El Burro, Sea Point

I’ve been trying to get to El Burro for dinner since last year.  A friend went there for dinner and everything I read about it made me want to go even more.  The few times we’ve tried to go it was either fully booked, or people were away.  My core group consists of friends that I’ve known for years and this is the group that wanted to go for dinner, so we weren’t going to go until everyone was able.

It worked out well that we went on this Saturday night as we were all available and one of my oldest friends was in town the same weekend.  So after getting an early booking for 8 people at 6pm (the early hour to cater for a friend that was babysitting that night), changing the booking to 6 people as people cancelled, running around like a mad thing from Constantia Glen to get back in time for our Uber, trying to figure out how the seat folds down and rushing through to Green Point, we made it just in time.  

It was still fairly quiet so I managed to get some good shots of the deco.  

We started off the evening with the house brand margaritas, I don’t know if it’s because my glass was from halfway down the jug but flip the drinks were strong.  Most of us had complaints from that first jug, either too strong or too weak.  

So for the second round we decided on the basil margaritas, the waitress came back to say something about they weren’t making them because they were too expensive.  We had no clue what that meant, so the citrus one was our next choice.  This isn’t a frozen margarita, it’s filled with ice, but it was amazing.  We all enjoyed this jug so much more than the previous one.

Our food was amazing, we all really enjoyed what we ordered.  I had the pork carnitas, which was three mini tortillas filled with pulled pork and three different salsas – nectarine salsa, avo salsa and salsa verde.  The nectarine and avo salsas were amazing but the salsa verde was quite hot as it had chillies in it.

What’s really great about this venue is that it’s so chilled but authentic.  So it’s not like a lot of Mexican restaurants where they’ve westernised everything, from the costumes to the food it was all authentic.  A table showed up about an hour after us and they were all dressed up for “day of the dead”, it turned out it was someone’s birthday and that was the theme.  Some people really went all out.  It makes you think why don’t we do that more often? Dress up for special occasions or do something different than the norm? 

El Burro was amazing, the food, deco, service everything was top notch.  It’s definitely somewhere I would go again and again.

Constantia Glen Wine Tasting

Who knew going wine tasting at Constantia Glen over the “Cape Town Cycle Tour” weekend would result in such a full house.  Guess everyone had the same idea, to try some amzaing Cape Town wines and enjoy the great weather.  We ordered the 5 wine tasting and a cheese board to share between the 3 of us.  We were going out for dinner, so thought something light would be good to soak up the alcohol.

We received our first 3 glasses of wine promptly but waited a while for our 4^th.  By the time the waitress eventually arrived she was ready to give us the bill, we were so confused.  She miscounted, was confused or just overworked, she had given us the wine in the wrong order and had thought we were done with our wine tasting.  So we had 2 whites and a red, instead of 2 whites, a rose and 2 reds.  We had the rose at the end which wasn’t great because we were still tasting the full bodied reds and therefore couldn’t do it justice.

I’m sure it’s because they were understaffed and it was a busy weekend, but for an upmarket wine farm like Constantia Glen you’d think they would have made arrangements for this hectic weekend.  I would like to go for wine tasting or a meal there again, this time to actually sit in a better place and get some better service.  

Don't get me wrong, the wine farm has some amazing views and it helped that I had the company of two of my oldest and best friends with me.  But hopefully while the weather is still semi warm we'll make a plan to go back out to Constantia Glen and have an enjoyable day :)

Image by Tarryn Liddell

Royale Burgers, Long Street

Everyone raves about Royale Burgers, but to be honest I don’t go out in Long Street and I enjoy Hudson’s Burgers so that’s where I normally go.  But one Friday night when our plans to go up Table Mountain fell apart we decided to stay in town and find somewhere vibey to eat. 

If you’re like me who hates parallel parking it’s an absolute mission to find a decent parking bay anywhere on Loop or Long Street.  We eventually parked behind a church in a parking that was easy for me to get in and out of. 

We tried “Dim Sum” on Long Street but unfortunately they were fully booked (I definitely want to head to “Dim Sum” in the future) so our next option was Royale.  

