Hidden MSG.

Bought some stuff at that great Thai supermarket on Main Road, Sea Point, on Sunday. Aside from fish sauce, peanut oil and a bunch of vegetables (bok choy!), I also bought some instant noodles. There’s something about eating hot and spicy instant noodles that I really enjoy. It’s junk food in most ways, but at the same time, it’s totally comforting. Especially the hot broth.

Less comforting is the ingredient list on the back of this packet.

“Ingredients: wheatmeal, fine palm oil, starch, salt.”

Go right ahead and file that under ‘Bullshit.’ Maybe those ingredients are the noodles, but in all those little sauce and spice packets I reckon a good amount of weird shit is included, and most likely that old flavouring stalwart, MSG. Mmm, not ideal.

Oh, they were really tasty though. And cost about R8 or something.

How To Make Weekend Lunch Better.

Not much beats a lazy weekend afternoon meal at a house with good friends. Here’s how to make things perfect so your guests will feel extra special.

1. Don’t go with run-of-the-mill snacks for guests. Biltong is always great. But how about some steak tartare (Raith Gourmet is great for this). Perhaps some peri-peri chicken livers. Maybe some calamari salad (pictured, from Mediterranean Delicacies). Serve with crusty baguette or sourdough.

2. Find something interesting to drink. Visit a small wine shop like Wine Concepts or Vino Pronto for some interesting selections. Try some unusual varietals, like Verdehlo, Roussanne or maybe Carignan, Gamay Noir or Grenache for reds. And there’s enough interesting craft beers out there now to offer something sure to raise an eyebrow.

3. Roast something slowly. It’s simple and really hard to screw up. Find a good piece of lamb/pork/beef from a good butcher (try Frankie Fenner on Kloof Street) and whichever way you prepare it (rub, marinade, etc), rather cook it slowly in an oven at say 140′C for 6 hours instead of 180′C for 2. It’s going to be more tender and so much tastier, you’ll see. The same goes for veggies too.

4. Make a sauce or relish yourself. Things like tzatziki, pickled onions or tomato chutney are simple to make and your guests will appreciate the effort.

5. Serve a cheese plate, not just cheese. A cheese plate means more than two types of cheese. Really the best way to end off an afternoon of lazy eating and drinking. Maybe crack some Port if you’re up for it. Or a small bit of good brandy (10 years or older). Your guests will leave reluctantly, and thinking of an excuse to come back again soon.

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These pics from my mates’ Kezza & Rich’s pad in Llandudno – they know how to entertain.

Get In My Face.

It’s all downhill today after this breakfast.

Toasted croissant, several slices of Dutch Mature Gouda from Mediterranean Delicacies, two soft-boiled eggs (5-minutes is the perfect time) peeled and split. Touch of salt and pepper. Get in my face. Ooh ooh ooh! The rich yolk and soft, creamy Gouda cheese together with the buttery croissant… I’m finished.

Cancel the day. Call everything off. Just put me on a coffee drip and wheel me into the sun somewhere so I can bask in the glory of food happiness.

Stop Worrying and Eat Breakfast.

A short roundup of my favourite breakfasts in and near Cape Town. Because you should love breakfast. Because a good breakfast sets the tone for the day. Because it’s the only reason to get out of bed. Because it goes so well with coffee. Because if we weren’t meant to eat Eggs Benedict, why the hell would chickens lay eggs?

