Cape Town Winter Dining Specials...UPDATED

Winter is in the offing, if it hasn’t already arrived and this brings good news to fine dining lovers that are on a budget - the Cape Town Winter Special reel is out and I’ve got it for you. The list includes fine dining restaurants, more reasonable ones and even some of the restaurants in the winelands - the list will give you the breakdown of the special, the cost and when they applicable. This way we can all remain fabulous even on a budget - my overseas trip is nearing and my savings are still in the toilet, so this list will become by bible for the next two months. @Andiamo, Waterkant
Two pastas + two glasses of wine R100 -
Everyday, lunch and dinner
@ Alba Lounge, Waterfront
Two pastas and two glasses of wine for R100 -
Everyday
@ Aubergine, Gardens
Two courses R185 / three courses R245 - Everyday
@ Bravo, Mouille Point
1kg of prawns for R69
Monday to Friday lunch and Tuesday evenings until the end of June
@ Beluga, Green Point
Two course lunch R125 / three course dinner R165
Every day until the end of September
Year round specials: 1kg prawns R100 / 26 piece sushi platter R100 / half price sushi until 7pm
@ Bungalow, Camps Bay
Crayfish R100 / Lamb Shank R100 / half price cocktails & tapas between 5pm and 7pm - Everyday
@ Caprice, Camps Bay
Two of their legendary burgers for the price of one
Lunch and dinner, Monday to Thursday
3 course meal with Heineken R80 - Friday nights
@ Catharina’s, Constantia
Two course set lunch menu with glass of wine R125 / three course set lunch menu with glass of wine R165 / three course set dinner menu with glass of wine R195 - Everyday
@ Five Flies, CBD
Two course menu + glass of wine R125
Monday, Wednesday & Friday
@ Geisha, Green Point
Half price sushi & dim sum before 7pm / 25% of noodle dishes - Everyday
@ Harbour House, Kalk Bay
Three course R150 / two course R130 -
Everyday except Sunday lunches
@ Henri’s in Somerset West
Three courses R120
Everyday until end June
@ Myoga, Claremont
Six course menu R150, paired with wines R225
Dinner only, everyday until end August
@ Pepenero, Mouille Point
Rump with fries and sauce R80 / half price sushi / seafood platter for one R110 / 1kg of prawns with chips or rice R100 / oysters R9 each / sushi platter R90 / Osso Bucco with mash R90 / pasta of the day R55 - Everyday
@ Salushi, Claremont
Half price sushi until 5pm / standard starter + noodle dish R70 - Everyday
@ Sinns, Gardens
Two courses with a glass of wine R100 / three courses with a glass of wine R125 - Everyday
@ Tank, Waterkant, Green Point
Half price sushi - Everyday
@ The Foodbarn, Noordhoek
Three course meal R175 - Everyday
@ The Kove, Camps Bay
Parties of 4 get one of the meals free / half price on entire menu between 5pm & 6:45pm / 2 courses with glass of wine R100, 3 courses with glass of wine R130 - Everyday
@ Tobago’s at the Radisson, Granger Bay
25% off tables of 4 or more - Until end of June
@ Tuscany Beach, Camps Bay
Order two main courses, get one free / 20% of all sushi and oysters
Every night and lunches Monday to Friday

I will post the list of the winelands restaurants soon!

Restaurant Of The Day: Myoga, Vineyard Hotel

The first special I sampled was the gob smacking value for money 6 course meal special for R150 (R225 with wine pairing, Solms-Delta wines) at the delightful Myoga, Vineyard Hotel. I took an esteemed friend and confidant there for what I was expecting to be a delightful dinner, because it’s Myoga, but also had mild reservations about the special being so affordable, ordinarily a two course meal here, without wine, comes at R200. The décor at Myoga has always pleased me – the open plan show kitchen brings enough excitement, interesting interior designs, great views of the garden and the inside dimly lit, very chic, very muted with accents of Veuve Clicquot orange sprinkled carelessly, its almost perfect except as part of their eclectic assortment of chairs, there’s this one particular design that I abhor with a passion, the chairs look better suited for a conference room – when you go to Myoga, please try and find these chairs, there’s a couple of them, and tell me if I’m being unnecessarily stodgy (If you look carefully in the images you’ll see them). Anyway me and my friend found ourselves sitting in one of the 4 lovely sofas with exaggerated backrest that almost touch the chandeliers in an audacious Veuve orange to match. The 6 course dinner kicked off took a worrying start when the first course of ‘black pepper tartlet onion ragout broccoli rabe crème fraiche stone fruit chutney’ was more modest in size than a heaped teaspoon. I immediately realised I should have expected this, but after tasting it the flavours were so beautifully pungent that it made sense for the portions to be on a strict ration. The ‘pumpkin miso soup with gorgonzola croute’ & the main of ‘Kingklip, lemon verbena risotto broccoli rabe candied ginger and chilli coriander beurre blanc’ were the highlights, true culinary triumphs; the dessert was also decadently delicious. The linguine thai pesto with homemade lamb chorizo was the only disappointment and not because it was bad, but it was a tad bland and underwhelming and somewhat took away from the other courses that had bee so amazing. The entire evening was delightful with world class food and convivial company, I will sure be returning there as early as next week.

