	1.0351	0.9965
THB Thailand Baht		23.7798	23.3873	23.50	23.1032	23.3298	22.2673		23.7778
TOP Tongan Pa’anga			1.3449	1.3457	1.3265		1.2683	1.2796
TRY Turkish Lira					1.3627				1.3119
TWD Taiwanese New Dollars					22.2885				24.2543
VND Viet Nam Dong					15631 .8624				13956 .5145
VUV Vanuatu Vatu					73.5993		70.0811		71.5479
WST Samoan Tala		1.8135	1.7792	1.659	1.7601		1.6578		1.6851
XPF French Polynesian Francs		74.97	74.9845	75.00			71.0793		73.2717
ZAR South African Rand		7.5299	7.5929	7.6517	7.4484	7.4606	7.1148		7.6647

As Thursday was a public holiday (ANZAC Day), some of these rates have not been updated since the day before. I therefore ran the numbers again yesterday morning, just before 8:30am.  The Travelex and TSB websites did not display refreshed numbers until later in the day, so to avoid using the same data as in the table above, I used rates from a later time.  It's also worth pointing out that I was not able to get all the rates at the same time for OneSmart, because I was viewing each currency manually.  By the time I had gone through the other currencies and checked HKD again, for instance, 1 NZD could be converted to 6.3685 HKD, rather than the 6.3696 HKD listed in the table below, which was from just a couple of minutes earlier.

	One Smart	ANZ	ASB	BNZ	Kiwibank		Travelex		TSB
	26 April, ~8:25am	26 April, 8:24am	26 April, 08:29am	26 April,  08:17am	26 April,  8:28am		26 Apr,  11:30am		26 Apr, time not stated
	One Smart	Cash	Cash	Cash	Cash	Loaded™ for Travel	Cash (Online)	Cash Passport	Cash	Cash Passport
AUD Australian Dollars	0.7968	0.8141	0.8145	0.817	0.8076	0.8168	0.8134	0.8134	0.816	0.8021
GBP Great Britain Pounds	0.5316	0.542	0.5423	0.5428	0.5424	0.5426	0.5363	0.5363	0.5419	0.5306
USD United States Dollars	0.8204	0.837	0.8383	0.8389	0.8294	0.8387	0.8351	0.8351	0.8393	0.829
JPY Japanese Yen	81.51	83.04	82.9395	82.97	82.047	82.8247	82.1944	82.1944	83.3479	80.5912
EUR Euros	0.6307	0.6421	0.6416	0.6422	0.6352	0.642	0.6353	0.6353	0.6413	0.6317
CAD Canadian Dollars	0.8372	0.8567	0.8565	0.8536	0.8485	0.8521	0.8401	0.8401	0.8564	0.832
AED United Arab Emirates Dirham				2.978			2.8301		2.5788
ARS Argentine Pesos							3.9007
BRL Brazilian Real							1.5475
CHF Swiss Francs		0.7926	0.789	0.7887	0.7786				0.7909
CNY Chinese Yuan				4.9119	4.7814		4.8161		4.7225
DKK Danish Krone		4.7295	4.7651	4.7885	4.7367				4.7826
EGP Egyptian Pounds					5.1345				5.099
FJD Fijian Dollars		1.4642	1.4658	1.4498	1.449		1.4373		1.48
HKD Hong Kong Dollars	6.3696	6.5152	6.4991	6.4935	6.366	6.4229	6.3137	6.3137	6.535	6.2958
IDR Indonesian Rupiah					7664 .0373		7233 .789		7479 .0676
INR Indian Rupee			44.6721		41.1603	40.7135	42.8084		44.0426
KRW Korea (South) Won				902 .09	841 .0558		869 .2693		823 .511
MYR Malaysian Ringgit				2.4028	2.3915		2.3949		2.3612
NOK Norwegian Krone			4.9	4.9086	4.8864				4.9077
PGK Papua New Guinea Kina							1.581		1.5972
PHP Philippines Pesos			34.0844		32.8944		31.8249		34.2285
SEK Swedish Krona		5.4553	5.4978	5.5236	5.4419				5.484
SGD Singapore Dollars	1.016	1.0391	1.0341	1.0347	1.0223	1.0313	1.0149	1.0149	1.0424	1.0056
THB Thailand Baht		24.0471	24.113	23.97	23.1032	23.5503	22.8464		24.3101
TOP Tongan Pa’anga			1.357	1.3561	1.3265		1.2833		1.2952
TRY Turkish Lira					1.3627				1.3278
TWD Taiwanese New Dollars					22.2885				24.5463
VND Viet Nam Dong					15631 .8624				14126 .4372
VUV Vanuatu Vatu					73.5993				72.4979
WST Samoan Tala		1.819	1.7952	1.6719	1.7601		1.677		1.705
XPF French Polynesian Francs		75.28	75.5565	75.54			71.894		74.1345
ZAR South African Rand		7.5277	7.5567	7.6146	7.4484	7.4618	7.1077		7.6671