We received our glasses of water fast enough, but it took a while for the waitress to get to us so we could place our orders.  It didn’t really matter as we had a lot to catch up on, but it makes a difference when you’re ready to leave and there’s no one around.  Since it was the weekend of the “Cape Town Cycle Tour” there were more people in Cape Town than normal and everywhere seemed to be strained when it came to waiters and waitresses. 

Our cocktails were delicious and our food was good, so that makes up for it.  My fries covered more than half my plate, and my burger was pretty good.  But I prefer the atmosphere at Hudsons and their sweet potato fries are delicious.

The Eatery, Belvedere Centre

I’ve driven past the Belvedere Centre often since the beginning of the year, and out of the corner of my eye I’ve seen the construction and then the new restaurant going in but it hasn’t crossed my mind to go and check it out.  This changed a few weeks ago when a friend and I were trying to decide where to go for dinner.

Since it was a Wednesday night we thought it would be a safe bet just to show up for dinner, especially considering we would be arriving before 6pm.  Unfortunately, for us they were fully booked but they made a plan and we landed up with a 2 person table close to the kitchen.

We ordered a bottle of wine to share, no idea what the wine was but it was really good.  We had the bacon wrapped chilli poppers, mine were hot but my friend says they were just ok.  Guess it depends on how hot the chilli is and you can’t always see which one is going to be the best.  For mains I had the beef salad and my friend ordered a burger with a side salad.  We were there more for the catch up than anything, but if you’re looking for a chilled place with really good food then I would recommend “The Eatery” in Belvedere Road.

I apologise for the quality of some of the photos, the light made things a little awkward.

High Tea in Cape Town

I don't know about you but I love tea.  I was a complete coffee pot up until a few years ago but that didn't mean I couldn't appreciate a good cup of tea.  My mom starting me on herbal teas when I was in high school, I was stressed out and not sleeping and so the tea experiment started.  To think there are so many different teas out there, with so many different healing properties, so of course a tea tasting is on my to do list.

A few years ago we had High Tea at the Vineyard Hotel for my birthday.  The service was shocking but the treats and view were stunning.

Some of the more well known spots for High Tea are the Mount Nelson Hotel, One&Only, Franschhoek Hotel and Spa, 12 Apostles Hotel and the Table Bay Hotel V&A.  Most of the hotels in Cape Town offer some form of tea time, but the one place I've been dying to try out is Nigiro Tea Merchants at Origin Coffee in De Waterkant.  I've been to Origin many times before and have even had some divine tea there, but they have the most amazing tea ceremonies.  Hhmm, friends this is a hint of what I want to do for my birthday this year :)  O Ways in Claremont is said to do a similar tea tasting, but Nigiro is on the top of my list.

When I did some research for this post I came across a few places that I didn't know existed, and have now made it onto my list of places to try.  These are the Tibetan Tea House in Simon's Town which serves their tea in traditional Tibetan wooden teacups, and Lady Bonin which is a gypsy like caravan that attends markets and events.  How have I not known about these places before, I feel like I've been missing out.  On the list they go, and hopefully will get crossed off this year.

But my reason for this post is because a friend brought to my attention the first ever High Tea Festival hosted by the Tea Princesses to be held at Kirstenbosch Gardens on 5 March.  How amazing!!  Of course when you look into it, the cost is high but you need to weigh up the pros and cons.  It's something different, it's all about tea and won't it be worth it?  So now to try convince some friends that my logic is right and to join me in a day all about tea :)

The articles I've read all make me want to go even more, it's a combination market, tea tasting, champagne event and you get to dress up.  The entry price includes high tea, a tea master's class and a goody bag. So maybe the price is worth it :)   Now to convince my friends.

Lace Up for Cancer 2016

Lace Up for Cancer is held every year on Cancer Day, 4 February. This year we decided to participate in the 5km walk/run.  All money raised goes towards various cancer charities in Cape Town and South Africa. 

