Chandani Namaste in Upper Woodstock

There has been a real boom recently in the upper woodstock area with last year's reopening of Don Pedro by the Zingara group, the new and revamped Woodstock Lounge and Now with the opening of chandini's new place : Namaste.
If like me, you're a fan of fine Indian food, the real kind from north India, do not miss out on this jewel of a place.
Sitting on top of Roodebloem road, unlike its sister restaurant Chandani serving vegetarian food, Namaste offers a warm service, and an unusual evening Thali (vegetarian or meat option), changing every evening for a little R95 per person.



Namaste has a great Buffet for lunch for R65 and even serves daily Indian breakfast - still to be tried out :)

I personally cannot get enough of this delicious daily changing delight!

Miss sixty skinny jeans at a Bargain at Zoot

Skinny jeans have been in fashion for a while now and one must acknowledge the fact that finding the right fit for your body type ain't always as easy as stroll in the park.

Indeed, I have been searching for that perfect fit to My imperfect body for a while now, especially at an affordable price!
Well Cape Town ladies, your prayers have been answered with miss sixty skinnies for a mare R149 at Zoot in canal walk. We all like expensive items at a fraction of the cost, and Miss Sixty jeans usually sell for over R1000!

If like me, you body shape is not a cat walk like, Hurry while stock last!




Zoot : Canal walk shop 153 LL
Telephone: (021) 552 8040

Ricks cafe Americain lunch specials

Who doesn't love to eat well and pay a little?

If your work colleagues are all looking at you in a funny way because your stomach makes some very concerning noises, head down to Ricks Cafe Americain for a well deserved, well cooked and well delicious lunch.
You can't go wrong with their R49 lunch specials changing everyday with a choice of 3-4 dishes to choose from.
I had the privilege to enjoy the home made pork goulash with German pretzels. These are like tiny fresh pasta with various little worm like shapes... but they feels homey even if you never had any before!!
My partner in crime enjoyed a beautiful yellow tail skewers with a spicy chickpeas & tomato salsa. Needless to say that our meals were both so tasty and cheap that we could afford to spend a bit more on our drinks tab!!
...and what better way to start the week end?
Ricks is open daily (but Sundays) and is situated at 2 park road in gardens.




Ricks is a great warm hang out spot for after work drinks. We love it for its friendly atmosphere, its warmth and chilled ambiance! It can easily become the place where everyone knows name :)
In summer, you can enjoy the large terrace upstairs with beautiful views of Table Mountain (with heating for the chilly evenings) and in winter, the fire places are smoking hot. For more info: www.rickscafe.co.za

Looking for The Man???

As a teen and young adult female, we all had some strict set standards about what we wanted in a boyfriend, right?
Personally, I liked them tall, blond with blue eyes.. and well, the rest, was not so much of a worry at that time. Range of specifics that evolved with time, experience and most importantly : AVAILABILITY.
And as time goes by, availability become scarce and we feel sometimes related to the cold war!

Cold war really seems to set in just after your 30th birthday for some reason, and you suddenly realise that the only type of men that you seem to find somewhat attractive are all MARRIED! (then again those were always picked first!!) - ALL are married!

Some married men love to flaunt their wedding ring in order to send a very clear message : Only looking for a mistress, so forget the long walks on long beach on Sunday afternoons.
The others, more cheeky, remove the ring, long enough to seduce you so that they can feel that they are still in the game, and at the end of the evening, very innocently between two sentences, as if nothing : "I play golf, I am married, I love jazz and am father of two kids, and used to play guitar, was quite good at it too!"

You are thinking of throwing your G&T in his face and turn back but suddenly realise that once again, he was the only good looking, somewhat interesting dude here and usually, you had already fallen under his charm and you are already willing to take him to your hut...

In all defense, these men come with very valid and plausible excuses that allows you for a time to have faith and to get naked in the bushes; as you wish :

- We are separated but not divorced yet as the kids are going shit and already have bullying issues at school
- We are separated but not divorced yet as it is financially not viable
- We are separated but not yet divorced cuz my ex is very vulnerable right now.. ( a few to name some)

So why would you care after all? This is F-buddy situation after all and no strings attached so WTF?
But lets be honest, as all women, totally incapable to keep -  for a period of time - seeing someone and sharing intimate moments without at some point developing some form of feeling or attach...

So weeks, months and maybe years go by and he never stays overnight, you never share breakfast, he is only available between 9am and 6pm, and is never reachable over the week end - But has a million reasons, shame.. while you wait...and wait...and wait.... UNTIL that Saturday afternoon, on Clifton, where you see him, hand in hand with his pregnant wife and his two kids - what a nice family they make!

