Tag Archives: Blakes Bar

Friday night bday fun

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On Fri eve we celebrated the birthday of a gorgeous lady by the name of Kim.  To kick off the festivities we lined our stomachs with some Mexican food at El Burro.  Here I finally sampled the much talked about Cerviche starter:

FINELY DICED FRESH LINE FISH MARINATED IN LIME JUICE, SERRANO CHILLIES, GINGER & CORIANDER (R56)

If you are a regular reader, you might now that I have visited El Burro before and wasn’t really blown away by the food (you can check out that post here), but I loved the spot otherwise because of it’s fun vibe.  After that first visit everyone was like “Ja, but it’s because you didn’t have the bloody cherviche dumbass!” – so needless to say there was no way I wasn’t going to leave there this time round without giving it a bash.

A spicy treat. Hmmmm.

I’m glad I did, because it is pretty damn tasty.  I especially liked the fact that it didn’t taste “fishy” in any way.  As for the mains, I stil feel the menu is very hit-or-miss.  The quesadillas for example are good, but the build your own chicken tacos is incredibly bland.  I like my Mexican food to pack a punch.  Make me sweat a little people – I like it. ;)

After dinner activities included doing unmentionable things to this little guy:

So so sorry little buddy...

And then I can’t really explain this pic, but it makes me smile, so of course it had to be included in the mix:

Then we headed over to Blakes Bar for a bit of dancin’ and general naughtiness. DJ extraordinaire, Sean Westcott, was churning out some slick old school tunes – I love that, much easier to get your dance on. :)

Some seriously slick moves... well OK, maybe not so much...

Love this one: Move back people, Fabes is feelin' the beat in the City of Sin

The bday girl!

An all girl club sandwich, yeah baby.

** Party piccies courtesy of Kim’s hubbie, Emile **

It was an awesome summer’s evening in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with some amazing people.  The perfect way to kick off your weekend.   Here’s hoping everyone else had a great Fri eve too!

xxx

Riebeek Kasteel getaway

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Remember that VIP Membership Card the lovely people at Blakes Bar gifted me a few weeks back?  One of the perks was a free weeknight stay at a guesthouse in Riebeek Kasteel.  I absolutely love getaways, so I jumped at the chance to take them up on this amazing offer.

I had a spare leave day left over from some overtime I did towards the end of last year, so I decided to take last Friday off and we booked into Old Oak Manor for the Thursday eve.

It took us just over an hour to get there.  According to Google Maps the exact distance was only 77km, but we were heading out in peak traffic and I also managed to get us lost once or twice. (Shoulda gone the GPS route from the get go – but tried to be a smarty pants)  Also it seemed that every damn truck in South Africa headed out at exactly the same time as we did…  aaarrrggghh.

The drive there didn’t have too much scenery – it was pretty much dull, brown fields all the way.  So that made us a bit nervous.  But then as we turned into the Riebeek Valley we were welcomed by beautiful green fields, lots of vineyards and stunning Cape Dutch buildings.  It was like entering into a different world. 

Old Oak Manor is situated on the Main Road as you enter Riebeek Kasteel, on the left hand side of the road.  It’s one of those gorgeous Cape Dutch buildings with a pretty stone courtyard in the middle, the guesthouse to the left and the restaurant, Cafe Felix, to the right.   The staff were very friendly and welcoming and I knew instantly that this was going to be a great stay.

I absolutely loved our room.  It had a French cottage feel to it, but with added quirky elements to still give it lots of SA-inspired oomph:

The thing that had me most excited though was the Victorian bath in the on-suite bathroom:

Ah... every girl's dream...

Bjorn totally didn’t get it.  I was like “Of course you don’t get it.  You’re a boy and boys are stupid.” ;)   Luckily there was also a big shower to keep him happy.

Our room, the Julius room, had direct access to the pool:

Ta da!

Which was awesome, because it was a piping hot day and we chilled in there for about an hour before dinner.  The water was that perfect cool temperature – enough to be refreshing, but not too cold that you can only stick your pinky toe in.

We also had a mini stoep area outside our room, with a cute little table and chairs where one could chill and soak up some sun:

Inside, the communal dining room area of the guesthouse had me very intrigued.  The best way I can describe the decor is:  Afrikaans-Meets-Avant-Garde.  I’ll show you what I mean:

Sure, that’s not going to be everyone’s taste.  But I personally loved it.  The more unusual & fun, the better in my books.  I mean come on, what’s life without a bit of over the top flair.

Just after 8pm we crossed the little courtyard, over to the restaurant for some fine dining, country style.  Cafe Felix is bursting with charm with a lovely inside dining area and an equally impressive outdoor area where you can gaze at the stars.

We decided to have our dinner in the garden setting – cause you don’t really get to do that all the time.