Both the 5km and 10km start at the Sea Point Lighthouse, you walk along the Promenade until turn and come back again.  It seems that there were many more people this year than last and the unexpected volume caused a bit of a delay with the start time.  It wasn't bad we started about 10 minutes late and you could basically go anytime after that.  The event isn't timed so you can take it as easy as you want.  There were people stopping along the way to chat and take photos.  It's supposed to be a evening walk remembering loved ones we've lost and spending time with the people who are still here.  People dressed up, even dressed their dogs up and had a blast enjoying the wonderful summer evening out.

Thanks to MS for the taking this photo

I have to be honest by the time 4 February came around I wasn't in the mood for it anymore, I was stressed out with work and home and if one more person told me they weren't going to make it I was going to take it as a sign and not go either.  But looking back I'm glad I went, I walked with two ladies from work and it was really good.  I needed the fresh air and the exercise just to clear my head and get back into the right frame of mind.  I need more exercise in my life and more charity events, so from this walk to Bench2Bench on 13 March I'm getting this year started the right way.

Gin and Tonic Festival

Following on from the Food and Gin Pairing, was the Gin and Tonic Festival held at Mason's Press in Woodstock, Cape Town.  My friends and I were excited to go, we had had a blast at the Food and Gin Pairing so thought the G&T Fest would be more of the same.

 

To give Mush Tun their dues, it was their first big festival, so there were some things to be improved on but overall a very enjoyable festival.

Let's start with the fact that the gates opened at 11am but when we got there after 12 we still had to stand in the sun for 30 minutes waiting to get in.  There were 2 people scanning tickets and having to put the wrist bands on as well.  When there's a group of people, take for instance we were 4 girls, then it takes some time. 

We had "early bird" tickets which meant that we had to buy a glass for R30 and then also buy pennies.  There was a lot of confusion surrounding the pennies, did we use them everywhere, could we use cash or credit cards.  You had to buy your glass and pennies in the "Pennies Bank" which caused a lot of congestion.  Once you got into the room you could buy pennies for cash from a girl standing on the side but you still had to wait in line to get a glass.  My suggestion would be to have "Pennies" girls walking around selling pennies for cash, and if you need to buy with your card or SnapScan then you can go into the bank.  There would be a lot less congestion and some happier people.

From the Pennies Bank we roamed around trying to figure out where we could use our pennies or where we had to pay cash.  Another suggestion would be for each vendor to clearly state whether they take pennies or cash or both.

The venue was different to what we've experienced with other festivals, for example with "Taste of Cape Town" it's held at the Green Point Cricket Club so it's a huge open space and everything is set in a circle.  Whereas Mason's Press is a building filled with shops and warehouses.  It made it interesting trying to find what we were looking for and also easy to find quiet spots in the passages to chill for a bit or have a bit to eat.

We quickly found the "Skinny Juice Co" and had the most amazing cocktails.  They were so refreshing on such a warm day.  We each tried a different one, but I enjoyed the Citrus one the best.

 From there we had a look at the different vendors, went into the "Gin Garage" which could definitely have used some fans.  The music was good, the vendors all decorated their stalls differently and it was a bit of a battle deciding what we wanted to try. 

But we all know that drinking on an empty stomach is a no-no, so hunting food was next on the list.  We could smell burgers and kept seeing people eating them but somehow we never found the stall, what a bummer for us :(  We landed up having Asian wraps from the "Lotus Food Truck", they were good but really hot. 

That was another negative against the festival their was hardly any food options.  I know it's all about the Gin but unless you want people to get completely out of control, they need to eat.  The only options we saw were paella, Asian wraps, burgers (which we didn't find until as we were leaving), sweet treats at Centerpieces, gelato and there is a coffee shop.  The oreo cupcakes from Centerpieces were amazing, not too sweet but so yummy :)

There's positives and negatives to every event you attend and there may have been more negatives than normal to this one, but I think that was purely because it was their first one, and teething issues are to be expected.  All I can say is that I'm looking forward to the next one.

And to end off the day, our mountain gave us a show while we were waiting for the train.

