Tag Archives: Madame zingara

Get your butts over to the V&A today & show some support for Reach for a dream

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Logo for websiteGuys, if you don’t have any plans on this Human Rights Day, hell even if you do, please pop in at the V&A Waterfront to show your support for a cause that is very close to my heart, Reach for a dream.

These guys & girls go  the extra mile to make the dreams of children who are suffering with life-threatening illness come true.  May it be something as simple as wanting a computer/laptop to help them learn, a shopping spree for toys & clothes or meeting their favourite sports hero, the Reach for a dream team (yes, they’re exactly that – a dream team) makes it their mission to make it happen, because they believe in the power dreams have to help these children get through the insanely hard situations they are in.  I get a huge lump in my throat just thinking about it.  Imagine you were a kid, lying in a hospital bed, not sure what was going to happen to you and then someone offers you the opportunity to fulfil your biggest dream ever…  imagine the warmth, happiness & hope that brings…  it’s just so incredible to me.

So anyways, you’re probably thinking – Yes yes, but how do we help???  Well today their aim is to raise R1 million to help fulfil the dreams of those kids who are fighting for their lives as we speak.  The initiative is called Right to Dream and promises to be a jam-packed day of entertainment & fun for the whole family.

Things will kick off at 10am with Kfm presenter Jeremy Harris playing host for the day, and you’ll be able to see performances by legendary blues musician Dan Patlansky, Madame Zingara, Ballistic Blues, Reach For A Dream’s very own dreamer Robyn van Rooyen and dance routines from Dance For All and the Brooklyn Hip Hop Crew (just to name a few).

Then whip out those wallets and purchase a Dream Bracelet for only R30:

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Relate, a 100% non-profit social enterprise that aims to create opportunities for people to change their lives, facilitated the making of these bracelets.  Their operating model ensures that the majority of the proceeds are able to go directly to making those dreams a reality…. for that, Relate deserves a BIG virtual high 5! Awesome guys.

But listen, even if you don’t make it to the V&A today, don’t stress.  The bracelets will remain on sale until 1 April and you can get them at one of the following V&A stores and hotels:

  • Aromatic Apothecary, Cape Union Mart, Old Khaki, Poetry, Clicks, Forever New, Hurley, Pick ‘n Pay, Spilhaus, Toy Kingdom, Two Oceans Aquarium, Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge and Protea Hotel North Wharf.
  • Reach For A Dream will also have a bracelet stand outside Zara where you can buy bracelets and pin your special dream to the Wall of Dreams.

I promise you, this will be the best 30 bucks you’ve spent all year…  And please also spread the word and get all your friends and family to buy one too.  This is definitely one of those “the more the merrier” vibes.

xxx

Madame Zingara reintroduces Don Pedro’s to Woodstock

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Last week I joined a few friends of mine for dinner at the newly revamped – Don Pedro’s in Woodstock.

Apparently Don Pedro’s before was a bit of a dodgy spot, but now the Madame Zingara folks have given it new life with a renovation true to their usual fabulous style, focusing this time on transporting you back to the 70s.

Just FYI: they add R20 pp to the bill to cover the piano man.  But he’s totally cool.

Lots of odd pieces, from vintage lamps to interesting old pictures… really loved it.

The menu is also 70s inspired, so think avo ritz, duck a l’orange and other classics.  For starters, almost everyone at the table went for the squid heads starter (didn’t get the price):

I had a small taste and immediately had serious starter envy…

I on the other hand went for the Avocado Ritz Marie Rose (R56.35) – not that I’m a huge avo ritz fan in general, but it just felt like it was the right thing to go for to really get into that 70s vibe.  The presentation was certainly one of a kind:

And you can keep the Barbie doll (if that’s your thing)

I was really glad we sorted ourselves with starters though.  Because the wait for our mains turned out to be a loooooooooong one.

My friend Shell wasn’t that hungy – so she actually decided to go for a 2nd starter – Duck & Dumpling soup (R45.65) instead of a main. 

The problem with this was that it actually first arrived without any dumplings.  When we asked the waitress about it, her answer was simply “oh whoops”.  I was really suprised that they had managed to miss one of the two key elements of the dish.  I mean really now…

More waiting followed… then all of a sudden this serving of Duck Egg Ravioli (R75) was put down on our table:

None of us ordered it.  So we sent it back.  But about 5min later it came back again and we were told we might as well have it cause they don’t know who’s it is. OK then, free is free! ;)   We each got a little taste, but out of the 6 of us there were no real fans.  We considered feeding it to the doggie who was eyeing it out:

But we figured it probably wouldn’t be good for his diet… sorry my boy!

Myself, Lara & Lauren all ordered the Rissotto a la Melanzane (R71.65) – Risotto cakes topped with aubergine parcels – as our mains.  The presentation was quite flamboyant.  Check it out:

But sadly it arrived cold… :(   We asked them to just zap it in the micro for a bit, figured that would be the quickest option.  3 plates left… and quite some time later… only 2 plates returned.  Seemed they had misplaced the third.  Hmmmm.  It eventually reappeared, but by that point I think all of us were seriously over this dish.