Cape Town:Rooftop Airstream Trailer Park

Last night myself and a friend were given a private tour of the entire airtream penthouse suits at the Grand Daddy hotel. Atop this swanky Cape Town hotel Grand Daddy Hotel, part of the Daddy Long Legs group of boutiques hotels, previously known as the Metropole is a trailer park like no other, a collection of vintage Airstream caravans nestled beneath the backdrop of Table Mountain. This cluster of Airstreams is more an experiment in conceptual interior design with each of the seven vintage trailers hosting a different theme. Cape Town design studio Whatiftheworld directed the project, which tasked local artists with decorating a space with a motif of their choice. The concepts ranged from The Ballad of John & Yoko, adorned with a guitar and simple white interior, to The Love of Lace, Goldilocks and The Three Bears, which has a quaint storybook feel to it. While I'm unsure about falling asleep in it, I loved the dizzying floor-to-ceiling polka dot interior of Dorothy. The two-person Airstreams are situated neatly around the rooftop bar, which is open for afternoon drinks to guests and just the plain curious alike. What i found most fascinating was the fact that the trailers were oddly spaceious, which i hadnt expected and also how they managed to incoroporate enough comfort and luxury to make these trailers qualify for 4 star luxury rating. The trailers start at R945 per night, thinking of hosting a small intimate party on one of these sometime soon.
The Grand Daddy hotel 38 Long Street, Cape Town 021 424 7248 www.granddaddy.co.za

Cape Town: Happy Birthday Aimster!

Today is my gorgeous flat-mate's birthday - she turns a tender 23 and hoping she's having a fantastic day, so this post is just to acknowledge and let her know, she's loved and appreciated - see some of the flowers she received - the top ones, from yours truly, moi, and the bottom ones were from her mom. The roses look more opulent in person, i went on a hunt for big bulbous white roses, which wasn't easy, but she's worth it and finally found them - now i'm looking forward to her Mexican themed party on Friday night. Fabulosity Tip: If you want to give classic white roses, to run away from them looking wedding-y, find big bulbous ones with shy petals and accessorise the packaging to make it more playful.

A New Nexus Of Creativity In Long Street, CT

So last night me and a friend decided to walk around Long Street, to try experience and perceive Long Street from the eyes of a tourist of a first timer in Cape Town, it turned out to be a very informative and inspiring walk. We visited one of the buildings I’ve written about in the past, turns out is a new theatre. The Space Theatre, which was established in 1972, has been revived as the New Space Theatre at 44 Long Street. The New Space Theatre on Cape Town’s vibrant Long Street will function as a mini-precinct, intended to be a hive of activity from 9am until late, offering a wide variety of cultural activities and facilities as well as eateries, related retail outlets, information and booking services. The theatre itself will be state-of-the-art and air-conditioned, and accommodate an audience of 200.We met two of the young blokes that manage the theatre, I forgot their names, blank stare – and we spoke to them for a fair bit and their passion of theatre was inspiring even though they actually come from backgrounds most removed from the arts, Finance & Accounting. Their aim is to create a nexus of creativity and culture, where like-minded people can come together at any hour. The Space Theatre Project is being developed as a modern theatre complex. Its floors are occupied by restaurants, bars, a tea shop, bookshops and visual arts galleries, I’ll report more on the restaurants once I try then, one of them is by Bruce of The Showroom restaurant fame, (which has recently closed its doors). What irretrievably won me over was the expansive roof, soon to be decked with a bar for an ideal summer sundowners spot. Office space will be tenanted to “theatre friendly” enterprises such as casting agencies. Above is a pic of the theatre and below is the pic I took of the building way before I even knew what it was, purely cuz I was taken by its beauty and after finding out last night, turns out I was correct with my guess on the architectural origins of the building. Check pas post: Design: Cape Town Victorian Architecture or Not.

