The new kid on the block – Cafe Mao at Mandela Rhodes Place

For months my family and I have been looking for a good place to have a quick dinner, nothing to fancy, just give us sharp service and yummy food, that’s all what we ask of Cape Town…

And this is it! Let me introduce you to Cafe MAO, the new Asian restaurant run by the charming (and Scottish) Robert and his team. When you sit down you are served before you can even say “chopsticks”. Start with drinks, if you are there in the afternoon I could recommend you get that exstra power-injection by ordering a smoothie of sorts. If we were all oblivious I would start at the ice-cream, but mind you, it is good for a cooler after all the flavours – so go for a starter or main. To be quite frank I had the Chilli Lime Beef and it burned the hell out of me (and I am a chilli-freak),but now I’m all good. Luckily our saviour came running with a few slices of lime on a plate for the family to suck on. It worked like a bomb! Don’t shy away now – there are other delicious dishes without a chilli-factor of three.

With Andy Warhol-inspired prints of Mao and Monroe, food that you can taste every flavour of (and I am not pulling your leg), you cannot do anything else but love going there.

On speaking to the man behind all this, it all cam out that Robert, being Scottish, was sent by the restaurant in Glasgow, Dublin and the likes, from Glasgow with love and an order: “Make us another Cafe MAO-baby in Cape Town!” And are we glad he did.

Jade (I’m new too … Thanks to Uno and Stefan for setting it up!)

The Fish&Chips-off!

“What” you ask? AH, let me tell you! So, we have decided to include a couple of general readers in this endeavor. We want each reader to post a comment to this post, don’t worry, you need not say anything earth-shattering nor emotionally touching. In fact, we would prefer it if you did not even consider the latter. We will then randomly select 2-4 participants to go out and about, stroll the streets and look for fish and chips! We’re talking real fish and chips here guys and gals! We want you, yes YOU, to write us a review about it. You need not worry, we shall edit your review if you cannot spellllaahhh.

This is the first (as well as a test) in a series of interactive review blogs. We think that it would be rather original seeing as no-one ever gets to read the opinion of the general folk. The commoners if you will. hahahahah!

Unfortunately we cannot afford (at this moment in time) to pay for your meal, but we promise, if you do this for us, we will be for ever grateful! As soon as things take a turn in the right direction, we would be happy if you could join us for a meal. (hah, one day!)

Also in your comment, please provide us with your geographical status so that we don’t have reviews originating from one ‘dorp’ or town.

PS: Don’t dare tell us that Fish & Chips = gross. I will hunt you down and force it down your throat

Thank you in advance

-S

The Cape Colony at The Mount Nelson

 

This is the first in a series of guest blogging. Today our special guest blogger is Niel who runs the blog over at We Like Texture. He also happens to be a good friend and all-round cool guy.

Yes. Reviewing the Mount Nelson is like dusting off your old copy of Oliver Twist or War and Peace for a fireside reread. The Cape Colony, after all, is an establishment with history.

Anyway, that matters fuck-all to us, what with all the newer, mouth-watering eating destinations in Cape Town. Uh huh, the restaurant is geared just the slightest bit towards the tourist crowd, as you can tell from the huge colonial mural (complete with very un-PC black servant boys in the foreground) and get this, leopard print upholstery on the large benched seating in the middle of the restaurant. But everyone can appreciate a bit of show, some silver cutlery, and huge, huge glasses for your red vine juice.

And everyone likes a good meal.

We had a Franschoek Merlot to drink – one that I would recommend to anyone who has a passing interest in mine (passing being the most sophistication I can self-attach here). I commited the unforgivable faux pas of not bothering to taste the wine before allowing the waitress to pour. How arrogant is it for me to taste the wine for corkage or imperfections on the palate when I probably couldn’t taste the difference anyway.

Still, Le Manoir de Brendal, Merlot 2003, is some seriously ass-kicking red, for what it’s worth. My company agreed.

The food. Ah, that. The Mount Nelson is pretty dependable to deliver fine meat dishes, and so on. You will not, however, have screaming tongue orgasms from their kitchen works, as you might when in Haiku, or Ginja. (Editors note: Haiku is crap)

I ordered the seared tuna, and was surprised to receive it moulded, in the Nouveau tradition, I presume, like canned dog food. Yup, it was a solid meat cylinder, with sauce on the side. Hilarious. Anyway, with the little sauce provided it was enjoyable enough, though that soon run out and then I found it a bit salty and… plain. In any event, The Cape Colony’s seared tuna can’t hold up a fin to that of Ginja, but it is a solid main course, not a train smash by any standards.

