Tag Archives: Cape Town

Exploring the Winchester Mansions hotel

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Every summer I find myself driving along the Sea Point promenade and past the beautiful Winchester Mansions Hotel… thinking to myself “geeze, I should really check that place out… it looks so damn pretty…”

But for some reason I just never made a plan, until recently that is.  It was a nice sunny day, something that’s becoming a rare commodity here in Cape Town as the winter weather is creeping in, and my friend Joe and I decided we should go and check it out for a spot of lunch.

We settled in on the stoep area, I guess cause this is where you always see people chillin’ when you drive by, so seemed to us that this was the main dining area.  When we were given menus however the front of the menu said “Bar Menu”.  So we asked the waitress whether this was the correct place to have lunch and she said yes.  We figured, oh well, let’s just go with it then…

The bar menu has options including burgers, wraps, sandwiches, nachos, tapas style items and then a wide variety of sweet treats.   I opted for the Traditional Flammkuchen – crispy thin french pizza with bacon, onions and seasoned sour cream (R32):

And Joe got the Samosa and Springroll Plate served with a coriander creme fraiche (R48):

Both meals were very tasty, but my Flammkuchen definitely won the prize for best choice of the day.  Being seated at the front of such a iconic Cape Dutch building, we figured the best way to finish off our meal in style was with the Winchester’s Famous Scones daahlings (R24 for 2 and served with cheese, jam & cream):

Man, doesn't that look just soooooo good?

Scones… so so simple, but boy isn’t it just one of the most soul fulfilling treats around? ;)

In the back of my mind, something kept bugging me though.  A few people had told me about the amazing breakfasts that they do at the Mansions, but I had not seen any breakfast options there.  So Joe and I decided to go do some exploring after lunch.

First we checked out the impressive bar area.  The perfect spot for a few after work drinks, or even a private function I would say.

Loved all the rich fabrics and shiny trimmings...

And then boys, I'm sure the first thing you noticed in this pic was the TV playing sports. hehe

We then sneakily followed some guests into the main hotel area and got to check out the pool (which is very nice btw), the formal lunch/dinner dining room (also pretty sweet) and the formal lounge for their guests (super fancy):

Then, finally, we stumbled upon what seemed like the holy grail of chill spots at this hotel… the garden courtyard!

Seriously, how pretty is that?

This is where you can enjoy those amazing breakfasts I had heard about.  They do a la carte breakfast options ranging from R42 to R65.  Or you can go for the continental buffet for R95.  Or just stop messing about and go all out for the full breakfast buffet at R120 (served between 7:30am and 10:30am).  I’m guessing there would be a lot of starving & stretching before that one and your look for the day would definitely involve stretchy pants.

I’m dead keen to go back with a big group of mates to take up that challenge.  So for now, I’m going to reserve my Miss K Kiss-o-Meter rating untill I get to go back and get the full chow down experience.   Who’s with me? :)

xxx

The skinny on Skinny Legs & All

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On Saturday I had brunch with the “Ou bros” – Joe & Ben – otherwise known as the ”Asian twins”. Now they’re not really twins, people just mistake them for being twins. Or even worse – they mistake the one for the other!  This has caused some interesting & awkward situations in the past. :)   Anyhoo, we decided to try out the much talked about Skinny Legs & All in Loop St.

The space apparently used to be occupied by an art gallery, but now it has been transformed into a pretty little cafe, owned & run by two sisters (twins nogal - like real twins).

There’s still very much an arty feel to the place, with quirky pieces on the walls, but also a bit of an “old world” charm with details like a gorgeous antique cash register, a farm shop type open fridge and rustic looking crockery. 

To drink, Joe opted for a berry smoothie (R32):

While Ben and I felt the need for a caffiene fix, so we opted for a flat white each (R16):

While waiting for our food, we noticed a very intriguing magazine called ”The Gentlewoman – it’s a far cry from your normal glossy chick magazine, featuring very “serious” interviews & articles, a lot of black & white moody photography and even newspaper like paper.  Hmmmm… not too sure about all that, I like a bit of skinner & skandaal with my reading, but it was interesting to page through though.  The thing that really got us was the slogan on the cover:

Ag just faaaaabulous daaahlings... hehe.