Cape Town Theatre: Madame Butterfly

Madame Butterfly is a torrid story about clashing cultures, innocence destroyed and a final act too tragic for unsung words that makes Madame Butterfly the ultimate opera experience. Puccini himself called it the most deeply felt and imaginative opera of his career, which perhaps explains why he reviewed and rewrote it 5 times. The version popular today, referred to as the standard version, was his 5th version of the story.
Composer :Giacomo Puccini
Director :Christine Crouse
Conductor :Fransisco Bonnin
Costume and Set Design :Michael Mitchell
Lighting Design :Kobus Rossouw

Presented by Cape Town Opera in association at the Artscape May 23, 27, 29 - June 3, 5 @ 19:30 - May 31 @ 15:00
R150 | R275 | R350
Duration: ± 2,75 hrs
Pensioners & students: 50% off on day of performance only. Block bookings: 10% discount for groups of 10 or more.
Am looking forward to seeing Madame Butterfly, was meant to see it this weekend, but things didn't quite work out - it's the number one most performed opera in America.

TODAY: Cape Town Lightning! This is not the latest post - please refresh again!

I've had these pictures of Cape Town's morning lightning storm since around 10am - I was really stoked when i first got them because when i searched the web, no one else had posted these pics yet - but then I received a gift, the Versace Pour Homme, see below post - and i got completely side tracked and ended up reviewing the fragrance between my meetings at work that I ended up not posting these pics, well anyway - here are they, i hope no one has posted them now :-/

Scent Of The Moment: Versace Pour Homme

One of my dearest and most generous person in the whole of the land was away on holiday, a fabulous 17 day cruise from Cape Town to Barbados and all the islands in between – My souvenir was a beautifully sculpted bottle of VERSACE Pour Homme. Donatella VERSACE asked perfumer Alberto Morillas to make VERSACE's new men’s fragrance simple and “precise” and she seemed pleased with the result and said: “When I smell the scent, it reminds me of my father because my father wore neroli.,” (Women’s Wear Daily). That’s all well and good, but Ms. VERSACE took her fragrance brief a step further and asked that the scent “suit a self assured and, above all, attractive man.” (Cosmetics International) I’m definitely spruce enough to wear this, but other guys out there may want to consider having their hair cut, shaving, getting a facial and back wax, etc., before venturing to buy VERSACE Pour Homme. VERSACE Pour Homme contains bergamot, bitter orange leaves, neroli, diamante citron, geranium, clary sage, blue hyacinth, cedar wood, oud, mineral amber, musk and tonka bean. VERSACE Pour Homme opens with tart, talc-y citrus and a “water”/marine note. I was about to let out a sigh of boredom when a natural-smelling candied citrus note appeared — and lasted a good while. This pleasant citrus note (I’m telling myself is the diamante citron whether that’s true or not) reminds me of the delicious lemon note Allure Sport by CHANEL. The after effects of these clean citrus notes can be felt all the way into the dry-down... must be some high powered synthetic note operating underneath the top construction to extend them so deep into the formula. Anyways, the heart notes introduce the 'generic gang'. Like Timbaland whoring out the same tune over and over, Morillas seems to have borrowed the current accord du jour of generic woody-amber/spicy-woods with the nutty-herbal note of clary sage recalling Platinum Egoistes' Pour Homme. Bursting forth with bitter citrus and a sharp neroli note (with a tinge of aquatic whirled in), the opening burst is about the only high point of this woody aromatic/oriental from far richer heart accord, but this totally fits in here, this fragrance is not meant to be garish, clamoring for attention, its for the dapper man, understated and familiar with a tinge of mystery. A new favourite is born; I will thoroughly enjoy wearing this.

Cape Town: Green Point Stadium

The 2010 Soccer World Cup is very much in the offing and the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town is certainly shaping up well - here's a look of the stadium from a very interesting, semi oblique angle courtesy of skyscrapercity.com. Please note that the glass roof is still missing, they've been busy putting it, I will post more pics of the stadium that I've taken later on. Enjoy.