As you can see, there isn't one outright winner.  Depending on the currency you want to purchase, and the time at which you are checking the rates, your choice could swing one way or another.  Just because a certain business offers the best rate doesn't mean it is necessarily the best option either, because it could come with high fees that outweigh the rate advantage. Or it may not be suitable because you need to wait for the currency to be ordered, when you are in a hurry to get the money.

Which Form of Payment?

Banks generally charge a 1% commission for changing foreign currency, with a minimum fee.  It's always useful to have some cash on hand before going to another country, but you may want to have another form of payment to avoid carrying large wads of cash around, and for paying for higher value and/or online purchases.  You can, of course, use a credit or debit card linked to your bank account, which is a very convenient option.  But this often comes with high fees for cash withdrawals and currency conversions, which you might be able to bypass by using a multi-currency travel card.  You may also want to use a standalone travel card in case it gets stolen, or to make sure you don't spend too much.

Form of Payment	Pros	Cons
Cash	Money is right there; no need to look for an ATM You can request smaller notes when getting your money changed, useful for smaller purchases Cash is accepted everywhere, including at roadside stalls At certain stores, you may go into an express queue if paying by cash	Need to collect cash from bank or money exchange location Cannot make online purchases, e.g. top up mobile credit from home No recourse if your money is lost or stolen, or at least it may be difficult to prove how much you had
Credit Card	Convenient; no need to plan ahead No need to set aside funds in advance; money potentially earning interest at a bank if not used Can be replaced if lost or stolen May offer rewards for purchases	High fees, particularly for cash withdrawals Cannot know exchange rate ahead of time Card may not be accepted for smaller purchases, or merchant may charge a fee for its use
Travel Card (Multi-Currency Debit Card)	Can "lock in" exchange rate Standalone card with no link to your bank account could provide peace of mind Potentially lower fees and/or better exchange rates than credit cards Can be replaced if lost or stolen May offer rewards for purchases	Requires research and planning, e.g. understand concept of wallets, must load money before using the card, take steps to avoid fees Complicated fees structure For longer trips, you will want to make sure you have internet access to manage your funds Card may not be accepted for smaller purchases, or merchant may charge a fee for its use

A Closer Look at Travel Cards

I only know of three main travel card options, which I have included in the table of fees and limits below (please check the official websites to confirm these have not changed).  Kiwibank's Loaded for Travel card appears to have the best exchange rate, but is also the only travel card to charge $6 for every ATM withdrawal, and has a higher fee for loading money onto the card, assuming you are loading more than $100. You will not be issued a new card once it expires, so you would need to pay another $12 setup fee for a new one. Air New Zealand's OneSmart card is the only one which is free to obtain and rewards purchases on the card (bonus Airpoints Dollars), but is also the only travel card which does not offer you a secondary card for the same account, free or otherwise [Added 8 May 2013: looks like this may be offered at a later date].  Travelex's Cash Passport has higher limits than the others, though that is not necessarily a good thing.