So back to the food.  I opted for an open sandwich on country sourdough bread called “Cremalat Mozzarella” – mozzarella and braised tomatoes in a fresh basil and fennel-seed marinade (R65):

Ben was clearly feeling health concious, cause he opted for the fruit salad with yoghurt & homemade honey muesli (R65):

Joe had what I probably should have gone for instead –  soft scrambled eggs with smoked salmon trout (R60):

As pretty as everything was… I have a few issues.  All round I felt it was a bit pricey.  I mean R65 for muesli, yoghurt & fruit?  Or for one slice of sourdough bread with some toppings?  Even the scrambled egg with salmon seemed a bit small for the price…   Taste wise I would rate it was “average”.  Not bad, but definitely didn’t rock my world either.  I think the main problem is that pretty little cafes are becoming a dime a dozen here in Cape Town, especially in the CBD/Woodstock area.  In my mind you need something more than cute decor to stand out.  And that thing is going to be super tasty, well priced food.

If I’m in the area, I’ll likely pop in again for a cuppa and maybe a scone or something.  But I’m not going to be going out of my way to have a bite here.  It was pretty busy though, so I’m guessing they do quite well with people who live/work nearby and by the looks of it also the “hipster crowd”. ;)

My Miss K Kiss-o-Meter ratings for Skinny Legs & All would be:

  • Vibe & Service: 
  • Price & Food: 

xxx

Best view in town

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This past weekend it was the perfect weather to get my tan on, BUT I was way too lazy to get into my car, drive down to Clifton or Camps Bay and then still fight for parking… Then it dawned on me, my building has a rooftop pool which I never use. :)

I thought to myself “Sweet, pool bliss is only a short lift ride away!”  As I got up there, even though I had been on the rooftop several times before, I was still blown away by the incredible view.  Check it out:

Aaaaaaahhhh...

When I got there, it was just me and another lonesome dude.  So I took a quick dip (water was absolute perfection) and then settled onto my towel for some much needed Vitamin D (aka “The Sunshine Vitamin”).   About 15min later I had passed out and was lost to the world for about an hour.  I woke up with one of those embarrasing jolt/fright movements, drool running down my cheek… that was when I looked around and realised that there was now about 12 or so people all around me, chatting away etc.  Very, very awkward.

I quickly packed up my things and ninja bombed outta there.  Luckily I was wearing a hat & shades, so hopefully nobody recognised me.  Still, despite this little blunder, I think I have found my summer haven…

xxx

Jimmy Carr rocks Cape Town

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Image from: http://www.laughstub.com/

Last week British-Irish comedian, Jimmy Carr, rocked SA audiences in both Cape Town & Johannesburg with his dark, risqué humour delivered with his signature deadpan style. The PG 16 age restriction pinned to the tour also showed promise that there would be no holding back. Sweet. :)

Jimmy’s style of humour is right up my alley – no good, clean laughs for this girl, the nastier the better. hehe. I’m the kind of person who can pretty much laugh at anything.  I think that’s important in life. If helps us cope with day-to-day not so great things and its just plain good for the soul…

Anyways, the CT venue was the Grand Arena at the Grand West Casino.  Now before I continue, I want to have a quick rant about this venue… because I HATE it.  First:  You have to drive through some pretty hairy areas of Cape Town to get there.  Second: Parking is a mission – you end up walking for years to get to the entrance.  Then you end up standing in a moerse queue for another few years because they have to search each person’s bag and put you through a metal detector.  After that you walk past rows and rows of sad slot machines, with that crazy ringing sound in the background.  The arena itself lacks any form of atmosphere.  Trying to get something to drink is really not worth it and making a swift exit after a performance is just plain impossible (think more hellish crowds & queues to get out of the building and then even more to get out of the parking area).  Still, despite all this – it seems it’s a favored venue by organisers.  Must be cheap to rent then, cause it sure as hell doesn’t have much else going for it.   Aaarggghh.  K, that’s my rant.  I feel better now. :)

The Grand Arena can at least fit in quite an impressive crowd, check it out:

OK OK... so it at least has that...