Cape Town: Green Point's Charming Twilight

Green Point is a neighbour hood in Cape Town, South Africa located to the north west of the central business district. It a popular residential area for young & financially able professionals and for the Cape Town gay and lesbian community mainly for its convenience to chic bars and restaurants and luxe residences. Many new mid-rise apartment and mixed-use developments have gone up in recent years. Somerset Road forms the main thoroughfare lined by numerous restaurants, cafés, boutiques and nightclubs. The area, as its name would suggest marks this fantastic city’s green belt, and officials have done a pretty good job so far to reserve this place as green and underdeveloped as possible – which explains the green patches of fields that can be seen to the left of the stadium. This area previously comprised of a golf coarse and several sports fields used communally by multiple sport’s clubs, referred to as Green Point Common, but it is currently going through a major revamp to turn it into a state of the art sports' complex, where all sport’s clubs will be granted properly zoned designated areas. I’m not clear on the details but I heard they would create more tennis & squash courts, football fields, rugby fields, hockey fields and athletics tracks, which has resulted in the 75 acres golf course reduced to 72, don’t quote me, I read this a week and a half ago and don’t have it in front of me as I type this. Anyway I hope you’ll like the pic of Green Point common, with the new stadium by night – will post more Before and After pics in time.

Study Finds Cocaine In City Air

Spanish scientists have detected the presence of cocaine in the air of Madrid and Barcelona by using a new technique for the first time, a research institute said on Wednesday. The scientists looked for 17 components in five different types of illegal drugs - cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids and lysergic acid. The results revealed cocaine is the predominant drug in the air of the two cities, the CSIC institute said. It was found in concentrations of 29 to 850 picograms per cubic metre of air. A picograms is one trillionth of a gram. The study is the result of the first use of a new method for the detection of drugs in the air, adapted specifically for the researchers, who are to publish their results in the review "Analytical Chemistry". "Heroin was also found in detectable levels in the samples taken in Madrid, but not in those from Barcelona," the CSIC said. This it explained by the fact that the area of Madrid where the sample was taken is close to a district where drug dealers are suspected of operating. The scientists also reported a higher concentration of the components during the weekend, "suggesting higher consumption this time". But it said there was no reason for the public to be concerned. This was such a surpirse to me, so decided to share it - lets just hope the concentrations dont rise to levels where unsuspecting habitats will find themselves high from a mere stroll down a downtown street...would be interested to hear the finding ot this study were it to be conducted here in Cape Town!

Joys & Woes Of Being Phoneless

Ok so I’m phone-less, on Saturday morning during a juvenile moment while leaving the Old Biscuit Mill market, me and two friends decided to race each other – naturally I was winning, the one guy left behind and the one right behind me decided to fall, at exactly the same time as my cell phone escaped from my pocket and fell flat to the ground after bouncing 3 times and dismantling itself – he sustained minor injuries (see bottom pic), or so we thought at the time, he was drunk so it didn’t pain as much, bled a lil’ on the knee and elbow but didn’t stop us from heading to Camps Bay (Cape Town) for more afternoon winning & lunching, the next morning was when the full impact of the fall was realised – the weird thing about my phone (see main pic) is that it worked perfectly fine after the drop, but kept on deteriorating as the hours went by – by Monday morning, the touch screen wouldn’t work at all. So I had to have it taken in, and Vodacom and their atrocious service, didn’t have a replacement phone for me, so I am without a phone now for about 2 and a half days – at first it was a welcomed break from the contact ringing and living according to my phone, but now its becoming a trying task. I don’t miss the phone to send random texts etc, I miss it for my appointment dates and all the other crap my phone stores for me so I can allow my brain to turn to mush even quicker – anyway so today I have my driving lesson and don’t know the instructors number because it was stored on the phone and I couldn’t retrieve it – anyway I’ll have to make a plan. All in all having no phone hasn’t been as challenging as I imagined, but it is a rather vital tool to modern living.

Recession Recedes Cape Town Restaurants!

Some of Cape Town's most popular, Summerville, and most expensive, Showroom, restaurants have been among the first to feel the effects of the economic down turn. Capetonians will never stop eating out, its part of the culture, but they have started being more prudent about it - me included, I might have not calmed down yet, purely cuz cooking is a bleak chore unless you have people to entertain, but I've started thinking about what I eat once at the restaurant, instead of some langoustines, some good old prawns will do, cuts the bill in half, well - almost ;)
List of some of Cape Town's most popular restaurants that have/are closing down:

• Summerville - Camps Bay - what a pity, this place though food-price comparison is laughable, the venue is awesome, with unparalled view on the entire Camps Bay strip!
  
• Showroom Restaurant - Cape Town Center - a restaurant that was one of the top 10 restaurants in the country, since it opened its door back in 2007, i do believe, they had lovely food, and a menu that boasted some of the most exorbitant prices, but I was sad to hear of their closing because I've only eaten there twice :(
• Riboville - Cape Town CBD - this establishment was housed in an outstanding building, the oldest bank in Cape Town, with its vaults used as wine cellars - there was a time when I ate here, 3 or 4 times a week (mainly convenience, I lived a few yards from it).
  

