Tag Archives: City Bowl Market

Las Paletas (that’s Colombian for kick-ass, artisan ice lollies folks)

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Diana Chavarro is a passionate Colombian who’s been living here in South Africa for about 3 1/2  years now.

She’s a designer by trade, but has always had a great love for food…  A few months back she decided she’d indulge her foodie side a little by making some  creative ice lollies.  She chose ice lollies specifically because back in South America they’re a traditional, “humble” dessert as she calls them and something she really used to enjoy.  She served up her lollies at a braai with friends one day and they were such a huge hit, they all encouraged her to make this a full time thing.  And this is how Las Paletas, which is the Spanish term for ice lollies, was born.

She started out with small amounts in a cooler box, using moulds she had sourced from the US.  Today, only 3 months later, she has a small factory in Montague Gardens and the folks at Food Lover’s Market want Diana to make lollies to be sold in their stores.  How incredible is that?

Diana invited me to come sample her lollies at her Saturday home base at the City Bowl Market in Hope St.  It’s still one of my favourite markets and it was buzzing with people on the day…

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Diana with hubby, Jason, who she met over here in SA.

Diana changes her flavours all the time depending on what ingredients are fresh & seasonal (she uses only real fruit, not pulp or anything like that).  She’s also inspired by desserts she used to enjoy when she was little and she likes to be adventurous.  Therefore you can expect some weird & wonderful ones to pop up every now and again.

She told me how she once decided to make her own peanut butter from scratch and then made peanut butter & jam lollies.  Doesn’t that sound just too good?  I was totally sold on the concept & ready to dig in for sure…

On the day she had the following flavours:

Top left: Guava cheesecake (which is her signature flavour) and Avo & lemon; Top right: Gooseberry cheesecake and Mango Lassi; Bottom left: Cheesecake brownie and Strawberry; Bottom right: Strawberries & cream and Papaya

Top left: Guava cheesecake (which is her signature flavour) and Avo & lemon; Top right: Gooseberry cheesecake and Mango Lassi; Bottom left: Cheesecake brownie and Strawberry; Bottom right: Strawberries & cream and Papaya

I’m still working my way through all of them (Diana & Jason gifted me one of each – thanks again guys!), but I can tell you, I have never tasted ice lollies as creamy and fruity as these.  Even the avo & lemon one which to me sounded a bit blegh, is really quite tasty.  It’s a sweet treat that doesn’t leave you feeling guilty because it’s so fresh & light and therefore you’ll find yourself reaching for one more… and one more… and… ;)

Diana sells them for R20 each.  But if you want to a bulk order for a party or event, she’ll work out a better price.  (you can contact her on 082 269 1153 / diana@laspaletas.co.za)

Wanna try them out for yourselves?  Then hop on over to Hope St  OR you’ll also find them at the Galileo Open Air Cinema every week.  Then they’ll be at Taste of Cape Town in April, the Good Food & Wine Show in May and the SA Wedding Expo in June.  Oh and then of course, as I mentioned above, at Food Lover’s Market hopefully soon, but they’ll be packaged under their name.

Also when you do, be sure to take a piccie and then hop on over to their Facebook page - you can stand the chance of winning a 3 month supply of absolutely irrisistable Las Paletas for yourself!  See details below:

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That’s a pretty great prize…

Thanks again to Diana & Jason for taking the time to tell me about these amazing lollies.  I really love them and I’m sure you guys will love them too…

xxx

City Bowl market update

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I popped into the City Bowl Market on Hope St market again recently – mainly to check out their Fashion Market, but I ended up leaving with a solid stash of foodie treats.  I’ve realised that you can’t clothing shop when you’re cold (and it was VERY cold that day), all your body really craves is fattening things to help you defrost dammit! ;)

The other problem was also that the fashion market had mostly vintage clothing and I’m sadly not a fan.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of finding some awesome fashion gem, maybe even a fabulous designer item from way back when.  But the thought of wearing someone else’s clothes just totally freaks me out.  I certainly don’t want some lady haunting me because I took her Burberry coat or something.  Way too much stress…

One thing that did catch my eye though were these Cape Town suburb name tag necklaces from Two Birds with Some Stones:

You guys know I just love anything Cape Town themed…  I was very tempted to get the Bellville one.  That way I could wear it to work and get some street cred (I work in the Northern Burbs).

Other things of theirs I also loved (I’ve taken piccies from their website cause I didn’t get great shots on the day):

Wood & silver necklace

Mesh neck piece

Imported watch glass pendants

Etched silver rings

Beautiful right?  I love how intricate their pieces are…

Then my stomach started grumbling and I decided to hop on over to the food area where I first went crazy with cheese & bread:

I felt like I was having a major “Heidi” moment.  Anybody else watch that show as a kid?  She lived in the mountains with her grandpa and used to chow down on the most delicious looking cheese & bread every single day.  Even in cartoon form it looked soooo damn good. And she never got fat, lucky girl. :)

I figured I would balance out the massive carb attack with some good-for-ya dried fruits from By Nature:

Perfect to mix into your muesli or yoghurt, or even to sprinkle over salads.

And then I rewarded myself for being such a healthy girl with some of these babies by Swoon Treats:

OK OK, so the healthy thing didn’t exactly last long… but macarons = happiness.

I didn’t like the “whoopie pies” – but I did like the pistachio & red velvet macarons.  At R10 they are a bit pricey, but they’re also much bigger than your standard macaron.  My heart still belongs to Cassis Macarons, but these were nice to try for something different.

So even though I didn’t score big at the fashion market, I still scored big in the food department.   The City Bowl Market still remains a favourite of mine thanks to it’s relaxed feel and great variety of yummy things.  Do check it out if you’re in th area.  It’s open every Saturday from 9am to 2pm. 

xxx

City Bowl Fashion Market this weekend

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If you’re into fashion, awesome vintage finds, jewellery & accessories, then head over to 14 Hope St this Sat, 30 June for the City Bowl Fashion Market:

You will get to peruse goodies from 30 local designers, all conveniently placed under one roof so you don’t have to schlep around town, fighting with car guard after car guard and you can also get some coffee & breakfast while you’re at it because the normal City Bowl Market will be running as well.

Check out their Facebook page for more info and 1… 2… 3… shop!

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