Dessert was extremely decadent sundae, which I couldn’t finish for its richness. I’m quite a glutton, so perhaps the sweet-chef hadn’t gotten it quite right this time.

What is there to be said about this Cape Classic, the old Champ? Perhaps a bit slow on its feet. The Mount Nelson’s Cape Colony might have to explore some new flavours if it wants to keep up with the new kids on the block.

And oh ja: it’s fucken expensive.

Relish Reviewed

I found myself at Relish last night; it is situated on New Church Street, previously known as Rustica. I happened to receive an Email a few days earlier informing me of a special that they are running during the winter. Believe it or not, the food is technically free. Get this, Relish want you to pay merely what you think your meal was worth! How’s that for a deal?Firstly, let me begin by accrediting Relish with the most superb location with outstanding views of Table Mountain. On every floor, of which there are 3, you have the most magnificent views of Table Mountain, Lions Head and Signal Hill.

The interior is very simplistic, too simplistic for my liking. I am more of a warm-felt décor type person and what you get at Relish is a lot more ‘cold’. Don’t get met wrong, it has ambiance, but for me, it lacks soul. Modern, simplistic, neat and spacious are some characteristics that can be associated with the interior of Relish. It is not a ‘cold’ restaurant, not in the least. Downstairs, restaurant area, is especially in need of a bit more furniture, maybe a facelift in terms of the seating arrangements. However, it works for the special that is being run. The Bar = the top two floors, are similar, yet different. As can be seen by the picture, the top floor has a wonderful outside section, which is just magnificent during the summer days. A wide variety of cocktails are on offer, and often during the summer days they run specials on certain cocktails. And believe me, they are worth every penny.

Let me get to the point here, before I go on about the smaller details. The food! The food, the food, the food. A rather unusual menu in my opinion. I found myself seated, and browsing the menu, of course, no meal is complete without a good glass of wine. And seeing as I knew what I was going to have, I ordered a glass of white. House sauvignon blanc, I was just having a quick meal seeing as my companion lost his appetite, or possibly his financial liquidity. Who knows? Notwithstanding, I ordered. Pan fried Kingklip with steamed asian greens, fragrant coconut sauce and hand cut chips. It arrived and was presented rather beautifully.

Not only did it look good, it tasted extraordinary! Blasting onto the palette, to put it mildly! HOWEVER! I feel the portion of fish was totally outweighed by the amount of ‘hand-cut chips’ served alongside it. The fragrant coconut sauce mingled just perfectly with the asian greens and panfried kingklip. It was, to say the least, perfect in taste.

Would you like to know how much I ended up paying for this meal? A full R45-00. I felt that because a glass of wine put me back R23-00 that I would compensate. Although I felt that R67-00 was a bit much for the meal, if you look at the portion of kingklip, it would have been money well spent either way. I am not justifying the prices of Relish, I am merely stating that good food is rare, but not non-existent. It can be found here, at Relish.

Last point, I am not a fan of French style cuisine, especially not French styled portions and I sincerely hope that the portion of Kingklip will be larger in the future. People seem to forget that value is still value. Being ripped off is not a novelty. There is a saying, ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.’ it applies in more ways that one would think.

All in all, I would without hesitation attribute an 8 out 10 rating to Relish, considering the special, the location and once again, the view.

Quality.

-S

The Plan

Ok, so my ‘plan’ for the next couple of weeks is as follows. I want to do a whole burger review, seeing as though I have started walking this path, I might as well carry on for a few more reviews. I will be dining at the following restaurants that claim to serve ‘gourmet burgers’

1) Fat Albert’s – Heritage Square, Cape Town.
2) Rick’s Cafe Americain – Park Road, Cape Town.
3) Royale – Long Street, Cape Town. (Not a new rant but well worth a review)
4) Gourmet Burger – Long Street, Cape Town. (Also not new, but indeed competitive.)
5) Altitude, Stellenbosch. – DONE.

I think that should complete a fairly complete burger-off. So the participants, however unknown to them, will be critically reviewed by myself. I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks, it sure is going to be a competition. I doubt Altitude will rank with the top boys, even though we are yet to find out who will rank where.

Keep your socks on.