Song of the week: "She Said" by Plan B

"She Said" is the second single from Plan B's second album The Defamation of Strickland Banks - a concept album whose songs tell the fictitious tale of a sharp-suited British soul singer who finds fame with bitter-sweet love songs, but then loses everything when he ends up in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Now it’s been a while since I posted a song of the week, hell it’s been a while since I posted period, but I came across this song, and liked it, but after reading the concept of the entire album, I then LOVED it; it also doesn’t hurt that Plan B’s voice is not nearly as shoddy as his stage name, in fact it’s quite brilliant and he knows how to use it to draw out emotion, even the rap sections don’t feel odd. The album basically tells the story from the first-hand perspective of Strickland Banks, a fictional character played by Plan B. The album's opening tracks, "Love Goes Down" and "Writing's on the Wall", are love songs sung by Strickland Banks at a concert, and are likely to be about his girlfriend, to whom he refers later in the album. "Stay Too Long" follows him and his entourage as they celebrates the success of his concert with a night out which culminates in him having a one night stand with a woman. In "She Said" we learn that this woman is obsessed with his music and believes herself to be in love with him. He rejects her so she alleges that he raped her. The subsequent trial results in his incarceration and in "Welcome to Hell" he is sent to prison, and much of the rest of the album is about his experience inside prison, isolation, abuse, etc. This results in his abuse at the hands of other prisoners, resulting in him purchasing a shiv on the prison black market throughout the course of "Traded In My Cigarettes". In "Prayin'" he is confronted by another prisoner who attacks him. With the help of another inmate Strickland kills the attacker in self-defense, with the other inmate taking the blame, and is burdened with this guilt during "Darkest Place". The penultimate tracks, "Free" and "I Know A Song" detail initially his anger, then his acceptance of his life inside prison. The last track, "What You Gonna Do" Strickland is in court again as new evidence has been brought up on his case. The album finishes with the listener not sure of whether he is sent back to prison or released, leaving it open to interpretation. I can’t even give any commentary on ‘She Said’ besides that it must be heard.

The September Month

I know I've been pretty bad with posting this month, very lazy month, which is strange because September has been a very busy month, lots of newsworthy things went down, but i just couldnt find time to put it all down. And is it me or is everyone born in September, i mean I alone know over 30 Virgos that are born this month ALONE, also there are a lot of things that are important in September, the Vogue September issue as well as all well established fashion publications, the September issue is the most important publication of the year, and also New York, London & Milan Fashion Weeks also take place in September, AND and and I am born in September as well :-D ....weatherwise in South Africa, September marks the start of spring, which means summer is in the offing, and there is nothing like summer in South Africa, especially in Cape Town, or am i just being biased :-P

Naomi Campbell Blood Diamonds And All

Ever asked yourself how Naomi Campbell, who's 40 still manages to look this stunning...if you thought i was gonna go all deep and talk about her hand in the whole blood diamonds thing, well you were wrong i'm just gushing about the supermodel's fabulosity at a ripe age...Ok perhaps i need to delve even a little on the blodd diamond trial against Charles Taylor, former leader of Sierra Leone (i'm glad i can actually spell that) accused of using blood diamonds to fund early 90's civil war in the country...he apparently gave Naomi some uncut stones, woot woot, back in 97 when they had been at a dinner party at Nelson Mandela's house, but she opted not to keep them and gave them away to a charity, so I dont know what else is expected of her....she is clean people and with a body like that wouldnt you also wanna throw stones at her?