To drink I tried some Kloovenburg Chardonnay which was beautiful.  The Kloovenberg wine estate is also situated in the Riebeek Valley and they produce quite an impressive list of wines including: Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Rosé.   I’ll definitely be keeping a lookout for more of their wines back in Cape Town.

For starters, Bjorn had the Oven roasted beetroot, goats cheese & pine nut tartlet with pickled cucumber and a balsamic reduction (R55):

This was so yum! Best starter out of the two.

And I went for the Tempura Tom Yum prawns with a sweet soya reduction & julienned peppers (R55):

Also delicious...

Then for mains, Bjorn had the slow roasted pork belly with plum chutney, pommes anna (that’s French for sliced, layered potatoes), veg & red wine jus (R110):

I think we were both drawn in by that plum chutney which sounded just amazing...

And I opted for (by now you should know that there’s a big piece of meat on the way. hehe) the beef fillet with pommes anna, veg & green peppercorn jus (R125):

My fillet definitely won the prize for best main. That meat was so tender and tasty. Was like heaven on a plate.

The food & service was top class for sure and we left each sporting a new little pot belly of happiness. :)

Breakfast the next morning was really great as well.  We got fresh orange juice, coffee/tea, and then I had some scrambled egg with smoked salmon & cream cheese on toast and Bjorn had scrambled egg with brie cheese & roasted tomatoes.  Yum!  I wish every morning started out like that…

I have to say a HUGE thank you to Malcolm and his team for making us feel so incredily welcome.  We truly loved every minute and we really wanted to stay a 2nd night, but then we unfortunately had to get back into town on Friday.  Another thank you goes to David at Blakes for sorting out the reservation for me.

Hopefully I will get a chance to go back to the beautiful Riebeek Valley again soon.  It’s a really special place.

xxx

Aaaaarrggghhh…

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What’s worse than waking up with an “OMG I want to die” hangover?  Realising that your camera you had with you the night before is missing…  Yup, that was my morning. :(

So this means I can’t show you guys any of the cool stuff from the Voyeur party I attended at Blakes Bar last night…  You’ll just have to use your imaginations now…  sorry!

This was actually the 2nd Voyeur party Blakes has hosted.  The 1st one happened back in July and for some reason I can’t recall now, I wasn’t able to attend that one.  But then David, the owner, was awesome enough to offer me a spot on the guest list for me + 3 friends. Woohoo!  He also promised some free drinks & snacks and a hot burlesque show.   How could I turn down an offer like that right? ;)

Now I was told to be there at 7pm sharp as the burlesque show would be starting at 7:30pm.  And being an ex PE girl – if I’m told to be somewhere at a specific time, I’m there.  I don’t do the Capetonian thing and arrive 2 hours later.  Problem was that they seemed to be running way behind schedule.  So we actually ended up sitting around not sure of what’s going on for quite some time.  Things only really kicked off around 9pm in the end.  So yeah… that was a bit annoying…  and I was very close to leaving…

Luckily things picked up just in time.  A Bacardi rep first showed us how to make Cuba Libres – Bacardi Rum, Coke & lime.  It sounds really simple – but trust me, its really cool.   He told us “you want to be rimming the glass with the lime as well”… We had to giggle… he said rimming! haha.  (If you don’t know what that is, google it.)  We got a bottle of Bacardi for the table – just had to buy our own mixers – and then out came some snacks. Loved the mini burgers!  Why is it that mini anything just always seems so much cooler? :)

Then this cute girl dressed in a hot sailor outfit came out and did a very naughty burlesque act.   Very very hot…  The 2nd burlesque dancer stepped up the game by doing this routine with feather fans – cleverly covering her naked breasts (well except for fringe trimmed nipple caps!) and giving you only little glimpses of what she was hiding.   I actually love burlesque dancing. I think it’s so fun.  I’m considering taking a few lessons just for a laugh…

After the burlesque ladies did their thing, a couple of lingerie clad masked ladies came on scene to work the room as some “eye candy” and also to do some naughty dancing in the glass box Blakes has on the outside of the building – giving passers by a nice surprise.  Actually, I couldn’t resist sneaking into that box myself when nobody was looking! haha.  Too bad I don’t have the awesome piccie of me striking a pose to prove it.  Dammit.

The music picked up, the crowd grew, the vibe was hot and the party was finally on!  You had a rocky starts guys, but you pulled through in the end.  Had a good time, got to catch up with some fabulous people and even shook my booty a bit.

