Tag Archives: sushi

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

Fugu @ Wembley

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Towards the end of last week I met up with Joe for a mini fairwell dinner at Fugu in Wembley Square.   You see Joe was heading off to the exotic Taiwan for a bit of a family reunion and I was heading off to the equally exotic Port Elizabeth, the place of my birth. hehe. ;)

Anyhoo, back to Fugu.  It’s an easy little spot with a really fresh, modern feel.  Lots of wooden furniture, natural finishes and modern colours:

Love how wood has come back as a major trend. Hated all the plastic that was the rage a few years back.

For starters Joe went for the chicken, coconut & lemongrass soup (R40):

This kind of soup is not normally my thing. But I had a small taste and it was yum! Was actually quite bummed that I didn't order the same.

I went for an avocado maki roll at only R8!

Seriously, R8 is an insane price. Usually you pay anything from R16 to R24 for a little portion like this. I was very impressed...

Then for mains Joe had the beer battered hake (only R45):

He opted for some sweet potatoe fries instead of normal fries. Love those.

And I went for the Patagonian calamari (R55 + R12 for a serving of jasmine rice):

We didn’t make it to dessert, but I have to say that everything we had was spot on.  Joe’s fish was light & fluffy and my calamari was soft and super tasty.  I had a look and everything on the menu was really well priced, which is rare for Cape Town, especially in a trendy space like Wembley Square.  My only complaint would be that it took quite a while for someone to take our order.  But then once we ordered things evened out again.

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

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

On the way out I just had to take another shot of the venue from the outside cause it’s just so damn pretty:

Looooove the lights. Isn't that just so inviting?

I will likely be picking up some take aways here on my way home from gym from now on (my gym is also in Wembley Square).  That means no more cereal for dinner. Woohoo! (I can’t cook, so that’s a pretty standard dinner for me.  Sad, but true. :) ).

xxx

Chef Papa San’s new venture

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I used to be a huge fan of Minato – Chef Papa San’s first Cape Town sushi restaurant.  It was like this little hole in the wall, just off Long St, certainly no fine dining establishment with somewhat unpredictable service and tacky decor.

When they were fully booked, you would see the following hand written sign on the front door:

“Sorry. Fully Booked. You didn’t make a reservation. Ha Ha ha!”

Brilliant!  And then inside, the walls were covered with A4 pieces of paper with the “House Rules” written on them in black koki pen.  Stuff like:

For any complaints please refer directly to the owner!
(Who kicks you out and asks you to leave and never return)

So I know what you’re thinking… why the hell would I love such a place!?!  Well… the sushi was bloody amazing of course!  The menu had very creative sushi options, stuff you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else in town, so you happily put up with all the rest of the stuff.  It just didn’t seem to matter in the end.  In fact, I think it all added to Minato’s charm.

Sadly Papa San sold Minato’s a couple of years back and sushi addicts were left with a little hole in their hearts…

I was therefore really excited to discover that he was back in business with his new baby, Takumi (3 Park Road, Gardens).

Upon entering the restaurant you discover that Takumi is a far departure from the old Minato.  The decor is chic, modern and quite inviting:

Ooooh, so fancy...

And you have Papa San watching over you at all times:

That grin is infectious!

As you settle into your seat, you’re provided with your menu – but what’s on page one of the menu?  Papa San’s house rules!  Ah, it was good to see that something carried over from that little spot I loved so much…

Love the soy sauce stain for "authenticity"

The pic above only shows the first 3 rules.  There’s an entire page!  Sjoe, this chef sure means business. ;)

I was with 3 of my girls and we decided to make the most of this sushi experience by ordering a bunch of options for the table – that way you get a little taste of everything. Genius!

First up was the Rocket Roll – salmon, rocket & wasabi mayo (R50):

It was sooooooo good. I love rocket, would never have thought to put it in a sushi roll though.

OK, this one we didn’t share – Shelll is a fan of Salmon roses (R55) – but the rest of us aren’t really – so she enjoyed these little babies all by herself:

They do look really yum. I was a little curious... Shell did rave about them.

Then we got a Sweet kiss roll – tuna, salmon, avocado, cucumber, sweet chilli mayo & tempura shrimp (R80):

Total decadence... very rich...

Then we were super excited to try the Super crunch roll – tempura prawn, avocado, cucumber, spring onion, tempura crumbs, caviar & special sauce (R75):

Sadly it was dry and lacked flavour...

I wouldn’t recommend that one… it just didn’t work.  Lastly we had the Spider roll – soft shell crab, avocado, cucumber and mayo (R85):

This was really different & slightly strange, but I did enjoy it. Was a nice way to finish off our meal.

The dessert menu didn’t really excite me.   If there’s no chocolate on there, don’t even bother! haha.  But Nix was really intriuged by the Green Tea Tiramisu – so she gave that a bash:

It looked really weird... so I didn't have a taste. But Nix swears it was delicious. Um OK, if you say so...