Restaurant Review: Blonde

I've dined at Blonde more than half a dozen times in a space of less than a month, so from this it is clear to deduce that i really like it. The food i find extremely good, with one major disappointment, consistency, for my first 4 visits, I had the Trio of duck, purely because it was so good, the 4th time i had it, i was with a big group that i recommended the same dish to, and i was mortified at how different and underwhelming it tasted - on this visit even my starter of white onion valoute, which i had enjoyed previously was very bland, i dont know whether the chef was not in, but i was very unhappy - I tasted the crayfish tail from one of the attendees and it was tough, again i had tasted this on my previous visits and it had tasted divine, so consistency is an issue at Blonde. All in all i still love their food. The decor is obviously lovely, only thing i dont like is the naked wooden ceiling in the bar, i understand it is the original pine flooring from 112 years ago, but it looks out of place or as if they forgot about it. and lastly I was meant to organise a dinner for some foreign officials and i recommended Blonde and was rejected, we ended up at Aubergine next door, and again i had a very important business dinner with an international investor who at first refused, politely of course, to go to Blonde, but i insisted and put my neck on the chopping board that it was a good restaurant, now i have managed to find out the reasons for these two encounters - the tacky name! Blonde? People look at me with blank stares when i tell them we should dine at Blonde, the name seems to evoke a perception of kitsch, cheap, over fussy & gaudy hotel bar with busty stewardesses - this is obviously not my option as i can see beyond the name since i've been there already, but to an extend i see where people are coming from, they could have carried on the Caviar theme and called it Osetra, seeing as they already have Beluga & Sevruga! There are a few other noteworthy quirks like the fact that the menu says 'Nothing but Pepenero' at the bottom, which to me reads like a thinly veiled jab at the other restaurant group that owns Pepenero, Kove, Parange etc, anway the main thing for the consumer which is great value is that while the restaurant already had great food, consistent or not, they are also running a special; everything is half priced - including wine, yeah i know right - so go try it, very little to lose, you might be impressed like i was on 5 of the 6 visits. And i've excused the one bad visit, and went again and it was delightful, which is why I'm going back there again this Thurs. Anyway for anyone who is able to look past the tacky name, i highly recommend this restaurant!

Spotted: FUCK FIFA....

This trendy guy I spotted in Woodstock, Cape Town, at the Neighborgoods Market as well, wearing this not so cryptic word-play T, with FICK FUFA & FACK FIFU for FUCK FIFA on it, it was a very cool t-shirt and very appropriate regarding the FIFA 2010 World Cup, the very first in the African continent is being held here in South Africa, so it was an interesting message or display of perception about the organizers of the tournament, which I figured would make for a good talking point. and it has this t-shirt design has even been featured in Mail & Guradian, and the shirts are apparently selling very well, which is an interesting thing to know, most of the people requesting the t-shirts are interestingly enough from Europe...why are people so unhappy with FIFA, the is it the capitalistic ideals? To see original post from Fashion Interlude click here

Laduuuuma, South Africa scores first 2010 World Cup Goal

South africa's Bafana Bafana just scored the first goal for the 2010 FIFA world cup tournament - this is HUGE, first goal was by Siphiwe Tshabalala on pic. we are hosting it AND scoring the openner - it really IS here now. Be proud, this is one nation that has come far.

World Cup Fever On A High

Ok so the 2010 Soccer World Cup is only days away from kick off - and today there was a celebration at 12h00, everyone was to join together in the gees and blow the Vuvuzelas at the same time - and attached is a pic of folks in JHB, Sandton doing their bit for the gees.

Restaurant of The Week: La Boheme in Sea Point

One doesn’t often think of Sea Point when considering good dining places, with the exception of the new Duchess of Wisbeach and the wonderful Posticino, which I’ve loved for years now, and their consistency keeps me going there time and time again, drools, ok back to Sea Point, so now late last year when I discovered La Boheme, I was most pleased, partly for it being somewhat Parisian and more importantly having great food at such modest prices. La Boheme is owned and run by Faisal, better known for his tenure as manager at the fabulous Caveau in Heritage Square; the restaurant is linked to his partner’s Spanish café, La Bruixa on Sea Point Main Road. The space is a mixture of comfortable, urban minimalist accented with some browns and a touch of Parisian bistro appeal with an open kitchen. Defined by its owners as both a bistro and wine bar, it comes as expected that they offer a moderately long list of 60 wines available by the glass. La Boheme’s charm continues with their modestly priced menu, they are currently running a special till the end of the year, which I think is amazing value for money, two courses for R90 and three at R110 – for good, flavoursome and well prepared bistro style food. The menu presented on black boards, (some stodgy people might argue Faisal is copying the way they do it at Caveau, but I saw it more as a homage), is not long, which is a good thing as I feel it allows the kitchen to focus on producing consistently good dishes. On my first visit I tried their liver parfait as well as the beef fillet with mushroom risotto, both convinced me the restaurant was worthy for an encore, everyone who was part of our dining party was thoroughly pleased with their meals as well. On my 2^nd and more recent visit for mains I tried their pork belly with poached apples, the dish was lovely, except I didn’t care for the use of apple, I would much prefer a poached pear with the pork, but perhaps pears are not in season…hmm. Either way La Boheme has won me over to become one of my neighbourhood favourite places to frequent. La Boheme. 341 Main, corner Main and Albany, Sea Point. 021 434 8797 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              021 434 8797      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, lunch & dinner – closed on Sundays.

