CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: SLEEPING AND EATING

While we were in Cape Town, we stayed in a hotel called "More Quarters," a swanky place that Bob arranged with the tour company we used. We had a full suite with a lovely, crisp European vibe.  We accessed our second-floor rooms from some outdoor stairs:

Laundry service was inexpensive, and while we were staying at More Quarters, I had a couple of shirts and a pair of pants laundered. I found them on my bed at the end of the day tied up with a navy blue grosgrain ribbon and ornamented with a sprig of greenery. Classy.

Determined to reset our body clocks to South African time, after we checked in we took an Uber to dinner (an excellent and very cheap way to get around in Cape Town). We had reservations at the Karibu Restaurant, a upscale place where Bob was particularly excited to eat.

Their specialty is African game meat, and we ordered just about every species they offer:

Ostrich, crocodile, and springbok carpaccio (raw meat)

Safari platter: kudu, impala, springbok steaks on left;
ostrich steak on right; venison sausages in center

L to R: kudu, impala, and springbok steaks. The impala was the best.

Ostrich steak--my favorite

It was a great way to start our extravagant carnivorous diet (which of course led to weight gain for both of us on this trip).

Hey! Look who was in the gift shop!

All things considered, we had a wonderful first night of sleep, and the next morning we enjoyed a gourmet breakfast buffet in the hotel.

The biggest honeycomb I've ever seen

On our second day in Cape Town, we hooked up with Ryan, a local guide who took us around to see the major attractions. When he learned that we like to try local food and are adventurous eaters, he got quite excited and went out of his way to accommodate our taste buds.

On our first walking foray through Cape Town, for example, we stopped at a bakery to try South African milk tart, aka melktert, a popular local dessert with Afrikaans/Dutch roots. It is a flaky crust filled with rich, creamy custard and dusted with cinnamon. It was good, but it didn't knock my socks off:

Ryan was very excited to introduce us to South African bunny chow and took us to a large farmers market for lunch where there was an area of small food stalls, one of which sold Indian food. Bunny chow is INDIAN? (You'll never see it on the menu in Indian restaurants in California.)

Bunny chow is a half loaf of bread that has been hollowed out and filled with a stewed lamb curry. The bread from the center is torn into two large pieces and placed on top like rabbit ears:

This creative dish originated in the South African Indian community around 1940. One story is that migrant workers needed a way to transport their curry to the sugar cane plantations where they worked, and this turned out to be a convenient way to do that. Another source says it was created during apartheid as a way for "excluded people," like the Indian population, to get take-out food from a back window.  A third version is that this dish originated as a way for Indian golf caddies, who were not allowed to carry cutlery during apartheid, to bring food to their bosses. 

This dish was definitely a winner for me. Don't attempt to eat one by yourself; it was more than enough for the two of us:

For dinner on our second day, we Ubered to Gold Restaurant. Unfortunately, our Uber driver talked during the entire drive about how dangerous Cape Town is. He did not exactly inspire confidence, but he did get us to our destination in safety.

The Gold Restaurant website says, "Welcome to GOLD Restaurant where dining is a celebration of food, flavours, family and friends, accompanied by live entertainment. Come and celebrate with us." 

I have to say that I have never had a meal that felt more celebratory than this one. It was one of the highlights of our time in South Africa.

We got there early because we had signed up for djembe drum lessons. A djembe is a rope-tuned skin-covered drum with a stem that sits between the legs. Each member in our group of about 20 or 30 students was given a djembe drum, and we followed the directions of our teacher, who had a wonderful sense of humor:

After about a 30-minute session, we were seated in the balcony overlooking the stage, where we started on our 14-course dinner.

Yes, 14 courses. This figure standing on our table held a map of Africa that reminded us of the many regions and cuisines of Africa. Maybe 14 courses isn't enough!

Here is similar figure that reminds me of Frida Kahlo from another table :

An artist came around to make sure we were suitably prepared to consume native cuisine:

As each course was brought out, we were told its country of origin and a little about how it was made.  I wish I had kept notes, but all I have are photos. Each dish was shared between the two of us:

I loved this clever presentation of Zambian sweet potato balls rolled in sasame seed:

As we were eating, dancers and singers came around to different parts of the restaurant and performed. Their costumes were wonderful, their talent was impressive, and their energy was contagious:

The food kept coming and coming and coming, and all of the dishes were good:

The meal ended with cookies shaped like a rhino and the African continent:

Meanwhile, on the stage down below, a musical extravaganza was in progress:

If you don't want to watch the whole 63 seconds of this video, go to about :50 and listen to them singing "Africa! Africa!" It was hypnotic.

Bob and I were chanting/singing that for the rest of the meal and all the way home. 

On a side note, the bathroom in the restaurant reminded patrons of the water crisis in South Africa. I love the hashtag #SaveLikeALocal:

On our third night in Cape Town, we ate at Mama Africa.

Bob ordered warthog kebabs:

. . . and I had Moroccan lamb roast.

Not the best meal of our trip, but still very good.

On our last day in Cape Town we ate lunch at Arnold's, a restaurant Bob had been looking forward to because of one unique thing on the menu: warthog ribs.

African sun

I have to admit that by this time I was really tired of heavy game meat, so in rebellion I ordered a seafood platter, which was okay, but not quite at the same level as what Bob and our guide Ryan had. However, I did have a really, really, REALLY good African Sun smoothie made of blended pineapple, strawberries, and blackberries.

Gemsbok Wellington, ordered by Ryan, who shared
it with Bob

Kudu, ostrich, and crocodile tangine on left, smoked warthog ribs on right

Bob had asked for all his meat to be rare, but when it came, there was no red left in the meat. Bob was not happy but was going to let it go. However, Ryan was not having any of that. He picked up Bob's plate and called the waiter over, politely and firmly asking for a redo. They did as he asked, and Bob was thrilled with the second attempt. I think he considers this his best meal of the trip.

Personally, I want to give a shout out to Moro Gelato, the best GELATO of the trip, both for its classy atmosphere and for its delicious desserts. Their gelato is made from scratch using family recipes from the Moro family of Italy.

I had two scoops: pistacchio and cioccolato (dark chocolate) garnished with a dark chocolate-dipped waffle:

We made one more stop at one of Ryan's favorite places: Giovanni's Deliworld:

They have a lot of the kind of "container food" that Bob loves to try . . . 

 . . . such as pickled octopus:

 . . . smoked salmon pate:

. . . squid:

 . . . taramasalata (cod roe):

 . . .and Norwegian gravadlax (cured salmon), which was Bob's favorite. In fact, when he looks at this picture, he begins to salivate:

Wait! I forgot that I have one more kind of food every tourist needs to try!  I bought this Afrikoa Chocolate in the Cape Town Airport.  I only bought one bar because I thought I could get it again in the Johannesburg Airport on our way home. No such luck. The chocolate in the Jo-burg airport was very ordinary. I tried other chocolate bars during the next few weeks, but NONE came close to this one. Afrikoa is the first bean-to-bar company in South Africa to source their cocoa directly from African farmers. See their website here, and make sure you stock up while you are in Cape Town.