Shabbat Dinner -- Fried Fish!

While in Cape Town, we had a Friday night Shabbat dinner at G's Aunt and Uncle's beautiful house. It was such a lovely dinner!


G's Aunty R made a lovely dinner. She made a smokin' quajado. Now G makes quajado quite often, but Aunty R made it totally different with potato. Should I back up and explain quajado? Okay.

Quajado is a spinach, egg, and cheese dish that G makes with matzah as the binder. Aunty R's quajado was made with spinach, egg, cheese, and POTATO. AND instead of frying it in a pan like a frittata, Aunty R bakes it in the oven in a casserole dish. It was an absolute TRIUMPH!!!!!!!!! I really enjoy quajado oddly because it has spinach in it, but Aunty R's was the tops. G's made it that was since we've been home and it's just so delicious. And because it's baked, it's less greasy.

Anyway, quajado. Yeah. Yum. AND Aunty R made an absolute lovely breaded fish and sauce called agristada that was a little different. The sauce was absolutely out of control. I must have eaten four pieces of fish and a cup of that sauce.

The picture does none of it justice...


I am not a fan of fish as a general rule, but this was amazing.

If you are ever in Cape Town, try to score an invite to Shabbat Dinner at Aunty R and Uncle M's. It's amazing and delicious and they are amazing hosts. G's family are an amazing bunch of people. This family dinner was so pleasant and I really appreciated how welcome they all made me feel.

Steer Burger -- A South African Delight.

Yeah. I love hamburgers. I do. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Hamburgers. I love 'em. Live, love, eat hamburgers.

As I said in my last post, I love trying hamburgers different places. Again, as I've said, Canadian hamburgers are not my fave. S declared that Steer Burgers were the fast food hamburger champions of Cape Town. When someone throws down something like that, you gotta give it a go.

So one afternoon as G and I were walking around the Victoria and Albert Wharf, we saw a Steer and had to have a quick stop.


The hamburger was pretty good. It was somewhat like a Canadian hamburger in that it was a little more pressed (??? I don't even know what that means!) then I like, but it was pretty good. Underneath, it was pretty impressive...


BUT, it was the summer in Cape Town and that tomato was totally grim. I took it off. And the bun was really airy like all buns I had in Cape Town. They just seem to disintegrate as you eat them. They are just incredibly light and fluffy.

The fries were meh, the ketchup is so crazy vinegar-y that it's really a totally different taste. I really enjoyed it.

OH! And the Steer Burger had something called "macon" instead of bacon because it was apparently a hallal shop. I've never seen that before. You really DO experience new things when you go on holiday. (ha ha)

The Miller's Thumb.

I had read about a restaurant called the Miller's Thumb. The guidebooks and some variety of magazine that I read raved about it, calling it a not-to-be-missed experience.

Fortunately, S & L were already on the case, had booked a baby-sitter, and were planning to take us there. They are truly excellent hosts and should run a guest house. It was such a pleasant experience.

So for dinner on the Wednesday night, off we went to the Miller's Thumb. Wow. It was really wonderful! (I can't believe I am only blogging dinner from Wednesday of the first week. I am so behind.)

Frist off, the Miller's Thumb is a lovely restaurant on a quiet street. It's not huge, but it's very comfortable inside and has a delightful menu and extremely friendly staff.

To start, I ordered their crab stuffed mushrooms. These were amazing and I have craved them since we've returned.


The mushrooms had a really nice crab flavour, and a sharp cheese-y tang that really went well with the baked mushroom cap. I have always been a big fan of mushrooms, and the crab stuffed mushroom is way up at the top of the list of ways to eat them!

G and S ordered a game carpaccio. I can't remember what kind of meat it was, but it was really really red.

Carpaccio is one of those things that you either love or hate. Okay, maybe that's not so true. I would never order regular carpaccio on my own, but I am happy to nibble a bite or two off of G's when she orders it. She'd eat it for a whole dinner, she really really loves it. But this one really tested my limits, and I didn't try it.

G wasn't enamoured with it, either. The slices of meat were far too thick and G says that she had a very difficult time eating it. I am glad I didn't order it.

For mains, S raved about the jumbalaya and he ordered it up...


S patiently let me take the picture, and then he was forced to wait again while I snapped a close-up of the prawn that was staring at me...


I so want to like prawns, but when their feelers brush my arm... *shudder* ... it's no good.

Nevertheless, the jumbalaya was SENSATIONAL. It was really spicey, the rice was perfectly cooked and slightly creamy, the sausage and fish in the jumbalaya were perfectly cooked and added such a nice balance to the creamy rice. It was spectacular. And an enormous portion!

I ordered the Green Curry with brown rice. There were two reasons for this... one, I am slightly gun shy of ordering fish and I'd rather try everyone else's and then start to see things that I like, and two, I was craving brown rice and sauce, and the idea of the green curry really checked those boxes. Well, the reality of the green curry checked those boxes, as well!