	OneSmart		Loaded For Travel	Cash Passport
Card type	Mastercard		Visa	Mastercard
Promoted by	AirNZ		NZ Post	Travelex
Issuing Bank	BNZ		Kiwibank
Fees (changes to OneSmart fees effective from 21 May 2013 highlighted in red below)
Setup fee	$0 (you can join Airpoints for free using the promo code JOINAP)		$12	Dependent on agent
Secondary card fee	N/A	$10	$0	$0
Load/Reload fee - bank transfer	$1	$0	1% of the amount loaded, up to $10	$1
Load/Reload fee - via agent	$3.95	$4	1% of the amount loaded, up to $10	The greater of 1% of the initial load / reload amount or NZ$10.00
ATM balance enquiry	$1		$1	not mentioned
ATM cash withdrawal - in NZ	$1.50	$2	$6	$2
ATM cash withdrawal - international	$0	$0 for first three withdrawals per month, thereafter NZ$3 or similar values in other currencies	$6	$0
Branch withdrawal fee - cash over the counter	N/A		$6	$10
Currency Conversion Fee - unsupported currencies	2.50% (not charged although listed in fees)	2.50% (enforced)	2.50%	5.95%
Currency Conversion Fee - insufficient funds in wallet	0.00%		0.00%	5.95%
Monthly account fee	$1.95 unless money loaded, or no money in NZD wallet	$1, even if money loaded. Fee taken from other wallet if insufficient NZD	$0	$0
Monthly Inactivity fee	$1.95, after 3 months	$0 (now covered by monthly account fee)	$1, after 12 months	$4, after 12 months
Email alerts fee	$0		$0.05	N/A
TXT alerts fee	$0.10		N/A	N/A
TXT service fee - balance enquiry	$0.10		$0.50	N/A
Card replacement fee	$12.95	$10	$10	$0
Express delivery fee	$25		$15 - $30	N/A
Paper statement fee	$9.95	$10	N/A	N/A
Disputed transaction fee	$9.95	$10	$15	not mentioned
Closure/Transfer fee	$9.95	$10	$15	$10
Limits
Max load amount	$10,000		$9,500	$25,000
Max load per day	N/A		$9,500	$25,000
Max balance across all currencies	$10,000 (online verification), $25,000 (verification in person)	$75,000 on application	$20,000	$75,000
Max withdrawal amount	$1,000		$1,000	N/A
Daily max withdrawals and purchases	N/A		$5,000	$15,000
Daily cash over the counter limit	N/A		N/A	$400
Daily max ATM withdrawal	$1,000		$2,500	$3,000

[Added 11 May 2013:

My Latest Experience with the OneSmart Card

Cash vs. OneSmart

On 29 April, I was quoted a rate of 6.5251 for changing HKD cash at TSB (this rate remains active until the next morning). Since this was much better than the rate on OneSmart (which was around 6.37), and I always like to have some cash on hand, I walked in to their Queen Street branch and changed another 6,000 HKD, even though I had already loaded money on my OneSmart card. This cost me 928.73 NZD: 6000 / 6.5251 = $919.53 in straight currency exchange, plus 1%, or $9.20 in commission.  You could say that this had an effective exchange rate of 6000 / 928.73 = 6.4604. I left my money as NZD on OneSmart, in case I chose not to spend it overseas, but on groceries at home instead.

On checking in to a hotel a day later, I was given the option of paying in cash, or by card.  The OneSmart exchange rate at the time was 6.3531, so a room costing 700 HKD would cost 700 / 6.3531 = 110.18 NZD.  Since I would earn 1% of the value spent overseas, or $1.10, in Airpoints Dollars, I calculated the effective exchange rate as 700 / (110.18 - 1.10) = 6.4173.  Not as good as the rate I had from TSB.  I chose to pay in cash, which was a good thing, as we ended up leaving the hotel early.  Getting payment back in cash is much better than having a pending transaction trapped in your OneSmart card, because you can spend the money again immediately.