Cape Town Winter Dining Special 2010

Some of you will remember last year I posted a list of all the restaurants around the Cape that were offering winter specials (Cape Town Winter Special 2009), well its that time of the year again. Except with the official World Cup season starting next month a lot of these specials are not running for the duration of winter like last year, this time some of them are ending beginning of June, which is a shame for the poor locals on a budget, but with a penchant for fine dining on a shoe string. I must say even I have been done in by the recession, this year I've been quite a fan of the specials myself, so I will follow up with reviews of the ones I've tried, will tell you which ones are worth the bucks and which are basically scams, yes there are a few of those. This is the most comprehensive list of specials, way more than even eatout will give you ;), also you will notice my focus is on restaurants in town (cape town) and the immidiate surroundings, I'll make another list featuring restaurants around the outskirts, winelands, karoo etc

Restaurant	Special	Period	Location
1800°	Choose between matured rib-eye, rump steak or sirloin steak for lunch or dinner for only R99.	Month of May	Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, Green Point
Andiamo	R 89 Breakfast special for 2, and R 125 pizza/pasta + wine for two	All winter	Old Cape Quarter
Ci Casa at Camil’s	2-course lunch on Sat and Sun for R 100 + glass of bubbly,	April & May	Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, Green Point
Five Flies	2-course meal reduced down to R125, 3-course dinner reduced down to R150,	Mon, Wed and Fri for the next 3 months	Rembrandt House, Keerom Street,
Jardine	3 course dinner at R 150	until end May	Bree Street
La Boheme Wine Bar & Bistro	2 courses for R90 and three for R110.	May – Dec 2010	Sea Point
Myoga @ The Vineyard Hotel	R150 for a six Course meal – each course you have a choice between 3 dishes.	Not listed.	Newlands
Nobu	Great value for haute Japanese cuisine. Bento Box offering, for only for R195.	May – Dec 6pm-11pm (Sun –Thur) & 6pm-7.30pm on Fri & Sat	V&A Waterfront
Pepenero	sirloin and chips R 79, seafood platter R 129, prawn platter R 99, oysters R 9 each, half-price sushi	On-going	Mouille Point
Sinn’s Restaurant	lunch plus a fruit cocktail at R 50, 11h00 - 16h00	May	Wembley Square
The Cru Cafe	breakfast for 2 for R 85, 2 pasta dishes + 2 glasses of wine for R 119	all days of week, lunch and dinner	New Cape Quarter
The Roundhouse	7-course dinner for R 245	May only	Camps Bay
Tuscany Beach	50% off second person’s main course, and 1/2 price sushi	12 - 6 pm	in Camps Bay
Sevruga	Sole dishes range from R 89 - R 180	during April	V&A Waterfront
Vanilla	50% off second person’s main course, and 1/2 price sushi	12 - 6 pm	New Cape Quarter
Wang Thai	half-price sushi and cocktails	Mon – Thur 12pm – 6pm	V&A Waterfront, Constantia.

A Deeply Disappointing lunch at Kuzina

Hello little friends – I haven’t blogged in a while. It’s been an eventful time, one thing I hate about being busy especially socially is that there’s so much to write about but just no time to actually sit down and write a lil story on the experiences :-( which kinda defeats the purpose of blogging anyway in the time I’ve been quiet, I’ve been on a weekend away to Monkey Valley Beach resort, which I have to write about, as it is too beautiful to not review, also had another dinner at The Grand, had a Maltese friend of mine down here for the weekend, did Cape Point, Chapman’s Peak, winelands etc – Also another friend of mine from the UK was here, hosted a great party on the roof of his 3 story house and finally had a chance to try the new Taj Hotel’s Bombay Brasserie restaurant and bar. The latter was for a special dinner with a somewhat special someone, more on that later.On Saturday I went for lunch at Kuzina, one of the restaurants at the new Cape Quarter section across from Vanilla, which I’ve enjoyed before and Cru Cafe which is simple and ok, Kuzina is a Greek restaurant with nice décor, nothing amazing but perfectly fitting and preen, with a glass ceiling on in the inside section – all of this was fine, their wine selection is a tad mediocre, but still manageable – the food on the other had I found deeply disappointing – the food was very arb and bland – I cook better food at home, especially because their prices are on par with the Cape Quarter prices and yet the food or at least what we had, tasted less satisfying than even the most simple dish from Andiamo, I’m not a fan of Andiamo but I have to compare it to that because that’s the league I saw Kuzina fit in – but more disappointing. I had the pork fillet cooked in honey and herb and it was dry and incredibly dull, dull – hadn’t it been for the great company I would have walked right out.They are open daily for lunch and dinner. Cape Quarter Extension, off Somerset Rd, Green Point. 021 418 8000 - go disappoint your senses.