The correct option for mains it seems was Mike’s choice, the French Fooked Fillet (R129.95):

He was nice enough to give me a bite and I have to say it was truly delicious.  I was kicking myself for not sticking to my natural instinct of going for the red meat option.  But noooo, Karisa had to be all fancy pants and went for the bloody risotto balls.  Stupid stupid girl. :)

Another fairly good option was Johan’s – the Funghi al Pesto (R74.65), which is basically a whole bunch of good stuff served with spinach & ricotta filled ravioli:

All ‘n all I think the food was a bit hit or miss and the service could best be described as lekker loskop.  We didn’t make it to dessert.  I think we were just feeling a bit fed up by that stage…

So instead of just giving you guys my rating for Don Pedro’s (because I had mixed feelings), I thought I’d do things slightly differently this time round.  I went round the table and asked everyone to give Don Pedro’s a rating out of 5 for the food, ambience & service respectively.  This is how they scored:

So if you average that out, the Miss K Kiss-o-Meter ratings work out as follows:

  • Food: 
  • Ambience: 
  • Service: 

It’s clear from that outcome that the look & feel of the place is their winning point.  It really is a fun atmosphere.  I think because of that, I’d be willing to give them another bash… but next time obviously going straight for the steak baby!

xxx

Lovin’ the new look Sidewalk Cafe

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OK, so the Sidewalk Cafe (33 Derry St, Vredehoek) is a bit of a Cape Town institution.  It’s apparently been around for 14+ years.   But at one point it started looking really drab, the food wasn’t great and people stopped going.

But then… The Madame Zingara people stepped in and gave this little cafe the breath of fresh air it so desperately needed.   In fact in Cape Town, Madame Zingara now also owns the Bombay Bicycle Club, Cafe Paradiso & Cafe Mozart.  And then their roaming “Theatre of Dreams” is currenlty based at Century City.  They have a signature style for sure:  quirky, fun, unusual & memorable.  This is exactly what they brought to the table with the revamp of the Sidewalk Cafe.

Apparently the revamp already happened at the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010 (couldn’t get a firm date on Google).  But for some reason it just totally dropped of my radar until recently when I spotted it in an article in the Elle magazine which featured “dining hot spots” in each city.

I figured, right, as soon as there’s a nice sunny day, I’m gonna go check it out!  And that’s how I got to have lunch there over the weekend.  Location wise, I think it’s great.  You have Table Mountain as your backdrop:

You also get a view of Lion’s Head:

As well as the stadium and a bit of the ocean:

Brilliant, right? :)   The menu offers some great breakfast options, freshly baked cakes, gourmet sandwiches, salads, burgers and various mains including some curries, some seafood options and yummy sounding meat dishes.

I kicked off with an interesting juice concoction – I can’t remember all the ingredients – but it was awesome.  However, once I realised that this glass of juice cost me R28, it did slightly dent my juice experience…

It's cool, but it comes at a price...

Then food wise, I opted for the Chicken, bacon & avo burger with onion jam & chilli mayo (R65).  Just look at this baby:

Boom! In your face!

All the flavours on that burger just worked sooooo well.  I was in burger heaven.  Also, the potato wedges were totally yum.   Worth the kilojoules for sure!

My Miss K Kiss-o-Meter ratings for Sidewalk would be:

  • Vibe:
  • Price:
  • Food: 
  • Service:

This cafe definitely lends itself to lazy, sunny afternoons.  A chilled spot in a pretty setting with some hearty food options.  What more could you want? ;)   Well done to the Madame Zingara gang for yet another winner.

xxx

Alice’s wonderland, or at least close to it!

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Did you know that Madame Zingara has opened a “one stop party shop” in Kloof St!?  The shop is labelled  “This is not a post office”… think that’s a strange name for a shop?  Well yeah, maybe… but you see the building actually used to be a post office and for fun they kept the old post boxes as part of the building facade.  BUT trust me, it is a totally different story on the inside… :)

Too cute! Especially love the big post box with the ladder to reach the letter opening...

The best way to describe the feeling when you enter the shop is like you are Alice popping her head into Wonderland…

There's just so many cool things, it takes a while to take it all in...

You can really find absolutely ANYTHING here, like this ring that lights up and changes colour!

You think this is too much? Nah, it's awesome!

And a BIG eraser for BIG mistakes…

Yup, I definitely need one of those! haha

My life was finally complete when I found cupcake shaped everything & pink elephants with wings!

Seriously... I need all of that!

Oooh, and I’ve always wanted one of those Scream masks to creep people out:

Hmmm... Scream 5 anybody?

The shop is plit into various different rooms with different themes.  This is the main room as you enter the store – I’m calling it the Candy Wonderland room:

Larger than life candy canes & disco balls... what is cooler than that combo!?

Then you pass through a little door to get to the Disco room – filled with different wigs, fun glasses and other head gear:

Where's the party at?

Then you walk on these Baker’s Strawberry Whirl shaped cookie steps to get to the Fairy room:

Every girl's dream room

Then finally, my personal favourite, the Dirrrrty Room (no under 18s allowed):

Sies! Watse goed is daai?

We seemed to spend a lot more time in this section of the store! haha.  Hmmm, maybe it was that comfy heart shaped chair?

How porno is that!?! I HAVE to have one...

I found some interesting “evening wear” options…

For naughty boys & girls ;)

And this actually appears to be a donkey style penis sock!  Like every guy totally needs one of these, right?

Um, OK... to each his own I guess... haha

I couldn’t resist snapping up a pair of cute thigh high stockings – I have a socks & stocking addiction.  You should see my impressive collection at home.

Love 'em!

I was also really intrigued by these “duckies” – they sure as hell don’t resemble the ones I played with in the bath when I was only 5 years old! You’ll be happy to know though that they are totally waterproof.

Rub a dub dub... fun in the tub...

Lastly I just had to also snap a shot of the opening to this “Chamber o’ dirrrrtiness” -  so fun:

Beaded curtains are so making a come back...

This shop truly has something for everyone.  Whether you’re looking for cool party decorations and outfits or just something random and fun to give as a gift or to gift to yourself, this is the place to go.

xxx