Sudafrikah

Vietnam is to Spring roll
China is to Dumpling
South Africa is to:

A. Biltong
B. Warthog paté
C. Simba Crisps – Mrs. Balls Chutney Flavour
D. Bobotie
E. All of the above

My recent journey to South Africa brought me face-to-face with a number of spectacular (male lion), humbling (Cape Town Township), unusual (game meat patés), breathtaking (Table Mountain), and mouth-watering (Malva Pudding) things.

There were certainly moments I questioned my sanity before tucking in – what the Kwa-Mibili lodge lacked in the food department they made up for in personable service and amazing game drives. However, RL and I made up for lost eating in Franschhoek and Cape Town. With both Asian, European and African food on hand, we were spoilt for choice.

Franschhoek brought RL and I face-to-face with our first bobotie, a South African dish consisting of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. Franschhoek, known as the “gourmet capital of South Africa” was high on my list of places to visit. The highlight was the restaurant Kalfi's - specifically the bobotie, the pineapple and fresh olive salad, and the Malva pudding (an apricot cake served with hot custard).

Kalfi’s is the spot in Franschhoek that you don’t read about in guide books nor gets recommended as one of the town’s “hotspots”. It’s the “Cheers” tavern – the local hangout where literally everybody knows your name. Case in point, on our first night there the owner was over at our table – talking to us about plans for his next vacation. The atmosphere was relaxed, the food perfect, and the wine local and cheap. For two travellers a long way from home, it couldn’t have been more ideal.

Now if Kalfi’s is like Cheers then neighbouring Reuben’s is meant to be The French Laundry, complete with hard to book tables, celebrity chef and cookbooks for sale. Highly recommended by friends and travel guides alike, we’d managed to score a reservation for our second night in Franschhoek.

In a word, poo. Reuben’s was overpriced and over hyped. Ta’boot the service was slow and staff were rude. I mean really, you want me to kiss your @ss just because you work at Reuben’s? No thanks franks, I’m not impressed.

Another highlight of our eats in Franschhoek was lunch at La Petite Ferme. It helped that we had just finished a half day wine tour and La Petite Ferme also doubles as a vineyard. RL was spoilt for choice with a number of game options finally deciding to go the ostrich steak route. Personally I think I chose the front runner with a fig and pork burger served with a beetroot chutney and crispy pancetta.

Off to Cape Town we went, borrowing from a recent New York Times article we found ourselves at Noordhoek's finest, the Foodbarn, soaking up the sunshine and being served lunch by the adorable Ben. At a cheap R190 ($19 or £13) we gobbled up 3 courses and a carafe of wine each. On my menu:

1. Spicy prawn “pastille” served atop curried lentil tian, finished with raita and cardamom oil
2. Veal “paillarde” minute fried, served with a butternut & pine nut risotto, finished with a creamy garlic sauce & drops of cinnamon oil
And the pièce de résistance …
3. Sliced Chocolate and almond biscuit Yule log, served with toffee & vanilla sauce, finished with homemade hazelnut ice cream (I really don’t get the whole Yule log thing in March, but it worked so I forgive)

Of course none of this fabulous food was African inspired so RL and I made a few extra excursions for our daily bobotie fix, most notably at the Africa Café. While touristy in nature (and intention) we were able to eat our way around the great continent – covering off about half a dozen African countries and sampling a host of interesting dishes such as:

1. Tapioca bread baked with cheese and yogurt (fried cheese bread, delicious)
2. Spinach and mealie meal patties
3. Botswana Seswaa Masala (a game curry)
4. Mozambican piri piri dip (oh the joy of watching RL take a whole hunka in his mouth in one fell swoop…this alone was worth the price of dinner)

With the credit crunch in full effect I won't be heading back to South Africa in the near future. Luckily with my friend google in hand I've managed to score some sweet Bobotie and Malva Pudding recipes. If Dana can't get to the Bobotie, let the Bobotie come to Dana.