Avoid the married men at all cost, they will never leave their wife.. I mean, they might have to do their own laundry if they do! crazy thought!

So what's left out there?
- Men who love men ; these can annoy me cuz one gay couple = 2 less men available for us women
- The psychos; ie those who iron their underwear, watch chick flicks, or have kept their VHS movies
- Those who compare you to their mothers all the time
- The Dicks on leg who would bone your best friend and the farm donkey too
- Those wearing dungarees

So what do we do? Well, let me put it this way, my convo with a mate the other day
- Cat, Your guy, he is a bit of an asshole, isn't he?
- Well, yeah, but not phased, at least he is straight
- Ok but he just kicked the cat
- Yeah I know, he will probably bring it home and try to bone the dead animal, but doesn't matter, at least he is not married
- You do know he has been seen selling tik to kids outside the school, right?
- Yes, doesn't matter, at least he doesn't wear dungarees

So you look at it differently and redefine your idea of happiness...

The only problem is when you actually do find the right guy:
- Hey babe, just look at this picture and tell me what you think, ok?
- ok but honey, this is a picture of a naked man
- so do you like? does it turn you on?
- come on, you are being silly now, of course not
- and do you love your mummy?
- Honey, she is passed
- Great news, and... are you married?
- No of course not, I would have told you
- and why not?
- I suppose I never met the one
- come on, what's the real reason huh?
- huh?
- Yes, you are 35, never been married, what"s wrong with you??
- ???

And you end up looking like a crazy 30 something desperate to get hitched!

Societi Bistro Orange Street - a treat on the street

While many seems to think that the clever thing to do on a public holiday is to close (and don't get me wrong, everyone deserves a break), some more clever and service aiming are "thankfully" open!
So if and when you get tired of waiting at your gran's old cat smelling flat and if you get sick of your 5 year old niece telling you that you are old, ugly and boring or listening to your cousin asking you when you are getting married, just grab your other by the hand and take him/her to this bistro nested on Orange street for some real Holiday chilling time.

Yes I love Societi Bistro not only on any given day of the week, but particularly on those days, when everyone else goes off to their families for some bitching and moaning around a family Sunday roast. So Easter week end, also my Bday week end, I treated myself to some heart warming comfy food!

One of my favorite but too rarely enough on the menu is the Salad Lyonaise - with crispy bacon bits, fresh green leafs and a poached egg to finish it off - just the ish!!! Unfortunately, only available on some summer days.

On that particular day, I treated my buds to a chicken liver parfait, served with fresh warm toast followed by the slow-cooked lamb shank. This casserole dish is just the comforting need for all. Nothing you couldn’t have left bubbling in your oven while you lazed around your house on a public holiday.  There is nothing more rewarding than the gentle opulence of a braising joint, stock, celery and onion filling the house. 
Here at Societi it tastes and looks as if a tea spoon of a magical ingredient has been added to..maybe some tomato paste?

I ended the meal with one of my old time favorite, the creme brulée! Oh so popular all over the world and many think they have nailed the perfect one, but let me tell you that many are mistaken! Yet I rarely got disappointed by the perfectly smooth texture of Society's bistro brulée and the perfectly balanced taste yet not too overpowering vanilla just finishes my late lunch beautifully!

I promise to come back for their most mushy, yet tasty Mushroom risotto! Definitely a must have for the Veg and not so veg ones - Rice might be somewhat a tad overcooked, so for those liking the Risotto crunchy on the edge, it might be a slight disappointment, but the strong flavours will make you forget the lack of crunchiness!

The French and Italian inspired specials menu changes frequently.  Staples from the main menu change with the season with many vegetarian options.  Starters include ox tongue with potato bake, parsley and caper cream (R38); and beetroot with horseradish mayo and feta (R32).  Mains: a South African take on a salsiccia (sausage) pasta with boerewors, tomato and cream (R48 large, R74 small); aubergine fettuccine with baked ricotta, fennel seed, chilli and cherry tomato (R56, R82); a vegan lentil curry with aubergine and roti (R47); and venison bourguignon with bacon, mushroom, pearl onion, red wine and mash (R118).

They offer a great Autumn warmer menu, so do yourself a favor, even if summer is behind us and their garden might be empty, their fireplace and their friendly staff will take you to a warming delight!
 
Check out their menu for this coming season
http://societi.co.za/bistromenu/

Societi Bistro
+27 (0)21 4242 100
info@societi.co.za
50 Orange St
Gardens
Cape Town

attracting tourists back to Nature...?