 

 

Food & Gin Pairing at Mash Tun

The Mash Tun is all about craft beer and organic wine.  To be honest I’ve never heard of the place but they’ve been doing a lot of advertising on Facebook for their “Gin & Tonic Festival” being held on 30 January.  I’m very new to the G&T scene so when I first noticed the event I thought it would be a good way to get out for the day with friends and do some experimenting.  

As with most things people take their time deciding whether they want to attend an event or not and we missed out on early bird tickets.  And then disaster struck, we missed out on normal priced tickets as well.  Tickets sold out super quick.  After much hunting and emails flying around, Mash Tun let everyone know that they were releasing more tickets in early January.  What a relief!!

While looking at booking for the “Gin & Tonic Festival” we noticed that they were hosting a “Food and Gin Pairing” evening.  This was held on a Friday night and tickets were very reasonable.  They’ve since decided to host another “Food and Gin Pairing” evening since the evening was such a success.

The venue is a little misleading, we had no clue how to get into the building but eventually found our way.  The deco is pretty rustic but looks cool.  There’s an outside area where you can enjoy the warmer weather or where the smokers get relegated to during functions. 

We started the evening off with champagne from Blaauwklippen Vineyards, it was really smooth and light, a very enjoyable drink.  I’m not much of a champagne drinker, but I enjoyed this one.  Russ who owns and runs The Mash Tun explained how things came about and what the evening would entail.

The night was then handed over to Rolf Zeitvogel from Blaauwklippen and Triple Three Gin.  Rolf is very German and through the night we had a giggle over some of his pronunciation.  We could not understand what he was talking about when he said they were bringing around a refreshing drink to cleanse our palates.   We eventually figured out he was saying that it was a cucumber based drink.  For the life of me I thought he was talking about some exotic bean that I’d never heard about :)

After the cucumber drink there was starters of cucumber with salmon and 100% Juniper Berries Gin.  We were surprised by the quantity of the drink, when you think of a tasting you think of maybe a shot of gin but it was a ball shaped glass full of gin and mix.  I can’t remember what the gin was mixed with but it was delicious J  The second course was a battered springbok ball with tomato and basil and African Botanicals Gin.  This drink was pretty strong, well stronger than the first one anyway.  We later found out that they started off light and each time increased the strength of the drinks.  The third course was raspberry filled macaroons with Citrus Infusion Gin.  This was also pretty nice.  It’s amazing how each drink was infused with various flavours and how different they each tasted.

My only complaints would be that the food was definitely too little, and by the end the drinks were very strong.  I was driving that evening so had to watch how much I had to drink.  But all in all was a pretty cool evening out with my friends and am super excited for the “Gin & Tonic Festival” coming up at the end of the month.

Lavender Blue

I’m originally from the Eastern Cape so I when I’m not spending holidays overseas I’ll be home with my family. 

One of the things we enjoy doing when I go home is having breakfast at Lavender Blue.  There wasn’t another “restaurant” like it.  However, now there’s Pine Creek down the road from Lavender Blue. I haven't tried it yet, so can't comment on what it's like.  If you're going for breakfast make sure you're there nice and early before the crowds arrive. 

Lavender Blue is self service, in that you order your food with the cashier and then collect your food from the different stations when it’s ready.  There’s an espresso bar where you can collect normal drip coffee or wait for cappuccinos etc,  or a juice bar where there’s fresh juices or there’s a fridge with fizzy drinks and other drinks.

You then stand in line for your food which is made in front of you.  It’s amazing to watch especially if you have the omelet, which I normally do, they make it look so easy but I never get mine right.

Cooking is like dancing

Mushroom and Cheese Omelet

However, it is time consuming, so don’t think it’s somewhere you can have a quick meal.  You need at least an hour and add more time onto that if you want to do some shopping.  They have fresh fruit and veg, other organic goodies like sauces, salad dressings etc, and flowers on sale in one section downstairs.

Upstairs is for the ladies – clothing and jewellery.  They have really cool clothes and I’ve landed up buying something every time I’ve been there. 

