Nins Bin South Island, NZ

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things about traveling is trying new cuisine! Business Insider featured Nins Bin as #7 on their list of 10 Best Meals in the World & they didn’t disappoint! 

Here, they are known for their fresh caught crayfish, served up with garlic & butter. It’s located 20 miles North of Kaikōura, which literally means in Maori “Eat Crayfish”. 

We were heading down State Highway 1, on our way to catch the ferry back to the North Island & I had my eyes on the lookout for this stop! It was in one of the tourist magazines we had picked up somewhere along our trip. 

In 2011, there was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that left destruction in Christchurch & surrounding areas. The highway was stop & go due to construction. They were still working on the roads, which in some areas had shifted as much as 4ft!! The twisting & turning views of mountains on one side & ocean views on the other was breathtaking. Making my anticipation keep growing all the more! 

At last! This cute little blue & white trailer sitting on the beach! Now, let me be honest here, when I saw the crayfish I was surprised! They were much bigger than I expected! Im from Louisiana & in my mind, I was thinking crawfish! Just that someone was mispronouncing it like most people who aren’t from the south do! I felt like an idiot!! Crayfish are actually a thing! They were wanting $75or85NZ for one! Not quite in our budget at the time, we passed & had 3 really good dishes! 

We had fish & chips (one of Graem’s favorite)! They were battered perfectly! We also got a White Bait sandwich. Ever heard of it? Me either until that moment! Graem had a few growing up & he said it’s more like a delicacy in NZ. I’m down to try pretty much anything at least once & this is one of those things, that’ll just be one time. It wasn’t bad, but I couldn’t get past the little fish eyes staring back at me each time I’d take a bite! 

We were the only ones in there at the time & the guy wanted to fix us upan abalone! How do you say no to that?! Now that’s a delicacy! He cooked it perfect!! 

Obviously, I’m no food critic. I can’t even tell you how exactly he cooked the abalone. I will say though, Nins Bin is a must visit if you’re ever in the South Island! We felt lucky to find that little gem!