restaurant – Latitude Post

Four Great Places For Indian Food In Durban

Posted on June 22, 2016August 29, 2016 by Nicholas Peart

Indian restaurants in Durban are ten a penny, but here are four establishments in this city that serve up wonderful no nonsense Indian food…

MY DINERS

My Diners Indian restaurant chain

At the northern end of the suburb of Overport and in a lively part of town full of Indian supermarkets and grocery stores is the restaurant chain My Diners. There are others in town but the Overport branch is the one I frequented. At first glance this is a very ordinary eating establishment and you may be mistaken for thinking this is some kind of Eastern Steers but you’d be making a big mistake. This place does very brisk business and is often packed with local Indian families. I had a tremendous mutton bunny chow floating in a pool of curry gravy like some edible Tower Of Babel. I ordered a half loaf and just as well since I would have had to summon some locals to assist me if I ordered the full loaf.

A half loaf mutton bunny chow

Half time bunny carnage

HOUSE OF CURRIES

House of Curries on Florida road

This establishment, located on Florida road in the suburb of Windermere, is noted for its rotis, which are very generous. The lamb rotis here are especially good. HOC is also a great place to idle an afternoon or night away with a cold beer or four. I washed my roti down with a cold pint of Windhoek beer.

Vegetable roti

PATELS VEGETARIAN REFRESHMENT ROOM

Patels on Yusuf Dadoo street is one of the oldest restaurants in town

This eatery is perhaps the most special and legendary of my picks and is located slap bang in the heart of little India on Dr Yusuf Dadoo street. Patels was recommended to me by an elderly South African Indian gentleman whom I met at a local corner restaurant also off Dr Yusuf Dadoo street and not too far from this place. This is one of the oldest eateries in the city and has been serving the population for 85 years. Don’t be fooled by the rough hole in the wall exterior. This is the place to go for a quarter vegetable bunny chow. When I ordered mine I got a mixture of sugar beans, dhal, lentils and potato curry. It was delicious and very inexpensive. I followed this up with a R4 cup of chai and a small traditional Indian sweet treat for desert.

Classic original quarter veg bunny chow

Chai and an Indian sweet treat

MALI’S INDIAN RESTAURANT

Mali’s restaurant in Morningside

One night I decided to have dinner here in the suburb of Morningside after reading all the glowing reviews of the place on Trip Adviser. This is a more formal dining experience compared to the other three places (and I’ve got to admit I wasn’t taken by the internal decor which I found a little sterile – not that I came here for that!) but I was not disappointed by the food and the restaurant lives up to the hype.

I began my evening by ordering the infamous paper dosa. That thing is so big you could write the entire Mahabharata on it. I needed three separate plates to accommodate all the broken down fragments of this beast.

The legendary paper dosa

Next I ordered one of the restaurant’s signature Chettinad curries. I went for the lamb one accompanied with a side garlic naan, which was very good.

Chettinad lamb curry

Then for dessert I ordered the restaurant’s homemade kulfi (Indian ice cream). I’ve had kulfi before but I was very impressed with the one I tasted here which was rich and full flavoured. Very nice to savour.

Homemade kulfi

OTHER INDIAN EATERIES IN THE CITY

ORIENTAL inside the Workshop mall in the centre of a town is a good place for cheap Indian food although I prefer My Diners. Nevertheless I had a decent mutton curry served with rice and salad. There are a couple of very cheap hole in the wall Indian food eateries both located on Yusuf Dadoo called AL-BARAKA and ALMASOOM TAKEAWAY & RESTAURANT; absolutely nothing to write home about but if you are watching the Rand they are two good choices. For thrill seekers the former has a rough and tumble Bukowski vibe to it and there is more chance of Jacob Zuma paying back that R250 million of taxpayers money he spent on his Nkandla homestead than bumping into another tourist.