Now back to Mr Carr.  I hadn’t seen a lot of his previous work, but I’d seen enough on TV & Youtube to know that I was going to love this man’s live performance. The show kicked off with some general rules displayed on the big screens, like “If you don’t like the show, the most important part is that I already have your money”.  Fair enough. ;)   Followed by some basic jokes to test the humour level of the audience.  Things like: “What’s the hardest thing about rollerblading?  Telling your parents that you’re gay” and “Where would you be if you had no sense of humour?  Germany”.

Then we were ready to kick off the the real thing.  Jimmy commanded the stage with his stylish, well tailored grey suit, not needing any real prop or gag to keep us on the edge of our seats. The show consisted off a lot of his infamous one-liners, some funny visuals, interactive bits with the audience and lastly a challenge (thanks to some heckling from an audience member) to come up with the most offensive joke ever.  All ‘n all, total awesomeness.  Another thing I really enjoyed was his laugh.  It’s this weird little, high-pitched giggle that’s totally not manly in any way – but it somehow just works and makes him even funnier…

To me, the key to his comedic genius is just being able to play with words and concepts.  He doesn’t really do the observational type comedy most top SA comedians do.  For example telling stories to the audience where they’d start off with something like “Have you ever noticed how…” or “The other day I was out and this happened”.   I think his style makes it more fun, because you can really expect the unexpected and you have to think on your feet to keep up.

As we were leaving I overheard a guy say:  “If I ever HAD to sleep with a guy, it would be Jimmy Carr”.  Geeze, a straight boy considering going there? That’s pretty impressive stuff. haha.  Clearly the rest of the crowd thougth he was just as awesome as I thought he was.

xxx

Adderley St sparkles better than that dude from Twilight

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On Sun it was the official switching on of the festive lights in Adderley St, an event which also included a carnival parade and performances by local artists.  As they were expecting a whopping 80,000 people to pitch, I decided to give it a skip. Massive crowds aren’t my favourite thing.  BUT, luckily I live just around the corner, so it’s easy for me to check it out anytime. ;)

That’s exactly what I decided to do after gym the other night… I started at the bottom of Adderley street at the 2nd circle, working my way up:

Here, you’re greeted by a very bright and cheery “Cape Town – Africa’s greatest city” sign:

There’s lots and lots of lights.  But the following were my favourites.   The “celebrities” of our animal kingdom & our beautiful national flower, the King Protea:

And then a little celebration of our marine life:

Little kiddies looking far too happy for my liking ;) and pretty butterflies and flowers:

And then of course there has to be a Santa Claus with his trusty reindeer.  I think that’s Dasher, Dancer & Prancer in the pic:

But the piece de resistance is certainly the 6 meter high Christmas tree with gifts right at the top of Adderley St:

BOOM!

So guys and gals, if you’re in town at night, take a bit of a detour to check it out.  It’s a little touch of old school magic that will bring a smile to your face.

xxx

I ♥ WeWood

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I first heard about WeWood watches about 2 months back when my friend Darryn whipped out his awesome new wooden watch which he had won in a competition.  That dude wins like every single competition out there… I secretly hate him for it. ;)

Anyhoo… So this week I was trying to figure out what to buy a certain someone for his birthday.  Men are sooooo bloody hard to buy for!  Chicks are simple:  Anything that looks pretty or smells good and we’re as happy as a pig in poo poo.  hehe.  I was going through a checklist of criteria which I knew would be key:

  1. Must be different / unique in some way
  2. Must be funky & fashionable
  3. Must make people stop and comment on it

And then it dawned on me, a WeWood watch would be the perfect thing!!!   So I popped over to their super cute store at Albert Hall (208 Albert Rd), Woodstock:

Too adorable for words...

Now you can actually buy online from their website, but I’m one of those people who like to see things in person before committing.  I like to hold it, feel it, smell it, connect with it… you know what I mean. ;)

From their men’s range, I really love their Crono watches (R999).  They come in 4 colours: Black, Green, Brown & Beige.   Here’s the Green & Beige options:

They all have this really cool blue display light for checking the time in the dark.  It’s very impressive, trust me on this one.

