Thursday, February 24, 2022

CapeTown, South Africa

While wandering around the V&A (Victoria and Alfred) waterfront area, I found some of the most gigantic oysters I have ever seen. While chatting with the crowd that drew around to view them, I was dared to eat the largest size in it's entirety. I complied, but not without some fear that I would actually choke. Somehow, painfully, I survived the bet. I wouldn't particularly recommend doing this. 


Other popular spots that I was sure to see while in Cape Town included Greenmarket Square, which is lined with vendors selling goods, but catered to tourists. Kloof Street and Bree Street are also hugely popular with modern buildings and restaurants and shops. The Malay quarter was memorable with colorful houses bordering the roadways. 


GOLD RESTAURANT

This was advertised as a "taste of Africa", an African feast! 

Seared ostrich filet, casava toast, Namibian lamb and venison sausage with tomato smoor, Tanzanian fried fish with spinach sauce, Zanzibar pilau rice, Cameroon braised butternut and coconut, Egyptian lentil dhal,  African beetroot cake, 

The experience included face painting, looking at beautiful artwork, and seeing several performances, such as traditional dance. I do remember that the service was slow and inconsistent, with some dishes not getting delivered to every table, as was unexpected as the feast had a set price, so I anticipated that I would get to sample everything on the menu.





MAMA AFRICA

The array of different meats that I sampled are pictured below. This restaurant offered unusual proteins such as warthog, version sausage, kudu, ostrich, springbok, and crocodile. 



Mama Africa was an experience I had thanks to my AirBNB hosts. I exude my passion about food wherever I go and they wanted me to eat at a place that "locals" would patronize. It was fun to try the various meats all while enjoying live music being exuberantly played throughout the evening.

Another experience I was lucky to have was attending a game of Sevens rugby. It felt like any huge stadium game in the United States with endless energy from the fans with the stadium resounding with cheers for their teams.

On the much more somber side of things, I also visited Robbin Island, the place where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 18 years. There was a tour of the island and the prison with the guide sharing stories of history as we made our way around the island with a bleak landscape.

Truth Coffee is definitely vibing steampunk, as pictured below. The staff was friendly and answered my questions as I carefully examined all of their roasted coffee options. One of my favorite details was that their menu was written on what appeared to be a newspaper. 


Visiting the Old Biscuit Mill kept me busy for a little while, but was not as extensive as I imagined that it would be. There were some brick and mortar stores, including wine shop and a chocolate shop where I became caught up the longest. There were also a number of food stalls and temporary tables with goods, set up with the feel of a farmer's market, both with fresh and prepared foods offered. 

On my final day in Cape Town, my plans unexpectedly fell through, so I decided to take a bus tour, which included stopping for wine tasting along the route. I do not particularly like participating with formal tours, but this was a method to access the city with the bonus of hearing history shared by the driver while we were on the bus. I also rode in the top of the double decker bus and ended up seeing some beautiful views of the coastline. It turned out to be an enjoyable afternoon, but recommended primarily if you enjoy wine tasting, which I do! It was nice opportunity to taste a few more sips of the local product before returning home and I found a few gems that I can still remember today!




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