The following places I haven’t sampled. I hear good things about LITTLE GUJERAT close to Victoria Market which does a variety of cheap vegetarian fare. For a more formal dining experience similar to Mali’s, LITTLE INDIA RESTAURANT ON MUSGRAVE gets almost equally dazzling reviews.

by Nicholas Peart

20th June 2016

Clover Cafe: Like Being In A Monet Painting

Posted on May 20, 2016August 29, 2016 by Nicholas Peart

Clover Cafe

Clover Cafe is a gem of a place set in pure nature. It is one of those places which feels very special and has a certain spiritual energy where words would be insufficient to describe it. It is situated by a beautiful lake with a small wooden bridge. Seeing this one could almost be mistaken for being in Giverny where Monet created many of his most significant and iconic paintings. I have had many happy times over there and it has enriched my time spent in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa.

It is run by Werner and his brother Christo who do an absolutely stellar job in making Clover the special and unique place that it is. What’s more they have a small team of very friendly and charismatic staff who make sure that everyone is happy and having a lekker (South African slang for good/cool) time.

Everyday they have a different menu of delicious and creative meals made from fresh organic ingredients. They have excellent meat and fish meals as well as a decent selection of healthy vegetarian options. Their pizzas are especially good. And the prices are very reasonable considering the quality of the food.

Sundays are a great time to head over to Clover where one can see and hear excellent and authentic local live music played with real heart and soul. And when it’s a glorious blue day than it becomes truly magical. Clover has so much potential to be not just a great restaurant and live music venue but an important hub where people come to be inspired and make great things happen.

by Nicholas Peart

May 15th 2016

Bocca Dolce Cafe: Sensational Vegan Food In A Paradisiacal Setting

Posted on May 17, 2016August 29, 2016 by Nicholas Peart

The interior of the Bocca Dolce Cafe

The Bocca Dolce Cafe is a paradise of a place situated in the beautiful Quarry Lake Estate around the Wittedrift area close to Plettenberg Bay and planted firmly on the lush and infamous Garden Route in South Africa. The heavenly location alone is enough to warrant a visit. I am also told that they have excellent coffee, which I completely believe judging by what I’ve seen on my few forays over there. Sadly for me, I am not a coffee drinker.

The beautiful surroundings

But for me it’s not about the beautiful location (yet it’s certainly a bonus) or the excellent coffee. My primary reason for visiting (and returning) is the divine, delicious and generous weekend vegan buffet they serve up every Saturday and Sunday from 1pm. I suppose one could split this abundant and tasty vegan buffet into three categories; Salads, Mains and Desserts.

The salads alone are a meal in itself with about 10-12 different selections to choose from. The selections change each time yet my personal favourites are the curried potato salad, the chick pea salad, the beetroot salad, the spinach, broccoli and bean concoction and, last but not least, the sublime humus. With such a selection I often run the risk of not leaving any space for the mains or desserts.

My plate loaded up with some delicious salad selections

Now for the mains. The highlights for me are the vegan lasaña and the vegan curry. Both are excellent and very tasty. There is also a table loaded with a grand selection of different and exotic vegan snacks. I particularly love the vegan satay kebabs.

Delicious and exotic vegan snacks

Finally the deserts. It would be a crime not to leave any space for those (easily done). Like the salads, the dessert selections change each time. On my last visit I got very lucky with the desserts to the point they became the highlight of the buffet that day. That day some of the dessert selections included a sensational vegan trifle, a very rich and delicious vegan chocolate and date cake, and a good no-nonsense vegan apple crumble. I have a weakness for trifle and I was very impressed with the textures, flavours and even creaminess of it all made a la vegan.

Exquisite vegan desserts

If you can’t make the weekend buffet the salad buffet is available on the weekdays.

The Bocca Dolce Cafe is a special place. The exceptional food notwithstanding, it offers a unique and unforgettable experience. The place is a real labour of love designed and created very tastefully with beautiful furniture and artworks on the wall by local artists. I highly recommend dropping by if you are in the area.

by Nicholas Peart

16th May 2016