Tag Archives: V&A Waterfront

A hot Fri night at the V&A

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The V&A Waterfront is one of my favourite places in Cape Town. It’s got the best shops, there are lots of awesome food options and most importantly it’s filled with tourists all year round which kinda makes you feel like you’re in a different country.  Being a restless soul who gets quite depressed if I don’t get to explore abroad regularly, being surrounded by foreigners gives me a certain level of calm.  I know, I’m weird.  At night though, it gets even better.  The lights switch on and it gets quite a magical feel… Love it.

This past Friday eve I headed over there to celebrate my darling Dani turning one year older (and wiser and hotter and more successful – seriously, this chick is starting to annoy me ;) ).

She chose the Alba Lounge for the celebration, but before ending up there, I got distracted by all the lights on route from the parking garage and had to stop to take some piccies first:

So damn pretty!

The Alba Lounge was the spot for bday celebrations when it first opened.  But for some reason it’s popularity fizzled out after a while.  Don’t know why really – probably just because Capetonians are mostly quite fickle and always on the search for the “next big thing”…  I personally blame that culture on all the gawd damn hipsters! hehe

But I’m glad Dani decided to take us back there, because I had forgotten what a cool venue it actually is.

The main bar & seating area.

Room typically used for private functions - to your left as you come in.

Just FYI – the outside deck area also has a pretty kick ass view and it’s a really nice spot to chill during the day while enjoying some yummy tapas and a killer cocktail.

One of the peeps I got to catch up with was my friend Brent.  He’s been living in Singapore for the past few years, but is back in town for the moment.  I had this strange “OMG, you look just like Robert Downey Jr!!” moment.  That’s something I never picked up on before.  But then again, I get criticized A LOT for not noticing things.  For example – standing at the water cooler, discussing why a certain colleague hadn’t made it into work… Me: “Why?”  Other guy:  “Well because he lives in Vredehoek, right up against the mountain and they were evacuated last night due to the fire.”  Me:  “OMG, there was a fire on Table Mountain last night!?!”  Other guy:  “DUH, isn’t your bloody flat like straight on mountain facing!?!”   Me: “Um… no…” Other guy: “You’ve shown me pictures of your view dammit!”  Me: **looks at watch** “Oh crap, I’m late for a meeting…”  **exits swiftly**

Anyways, I digress…  Just check out the resemblance:

Brent's like a younger version of Robert Downey JR! I'm likely going to be stalking him from now on...

The birthday girl was looking hot in a grey and black number picked out by her husband who also happens to be her stylist and personal shopper.  Love that boy!

Moi, the birthday girl and lovely Louise

I also got to catch up with my “neighbour”, Kim – she & her hubby moved into the other side of my building towards the end of last year.  We live on the same floor, YET we never bloody see each other!  What’s up with that biatch!?

Giving Kim the cold shoulder here... until I get an invite to dinner ** hint hint **

I’m clearly I’m in the wrong as well.  But I don’t ever have food at my place (cause I can’t cook and I basically live on junk), therefore my place isn’t quite “guest friendly”.  Kim on the other hand is an amazing cook…  I do however have lots of wine & hard liquor at my place (in case of emergencies), so I think the only way to resolve this is to have pre-drinks at mine and then starters, main & dessert at theirs.  Sounds totally fair.  Right? ;)

By 11pm Alba Lounge was packed and the dance floor was definitely were it was at…

As the shooters flowed, the dancing became quite “interesting” to say the least.  I saw some things that can NEVER be unseen and my friends are lucky I love them to bits and decided not to take photos.  Or maybe I did… and now I’m just keeping it as blackmail… only time will tell.  I had a big day the next day, so that meant for once I wasn’t the one doing stuff that would end up as good blackmail material… ha losers!  It’s quite fun to be in the power seat.  Mwhahahahaha…

Thanks to Dani for an awesome night.  And Alba Lounge:  Good to see you guys again.

xxx

Myatt choccie = love & happiness

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Remember Myatt Cafe? Leigh and I had an amazing high tea there a while back (you can read my post on it here)  On the same day we also got so sample some of their delicious imported Belgium Mary choccies.  Being a long-suffering chocoholic, that stuff was like crack to me.  With options like hazelnut cream, coffee caramel, raspberry mousse, orange zest marzipan and truffle tiramisu… my system almost totally crashed. ;)

But listen up now boys, and listen real good.  It’s almost Valentine’s Day and unless you’re happy to take the risk of a fork in the eye or something, you need to get your significant other a little summin’ to show her how much you care.

