VANILLA CAFE and Our Greyton Getaway Weekend

I’ve always loved the sleepy, quirky and spectacularly beautiful little village of Greyton – Roughly 2 hours out of Cape Town… just far enough to be able to really unwind.

AND…being the ridiculously lucky girl that I am, I found myself here yesterday afternoon as a surprise getaway until Sunday!

Yes. I am fabulously lucky. I know.

• For breakfast this morning we wandered onto bustling Ds Botha Street and spontaneously chose Vanilla Cafe.

• Quirky inside, and adorned to the max…

  

  

…and seriously kiddie friendly outside area – in the good, wholesome out-doorsy sort of way.

We both decided to try the CAPE TOWN KUGUL breakfast….

“smoked salmon or bacon, avo pulp, 2 poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on an english muffin”

• PERFECT Hollandaise Sauce! What a brekkie. Total food satisfaction achieved.

Vanilla Cafe

18 Ds Botha Avenue

Greyton

Western Cape

028 254 9453

From the Main Road Greyton, turn right into Ds Botha Avenue, find parking on the left and pretty flowery cart indicating the entrance to Vanilla Cafe.

Find them here – S 34° 3′ 3.852″ E 19° 36′ 27.036″

See here for the Greyton Tourism website. It is well layed out – and offers super ideas of things to do, as well as upcoming events.

We’re off an on hike into the mountains now, to find a rock pool for a swim.

Dont be jealous now  

xxx

To receive my new posts via email – please click “SUBSCRIBE” in the top right corner on the HOME page

i love tea

   Credit to FOOD-BLOG CAPE TOWN for this fab piece of wisdom.. 

 

 

 

Lake Kariba #1 – The journey begins…

• Lake Kariba 2012 – Episode #1 of 4

FINALLY – I was taking my first trip into the deepest, darkest (insert annoying American accent) Aaafrika! 

Yes I was born in Africa… And yet, Cape Town really does seem to be a modern, developed city in comparison to what I ‘ve seen on tv and in the papers. Zimbabwe, especially, has been rather (and I mean this enormously sarcastically) popular in the news. I simply can’t think why... (raised eyebrow)

MUGSHOT

A bunch of us rowdy Cape Town gals were invited to make our way from Cape Town, through Johannesburg, Harare… and A FIVE hour bus ride… (insert extreme nausea caused  by winding-through-bushy African-hills-ON-STEROIDS)… only to arrive relatively unscathed on the shores of Lovely (understatement supreme) Lake Kariba. Sheeeew.

As ill, tired and weary as we were – THIS was all worth the bother…

Lets start at the beginning…

We enter Zim.

THE BIG MAN.

We spent one night in Harare and, after dropping our belongs in the hotel room, went in search of a nightcap.

 Wild Date Bar – at the Bronte Hotel

The footie was on – with that typcal African scene… Zimbabwean’s obsessively enthralled by a bar big screen, avidly supporting a European Football Team. Maybe its a chick thing – I don’t get it.

ANYWAY – we located the bar – purchased a few toots, and had a nice little natter.

Zambezi Beer was on offer – and smelt exactly like I remember dad’s Lions Lager to smell.

• It reminded me of Christmas – my sister and I pinning our stripey knitted stockings on each side of the mantle piece, always with a few biscuits and a quart of Lion Lager.
• Because Father Christmas absolutely LOVES Lion Lager.
• Obviously.

The holiday starts and Lu is flippen EXcited!

We set off at 5 am the next morning for Lake Kariba. After about 4 hours we made a stop  (and incredibly well deserved loo break) at the Makuti Travel Lodge. Another round of Zambezi Beers materialized… as well as my VERY first (excited face) Jaffle! 

I don’t know about you – but I had never seen one of these…

I had to google it to get the name correct ( I can just picture some of you slightly more mature readers giggling AT me at this point).

According to Wikipedia:
“A jaffle is a toasted sandwich traditionally made in a jaffle iron – a type of closed
metal skillet. “

OOOwwwweee! It hit the spot – after our 4 hour drive – and no breakfast – I think anything might have. But nothing beats a good, crispy, greasy cheese and tomato toastie hey? ESPECIALLY if it’s in a special shape! Durrr!

We were on the road again – through beautiful national park, and an hour to Lake Kariba. 

     

Over a hill, and we were there…

We relaxed into our holiday as we cruised out of Caribbea Bay..