The ladies range is a bit more colourful & feminine.  Here’s their Army Brown Date and Beige Brown Date options (both R950):

Then I was also excited to discover that they’ve started doing wooden sunglasses as well.

OK OK, this picture is more about the cute doggie pic in the background...

A pair of sunglasses will set you back R1400 – but they have fancy pants Carl Zeiss lenses, so they’re not sommer any old sunglasses people.

According to Michael, the lovely guy who was assisting me, they have a new women’s range coming in soon.   As I’m a total sunglass whore, I might be popping in again for that.  Hmmmm…  This time round though, I had to keep focused.  I wasn’t there for myself.  My mission was clear:  Get the perfect gift!

So what did I settle on in the end?  The Crono in Brown:

Ta da!!!

Stunning right?  I just love the grain of the wood.  It’s so beautiful.  A little piece of art from Mother Nature herself.

So seriously guys.  Check this out for yourselves.  It wins my best cool new product of the year prize for sure.  I’m also happy to report that the gift went down as a major hit.  Who’s the best gift giver in town?  Me!

xxx

Table Mountain all lit up

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OK, it is no secret that I’m totally in love with Cape Town…  But even though I’ve been living here for almost 9 years now and I sometimes take some of this city’s beauty for granted, there are still a few things that make me stop right in my tracks and smile every single time.

One of those would be when they switch on the lights on Table Mountain.  Just look at how awesome it looked on Monday eve:

A shot taken from my lounge...

Isn’t that just incredible? I found myself standing there in total silence for quite some time, just trying to take it all in.

Usually they only switch on the lights on special occasions or when companies or individuals are willing to pay for them to be on (you’d have to pay by the hour and I’m sure it’s not cheap. ;) )

For St Patrick’s day the mountain was lit up in a beautiful green hue and for World AIDS day, they go for a striking red.  They also use the lights in cases of emergency to aid in search & rescue missions or fighting fires and such.

They obviously can’t keep it on all of the time because that wouldn’t be the greatest example of conserving energy now would it.   And then also it apparently messes with the natural rhythms of the plants & animals that live on the mountain.  Shame, I can just picture those poor dassies going: “Dude, we’re trying to sleep here.  Put off the bloody lights!”

So yeah, it is a very special occasion when they are on and I do love & appreciate it very much.  It’s like Cape Town’s version of the lit up Eiffel tower in Paris, just bigger & better!

xxx

Cape Town from way back when

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My friend Joe forwarded on these old pictures of Cape Town from the 1950s to 1970s.  I thought they were really cool, so I just had to share. :)

There was one that really freaked me out though… The old Table Mountain cable car!

Then vs Now (new pic taken from: http://tablemountain.net/)

OMG, I actually went on the cable car as a little kid.  OK that would have been mid 80s, but I do remember it resembling the one in the pic above.  How could parents take their children on a death trap like that!?! haha.  It’s like “Hey kids, lets go in this flimsy tin box with no windows and head up the mountain!!!”   Or maybe that’s just how they tried to get rid of naughty children back in the day…. hmmmmm.  The guy in the pic is even hanging out!  Geez people, how’s that for safety…

Other cool pics were of Adderley st:

Love all the old cars and those seriously awesome busses.  The buildings itself haven’t changed that much.  Much of the old facades have been kept in tact.  That’s something I really appreciate about the Cape Town Heritage Council.  We need to celebrate our history, not always just want to flatten everything and modernise.

Then there’s Sea Point promenade:

Not too much has changed there.  Maybe just some extra “bergies” here and there now. ;)

And then lastly, Cape Town Station:

Do they still make Lion Beer?  Check out at all that branding. It’s like “Cape Town station sponsored by Lion Beer”. Nice. ;)   And look at how clean the station is.  Ah how things change…

So, l hope you guys enjoyed that little walk down memory lane (well, it’s a bit too far back to be part of my memory… but you know what I mean).

Hope you guys are having an awesome weekend!

xxx

The Global Party disappoints

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Soooo… after all that hype with the uber fancy invites and the super exclusive silver keys and all (check out my post about it here), I had built up this event in my mind to be something that was going to totally blow me away.

