Monthly Archives: March 2012

I finally declare war on all the Lindt bunnies

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Easter is a really really tough time for me.  I’m a chocoholic to the core who’s been known to even steal candy from babies…  I’m not proud of it.  But I can’t help myself!  Every year as Easter rolls by, I really do try to be good, I try to say no and I feel so much shame for wanting to rub all those delicious choccie treats all over my face and slowly inhale their intoxicating scents…

A few years back I totally went off the rails.  I had so many of those hard white easter eggs that I actually chipped my tooth and had to go to the dentist who gave me a looooooong speach and then took all my money.  I hate dentists.  But did that scare me enough to cut down?  No.  I’m still the person you’ll see driving around the whole of Easter Sunday, trying to buy up every remaining eggy or bunny… with total desparation all over my face and tears in my eyes.  It’s pretty damn sad.

This year I have been trying to avoid major grocery stores since about mid Jan (YES, that’s how early they start packing out all the Easter stuff!) and I’ve been focusing on rather filling that gaping whole in my soul with online clothing purchases.  It worked for a while, but eventually I ran out of basic supplies and so last week I had to finally pop into a Pick ‘n Pay.  It was here where I stumbled upon the totally evil Lindt bunny display…

This year the people at Lindt have gone all out to draw you in with over-the-top cutesy things.  I now HATE the people at Lindt as well.  Just check this out:

Aaaah a Lindt bunny family - with babies and all... so gawd damn cute... aarggghh

AND this…

Ooooooh kissing bunnies... how could you resist!?

AND even this!

It's like an army of bunnies, lead by the big fat one in the front... here to kill your waistline and empty your wallet!!!

I was like, right… this is war!  These bunnies must go down…  I decided to take some of them captive to teach them a lesson.

Here are my first two captives... quivering in their furry boots...

Now simply eating them would be waaaaay to easy right.  So I decided I would go for a slow torture process, and even worse, I would make the other bunny watch.  Yes my pretties, that’s how truly twisted I can be. ;)

Oh no... what's happening to your little friend!? hehe

It's getting worse!!! He's ass is hangin out! hehehehe

I can’t show you the rest of the pictures as they are too gruesome for WordPress to handle…  In the end, all that was left was their little bells…  which according to the ad on TV is very special to them:

Ag shame... Mwhahahahahahaha

It felt good.  Like R-E-A-L-L-Y good.  I figure I’m now going to slowly work my way through all of the bunnies I can get my hands on.   Just cause I can.  Watch your backs my chocolaty friends, I’m coming to a store near you… soon… very very soon… :)

xxx

Great sushi in the “burbs”

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To celebrate my friend Joe’s bday, we headed out to the “burbs” to his uncle’s sushi place in Plattekloof Rd.

Bluefin is in the Plattekloof Village (on the cnr of Baronetcy Blvd) and does some really tasty & inventive seafood and sushi options.

I really loved the crisp, modern decor which gives it a very elegant feel:

I didn’t take down prices because it turned out that the birthday boy was sticking us for an amazing meal.  So apologies for that – but what I can say is that as I quickly squizzed through the menu I thought the prices were very reasonable.

Here are some piccies of the food to tempt your tastebuds:

Rainbow roll

Tuna crunch roll (this was especially awesome!)

The rice was the perfect stickiness, the fish was incredibly fresh and the flavours really popped.  I had a BIG sushi happiness smile on my face.  Oooh, and also check out the kick ass cake they organised for the special occasion:

Mmmmmm... it was so fluffy and creamy... like a little piece of heaven on a plate...

My Miss K Kiss-o-Meter rating for Bluefin would be:

I’d say if you’re in the northern suburbs for whatever reason and you’ve got a big sushi craving, this is a really good bet.

xxx

Girls night out

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So as I told you guys in my previous post – I was put in charge or organising my friend Lucy’s bachelorette celebrations.