The exchange rate on OneSmart did go up to 6.40xx a couple of days later, which would have yielded an effective exchange rate of something like 6.4641 for overseas purchases (but not ATM withdrawals).

At the start of my trip, I was able to have much better exchange rate from a bank than from the OneSmart card.  However, if the exchange rate was going to keep going up, using the OneSmart would have allowed me to change money at a later point in time, when the exchange rate was better (but, not having prophetic powers, it could have been even worse as well).

Credit card vs. OneSmart - purchases in-store while overseas

The thing with credit card exchange rates is that they are not published anywhere, so it is difficult to know in advance whether they are worth using, other than for the obvious convenience factor.  To compare the rate of my Visa credit card against OneSmart, I looked at transactions that were made at a similar time.

While I was in Hong Kong last week, I went clothes shopping (the shops were open till midnight or 1am!).  At one shop, I made the payment on my Visa credit card at 23:20 on 5 May.  The 998 HKD was converted with an exchange rate of 6.5831 to 151.60 NZD.  On top of this, I had to pay an Offshore Service Margin of 2.1%.  I calculated this to be 0.021 * 151.60 = $3.1836, but this was rounded up to $3.19 in my statement.  In total, this purchase cost me 151.60 + 3.19 = NZ$154.79, which I considered as having an effective exchange rate of 998 / 154.79 = 6.4474.  (I am not considering rewards in this section, as I am assuming credit cards and OneSmart both offer rewards of 1%, though this may be different depending on the type of credit card you have.)

For a smaller purchase across the road, I used my OneSmart card at 23:58, also on 5 May.  This time, a 179 HKD purchase was converted to 28.18 NZD, giving an effective exchange rate of 179 / 28.18 = 6.3520.  Even without further fees, this was worse than using the credit card.

To be sure, I checked again on another day, when I had purchases on the two cards within a couple of hours  of each other.  This time, what I call the effective exchange rate was 6.4378 and 6.3910 for Visa and OneSmart respectively.  Again, the Visa credit card had a better exchange rate, even after taking the Offshore Service Margin into account.  If you consider how much easier it is to use a credit card (no need to load money in advance) and the fact that you have a one month grace period before you have to pay that debt off, the credit card is superior these days.

Credit card vs. OneSmart - obtaining cash from ATM while overseas

So what if you have run out of cash, and need some more?  Using the same rates as above getting 1,000 HKD in cash from an ATM using a credit card would cost you 1000 / 6.4474 = 155.10 NZD using your Visa card, and you would need to pay a fee of $7.50, so a total of 155.10 + 7.50 = $162.60.  Don't forget that for cash advances, interest is payable immediately, rather than having the one month grace period that purchases offer.

In contrast, using your OneSmart, the same amount of foreign currency would cost you 1000 / 6.3520 = $157.43.  With the new fees kicking in from 21 May, you would have to pay an extra 20 HKD for the international withdrawal if this is your fourth withdrawal in the month.  In this case, it would cost you 1020 / 6.3520 = $160.58.

In either case, the OneSmart is better for overseas cash withdrawals than my Visa credit card.

---

In the past, I have found the OneSmart to be an excellent solution for travelling with less cash.  However, as various people have pointed out, its exchange rates are poorer these days, and its fees are changing as of 21 May 2013.  While the OneSmart is still good for withdrawing cash overseas, for a shorter trip to a developed country, I would now rely on getting cash out from a bank in advance, then making purchases on my normal credit card, but perhaps for a longer trip to a destination where you feel less comfortable with carrying cash and where credit cards are not widely accepted, you may choose to go for a travel card solution.
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As usual, different options each have their own advantages and disadvantages.  You will need to evaluate your intended spending behaviour to find out what would work best for you.  Good luck, and happy travels!