The venue, Fez, did make me nervous.  But I rationalised it by telling myself that surely an event of this magnitude would ensure a night to be remembered, regardless of the venue…

Before I continue, I will point out that I only got to the event at around 10:30pm because I had chosen to first check out the Cosmo Lingerie party (which was awesome btw).  So my view might be slightly scewed due to that.  Maybe cool stuff happened between 8pm and 10:30pm – I dunno.  Some people were like: “Yeah but there was a show and food.”  I saw the tail end of both.  The food was the same as I had at the Playboy Magazine launch party back in May. It looked like their standard snack spread, so nothing special.  The show was the same show they normally have at Fez – again, nothing special.

Venue wise, I still think they could have done better.  Cape Town has so many amazing spots, the Fez just seems like such a blah choice.  Anyhoo, at least it photographs well.  This is the VIP area:

The dance floor area:

The DJ box and a snippet from the show:

Fez was at least packed.  But sadly just with the usual Fri/Sat night Fez crowd.  I couldn’t really spot the “wealthy, well connected types” the Global Party website was aiming to have attend this party.  Actually I had heard earlier in the week that they were handing out free invites at Caprice to random people on the Sunday before.  Then I spoke to other people who mentioned that basically every “event circuit regular” was given a free invite as well.  Hmmmm, me thinks that was a serious FAIL for the PR company handling this thing locally (not sure who they were).  Wasn’t the whole point to collect money for charity?  How are you going to do that with a bunch of people who are just there hoping to score some free food & drinks!?!  (Myself included of course… haha… I’m from PE, it’s part of my genetic makeup! :) Also I’m not rolling in cash.)

We got there just in time for the local charity auction.  They had 9 items up for grabs, mostly luxury getaways and designer items.  But the final item was a VIP box at the Coldplay concert in October for you & 17 friends.  With drinks, snacks, etc. included.

Before the auction kicked off we got to listen to local a’capella group D-Seven, singing The Beatles’ hit “Let it be”, while they introduced the local charity which would be benefiting from the money made on the auction:  Saving Private Rhino.

The Saving Private Rhino initiative’s objective is to ensure the sustainability of the African Rhino by providing an integrated anti-poaching solution free of charge to every private game reserve in Africa that cannot afford to defend its wildlife.  There’s been quite a few horror stories covered in the press recently around this issue, the latest one was of 3 rhino’s which were attacked on 20 Aug at the Aquila game reserve.  Only one survived, while the other 2 did not make it thanks to their gruesome injuries.  The story really pulls at ones heart strings, especially when you see the horrible images of rhino’s with their horns hacked off.  I just don’t understand how anybody could do such horrible things to these amazing animals.

I’m very glad that this worthy cause was selected as the local benefiting charity.  And at least they were able to collect some money towards their amazing cause.  The first 8 items in the auction went for anything between between R7,500 to R30,000.  Then that last item for the Coldplay box went for a whopping R105,000.  That would work out to just over R5800 pp (18 ppl in total in that box) – I thought that one was pretty good going.   It was taken by Sue Main,  CEO of The Grand.

I did a quick calc – they must have collected about R280,000 in total.  That is pretty good.  I don’t want to take away from that achievement, but I still think if they invited the correct “money muscle”, they would have done soooooooo much better.

We didn’t stay too long after the auction.  The vibe just wasn’t great.  Ended up stopping at the 24 Hour Woolies in Orange street for a late night Cream soda & chicken nugget fix.  Mwhahahahaha.  Now that rocked my world. :)

My friend Dax told me that Goodluck played after the auction and that they were brilliant.  I WOULD HAVE stayed for that if I KNEW that they’d be playing.  But we weren’t given any information about the line-up for the evening, so had no clue that there’d be something worth hanging around for.  Aaarrgghh.  That’s just bad communication & planning guys… grrr.

My take away from this:  If the invite seems to good to be true, it very likely is exactly that.

xxx

Exploring the Hope St market

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It’s official name is the City Bowl Market and it’s situated at nr 14 on Hope St in Gardens.  Actually, just a 2min walk away from my apartment!  Sweet… :)

As you enter the market, you’re greeted by fresh flowers, fruits & veggies:

Even fresher than Woolies!