Oh yeah. Lots of spinach, lots of sauce, lots of beef, and a bowl of brown rice. HEAVEN. I enjoyed this so much I think there wasn't a spot of sauce left! It was such a different curry from what I am used to. Maybe that's the Malay influence?

So another good meal in Cape Town. It's a food city and there's a lot of amazing food to be had. Coming up? Our trip to the Slow Food Market!!!

A Bad Picture of a Good Lunch.

On day three, G's family joined us downtown for a walk-about. I was really excited to get into Cape Town proper, and we went to the African Craft Market (which is overwhelming!!!), had a coffee, stopped at the CNW and bought some food magazines (!), and just soaked in the sites.

After soaking, we decided that a spot of lunch was in order. We somehow ended up wandering into a little pasta place that had seating outside. The restaurant had a long display case full of different types of cold and hot pastas, and you could pick either one or two pastas for your lunch. I can't remember the name of the place or the cost of the food. And really, all I have is a mostly crap picture of the wonderful gnocchi and chicken pasta that I had. So of course, I share with you...


It was really good. Not the best pasta ever, but for wandering in off a busy street on a busy day with a group of people, it hit the spot nicely!!!

Is there any food that Cape Town can't make?!

Lunch with a View.

Isn't that nice? One morning while in Cape Town, S, G and I took off for Boulder's Beach to hang with the penguins, Cape Point to see Cape Point, and then off to Imhoff Farm for a lovely afternoon lunch. This up here was the view from our table. Pretty sweet.

The menu at The Blue Water Cafe for Imhoff Farm sounded amazing. Open faced sandwiches of every type. It was hard to know what to order on the menu... so we started off with drinks...

G started off with a Grapetiser.

The 'tiser' family of drink is one of G's favorite things. S had turned me on to the Windhoek Light, so of course I had to have that when offerred!

Blurry beer, clear background. Just imagine you're nearsighted. The far away is the far prettier thing.

So after much discussion, we made our orders. We were not sure what the sandwiches would look like, but they sounded amazing so we all picked a different one in case anyone wanted to share (which I almost never do) and sat pack and waited. The wait wasn't long, and we had condiments to pass the time...

Okay, we didn't pass the time with the condiments, but they did present a pretty little picture...

Then came the sandwiches. Oh boy.

First up, S's roasted veggie...


You might be questioning how this could be classified as a sandwich. Well, there's bread under there, you just can't see it. But it is like a giant wodge of salad with sandwichy toppings interspersed on top of a piece (or two) of bread. S proclaimed this to be a mighty good sandwich, but perhaps not as good as mine...


Mmmmm. Mine was chicken, bacon, tomatoes, brie, avocado pear (which was supposed to be there but wasn't) and lots of rocket. I am not a huge fan of gigantic piles of lettuce, but the bacon, chicken and cheese on this was spectacular. It may not have been as fantastic as G's though... The Full English Sandwich...

Oh yes. That is the winner. It had two beautifully fried eggs, beef sausage, grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, bread, and rocket. It was lovely. And she wouldn't share either. Nor should she have.

The Imhoff Farm is an absolute lovely farm. Thanks S, for another excellent recommendation!

Grill and Butcher -- or -- eating for Africa

S had a list of restaurants that he wanted us to try and first on the list was the Grill and Butcher.

We were excited to go there because we were totally game to try game. (Hardy har har, really, it doesn't get funnier than this.) So yep, we tried our first of many rounds of game meat that night, springbok.

S had been talking about the GIANT ESPATADA, skewers of meat so big that when they are dropped on the floor in a crazy showy specatcle, they make a big mess! Okay, only mine was dropped on the floor, but it was done so with style and flair, so it was mildly okay! The kitchen staff quickly made me a new GIANT ESPATADA (which was weird because our entire meal took about an hour and 15 minutes to get to us in the first place, granted, there were 8 of us!!!)... but I digress... here she is...


The meat was delicious. There was supposed to be rump, sirloin, ostrich and game meats on the skewer, but they were out of ostrich so we ordered two game meats. And I say, bless you springbok, you are not only beautiful but wonderfully delicious! (Let me also add that this giant skewer of meaty goodness was all mine (one of my relatives asked if that were the serving for the entire table!). I made a good dent in it, the meat was really fantastic.) But it's not just meat! NO!

The skewer of meat dangled delightfully over a plate of goodies.

See for yourself...


The veg was really good. Still slightly crispy, nicely flavored, and the marinade from the meat just drip, drip, dripped happily into the rice.

Now, after an absolutely ginormous skewer of meat (and veg and rice) dessert may not be on YOUR radar, but that would make you weak. And I am not weak. (Ha ha!) Actually, I was intrigued that the restaurant had malva pudding on the menu. It's one of the SA foods that I desperately wanted to try, so I had to seize the day and order it.