Another bummer is that they don’t serve any coffee!  I’m not the biggest coffee drinker, but in winter I do enjoy a good cuppa every now and again.  So that was slightly disappointing.   Instead they offer a variety of herbal teas…  Shell opted for the Green Tea and Jasmine:

Not a fan of green tea personally, but did love the little bowl type cup they serve it in.

It was a good evening – but the two bottles of wine and great company could have had something to do with that. :) My biggest complaint is that most of the sushi pieces were MASSIVE, which makes it quite uncomfortable to eat.  I would definitely not recommend this for a date night – especially not a first date…

My Miss K Kiss-o-Meter ratings for Takumi would be as follows:

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

I was left still really missing Minato, but Takumi will make do as a relatively good alternative sushi spot.  My heart still belongs to Willoughby’s though!

xxx

Sushi on the go

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OK, so normally ready made sushi is a high risk purchase…  but I was running some errands at the V&A Waterfront and I just felt like a sushi fix without having to commit to sitting down at a restaurant.  I just wanted something quick & easy that I could go and enjoy back in the comfort of my own home…

I decided to pop in at Caviar.  I’ve walked past this little shop many times – they always have an array of yummy looking ready made meals on display.  Including lots of sushi options.

Oooooh, look at the flashy sign. Shiny things always suck me in...

I went for the 8 piece sushi box for only R50 (I thought that was a pretty good price):

Look how pretty it looks!

I LOVED the fact that they didn’t skimp on the wasabi & ginger.  I absolutely hate it when places give you the smallest portions known to man, then you have to ration it out to make sure you have a little taste for each piece.  And then I see some take away places even have the nerve to charge you extra if you ask for more!  That’s just rediculous man!  Anyhoo, the fish was fresh, the rice was good and the flavours were pretty spot on.
My official Miss K Kiss-o-Meter rating would be a solid:

Now that might not seem like an amazing score, but trust me – for ready made sushi, that’s pretty damn good.  As much as I love Woolies for example, their sushi is truly horrible.  They refrigerate the crap out of it and it ends up tasting like poo.  Same goes for Pick ‘n Pay and Spar…

If I was in a hurry, I would totally opt for this again. :)

xxx

Dim sum & cocktails

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Beluga restaurant in Green Point is a Cape Town classic.  It’s one of only a few restaurants that has managed to stay popular year in and year out.  I love taking Cape Town visitors here for their a la carte menu and my friends and I regularly enjoy the half price sushi & cocktails special. Yes, that’s right, half price bitches!   The special runs daily until 7pm, and then all day on Sundays.

This special has obviously become a firm favourite with locals, so it’s crucial to book ahead to avoid disappointment.  But one thing some people might not know is that they’ve added various yummy dim sum options to their sushi & cocktail menu.  And that too is available on the half price special.

(Please note, this is not your average dim sum like they serve in sometimes dodgy Chinese take out spots – this is fabulous dim sum like only Beluga can serve up)

The magical red menu! Anything in here falls under the half price special. Yay!

NB tip:  as long as your orders are in before 7pm, you’re sorted – you can sit enjoy it past 7pm still.  (on Sundays you don’t have to stress about the time at all of course)

Naturally our first priority always is to sort out the cocktails!

Cranberry Royale, Cosmopolitan & Mojito... yeah, that's a good start!

With drinks sorted, I started ordering my dim sum options… This is going to sound like a lot of food for one person, but luckily I was with a big group of mates, so there were lots of mouths to help me clean up!  I just wanted a taste of a variety of things…  First up was the Springbok & Chinese spice deep fried wontons:

Crispy goodness...

Then I had the duck with sweet bbq sauce steamed buns:

Mmmmm... soft buns... ;)

And lastly the beef, coriander & ginger pot stickers:

Bring it on!

All three were very tasty – but my favourite was the duck steamed buns.  So YUM! The beef pot stickers came a close second.

Let me quickly tally up my costs for the evening:
- Cosmo = R44
- Cranberry Royale = R35  (OK, so the mojito wasn’t actually mine! haha)
- Springbok deep fried wontons (4 pieces) = R40
- Duck steamed buns (2 pieces) = R38
- Beef pot stickers (3 pieces) = R40

Normal total would have been:  R197.  BUT, with the faaaaabulous half price special, I only had to pay R98.50!  How awesome is that!?! :)

During the evening I got to catch up with my friend Lize – I hadn’t seen her in a while and she told me that she’s picked up her blog again after a little bit of a break – www.parisandpomegranates.com – check it out for lots of good travel tips, this chicka did a stint as an Emirates air hostess, so she’s seen quite a bit of the world.  Very jealous!

Cocktails in hand = happiness

Then my friend, Dani, was lovely enough to bring us some Ferrero Rocher chocolates.  LOVE THEM!!!  I totally scoffed down way more than my fair share… mwhahahahaha…

Here you can see the camera picked up some weird light - I think it's from my "crazy chocolate eyes"!