The market is split into two areas:  Downstairs you’ll find plenty of yummy food stands and upstairs there’s a small bar and then clothing, decor & jewellery stands.

Bring on all the good stuff...

You’ll find anything from freshly baked breads, homemade jams & pestos to ready-to-eat quiches, gourmet sandwiches and build-you-own omelettes (also check out the omelette hottie):

Hmmm... So many yummy options... and the food options were pretty good too... ;)

But we totally lost our brains when we discovered Saszali Chocolates!

Hold me back people...

Carefully handcrafted, beatifully packaged, 15 delicious flavours… I was in heaven.  We decided to splurge out on a box of 4 for R50.  I went for the following flavours:

  • Citrus Blossom: natural orange flavour, encased in the rich dark 70%
  • Twilight: a fusion of white chocolate, Malibu and pineapple
  • Noisette: filled with a hazelnut praline
  • Golden Thyme: a centre infused with fresh thyme and drizzled with plenty of honey

Just check out how absolutely beautiful their packaging is!  This is the little box your choccies come in:

They also have wooden boxes for larger selections as well. And also a super cute singlet box and gift bags.

And then once you open it up, you find your amazing little treats, individually wrapped each with it’s own little flavour story included:

To pretty to eat! OK, that's a lie... they didn't last very long...

And trust me, they taste just as good as they look!  It’s the perfect gift idea for any sugar lover out there.   I’m certainly going to be getting myself a couple of “gifts from me, to me”. ;)

The one thing I really liked about this market was that it’s not as crowded as the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill.  But then again, I guess it’s just a matter of time before it becomes just as “hip” and popular.

Lots of seating place to sit enjoy your goodies

I was totally in awe of the cheese & cured meats on offer…  I love cheese & parma ham!   Mmmmm…. Just look at these amazing blocks of “boere kaas”:

If I got them all, would that be too much? Nah...

Oooh, and look at these lovely looking salads – which you could have “on a plate” for R45 or “in a pita” for R35:

Yum, yum, yum!

But as fresh, healthy and tasty as that looked… I was on a serious mission to indulge in all the “evil stuffs”…  One option was these delicious looking cupcakes:

Come to mama...

But then… the ultimate treat… pancakes! Mr Pancake Perfect himself, Siegfried Kitching, was there serving up fluffy & sweet perfection:

Took me back to my childhood... I used to loooove those "kerk bazaar" pancakes the church ladies used to serve up...

Next we headed upstairs. Now I’m not a vintage clothing person (it just slightly creeps me out that someone else has worn the clothes), but if that is your thing, then you’ll find lots of treasures here.

Just make sure you have enough time to 'hunt' for that perfect item

I was excited to see the Jam stand – they sell “beautiful things with love”. I’ve seen some of their things in little decor shops and I especially love their heart shaped wooden cutting boards.

I'm a total sucker for anything with a ♥ on it

As for the jewellery options – I was fascinated by Zoe Designs.  Designer Helen du Toit makes beautiful, unique rings with antique teaspoons and cake forks:

Such a cool idea!

These next ones have been hand cut with pretty designs.  The bowl of the teaspoon forms the accent part of the ring:

Absolutely gorgeous...

Some other fun things were the oh-so-pretty brooches from Bow Peep:

Loved the mix of fabrics. They do hair accessories & buttons as well.

But after all those creative vibes, our brains needed a break, so we checked out the little bar area:

Take some time out to do a wine tasting, or sample on of the beers from several interesting microbreweries.

Here you get a nice view of the ground floor, you can see at this point it was really buzzing:

I'm watching you market goers... mwhahahahaha...

For me, it was a bit too early for wine or beer.  So I rather opted for a flavour packed cappuccino:

Coffee that packs a punch! It was brilliant.

I have to say though, they do need more than just one coffee stand.  That queue was loooooong and there’s nothing worse than cranky caffeine freaks. haha

But that’s it people.  Go check it out.  It really is quite charming, and seeing as it’s pretty much right on my doorstep, I will be visiting it frequently I’m sure.

xxx