Business breakfast: Dear Me. Two page menu of breakfast options, so something for everyone in the meeting. They do a great eggs and soldiers.
Weekend lazy-brunch-with-bubbles: Bistro 1682. Ooh, try their Eggs Benedict with thick pork belly-style bacon.
OCEBD (Obsessive Compulsive Eggs Benedict Disorder) relief: Caffe Milano. Small but perfect Eggs Benedict (pictured).
Breakfast that turns into lunch: Cafe Paradiso on Kloof Street. Good food, beautiful garden setting.
Breakfast scene: Jason Bakery. Bacon croissant to go, or shakshuka (poached eggs in roasted tomato) to stay.
Breakfast on your own: The Power & The Glory. A stool at the window, watching the morning traffic go by, eating muesli with homemade yoghurt, or boiled eggs on rye. Poetic, really.
Hangover cure I:  Superette. Try their poached eggs with home-cooked haricot vert beans in tomato. “Beans, beans, the magical fruit…”
Hangover cure II: Sidewalk Cafe. The Stack, with eggs, bacon, pork sausages, etc etc. Soaks up whatever’s left from the night before.
Coffee for breakfast: Deluxe on Church Street or Espressolab at the Old Biscuit Mill.
Market breakfast: Test Kitchen poached eggs on rösti with bacon, served at the Neighbourgoods Market (Biscuit Mill), still winning.
Quiet inner city breakfast sanctum I: Skinny Legs & All on Loop Street, part gourmet space, part gallery.
Quiet inner city breakfast sanctum II: Hemelhuijs, part restaurant, part design space.
Omelette: Olympia Cafe in Kalk Bay, light and fluffy like nowhere else.
Full breakfast buffet: Harvey’s at Winchester Mansions, the classic hotel breakfast with all the trimmings.
Breakfast with tourists: Sandbar / The Grand in Camps Bay.
Breakfast with the paper: Caveau. In the courtyard, with some Eggs Benedict served on a croissant with Black Forrest ham. Very civilized, old chap.
Salmon bagel: New York Bagels in Sea Point. For bagels and bagel-spotting.
Cupcake breakfast: Lazari in Gardens.
Mexican breakfast: Cosecha restaurant at Noble Hill. Another breakfast-becomes-lunch contender too.
Stellenbosch breakfast: De Oude Bank Bakkerij. In the centre of town, breakfast with fresh bakery bread goodness.
Stellenbosch breakfast II: Nook Eatery, whoops, had to get reminded about them (thanks, Miss Moss), it’s been way too long.

…

I concede, there are loads of other good breakfasts around (feel free to add in comments), but these are the ones that come to mind. Go forth and eat.

May the HP sauce be with you.

The Perfect Bagel.

Many of you might think a bagel is a young Jewish man with a penchant for wearing open shirts and too many gold chains who likes to hang around Sea Point, but a bagel is also a food item. There’s not many places that do bagels right in South Africa. Seems like some bakers think a bagel is a freaking bread donut. Bullshit! A bagel is bread dough that is boiled, then baked. And ideally then lightly toasted before eating. The perfect bagel should be chewy, but not heavy. It should also be a bit salty. New York Bagels in Sea Point make good ones. Giovanni’s’ are okay too, and you’ll undoubtedly spot several of the other type of bagels there too.

Then the filling. You can do whatever you like as long as it’s salmon and cheese. Everything else is a waste of time. Luckily Mediterranean Delicacies had everything I needed. The salmon: good quality, freshly smoked salmon with a squeeze of lemon juice. The cheese: cream cheese is the most popular, but I prefer Danish feta. Danish feta is much milder than regular feta, smoother and doesn’t crumble, which is perfect so you can squash it onto the salmon. Also, you don’t want too strong a cheese for breakfast. Then you’ll want a few capers for added flavour and saltiness. Capers are perhaps the most underrated foodstuff. They’re like little explosive balls of Mediterranean flavour!

And that’s it. A bagel. Smoked salmon, Danish feta and capers. Breakfast of champions. Perfect for a weekend. All you need now is a newspaper, some coffee and a comfortable chair with a view.

Eats & Drinks.

Caveau Eggs Benedict do not disappoint. A long-standing favourite, served with Black Forrest ham on a croissant.

I know this guy who makes this wine who also happens to have a cool wine shop in Riebeek Kasteel called the Wine Kollective selling only Swartland wines. He also happens to be my landlord in town! His El Capitan 10 is jammalicious, bordering on dessert wine red!

Chourizo and cannellini bean stew, with some couscous, makes a pretty awesome and hearty winter dinner. With tons of red wine, of course. Get your chourizo from Frankie Fenner, it’s good.

Saturdays playing cards drinking Alphabetical red wine out of tumblers. I don’t need much more than that.

“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” Sophia Loren said it all, right there. Except sometimes I actually prefer linguini.

One of my favourite wine brands around. The red, er Rooi, is not their best, but their bubbly is one of the best value MCC wines around. From the Boer & Brit duo.

DIY burgers at a friends house. Simple yet so satisfying, no matter how old you are.