After the success of part 1 (the pamper party), we had a short break to line our stomachs.  For this there is obviously only one option – Steers!  Gawd I love Steers.  You’ll often find me in my car basically inhaling a packet of their chips – it’s my favourite guilty pleasure.  Add a cheese burger & a Cream Soda and you also have the perfect hangover fix.  Trust me on this one.

After getting all spruced up back at mine, we hopped into a taxi and headed over to Camps Bay for stop nr 1 for the evening: Sapphire Coctail Bar.

So pretty...

Sapphire was one of only a few places that didn’t require a crazy minimum bar spend or a food order to book a table.  And for only R450, there was a bottle of Vodka with various mixers waiting for us on our table. These guys were so helpful & friendly and for that I will definitely support them again.

Some of the gals: Tatum, Sabeen, Lucy (the bride to be) and moi

Now obviously what happens on a hen’s night stays top secret… kinda like that “what happens on tour, stays on tour” saying.  So I can’t divulge too much for the fear of being “taken out”.  But what I can say is that the caramel vodka shots flowed…

Blegh... just looking at this pic make me feel ill all over again! hehe

And we got Lucy to work those beautiful blue eyes of hers to collect money to fund the rest of our evening out. :)

That R20 was only the beginnning... she did VERY well, even scoring a $20 note as part of her money stash.

At around 11pm we moved upstairs to St Yves.  I had emailed them beforehand and they were awesome enough to put us all on the guest list.  That meant we saved on the entrance fee.  Sweet!

The VIP bar area. Don't be fooled by the emptiness in this shot, by midnight the place was packed. Capetonians are known for arriving fabulously late of course...

Here we decided to mix things up with some new shots (well half newish, it still contained that damn caramel vodka stuff):

Apparently this is called a Bar-One: half chocolate vodka and half caramel vodka. And yes, it does taste as sickeningly sweet as it sounds... eerggghh.

I was fascinated by some of the images on the walls.  I kept joking that this girl below on the right is exactly what I look like when I wake up in the morning:

Of course, that's like totally me at 8am... it could happen... in some alternate universe or something...

More money collecting continued and we did quite well as the place was packed with foreigners, including some very friendly Canadians and also a group of fun Austrians who were in town to shoot some big fancy ad.  A  huge thanks to all of them for letting us invade their space for the evening.  They were great sports.

There’s only one more picture that’s safe enough to share, cause I had the sense to take one more shot of Dani & I looking “fresh” before our imminent downward spiral…

Ah, we look so innocent... Mwhahahahaha

The rest of the pictures will be kept in a safe place… never to be seen by our significant others… never to be tagged on Facebook… and never to be spoken about ever again. ;)

Oh btw – Lucy’s tiara, pink “bride to be” tie and “bad girl” garter (not seen above for obvious reasons) are all from King Cake in Gardens – my # 1 stop for any party & dress up related needs.  I also got these super cheesy (but fun nonetheless) “dare cards” which had a pretty good entertainment value.

All ‘n all, it was an awesome night out with my girls.  Yes, we suffered the next day, BIG TIME.  But dammit, it was worth it.   Evenings like these are good for the soul.

xxx

Pamper party bliss

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The past few months I’ve been on bridesmaid duty.  When my dear friend, Lucy first asked me to be one of her bridesmaids, I was nervous… like REALLY nervous.  I mean, I know absolutely nothing about weddings!  But luckily, thanks to Luce’s amazing organising skills and bubbly personality, helping out has been such a breeze…

My major responsibility was to put together the bachelorette celebrations.  Lucy being both a fabulous lady and a mean party girl, I decided to do it in 2 parts:

  1. An afternoon pamper party
  2. A night out on the town

For part 1 – the lovely ReyJeane from ReyJeane Salon & Spa in Mouille Point hooked me up by offering us her gorgeous salon for the afternoon.

Pretty chandeliers, velvet seating, great view…

A fresh, modern look and super friendly therapists all ensured that everyone was very happy.