Decadent choccies are always a winner, trust me on this one.  And Myatt has come up with 5 reasons why their choccies say “love”:

  1. Nothing melts a heart like Mary’s hand painted chocolate art
  2. Chocolate is the ultimate sweet seduction
  3. Chocolate entices love
  4. Dark Chocolate is good for the heart
  5. Chocolate creates memories

That’s sweet  man.  ♥ ♥ ♥   But I’ve also come up with my own 5 reasons why the ladies love to receive choccies on Valentine’s Day:

  1. Their sweet scent smells better than any cologne
  2. They are soft & creamy against your skin, unlike boys with their stupid beard stubble
  3. They don’t talk back to you & they are great listeners
  4. According to scientists they release “feel good” chemicals in your brain which makes you happy (and you can’t argue with science people)
  5. And last but not least… they just taste soooooooooo damn good. :)

So ha! What you waiting for? Simply order your Myatt choccies and they will carefully package them in a beautiful gift box & bag. Check it out:

We all know you boys can't wrap pretty presents, so this cuts out any risk of failure... nuff said.

Give them a call on 021 418 8844 or pop into their store at the V&A Waterfront (Shop 6244, 1st Floor).   Your lady will love for it.  (And then probably ask you to leave so she can spend quality time with her new babies. hehe)

xxx

The V&A has a Gelato Mania!

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If you’ve been following my posts, you’ll know that I’m a huge Gelato fan (it’s like ice cream – but waaaaaay better).  So imagine my sure excitement when I realised the V&A Waterfront also has a little Gelato Mania shop.

Lower level, next to Belthazar - it's apparently been open since July last year already.

The flavour choices aren’t as extensive as their big branch in Green Point.  But trust me, it’s still awesome.

I tried a flavour called “White Truffle Chocolate” and I was instantly in heaven…  ah, just thinking back now makes me smile… bliss…   So if you’re in the V&A and you get a snack attack – pull in here, it rocks. :)

xxx

Lovin’ the new Louis Vuitton window displays

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Louis Vuitton at the V&A Waterfront has mixed 3 of my favourite things on the planet in their latest window displays:  bags, shoes and…. wait for it…. cupcakes!!!

If you haven’t yet witnessed the awesomeness, here you go:

One day when I’m a big girl, maybe I will be able to afford to actually go inside. ;)

xxx

Loooove the new La Senza concept store at the V&A

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OK OK, I know… it’s been open since like mid October last year… so I am a total loser for only getting around to check it out now… But boy am I glad I did.  It’s just plain awesome!

Firstly the decor is everything a true pin-up girl could ever dream of. And then most importantly you have wall-to-wall sexy, fun & flirty goodies:

Now don’t judge me, but I became obsessed with the pink tutu in this next pic.  Could totally see myself wearing it while eating ice cream on my couch and watching the E! channel. ;)

Then, just when you thought things couldn’t get better, you walk into the changing rooms:

Each one with it's own unique door design & cute little heart chair!

And then there’s lots of insipration inside for you to channel that inner sex goddess:

I walked out with a bra that makes me look like I’ve had implants.  Awesomeness.  I’m likely gonna go back to see if I can get one in every colour possible.

So if you’ve been a lazy bum like me, go check it out.  It’s shop No 248 on the upper level in the V&A Waterfront.  They’re running some great specials at the moment.

Oh and Boys:  Items from this store makes a great gift for that special lady in your life.  She’ll love it and it’s the gift that keeps giving to you as well – if you know what I mean. hehe.  Just make sure you get the sizing right – otherwise things will certainly turn ugly.

xxx

A High Tea treat at Myatt

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On Wed eve, Leila and myself headed over to the V&A Waterfront to be spoilt with High Tea at Myatt Cafe.

I’ve mentioned this place in one of my blog posts before.  It’s truly stunning.  Just check it out:

We met up with total sweetheart, Leozette, from Greater Than PR.  Myatt is one of the clients she looks after and she was awesome enough to put together this little dessert extravaganza for us.  Thanks again babe! ;)

That's Leozette in the middle

Now Myatt’s High Tea spread is normally served from 3:30pm to 6:30pm.  It costs R150 per person and you get the following:

  • Tea or coffee of you choice
  • 3 x macaroons
  • 1 x scone with strawberry preserve & cream
  • 2 x types of finger sandwiches of your choice
  • 2 x mini croissants of your choice
  • 2 x pastries of your choice

Just look at our “tower of indulgence”:

Totally worth the kilojoules!