Oh well :-/
Update: Apparently Summerville has issued out a statement to all dining institutions, notifying them that they will no longer be closing, i believe the issue was with the land lords over their enormous rent (estimated at R350K per month) and i believe they've managed to iron out those thorny details over strudel - so Summerville will still be there to be enjoyed, but less fortunate was Fabulous, the never-quite-worked moroccan restaurant at the top of Kloof street - i mean when i went there i thoroughly enjoyed my meal, but felt the decor was underdone, which is strange considering the cheeky (if not tacky for a Moroccan restau.) name, there wasnt enough carpet around to make you feel like you're in Morocco, anyway, so thats closing down, oh yes, closed already, Friday!

Bell-Roberts Presents "In-Black-&-White"

Black- the colour at one extreme end of the scale of greys, opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it. White- the achromatic colour of maximum lightness; the other extreme of the neutral grey series; the complement or antagonist of black. Combine these and the works produced are at once elegant and bold; exuding beauty and strength and at times are even a little sinister: -
The exhibition will include works by Pierre Fouché, Carol Ann Gainer, Nigel Mullins, Cameron Platter, Kevin Brand, Wayne Barker, Mxolisi Sithole, Stuart Bird, Dianne Victor, Cara vd Westhuizen, Justin Fiske, Donovan Ward, Minnette Vari, Jane Eppel, David Brown, Lynette Bester.
If i get a chance to go to this exhibition, which sounds fabulosity worthy, i will post an update on what I thought of the works.
The Bell-Roberts Contemporary Art Gallery
Fairweather House, 176 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa, Phone: +27 (0)21 465 9108, Fax: +27 (0)21 423 3135, E-mail: info@bell-roberts.com

Nobu Encore, With A Brooch This Time!

So I was meant to go to Gordon Ramsay’s Maze this past Friday, but due to a raucous night out the previous night (see 2 posts below) and spending the next day like beached whales on the couch, the dinner was cancelled, only to be uncancelled again a few minutes later, lol, but then I had decided I wasn’t gonna leave the house until much later, so I decided not to go out to dinner anyway and partly because the way I was feeling, being in a dinner of 8 would have been a tad jarring – but soon after deciding I wasn’t going to dinner, I got bored with the idea of staying at home and ended up going to dinner with one of the former attendees of the Maze dinner, now the bizarre bit comes in here, the decision to go eat at Nobu came about – which is one of the two restaurants housed in Sol Kerzner’s Cape Town One&Only Resort, the other being Maze. Separated by only a fancy lavatory and a bar upstairs, we had dinner, meters from where we would have had dinner before the cancellation. Nobu was, well like it was the last time I was there – but the best part was looking at both the restaurant and the hotel from the eyes of the friend I was dinning with because his opinion on concepts and design has always fascinated me, and I’ll just say Nobu cracked a nod. From the entrance the fragranced aroma of the entrance to the hotel was well received, if you’ve ever smelt Terre D’Hermes by Hermes, this is what the entrance hall and foyer smells like, at this point I wished the friend who was hosting the dinner at Maze was with us instead of being at Maze. The triple descend before you even reach the restaurant was also a delight, 2 steps down from the door to entrance hall, 3 steps to the lobby area, then 2 more to the Nobu maître d' stand and the final descend, curved stars to the Nobu dinning hall. The food, conversation & atmosphere was absolutely divine - by the end of the dinner I was even beginning to like the shallow origami light fixture. Some of the highlights of the evening were the New Style Salmon Sashimi, WOW, and the tempura crab, and I’m not even a big tempura person, but I died repeatedly with each morsel. The wine, we went with a Riesling, which was an olfactorial triumph, but failed on the palette, it was a tad too acidic for me to enjoy, but not bad by a long shot, just not good! Ah we finished it off with a chocolate fondant and after settling the bill we rushed to meet with our friends who were already out at Jade Bar, we knew it was gonna be a good night! 1h30 me and my brooched friend arrived to a couple of friends at Jade, “hey KY”, lol. Some were already very cosy with their unofficial other halves, so we gabbed a bit, quenched our thirst with some Bad Decision Juice (Champagne) or MCC to be precise. The friend who had gone to Maze had unfortunately had an unsatisfactory meal, ostrich, partly I judge him for ordering ostrich at Maze but then its quite unfair to run a 5 star restaurant that will have underwhelming or even awful meals, but he was in high spirit as he had had a delightful evening with friends, looked absolutely suave in autumn shades and was guaranteed to have an even better night ;). Unplanned dinners are always spectacular, but above all the festivities of that evening my highlight was the fibula! Viva Glam!