The ladies attending got to choose between a mini mani, a mini pedi or a luxurious hair treatment & blowdry.  Or hey, even all 3 if your heart so desired – which is exactly what we organised for our “bride to be” to ensure she got the full pamper experience.

Just look at the seriously cute pedi stations!

I only had to bring in my own champers, because food wise they also had us totally covered with decadent French snacks from Cédric, a French pastry chef who shares part of the premises with ReyJeane.

Large quiche (R250), macarons in various flavours (R5.50 each) and white & milk chocolate mini eclairs (R6 each).

All the food went down like a treat.  I really couldn’t believe the amazing quality taking the prices into account.  Normally regte egte French goodies like these would set you back way more.

Then this has nothing to do with anything, but there was a lady in the store that had the cutest ugly doggie!  (I loooooove ugly doggies – the uglier they are, the more I want to cuddle them)

He’s like: Come down here so I can give you a kiss baby… if only I wasn’t allergic… sigh…

The pamper party was a great success.  We all left there looking beautiful and ready for the big night ahead.  A huge thanks to ReyJeane and her ladies & gents for letting us take over the place for the afternoon.  And also to Cédric for the amazing food.

I would highly recommend this to any other bridesmaids out there who are stuck with ideas.  Or even if you just want to organise a bit of a girls get-together.  Every girl can do with more pampering right. :)

xxx

PS.  I’ll tell you all about “part 2″ in my next post.

A hot Fri night at the V&A

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The V&A Waterfront is one of my favourite places in Cape Town. It’s got the best shops, there are lots of awesome food options and most importantly it’s filled with tourists all year round which kinda makes you feel like you’re in a different country.  Being a restless soul who gets quite depressed if I don’t get to explore abroad regularly, being surrounded by foreigners gives me a certain level of calm.  I know, I’m weird.  At night though, it gets even better.  The lights switch on and it gets quite a magical feel… Love it.

This past Friday eve I headed over there to celebrate my darling Dani turning one year older (and wiser and hotter and more successful – seriously, this chick is starting to annoy me ;) ).

She chose the Alba Lounge for the celebration, but before ending up there, I got distracted by all the lights on route from the parking garage and had to stop to take some piccies first:

So damn pretty!

The Alba Lounge was the spot for bday celebrations when it first opened.  But for some reason it’s popularity fizzled out after a while.  Don’t know why really – probably just because Capetonians are mostly quite fickle and always on the search for the “next big thing”…  I personally blame that culture on all the gawd damn hipsters! hehe

But I’m glad Dani decided to take us back there, because I had forgotten what a cool venue it actually is.

The main bar & seating area.

Room typically used for private functions - to your left as you come in.

Just FYI – the outside deck area also has a pretty kick ass view and it’s a really nice spot to chill during the day while enjoying some yummy tapas and a killer cocktail.

One of the peeps I got to catch up with was my friend Brent.  He’s been living in Singapore for the past few years, but is back in town for the moment.  I had this strange “OMG, you look just like Robert Downey Jr!!” moment.  That’s something I never picked up on before.  But then again, I get criticized A LOT for not noticing things.  For example – standing at the water cooler, discussing why a certain colleague hadn’t made it into work… Me: “Why?”  Other guy:  “Well because he lives in Vredehoek, right up against the mountain and they were evacuated last night due to the fire.”  Me:  “OMG, there was a fire on Table Mountain last night!?!”  Other guy:  “DUH, isn’t your bloody flat like straight on mountain facing!?!”   Me: “Um… no…” Other guy: “You’ve shown me pictures of your view dammit!”  Me: **looks at watch** “Oh crap, I’m late for a meeting…”  **exits swiftly**

Anyways, I digress…  Just check out the resemblance:

Brent's like a younger version of Robert Downey JR! I'm likely going to be stalking him from now on...

The birthday girl was looking hot in a grey and black number picked out by her husband who also happens to be her stylist and personal shopper.  Love that boy!