That tart right at the top, next to the macaroons was this seriously amazing banana fridge tart type thing.  It rocked my world!  I basically at the whole thing myself… barely giving poor Leozette & Leila a taste. Mwhahahahahaha…

There was so much to sample, we were totally stuffed by the end of it and there was still some things left over!  Leila took a little doggy bag home for her man.  I could never do something like that, it would be demolished in the car on the way home.  I’m a bad girlfriend.  But I’ve come to terms with that shortcoming. hehe.

One thing that really stands out about Myatt is their incredible attention to detail.  From the beautiful imported china, to the interesting black chandeliers hanging above.  Everything has been carefully thought out.   Even the water is an experience:

Naturally flavoured with strawberries, oranges & mint... so yum!

Now look at all the tempting treats they have in their glass display unit – so cruel:

Eat us Karisa... eat us!!!

Once again I had a vision of people serving these to me while running on the treadmill. I must still try that out to see if it works. :)

We popped over to the inside of the shop as well and it turns out it’s just as impressive as the outside dining area:

This is where you’ll find their insane chocolate collection.  They are called Mary Chocolates and are imported from Belgium and crafted especially for Myatt.  They have 38 variants to choose from… yes, that’s right 38!!!

But be warned:  These babies don’t come cheap.  At R22 per piece, you really have to savor them slowly.  But standing in front of the chocolate display, you quickly seem to forget about the price tag…

Seriously, if I worked here, I would be the size of a house!

I tried the “Astrid” – Orange zest marzipan in dark chocolate.  It was deliciously bitter yet sweet at the same time.  I know marzipan’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but I love it.  I think a few of these would make a really nice gift for someone with a serious sweet tooth.

By the end of the evening I had what I’m calling a “High Tea Boep”  – thank goodness I was wearing a dress.  I think I would have been bulging over my pants otherwise…

This was such a decadent experience.  I would highly recommend their High Tea for an afternoon with your girls or maybe even to spoil your mom, she did bring you into the world after all.  I think she’s proved that she deserves this. ;)

xxx

Nu Metro at the V&A makes my blood boil

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This has been eating away at me for quite some time now… I HATE the Nu Metro cinema at the V&A Waterfront!!!   The only reason I continue to go there is because it is conveniently located as I and most of my friends live in town.

This past weekend I was there again and as always I was seriously irritated.  Hey, at least they are consistent right! haha. ;)

First off the ladies toilets there are totally manky. There’s hardly ever any toilet paper, it’s dirty, half the taps don’t work and I just can’t stand having to go in there in general.

Then their self-service ticket machines NEVER work.  This past weekend for example I wasted about 15min going from machine to machine, just to find that none of them actually worked.   The most annoying part is that it takes you through the entire selection & puchasing process and then bombs right at the end when you have to swipe your card.  Aaarggghhh!

You’re always left worrying that maybe the transaction did go through and now you run the risk of getting duplicate transactions on your card.  Some of the card readers are actually held together with tape, yes tape!  Seriously, you guys don’t make enough money to fix it properly!?!   I mean at R45 a ticket and those out of this world prices for drinks & snacks, you would damn well think you do…

I tried to warn as many people as I could that the machines were a waste of time, but as I stood in the crazy long queue for normal ticket purchases, I saw sad person after sad person going through the exact same pain as I did.   The least Nu Metro can do is put bloody “Out of Order” signs up.  Or if you really don’t care about maintaining them, just rather take them down.

When I finally got to the front of the queue, I asked the guy behind the counter whether I could speak to a manager about the broken machines.  His response was: “Ag, these managers don’t care.  Lots of people complain and its just always broken.”  Nice… real nice…

As for the cinemas themselves, I’ve been in some ones there where you hope and pray the lights don’t come on before you leave…  because you don’t want to see what you’ve been sitting on for the last 2 hours…  blegh!

The V&A Waterfront is a world class shopping & entertainment area.  People from all over the world come to Cape Town to see it.  I think the Nu Metro Cinema totally lets them down.  It’s an embarrassment.  If I ran that place, I would tell them to either shape up or ship out!

Anyhoo, I just really needed to let all of that out.  My inner rage was starting to make my eyes twitch.  I feel sooooo much better now, thanks for listening guys. :)

xxx

Living it up, celeb style…

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On Monday eve my friend Leigh (aka Lipglossgirl) invited me along to this fancy pants dinner event as her “plus one”.   Thanks again biets!  Mwah! ♥♥♥

The event was called “Taste of Spring” and the invite stated the following: “Wanted and Table Bay Hotel will celebrate the creativity and passion of good food and wine at our Gourmet Dinner, Fashion and Wine experience…”  Doesn’t that just sound amazing?