In 2011 the Mail & Guardian reported on prostitutes posing as fake hunters on game farms around South Africa.

 

Prostitutes on game farms – game on

If reports of Thai prostitutes posing in game farms around the country are to be believed I’m positively excited about my next game drive. I’ve been on a few game drives before and always felt there was something missing. 
I can remember once, years ago, getting really angry at my friend when she fell asleep minutes after we entered through the main gate at Chobe Game Reserve in Botswana.
 “Sit up, dammit,” I told her, “this is costing us a fortune.” Turns out she had a point as we didn’t see much more than impala and the occasional giraffe, which is why I’m so glad that now, years later, I have the unbelievable opportunity to take her and her two kids to see a real live South African prostitute. In the wild.

We’ll have to wait for the Parks Board to get a good cull in of course. It’ll be hard to explain to the kids what an alien Thai prostitute is doing scrubbing around in Lowveld thicket, or why East Block prostitutes can be seen galloping across the planes in the Northern Cape.

As soon as I get word that they’ve cleaned up the parks I’m taking the four of us to the Kruger National to show the young ones our Fauna and Flora and Fiona in all their natural splendor.

For the first night I’ll book us into the picturesque Berg-en-Dal restcamp. From here we can explore the lower half of the park where I expect to see a lot of Port Elizabeth prostitutes; their short, stocky legs well suited to the rocky terrain. Being from the Friendly City your typical Motherwell hooker is a lot more approachable than most prostitutes and if we play our cards right we might even get close enough so the kids can stroke the prostitutes gently on their heads (this is of course against the rules, but show me the person who hasn’t got out of their car in the Kruger and I’ll show you a liar).

 From Berg-en-Dal  we’ll travel to Olifants restcamp to drive around the park’s northern region. Cape Town whores will no doubt herd together in the North. The northern part of the Kruger is very similar to the streets of Greenpoint and Sea Point with lots of open space where they can run freely without their curlers getting stuck in the bush. Cape Town hookers are very outgoing and I’m pretty sure we’ll see large herds majestically posing in the open.

On the Sunday night we’ll stay at Mopani restcamp where I’m hoping for a miracle in the Pioneer Dam area. If there is one prostitute I’d really like to show the kids, it’s the very shy, very rare lesser spotted Beaufort West highway hooker. Ironically, highway hookers tend to stay away from the road in the wild, hiding in the underbrush only presenting themselves when an 18-wheeler comes around the bend.  Already on a tight budget I doubt we’ll be able to hire a truck of that size to lure these shy specimens from the bush and will maybe have to leave our camp before dawn to catch a glimpse of them in the early morning hours when they lie on the road soaking up heat from the warm tar.

Even if we don’t get to see a highway hooker I’m sure our trip will be a memorable one to cherish for years to come. Kids don’t get out that much these days and what better way to spend a weekend than spotting prostitutes in the Kruger? If all goes well they can tell their overseas friends one day of the time they saw real live prostitutes in the wild.
And yes, we even have them walking around in the streets.

1989 and Gran Kino

1989, for me... it was the year I became a teen, 13 going on ...well 13 actually...and gosh, if you are a woman, you know what I mean when I say that 13 was... well, a roller-coaster age with Roller Skates on!! (yes, roller blades came in way after that)

1989 was the era to be a teen if you ask me!! MJ was still black, gameboys have just been released,  the very first Batman movie was released on big screen.. We were watching "saved by the bell" and could relate (apart of their pimple free faces so all wanted to be like those kids)

1989 was also the year the Berlin wall demolished and marked the end of the cold war - For me, it meant that my family members could also be reunited...

1989 was the beginning of the end of the apartheid in South Africa AND the year a UFO crashed in the Kalahari desert

1989 was a year filled with many many cool and important events and adventures, and that's is why, I am really loving the Gran Kino new Album "1989".

You can relive within its songs, the events that took place within the same melodies & rhythms that we used to dance to at parties and clubs back in the days when we were young and free! 

So if you were one of the unlucky one to have missed the concert at Alliance Française on Thursday 27th, tough one... I don't know what good reason you could possibly have, but meeting the band was actually really really cool... I wish I had more time to chat to them but as one can imagine, those guys were on a mission (secret spy stuff of course)

This album really rocks my world right now, with one of my favorite song being "Microwaves and Dishwashers" which you can listen to here.. and "I love tennis" - Video here

Short interview with the band to follow soon soon!!! keep you posted and happy listening!!!