Moi, the birthday girl and lovely Louise

I also got to catch up with my “neighbour”, Kim – she & her hubby moved into the other side of my building towards the end of last year.  We live on the same floor, YET we never bloody see each other!  What’s up with that biatch!?

Giving Kim the cold shoulder here... until I get an invite to dinner ** hint hint **

I’m clearly I’m in the wrong as well.  But I don’t ever have food at my place (cause I can’t cook and I basically live on junk), therefore my place isn’t quite “guest friendly”.  Kim on the other hand is an amazing cook…  I do however have lots of wine & hard liquor at my place (in case of emergencies), so I think the only way to resolve this is to have pre-drinks at mine and then starters, main & dessert at theirs.  Sounds totally fair.  Right? ;)

By 11pm Alba Lounge was packed and the dance floor was definitely were it was at…

As the shooters flowed, the dancing became quite “interesting” to say the least.  I saw some things that can NEVER be unseen and my friends are lucky I love them to bits and decided not to take photos.  Or maybe I did… and now I’m just keeping it as blackmail… only time will tell.  I had a big day the next day, so that meant for once I wasn’t the one doing stuff that would end up as good blackmail material… ha losers!  It’s quite fun to be in the power seat.  Mwhahahahaha…

Thanks to Dani for an awesome night.  And Alba Lounge:  Good to see you guys again.

xxx

Birds Boutique is just plain lovely

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The other day I had a great lunch session with my gorgeous friend, Lucy.  The goal was to catch up and take a bit of a breather from her hectic final bit of organising for her upcoming wedding.

As I know that weddings can be crazy stressful, I chose Birds Boutique Cafe in Bree St for the occasion as it just always looked so serene from the outside…  (and OK I was totally suckered by the hearts on the outer wall & the thought of cute birdies everywhere) ;)

You’ll find Birds Boutique right next to Clarke’s and across the road from &Union.  It is a seriously pretty spot with lots of natural food furnishings and clever recycled decor elements:

My absolute favourite detail was the soft pink swan salt & pepper set which was just too cute for words:

It’s actually from the Milnerton market – something which I’ve always turned my nose up to.  But now I might just go check it out…

To drink I opted for some freshly squeezed pineapple juice (R18), served with love.  Aaaaaah.

And to eat, Lucy had a grilled chicken sandwich with nice chunky chips (R45):

And I had the quiche of the day with a fresh side salad (also R45):

Deceptively simple meals, but packed with flavour.  My quiche was truly one of the best I’ve had in a very long time and Lucy was very happy with her tasty sandwich as well.   Price wise I would say it’s pretty good for inner city cafe dining and the service was also friendly & easy.

My Miss K Kiss-o-Meter rating for Birds Boutique would be:

They are open Mon to Fri from 7am to 6pm and Sat from 8am to 2pm serving hearty breakfasts and lunches.  I’m planning on going back to try their chocolate & cherry scones which someone only told me about afterwards.  Apparently they are insane, so can’t miss out on that one.

xxx

Elmo has a new BFF

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WARNING:  This is a totally random and very cutesy post.

So my Elmo has found a new BFF.  His name is Kevin and they love each other to bits.  Check it out:

Aaaaahhhhh...

Come on, that at least gave you half a smile… or maybe a tiny internalised giggle?

Being an “adult” with a job, bond pmts, bills and responsibilities can get a bit much at times.  So I like to channel my inner child to remind myself that it’s actually the small things in life which still make me smile… ;)

xxx

Cupcakes & art – a perfect match

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Last Thu eve I popped into T’Art – Tasteful Art in Loop St for an evening of sweet treats and photographic art.  T’Art is a gorgeous little cake shop specialising in delicious, one of a kind cakes creations by the gorgeous Kim Maccallum who is not only an internationally qualified pastry chef but also comes from a graphic design background which seems to give her a bit of an edge when it comes to designing something really special.  Check out some of her amazing work:

One of the first things I did as I walked in was grab one of these cute little red velvet cupcakes on offer.