For those of you who do not know who/what Wanted is – it is the newspaper, Business Day’s award winning lifestyle magazine.  The event was coordinated by Jill Groger from Zebra Square, who I thought did an absolutely brilliant job of ensuring we all had a memorable evening.

We first met up at the uber trendy & glam men’s fashion store, Fabiani (upper level, V&A Waterfront), for pre-dinner drinks:

Faaaabulous dahling...

There they had this lovely Chivas Regal gentleman serving up some classic Scottish charm… on the rocks of course… ;)

Keeping the crowd happy

Now I’m going to be honest, I’m not really a whiskey drinker.  Maybe one day when I’m a “big girl” I’ll have the palate for it.  But for now, the only way I manage to consume this golden liquid is in shot form.  Yes, I realise that’s a horrible horrible sin.  But that’s just the way I roll…  I do at least look really good just holding it:

Practicing my Chivas grin...

Fabiani stocks some great men’s fashion, but I was especially delighted to stumble upon “Happy Socks”:

The happiest socks I have ever seen!

I loooove them!  I think most men are way too boring when it comes to fashion.  Live a little, have some fun with it, dare to be different!!!  And what easier way to slowly get you into it than with socks…  Easy peasy right?  Another great way for a guy to show a bit of his daring side is with a great tie, and Fabiani can totally hook you up.

Anybody wanna buy a tie? ;)

We soon realised that Leigh and myself would make the ultimate “double trouble” sales team:

Tie me up baby!

Something we should consider, hmmmm… could be raking in some nice commission. :)   While chatting to Fabiani owner, Arie Fabian, I looked down and realised that he was rocking a pair of his very own “Happy Socks” – yeah baby!

Only a real man can pull off socks like these!

Soon it was time to head over to the breathtaking Table Bay Hotel.  Just look how gorgeous that place is:

Ta da!

And just check out this beautiful atrium style lounge area:

Even more ta da!

As we were seated we realised that we were in for an extra little treat – free Gucci fragrances & Southern Right honey for all the guests!  Yay!

Pretty damn sweet... excuse the pun. haha

We then got to mingle with the oh-so-charming Anthony Hamilton Russell, owner of Hamilton Russel Vineyards (located in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in Hermanus).  The winery produces wine under 3 different labels:  Hamilton Russel Vineyards, Ashbourne & Southern Right.  We were lucky enough to sample two of the wines from the Southern Right label:  The 2011 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2009 Pinotage.  Anthony describes the Sauvignon Blanc (which retails at about R85 per bottle) as “Hermanus’ wine”. I must say I really enjoyed it and it’s got quite an impressive “brag sheet”:  Rated best South African Sauvignon Blanc in the Wall Street Journal (April 2008), voted as one of the 12 best value wines in South Africa by the Wine Spectator in the US, only Sauvignon Blanc to win a gold medal at the 2009 Classic Wine Trophy Awards and the lists goes on and on.  The pinotage was lovely as well and is also backed up by a long list of accolades, but I must admit I found myself enjoying that Sauvignon far too much… if you know what I mean… ;)

The brunette, the blond & the wine maker. That could be a brilliant title for a movie!

Before we settled down for our gourmet 3 course dinner, there was an announcement – a surprise dinner guest was joining us… We were all speculating at who it could be… And then in walked gorgeous actor, Blair Underwood!  You’ll know him from the hit TV series, L.A. Law and movies such as Gattaca & Deep Impact.

Here's me totally starstruck...

He was absolutely lovely and didn’t look a day over 35! (He is in fact 47 years old)  Really good genes I guess.  After all that excitement, we moved onto the food…  The Table Bay Hotel executive chef, Jocelyn Myers, was looking after us for the evening, and boy did she do one hell of a job!

For starters we had Springbok & beetroot carpaccio – with pickled shemiji, parsley/radish salsa, balsamic pearls and roasted garlic melba.  That’s a mouth full!

Just bring me meat! (The Afrikaans "meisie" in me just loved this one)

Then for mains we had seared peppered Sword fish – with confit tomato, apple and fennel, chervil beurre blanc:

That sauce and those juicy little tomatoes on the top were the deal clinchers for me.