Our boat trip had begun!

• For Lake Kariba 2012 – Episode #2 click here.

ALSO – Does anyone know where one can purchase a JAFFLE IRON?? I need one in my life!

xxx

To receive my new posts via email – please click “SUBSCRIBE” in the top right corner on the HOME page

City Bowl THURSDAY evening Market – a supreme success

Albeit a little crowded…

The first City Bowl  FOOD Market Thursday evening seems to have been a great success, with many stalls crossing out various food and wine options due to sell out.

I popped in earlier on this evening to have a quick squizz, a bubbly bev, and a bite to eat.

 

I was side tracked in my food gathering, by the fresh produce stall, and bought a few items. 

This basket of goodness cost me only R20! Love it. 

 

 

Packed hall with all sorts of scrumptious foods on offer…

 

Beautiful flower stand offering some sensational colour to the event.

 

Great FIRST Thursday evening. Thanks City Bowl Market!

 

Even Snakes Love Brandy…

Take a quick read of this fabulousness, which I believe has softened my insane fear of snakes, and  Puffies in particular. ..

We got a message from Lucky’s brother this morning: I went bass fishing this morning at Porterville Dam, but after a while I ran out of bait. Then I saw a puffadder with a dead lizard in its mouth. Lizards are good bait for bass. Knowing the snake couldn’t bite me with the lizard in its mouth, 

I grabbed it right behind the head, took the lizard, 
and put it in my bait bucket. Now the dilemma was how to release the snake without getting bitten. So, I grabbed my bottle of Klipdrift and poured a little brandy into its mouth. His eyes rolled back, and he went limp. I then released him without incident and carried on fishing, using the lizard as bait. 

A little while later, I felt a nudge against my foot. I looked down and there was that same snake with two more lizards in its mouth. 

Life is good in Africa 

It is from the facebook page of the Lucky Tsots Shebeen & Bar in New South Wales. I’d love to pop down there sometime

Here’s the link - http://www.facebook.com/LuckyTsotsi

DIETING IDEA!

Montabello – a MAGICAL place in Newlands

Walking through this design centre, it makes me think of how I’d always imagined Newlands Forest to look a couple of hundred years back, when Forresters Arms was a bit of a “seedy” forest stop-off between Cape Town and Hout Bay.

• Unspoilt, and smelling of nature. 

Its a beautiful forest, with space, and an interesting sort of tranquil busy-ness.

There is stuff going on in every corner.

I hear a chain saw, and birds bantering in unison.

(in a good way – extraordinarily)...

The Greenhouse nursery.

SO beautiful inside, and offering a plethora of interesting gift ideas and gardening inspiration. 

The Gardeners Cottage Restaurant…

Open for Breakfasts and tea. I read that it was originally the gatekeepers lodge, and formed part of the old Montebello Estate.

Under a fresh forest canopy…

I met the Dorrington’s for brekkie.

And here’s what we had:

Joe’s Oats

HAPPY with his health breakfast. How boring.

After a shocking number of disappointing Eggs Benedict’s lately in and around Cape Town… I felt exceptionally brave in my order this particular morning. 

• I needn’t have worried…

I had the Eggs Benedict with bacon. Sensational Hollandaise Sauce. Sensational everything in fact. I will be returning for a repeat of this one.

Martine’s chicken, pepperdew and gherkin sandwich. ALL fresh and flavorsome. 

The prices were so reasonable, the service was outstanding, and the setting perfect!
AND. Just because I could.. I ordered their Malva Pud. AND waaaas it gorgeous! I have struggled to find a Malva as soaking and saturated with goodness as my mothers… but this one could possibly compete. Juicy and warm and RICH and moreish.

Everything we tried was done beautifully, with attention to detail and absolutely no shortcuts. 

Highly recommended!

Montabello Design Centre

Facebook: click here.

W: www.montebello.co.za – the website isn’t terribly exciting, but it holds all the info one needs.

The Gardener’s Cottage (inside Montabello) 

Studio A

31 Newlands Avenue

Newlands

Cape Town

Open Tues – Fri 8am – 4:30 pm
Weekends & Public Holidays – 8:30am – 4:30pm

• See HERE for a map.

To receive my new posts via email – please click “SUBSCRIBE” in the top right corner on the HOME page

amy@foodorgasm.co.za