Mmmmmmm… look at that vibrant colour. So yum.

With my sugar fix sorted, I grabbed a glass of wine and started saying hello.  Here I am with T’Art ower, Kim, and my girls Clouds and Leigh.

But the evening was not just about us getting to enjoy amazing cupcakes and mingling, it was also to showcase the photographic work of Jaco Herbst.  Jaco hails from Pretoria but he says his photography has taken him to lots of wonderful places already.  To him photography is all about telling a story and it’s important to build a trust relationship with your subject.  He has no formal training – instead he relies on his natural eye for composition and his self taught use of light to create mood and shapes.  He also doesn’t believe in doing retouching to his images as he wants the true beauty to shine through.

With Jaco

I really loved the black & white nudes he did for a calendar shoot to raise money for the CANSA association:

Shot in Lüderitz, Namibia

As well as a collection of photographs he took in Zanzibar:

And this beautiful shot taken in Buffelsbaai in the Western Cape:

I was also really drawn to a shot he took in Kolmanskop – a ghost town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia.  I think it was mainly because I’ve always had a strong fascination with Kolmanskop.  It was once a small yet very rich mining village, but the town was deserted in 1954 after the diamond-field had been totally exhausted.   Left to the mercy of the harsh  desert conditions it means that today one can walk through the old mansions knee-deep in sand.  It just seems so mysterious and interesting… would love to still see it for myself.

Kim then surprised us with yet another tray of goodies.  I really don’t understand how someone who works with cake all day can still have such a rockin’ body.  If that was me I’d be the size of a house without a doubt. ;)

I have to show you a close up of one of her mini carrot cakes:

Almost too pretty to eat… well almost…

I also got to chat to Kim’s mom, Carol, who owns Just Skin Aesthetic Clinic in Green Point.   Carol’s clinic specialises in skin rejuvenation and you can see that this lady looks after herself incredibly well.  She looks amazing.  Definitely someone to keep on your speed dial…

The gorgeous Carol from Just Skin.

Other lovelies on the scene were Elrico from Luxo blog (a hot new fashion blog to keep your eye on) and his sweetheart girlfriend, Ritza:

Ritza btw was wearing for realz Christian Louboutin shoes – I was sooooo envious.

Thanks so much to Kim for inviting us to be part of this fun evening and also to Jaco for sharing his beautiful work with us.  This definitely beat going to gym and then vegging on my couch… my usual “fabulous” Thu eve routine. :)

xxx

Spice things up at the Eastern Food Bazaar

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Back when I was lucky enough to be working in town, I used to be a regular at the Eastern Food Bazaar – an amazing food experience that’s quite hard to explain in words.  It’s one of those places you really just have to experience for yourself to fully “get it”.  So upon realising that some of my friends had not yet been, we got a big group together to get our curry on.

It’s located in the old Wellington Fruit Growers Market Building and it stretches an entire city block between Longmarket & Darling streets.  The main entrance is on the Longmarket side at number 96.  But you can also enter from the Darling side.

Doesn't look like much from the outside... but don't let that put you off in any way.

Once inside, you quickly realise that this is quite a special place.  It transports you right out of good ol’ SA and straight into an exotic eastern location with dark wood furnishings, beautifully hand carved wooden doors & entrance ways and other fun touches.

Food wise you can pretty much have anything your heart desires, and even better,  it’s at super low prices you won’t believe.  The menus cover cuisine from all over India and then also some Turkish & Chinese options and even pizza (but with an eastern twist of course).

I won’t lie – it does get somewhat overwhelming trying to decide what to go for.  But at least there are also menus with pictures so you can see what the different dishes look like.  And if that still doesn’t help, just take a slow walk past the various food stalls and take in a good whiff.  I guarantee you something will grab your attention.

After much deliberation, I opted for a Chicken Kathi Roll – an Indian omelette with chicken rolled in a roti served with chips & salad:

Can you believe I got all of this for only R30! A kathi roll is an Indian street food which originated in Kolkata (just so you know).