It was absolutely delicious. It was a really nice sponge pud with a custardy sauce that made it rich and sweet. I couldn't believe how tasty it was. And it wasn't so big. (G ordered a peppermint crisp sundae that was positively ENORMOUS! No photos, but it did get passed around the table of EIGHT and still wasn't even dented!)

It was really a wonderful meal. S had brought a wine that matched the dinner happily (the name escapes me entirely), and the meal was a complete success. We really appreciated our hosts putting in the time and effort to take us to places that they thought we would like. Knowing that we wanted to try game, this was a great first stop!

All in all, despite the food on the floor, my first big restaurant outing in Cape Town was a triumph, and I couldn't wait until the next meal du jour! (Which I won't blog about. It was an Italian restaurant in Sea Point that was lovely, but I didn't take photos and I don't remember the name!)

The Coast with the Most.

Our intrepid 'guide', S, took us to Fish Hoek for fish and chips after a delightful sojourn through the botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch. It's just beautiful. Mountains and ocean in one place? That's right.


I went with S to order the fish and chips, and he suggested that I try this great Namibian beer that is very low alcohol...


Yum! The Windhoek Light is very low in alcohol (so having two was not out of the question on my first full day in Cape Town!) and absolutely delicious. I looked for it at the LCBO here, but no.

Then came our fish and chips... OH MY GOODNESS. The box looked promising and the smell coming from it was greasy fishy goodness.


The little box is no nonsense. The fish and chips is not.


Wow. It was sizeable. The fish was crisp and steamy, the chips were delightfully crisp but soft inside. Now, knowing the local lingo, I asked the woman behind the counter for some 'tomato sauce' for my chips, knowing that I sounded exactly like a local. Oh yeah, save for my American accent and tourist look of wonder!

The package of tomato sauce came out, and it was as hoped, ALL GOLD, the local brand.


I don't know how much I talk about ketchup on my blog, but I have had a certain fondness for ketchup my entire life. I have to confess, that fondness has waned a bit in my adult years, but it's still there, and I love trying ketchup in different places. (For example, ketchup in Canada is much sweeter compared to ketchup in the US. As a result, I often bring ketchup home to Canada when I visit the States.)

Regardless, the tomato sauce/ketchup was very vinegary and delicious with my fish and chips. Bring it!

From there, we went to a area of Cape Town called Camps Bay. It's very swanky. S asked if we wanted to stop and have a drink, and we agreed. Once out of the car, we confessed that we were not huge drinkers, but would love to have a moment to walk around. So we did. Then S said, "OH, my favorite ice cream store is up the street, should we stop?" And of course we had to agree to go give it a try. After all, it was his favorite ice cream restaurant.

I had a wonderful ice cream. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. It was an amazing vanilla ice cream with some sort of shortbread cookie dough in it. ARGH! I canNOT remember what it was called, but it was delish!


And all of this delicious food was just the warm up to an amazing dinner.

Plane Food... Dinner and Breakfast, in that order.

Full of pasty and ready to get onto Cape Town, we headed back to Heathrow. Terminal 5 is massive and I eyed the restaurants where we could eat on the way home (like the Boy Scouts, I am always prepared). Safely on board our 747 and bound for Cape Town, we ate our worcester pretzels and drank our drinks as we chatted.

Then came dinner. I don't know how they do it, but it's like they spray some delicious food spray throughout the plane that makes you start craving dinner. Then, they start passing around the special dinners and we eagerly await our dinner, straining to hear what's on offer.

This time? Chicken and ratatouille OR beef lasagna. And in the spirit of sharing, I ordered the lasagna and G got the chicken.

We both got a little green salad with slivers of beetroot.


And our main food package had a description of the innards.


And the inner picture looked very similar...


It was quite delicious! Not the best thing I'd ever eaten, but there were layers of tender pasta with a meaty sauce and an excellent bechamel.

G's chicken had an excellent barley pilaf and ratatouille.


It was tasty, actually. It had a very healthy flavour, and G seemed to enjoy it.

For dessert, we had a delicious frangipane.


It was lovely, really. It was almondy and rich.

As soon as we finished, it was lights out for dynagrrl. We flew overnight to Cape Town, which is great because you leave in the evening and you get to sunny paradise like Cape Town in the morning. I rested as well as I could on a plane, while G watched movies and dozed off and on.

Drinks started coming around again hours later, and the smell of breakfast started filling the cabin. The choice was frittata OR full english breakfast. Twist my arm. We both ordered the full english.


The bacon under the egg was gag inducing, but the egg itself was delicious, as were the mushrooms and tomato. Juice good. Yogurt good. Muffin too sweet. I'm not talking about the sausage because gag inducing doesn't come close.

We ate. I started getting antsy. The full english started rumbling like mad in my belly and soon we were on the ground in bright sunny Cape Town!