During our break before dessert, we got to get up close and personal with some local celebs.  Blonde bombshell, Lieschen Botes, was there.  You might remember her best as the Wonderbra girl a few years back.  Anyhoo, she’s absolutely gorgeous, totally down to earth and very easy to talk to.  A total sweetheart!  Then I got totally overwhelmed when I spotted Top Billing hottie, Aidan Bennetts:

OK, this is a HORRIBLE picture of me, but this boy is soooo cute, had to post the picture regardless. ;)

Aidan also owns his own interior design company – Aidan Bennetts Design -  and makes beautiful furniture pieces.  Actually, I’ve been wanting him to make some furniture for me, preferably wearing minimal clothing… OK OK, I actually meant to say in the nude! haha.

After all that hotness, it was time for dessert.  We had chevin & pear pannacotta with a wild cherry compote:

Even though there was no chocolate in sight, I still really loved this.

Sjoe, at that point I was totally stuffed and slightly tipsy.   Two signs of a great evening for sure. ;)   I had such a fantastic time… What a way to kick start your week!  I could totally get used to this “good life” thing…

Chat soon. xxx

Beating the winter chill…

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So it’s been bloody freezing here in Cape Town the last 2 days!  I really don’t deal well with cold weather, so I decided to try and beat the chill by enjoying a nice hot curry… ;)

I headed over to the V&A Waterfront with my friends Nix & Joe and we decided to try out Jewel of India (Shop 6264, Upper Level).  I had heard quite a few people raving about this place, so I was really excited to check it out.

Looks very promising from the outside...

The decor is quite impressive, with beautifully carved wooden pillars and bright red accents:

Nice nice, very nice...

They bring each person a free pappadum – I love pappadums, so I thought that was a really nice touch.   I thought the wine options were a bit limiting though, but not a deal breaker for me – I was there for the curry after all.  Really weird thing is that they also have a Chinese menu?!  At first I thought Joe had brought is own bloody menu along! haha!  (He’s Taiwanese – yes I know that’s very different to Chinese, but it’s still funny ;) )  But seriously, I was very confused by this Chinese menu…  it just didn’t make any sense at all…  it’s like going to a sushi spot and there being like a 1kg rack of ribs special.  Just makes one very suspicious.

I decided not to focus on that and rather focus on the challenge at hand:  Selecting the perfect curry.   I was really torn…  the prawn curries sounded really great, so did the lamb, the beef & the chicken options… Hmmmm.

Nix and I shared a garlic naan (R18) as a starter.  Even though the garlic was “plakked on”, it tasted like nothing.  I think the garlic must have been seriously stale…  I have however been brushing my teeth non-stop since to get rid of the nasty aftermath!  You know what I’m referring too… that “something died in my mouth” taste that you just can’t seem to shake.  Blegh.

Joe seemed really intrigued by that damn Chinese menu, so he opted for a sweet corn chicken soup (R30) to start.   I can’t do sweet corn soup at all, they usually add egg to it and to me having bits of soft egg floating in your soup is just WRONG.   I have serious issues with weird textures like that.  But Joe seemed to really enjoy it.

For mains, I finally settled on the Chicken Kadhai (R75) with a portion of basmati rice (R18) and some sambals (R10).

Spicy baby!!!

It had 2 chillies next to it on the menu, which the waiter told us was “mild” – but hell did that curry pack a punch!  A couple of bites into it I really started to battle.  The flavours were great, but that burn did get a bit much.  I motored through my sambals & rice for some relief.

Nix had the beef biryani (R95) and she was nice enough to give me a bite.   It was really lovely, the lamb was super soft and it had just a hint of chilli.

Just look at the size of it! It would have been enough for two people... easily.

Joe tried another option from the Chinese menu, the Chicken Manchuia (R70).

OK seriously, Chinese dishes at an Indian restaurant!?! haha. Clearly I'm still not over that one...

This one too made you feel the burn! haha.  Joe was a bit disappointed because he doesn’t really like hot food that much and he ended up sweating like a hooker in church… (hahahaha, been dying for an opportunity to use that saying!  Finally, success!)

We were way too stuffed to try any desserts…  and our taste buds I think had had enough by that stage in any case.

All and all, I will say that I had an enjoyable experience at Jewel of India, but I definitely wasn’t blown away.  There are much better Indian spots in Cape Town…  My Miss K Kiss-o-Meter ratings are as follows:

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

On the way out we noticed this really beautiful dining room which is closed off to the rest of the restaurant.  It looked like it must be a private function room or something.  It had low tables & soft pillows so one can sit on the floor and enjoy your meal.   I would have preferred sitting there – it was really stunning and had a more authentic feel.  I guess that’s something you could keep in mind for a birthday party…

Oh, before I go – here’s me getting cozy with the little dude they have standing outside:

If I kiss you... will you turn into a delicious curry making prince? ;)

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