The prices really are crazy good.  A butter chicken & rice for example will only set you back R35.  And check out this naan bread Leigh got for only R9!

Those little tubs of sauces are all for FREE.  They have a little station where you can simply go wild.  The chunky green one is a VERY hot chilli.  The smooth green one & the white one are both free of any burn.  And the red one (my favourite) has a nice bite without leaving you wanting to glug down liters of milk.

It’s quite hot downstairs, to me it just adds to the charm really, but we opted to sit in the upstairs dining area which was a little cooler and actually quite pretty:

Our table looked like a regte egte Indian feast – with happy faces chowing down on a variety of delicious curries and snacks…

I couldn’t even finish mine. It was way too filling.  But Bjorn really appreciated the doggy bag I took home. :)

If however you do manage to finish all your food and you still have a craving for something sweet,  you can opt for some yummy ice cream to finish off your meal:

That mango one in the front looked very inviting...

There are just some important things to take note off:

  • Self service is the lay of the land here.  Order & pay at one of the cashiers (don’t forget something to drink), then take your slip to the appropriate food stand.  Before you sit down, pick up some cutlery, napkins & condiments and then you’re good to go.
  • It’s a 100% Halaal spot.  So alcohol is neither served or allowed on the premises.
  • They are open Mon – Sat 9am to 11pm & Sun 9am to 10pm.

For authenticity, variety, insane value for money and a pretty unique dining experience, the Eastern Food Bazaar gets a Miss K Kiss-o-Meter rating of:

xxx

A cute little bistro on Rose

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On a recent “date night”, B and I decided to try out a little spot he’d had his eye on for a while.  I’ts called Bistro on Rose and it is situated in the pretty Bo Kaap area.

You can’t really see the restaurant from the road, only their sign.  But you go up a quick flight of stairs, then through some glass doors, then up another quick flight of stairs and ta da!, you have arrived.  I loved the bright colours, the quirky South African touches and the “outside” area which is kitted out with faux grass and some fun street lights.

For starters B and I shared the Trio of samoosas with Malay onion relish (R45) and the Salt & pepper calamari with lemon garlic mayonnaise (R40):

The 3 samoosa fillings were prawn… and something tasty… and then some other tasty thing. :)   OK OK, I can’t remember.  All I know is that I basically inhaled them and was slightly miffed that I had to actually share them.   The calamari was pretty damn good as well, in fact it came very very close to the Fugu Patagonian calamari which is my current first love.

For mains I just loved the sound of the gourmet chicken burger (R55) – chicken breast with crispy bacon, grilled Camembert, red onion & cranberry relish.   Mmmmm, doesn’t that sound absolutely evil?  The actual product did not disappoint either.  Check it out:

B went for the gourmet Fish & Chips (R70) – line-fish with pea puree and homemade tartare sauce.  But he was in a bit of a health conscious vibe (clearly, based on the pic above, you can see I was not), so he opted to have the fish grilled and served with some veggies instead of the normal starch side options.

Health on a plate. Btw - the pea puree is not in the shot - comes on the side, but it was really yum (dipped some of my chips in it cause I'm classy like that).

The food was great.  The service was friendly.  But the weird thing was that we were the only people there.  After chatting to the owner (who is absolutely lovely) it seems they get a pretty good day trade from the people in the offices in the same building and in the surrounding area.  Then on Friday’s from 4pm – 7pm they have half price cocktails, so it becomes a bit of an after work hot spot.  But it seems to me that it’s just a bit of a hidden gem with regards to a casual, yet sophisticated dinner experience…  This is why I felt I just had to spread the word. :)

My Miss K Kiss-o-Meter rating for Bistro on Rose would be:

B and I have signed up for the Bistro on Rose loyalty card which means we’ll get 10% off every future bill PLUS we’ll get informed of any special offers or events.  Being originally a PE girl, I LOVE a good deal.  So yeah, they’ll definitely be seeing us again.

xxx