Monday 28 May 2012

With Love From South Africa: Food Adventures - Final Part ......And a Giveaway

The hotel where we stayed had an 'exclusive' italian restaurant called Piccolo Mondo which looked so amazing - the decor was so so regal but reservations were required. A day before we left South Africa, we finally got a chance to have dinner there. We started out by ordering a chopped salad and after 30 minutes of waiting, we got this which was a greek salad instead which was nowhere on the menu. Should have been a sign of things to come but we soldiered on;

We then got a palate cleansing sorbet - i tasted mint and some passion fruit. We washed the palate cleansing sorbet down with water

45 minutes later, we got our main courses. At this point, we were irritated and hungry. Hubby had a good old fashioned spaghetti bolognese. Spaghetti bolognese is a staple in Italian cuisine and every italian restaurant worth its salt should be able to breeze through this right? Wrong. The dish was cold, overly tomatoey and no flavour at all. It was promptly sent back.
 



I had a braised lamb shank topped with foie gras on a bed of roasted vegetables and a side of potatoes. *sigh* Sounds nice right? The best thing on this plate was the foie gras. The lamb while pull apart tender was overwhelmed by the red wine and fresh thyme used to braise it. The roasted vegetables had lost all their crunch and the potatoes were stone cold. 

We left very very very disappointed.


For our last night in Johannesburg, we had dinner at Montego Bay - a seafood restaurant that a few people recommended. Hubby started  with bacon wrapped scallops which came with an asian slaw. Of course i tasted this dish. Succulent sweet fresh scallops wrapped with apple smoked bacon - delish. The asian slaw was a mix of regular cabbage and bitter red cabbage and crispy green beans with a peanut dressing. Goodness me. Delicious.


My starter was Moules Meuniere. While it was tasty it was the strangest Moules Meuniere i have ever had. What i am used to is a wine based thin broth with the fresh mussels. This was a cream based sauce which while tasty wasnt what i wanted. So i ate my mussels while gazing longingly at hubby's starter. I offered him a taste of mine and he took a small taste and wrinkled his nose and went back to his. I respected myself and faced my plate jejely


We had the same main course - succulent garlicky prawns which came with chips and rice. Talk about carb overload. We ignored the carbs and had way too much fun beheading the prawns and playing with the shells and acting out scenes from movies including making voices (don't ask). It was yummy but i think since we were having so much fun being silly, it tasted even better.



I would love to read about the most memorable meal you have ever had anywhere - the first 2 stories get a jar of Uzo's All Purpose Spice Mix  - my fabulous blend that took about a year to get right and which i am so so proud of.

3 comments:

  1. Such a shame about the Piccolo Mondo place - it sucks when an expensive, exclusive place serves subpar food. The food at Montego Bay sounds and looks very tasty, and I love the bit about the fun you and your hubby had with the prawns - one of the best things about sharing a meal with loved ones is the conversation and laughter. Love it.
    I have had quite a few memorable meals (good and bad) - from a gross pasta carbonara with bits of fat masquerading as bacon, to my first Mongolian barbeque experience (loved it). Incidentally, one of my most memorable meals (in a very creepy way!) was one you were present at - remember that very weird hotel in Jaipur - Swati or something? We went down for dinner and first off, there was no one else eating there. To top it off, the food was awful and the waiters were standing around and staring spookily at us *shudder*. Luckily we were able to wipe out that awful memory with a couple of dinners at Gaylord's in Mumbai - silly name but yummy food. Good times!

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  2. Ogoooooo. Memories oh. That restaurant in Jaipur was super weird. If we were in America, I would have though serial killers. But Gaylord's was so fun and bright. So let me know when you are in Lagos again so I can get a jar of all purpose spice to you. I bet it will work wonder in THAT PlKACE :-)

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