Christmas Markets

I previously posted about the upcoming Christmas Markets, and I have to say that this year the markets have been really good.

So I started the festive season off with a visit to the Constantia Gift Fair, you can find my review here.

The second market I attended was the Simply South Gift Market in Bergvliet.  I went to this market last year so I knew that it was going to be good.  It was better than last year, however I didn’t buy as many gifts.  I landed up buying myself a few things instead.  I love plants and bought this cute succulent below.

The next market I went to is the Kommetjie Christmas Market.  It’s a bit of a drive but totally worth it.  I could have spent a fortune at this market.  I need to give a shout out to Long Beach Brewery who was the only stall selling alcohol.  If you haven’t tried their craft beer yet, I would definitely recommend that you try it.  I enjoyed the IPA and the porter beer.  They say as a woman you should start off with the blonde ale, but definitely try all of them out.

If you haven’t heard of 37 Sandals yet, they’re definitely something to look out for.  You can buy a tan or black base and buy a variety of straps.  After wearing mine for a few weeks and taking them on holiday I definitely think I need to go shopping for a few extra pairs of straps.  The straps are easy to change out and you can mix and match.  With their wide variety of colours you can definitely find a different colour for every outfit.

The last market I attended was the Pinelands Craft Market.  I’ve never been to this market before and could kick myself for not trying it before.  It’s held at the Pinelands High School.  The market is a fair size and filled with a lot of different things but there are also similar stalls to the Kommetjie market.  There were a lot of crafty goods, lots of plants and of course food products.

All in all I bought most of my Christmas presents at the markets and had a ball visiting the different markets.

Polkadraai Strawberry Farm

A few months ago I wrote a post about fruit picking around the Western Cape.  After a few failed attempts to organise a day out we finally went strawberry picking at Polkadraai Strawberry Farm.  It was quite a long day in that we first did a trail run on Delvera Wine Estate and then headed over to Polkadraai.

My suggestion is to get there early, we arrived at about 10:30 and it was boiling out.  We were also a little concerned as it looked so busy, there were people and cars everywhere, including a luxury bus. We decided to grab a bite to eat and then head out into the strawberry fields.  The main theme seems to be healthy living with freshly squeezed juices and smoothies.  There is also a “farm stall” where you can buy a variety of goods including strawberry plants.

There’s a choice of a junior picker, harvester, the professional and the ultimate picker.  I think you should take into account how many strawberries you can eat and if you’re sharing the bucket, then make a decision on what size you’re going to go for.  We decided to get the harvester, which is the red bucket.  For the kiddies they can either get the junior picker or harvester including activities.  The activities are pony rides, “tractor” rides around the farm and face painting.

They don’t allow you to share a bucket, you need to buy your own or you won’t be allowed into the fields.  There’s a lady that explains where to start picking and what you should be looking for.  They say the redder the strawberries the sweeter they are.  The downside to this is that the redder they are the riper they are and therefore the quicker they go off.  I picked a combination of ruby red ones and red ones, this way I can eat the ruby red ones and have the red ones for later. 

One of their rules is that you should never eat the strawberries straight from the fields, they should always be washed first, but this is relevant to all fruit where you eat the skin.  I was amazed to hear and see a family of four eating the strawberries while we were in the fields.  They either didn’t read the rules or simply don’t care.  They also suggest that when you get home not to wash the strawberries straight away but to rather wash as you eat.  This way they last longer.  We learnt some interesting facts about these juicy fruit J

When you look at the size of the harvester bucket it seems like it will take forever to fill, but surprisingly I got half way through a row and my bucket was almost full.  They say it should take between 30 and 40 minutes to fill a bucket, not very long when you think about it.

This farm definitely caters for children, with swings, a play gym and pony rides.  There’s a big grassy patch for people to picnic or relax on. 

Considering how far out the farm is, it’s near Stellenbosch, and if you’re not planning on spending the whole day there I would suggest making a day of it and planning something else in the area.  We were lucky in that we had the run in the morning. 

All in all it’s a great day out in the summer sun.  Next summer I think it’s going to be time to try our luck at cherry picking.