Have you had this bubbly? Have you? Probably not since it’s only available at the Glen Carlou cellar and often sells out. It’s damend good though. Lush fruit with a crisp citrus edge and not too dry, the kind you can sip with brunch.

I eat way too many of these.

Ode to Dolmades.

Dolmades, dolmades, dolmades. Aside from being a tasty vine leaf-wrapped rice snack, it is also one of those culinary words that are enjoyable to say. Like Vichyssoise. Or Mozzarella. Or Puttanesca. It rolls off the tongue just as nicely as it tastes on it, except unlike Puttanesca, it’s not named after a whore or anything like that. Nope, ‘dolma’ means ‘wrap,’ that simple.  Very innocent.

And here’s the thing: if you end up as fat porker it won’t be because of dolmades, because they’re rather healthy too. On more than one occasion (generally after midnight at the 24-hr shop and suffering blurry vision) they’ve saved me from shoving a pie and tons of potato chips down my throat. Just yesterday morning, suffering the strangest symptoms (sore head, fatiugue?) after imbibing a fair too many Old Fashioned’s the night before, I was saved from starvation and delusional thoughts by dolmades. Not that they’re just a late night or mid-morning healthy alternative, but with friends’ Tzatziki, Humus and Kofta, they make a neat mezze platter for friends, family or that neighbour who happens to always come over just as you’re serving food.

No, dolmades are not just a bit of rice between some leaves, they’re a champion food. Zeus probably lived on the stuff. And if it’s good enough for the Greek Gods, well, that says it all. Oh, dolmades are also a delicious reminder that you should get to Greece soon. At least while it’s cheap and you can drink ouzo till you start sweating liquorice. Who doesn’t want to do that?

[dolmades pictured from Mediterranean Delicacies, and damned tasty.]

Pickled Fish.

Amongst the feasting of Easter weekend was this discovery: pickled fish on hot cross buns. WTF? Yup, I didn’t know it but apparently this is a Cape Malay tradition. The Google Machine quickly confirmed via an article by top local chef Cass Abrahams talking on how this has been her family tradition for years. If it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for anyone.

I tried it out, at first rather skeptical, but it worked beautifully. The raisins and cinnamon in the buns worked perfectly with the curry flavour. In the end I devoured a whole container of Mediterranean Delicacies pickled fish with plenty toasted buns this weekend. Healthy, tasty snack indeed, washed down with mugs of rooibos tea. Not exactly hedonism defined, but beyond satisfying.

I love pickled fish anyways, but this was further motivation to EAT MORE. If you’re after an easy dinner, try some pickled fish with mashed potatoes. Simple and delicious. Maybe washed down with some beer (try one of these).

The Mediterranean Delicacies pickled fish is a bit sweeter and more concentrated than what I’m used to, but delicious. They’re giving me a selection of products over the next few weeks for me to try out, so stay tuned for more. I pretty much live off their humus and roasted red pepper dip as a snacks, so am pretty chuffed with this.

Eats. Drinks.

Comfort Sunday lunch is slow-cooked pork belly with roast baby figs and polenta by the talented sister.

For Eggs Benedict times, make it Caffe Milano times.

Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants. A bunch of rad guys that aren’t vegan at all. They also serve my favourite local beer. ffmm.co.za

Haven’t been to Loading Bay on Hudson Street in ages but it’s still looking good.

A Tavola in Claremont is the best Italian in the suburbs, maybe even in Cape Town. And yes, I’ve been to Magica Roma where the place is inhabited by extras from The Golden Girls, yawn. This is way better. And they have imported a bunch of Italian wines that are well-priced and delicious. Think unoaked Barbera or fresh zesty Trebbiano, wines that work beautifully with the awesome food.

Go to Dear Me at lunchtime. Get that day’s menu. Order anything. It’ll be outstanding, just watch.

The Power & The Glory has a reputation for pickleback-fueled benders and spitting out tattooed drunkards at 2am when they close the bar. They also do a mean soft-boiled eggs for breakfast the next day at 7am. Rather civilized, really.

Drink this wine, it’s really good. Fresh, slightly effervescent and makes Monday night feel like Friday. You can get it at my favourite wine shop, Vino Pronto.

Eats.

Frankie Fenner bloody mary chourizo, olives, Terra del Capo Pinot Grigio snack o’clock.

Empire Cafe Muizenberg ‘Scram A’ breakfast.