Bustling creativity, beautiful sunsets
Meri Arulandu has owned Wellington’s Istana Malaysia restaurant, in Allen St in Te Aro, with her husband Danny for 29 years. The pair came to New Zealand from Malaysia for a better life. Arulandu says her favourite things about Aotearoa are getting to spe
What part of Wellington do you live in, and why?
I live in Miramar and have done for the last 26 years. It’s a great neighbourhood with great people and a convenient location to access the city centre. I love the beautiful sunsets at Moa Point and the bustling creativity from the film studios around us.
My favourite thing about this part of Wellington is ...
The beaches, the cafes and friendly people. But my favourite thing about Miramar is its close proximity to the airport. I often have family and friends and even at times, customers from the restaurant staying with us before jetting off on an early flight.
The best place to get coffee and bump into neighbours is . . .
I don’t drink coffee. I like the smell of coffee, but coffee doesn’t like me. Once I drank it and I was like a zombie. But I bump into people everywhere in Miramar.
To get to work in the city I travel by car because . . .
We own a restaurant, so we’re often combining our commute into work with collecting stock, so most trips we need to be able to stop by the supermarket and wholesalers to fill up our station wagon with food.
If you’re looking for somewhere to eat in Miramar you can’t go past ...
A mushroom pizza at Park Kitchen, opposite the Roxy. It really hits the spot on a 2-for-1 on Mondays.
The most contentious issue in my neighbourhood is . . .
Everybody complains about the council doing roadworks and digging everything up, and the work always taking ages to finish.
The perfect Saturday morning in Miramar is . . .
When I get the chance, I love hitting up my local Zumba class in the Baptist church and spending time in my garden. There’s always something growing: we have apple, plum and peach trees and also grow feijoas, strawberries and vegetables.
Not many people know this about Miramar but . . .
Some people in Miramar don’t even know about Park Kitchen! Or the many great local cafes we have.
When I need to clear my head, I go to . . .
It’s hard to relax when you run a business – you need to keep going. I don’t really have a favourite place, maybe Istana. It’s nice to relax there and have people come to you.
My guilty pleasure in the city is . . .
Te Papa. You can see a lot of history and learn so many things. The rose gardens in the Botanic Garden are also quite peaceful.
If I were mayor for a day I would . . .
Provide free parking in the city, to encourage families to come into town and support local restaurants. The parking is too expensive.
As told to André Chumko