So where did I manage to lose that camera of mine?  Not at Blakes actually, but at the Fez.  I think I’ve mentioned this before, I’m really not a fan of Fez.  But for some reason, at a certain level of drunkedness, someone always suggests that we continue the party there.  And because at that point, my judgement is always a bit cloudy, I seem to think that it’s a brilliant idea.  The details are all a bit fuzzy, but I must have had one hell of a time… because I woke up on my couch still in my party clothes, smudged mascara, a headache from hell, clutching my little handbag…  My first instinct is always to check inside my bag to make sure I still have all my things (I’m quite forgetful and “los kop” on big nights out. haha).   That’s when I realised my camera was gone.  Total bummer…

Anyhoo, so now I’m off to go get a police reference number for my insurance claim and then to get a replacement camera… Oh well.  Sometimes there’s a price to pay for a good night out.

xxx

One night, 3 venues

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OK, so I’ll admit it… I totally over-committed myself on Friday eve.  I had two birthday parties and then still drinks at Blakes.  Also I had to be a good girl because I had an early morning appointment on Saturday for which I needed to be fresh and on my toes… bugger. :)

I started off the evening at Carlyle’s (17 Derry St) for a friends bday dinner.  Now at some stage over the past 8 or so years, I actually did think Carlyle’s was cool.  But thinking back now, I was probably fresh out of vasity and had just moved to Cape Town from little old Port Elizabeth, so my standards were a bit outta wack.  Haha.   Upon entering the restaurant I just started realising how many things were totally wrong with the decor here.

Hmmm... was all of this here last time?

First you have the burnt orange walls which are in need of a repaint or at least a touch up here and there.  Then you have these weird little navy blue mini curtains on the windows, the horrible visible aircon unit on the wall above our table… and then the worst of all the decor crimes committed here… carpet tiles on the ceiling!!! Nooooooo…  Interestingly though, the place was packed.  Mostly with “alternative” student types – I guess it’s a bit of an institution with the locals and its more about meeting up with your mates, than having an amazing dining experience.

Anyhoo, I was with a great group of amazing friends, and to me that was the important  part.  Well that and the food of course!  I was STARVING.  We had some focaccia breads to start with – I loved the Carlyle’s Focaccia: Crispy pizza bread + blue cheese, caramelised onion + chilli (R40)- had a nice bite.  Then for mains I went for the brie, blue cheese & fig preserve pizza (R70) with extra rocket (R12).

Interesting mix of toppings, I was expecting an exciting burst of flavours...

Sadly the flavours really didn’t come through strongly at all.  It tasted more like a margarita pizza with rocket.  The brie, blue cheese & fig was barely present…

Some of the other options my friends went for was the lamb shank (R95):

Good ol' comfort food...

I had a little bite and it was pretty damn good.  Then a couple of people went for the Wild Mushroom Cappelletti (R60) and they gave it good reviews.  However they did all point out that the sauce was a bit too thin/watery. You want pasta sauce you be nice and creamy.  But the flavours were good.

A couple of glasses of wine into the evening, I decided to try on my friend, Fabian’s, very trendy glasses. These fashion lenses are a huge trend at the moment and I figured I should give it a bash…

Trying to look smart. Is it working? haha

I had my eyes lasered a couple of years back, so wearing glasses now seem like a total sin.  But they are kinda cool.  Most people actually just wear them with plastic or plain glass lenses.  No prescription needed! Nice…

My official Miss K Kiss-0-Meter ratings for Carlyle’s would be as follows:

  • Ambience:
  • Price:
  • Service:
  • Food:

At about 10pm I had to get moving onto my next birthday party.  The venue?  Asoka Bar (68 Kloof Street).  Now Asoka is quite a popular choice for bday drinks and such.  And it’s always packed.  But I’ve always had a weird thing against the place…  I think it boils down to the bloody tree right in the middle of the venue.  They basically built their bar around this old olive tree – which yes is quite a sweet thing to do – but it just ends up being bloody awkward.  You see people standing around it, trying to lean against the branches, while still looking cool & comfortable, but it just doesn’t work. It’s like this huge white elephant in the room that nobody talks about.  Also, you have to duck beneath the branches to get past, and as people get drunker and drunker – that’s just a very dangerous hazard!  The bar area gets so full as it is and you have to fight to get a drink, then you still have to fight with a tree!?! :)   Again, at least the crowd I was with was cool and we still had a great time.

My last stop for the evening was Blakes Bar (189 Buitengracht St) – finally a venue that I actually really love!  I appreciate it when a place does real effort with their decor etc, and this place surely has.  There are 3 levels – a dance floor on the ground level, a swanky bar and dining area on the 1st level and then a late night lounge area with an open air deck on the top level.  Somehow I always find myself on that top level.  I like to be on top! haha

Normally this venue brings out the worst in me and I end up causing all kinds of havoc.  But as I mentioned before, I had to be a good girl this time.  So there was no “Kandi madness” and the people around me were safe… just this once…

I also have to note that the owner, David, is really lovely – here’s a piccie of Leila and myself with David from my last adventure filled evening there:

Fun times... I had to be carried out that evening!

You can read all about that evening in this blog post from Leila’s blog.  OK – so that was my Friday evening…  I was in bed by 1am, but I achieved quite a lot I think!  I’m a multi-tasking queen. lol

xxx