Awesome drinks, awesome food, awesome company & choccies to wrap up the evening – what more could a girl ask for?  Hmmmm… maybe hot, half naked waitors?  That could be something I should tell Beluga to look in to… ;)

Oh, before I forget – my Miss K Kiss-o-Meter ratings:

  • Vibe:
  • Price: (for the special)  (normally)
  • Food:
  • Service:

OK – now I have to try and work off all of that evil food & cocktails… back to the gym for me!

xxx

Willoughby & Co – still my nr 1

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Willoughy & Co in the V&A Waterfront has always been, is currently still and I’m sure will also remain to be, my number 1 spot for sushi in Cape Town.

Hell, I love that place so much, I went there TWICE for dinner this past weekend.  I would actually go there with people I don’t even like, just to get my Willoughby “fix”.  Now the prices are slightly steep, but you can’t fault them on quality, service or taste.  I really don’t mind paying a bit extra for something I know is going to make me very very happy.

You can also tell this place is a firm favourite with locals and tourists alike, because there is ALWAYS a queue outside.  But trust me, the wait is totally worth it.  Plus, they soften the blow a bit by giving you a free wine tasting while you wait.  Isn’t that pretty damn cool? :)

My top tip though:  Don’t sit oustide at the tables – I hate sitting out in the mall with shoppers constantly walking past your table, staring down at your plate.  There’s no vibe out there.  Rather opt to sit at the sushi counters inside, you’ll get seated faster and it is way more fun.

I love the cool deli area inside and the warehouse design...

The wine selection is dominated by Fairview wines, which personally I don’t mind – they have well priced, easy drinking wines which go perfectly with sushi and seafood.  What more could you want?

So what should you have to eat exactly?  Pretty much anything & everything on that menu!  You really can’t go wrong. I usually go for the Tempura Prawn roll (R79) and the Avocado maki roll (R39):

Mmmm... that tempura sauce will rock your world, I promise...

When I was there on Friday evening – my friends opted for some seafood. Dani had the calamari (R89):

I'm such a sucker for potato wedges!

And Joe had the baby sole with rice (R89):

A nice light option...

Both Dani & Joe were smiling from ear to ear, so I take that as a good sign.  Then on Sunday evening, when I went back for my 2nd round, my friend Nix and I opted for the “4 x 4″ sushi deal – 4 rainbow reloaded rolls and 4 creamy rock shrimp rolls (R109):

Art on a plate!

It was quite rich – but really delicious.  I will definitely give that a bash again…  My friend Dax from www.relax-with-dax.co.za criticises them for making the sushi roll pieces too big, and yes – I do agree with him.  I have sat there many a time looking like a squirrel storing nuts in my cheeks for the long winter ahead.  But that doesn’t put me off at all.  Hey, to me it’s simply “more bang for your buck”. :)

So onto my official Miss K Kiss-o-meter ratings:

  • For ambience/vibe: 
  • Price: 
  • Service: 
  • Food: 

Yes, that’s right – top score for the food… and I mean it.  I’ve never had a bad experience at Willoughby.  I should probably just book out a permanent spot at that sushi counter for all my future visits still to come… Or maybe, just maybe,  they will read this and give me a lifetime membership card or something with cool discounts & freebies and stuff!!!  One can only dream…

OK, ciao for now my lovelies. xxx

Sawaddee makes me happy

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Do you loooooove both sushi & Thai food? And you’ve always wanted to go to a place where you can have both these options in one sitting? (each rocking your world equally of course :) )   Well the search is over guys and gals!  You simply need to head over to Sawaddee in the Rheede Street mall in Gardens.   I’ve become a bit of a regular there and frequented it again the other night.  The restaurant is the 2nd venture for Chef Pon, who first brought us yummy Thai food with his other restaurant, Chef Pon’s Asian kitchen.  That place was always packed and I spent many a evening there for friends’ birthday parties and such.  No wonder then I guess that Sawaddee has become quite a popular hang out as well…

So lets talk about the food.  First up, the sushi.  I only recently found out that their sushi chef actually used to be the chef at Willoughby’s in the V&A (my ultimate favourite sushi spot in Cape Town!!!).  So that’s already a huge plus in my book.  But the sushi really is to die for and the prices are a bit easier on the pocket than at Willoughby’s.  I can highly recommend the Tempura prawn roll, the Chef’s special & the Volcano sandwich.  All equally delectable!

Then, moving on to the Thai food, the options just seem endless – which is a great excuse to go back time and time again so you can work your way through that menu!  And don’t worry if you’re not a huge fan of hot & spicy food, there are plenty of mild and easy options to choose from as well.  For the “veggies” out there, there are also plenty of options for you!  If you’re a fan of duck (like me), try the Duck with Honey sauce or the Aromatic crispy duck pancakes.  Mmmmmmm… The sweet & sour chicken is a safe option yes, but really good.  If you’re going for rice, don’t pass up the chance to try the Vegetarian fried rice.  And if you feel like living on the edge, try a Jungle curry – but be warned, it has some serious bite!

To be honest, you really can’t go wrong at Sawaddee though.  The food is brilliant, the service is good, the vibe is light & fun and the prices are very reasonable.   I can’t wait to go back again!

Seriously hungy now…

xxx