Where to Eat – Too many Possibilities

Where to eat, when there are thousands of options!

Eat Out has so many recommendations, the mind boggles. You will most definitely not be able to dine at each of the wealth of world-class restaurants, bars and cafés lining South Africa’s streets.

The decision where to eat becomes a trifle easier when you know whether you’re in the mood for say Asian, Indian, Italian, or Portuguese food.

However, choices of where to eat, remain tough.

If you enjoy dining with ‘chopsticks’ you have dozens of exotic-sounding restaurants to choose from”: Lai Lai, Li Kou Fu, Sai Thai, Yamato, Padbok Thai, Wing Hin, Nagoya, Shangai, Daruma, and Greedy Buddha, to name but a few.

If it’s Indian food you’re after, the list rolls just as warmly from the tongue: Little India, Vintage India, Curry Okies, Jeera, Jewel of India, Amaravathi Palki, House of Curries, Jaipur Palace, and also Some like it hot.

When you’re planning a romantic dinner, refined French cuisine will often dictate where to eat. There is however another cuisine steeped in love and this, according to Eat Out has to be Italian. “Who doesn’t adore spaghetti messily twisted around a fork, lovingly folded parcels of ravioli, and stretchy, hot, pizza cheese sticking to your chin? How about honest, handmade pasta, and sun-warmed ingredients like tomatoes and herbs? Not forgetting the robust red vino. Italian food is generous, rich and it warms the heart and soul.”

And again, in South Africa we’re spoilt for choice. In Johannesburg alone there is ‘86 Public, Amarcord Osteria Italiana, Assaggi, The Ant Café, Café Del Sol, Casalinga Ristorante, Ciao Baby Cucina, Franco’s Pizzeria and Trattoria, Da Graziella Pizzeria and Trattoria, and at Montecasino you can dine at La Scala.

It’s possibly not as popular as French or Italian, but a Portuguese restaurant is a fantastic choice when you’re next wondering where to eat. Its fiery flavours found in chilli peppers, lemon, black pepper, saffron, coriander, olive oil and garlic make for a wonderful gustatory experience. Restaurants across the country recommended by Eat Out include Adega, Casa Valdez, Pigalle, Peri Peri De Mocambique, LM in the East, Catemba, Beira Alta, Casa da Galinha, and A Churrasqywira.

So in conclusion, where to eat, when there are thousands of available options, remains a question difficult to answer. It is however a privileged journey, one that the true foodie is just too grateful for.

May 11, 2015 Articles, Eating, Drinking & Going Out 0

TribeOne Festival: Tshwane mayor still confident of recovering R25m

The City of Tshwane and its mayor, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, are confident the council will recoup the R25 million paid to the organisers of the TribeOne Festival which was supposed to kick off today.

But the city will likely have to fight for its money because event managers say they don’t owe the city a cent.

The organisers pulled out last week claiming the Dinokeng site near Cullinan was not ready.

Yesterday the High Court in Pretoria struck off the roll the city’s urgent application to challenge the cancellation.

 

The city’s Selby Bokaba has accused the event organisers of cancelling the event for the wrong reasons.

 

“They are being disingenuous. They’re playing this [public relations] campaign which is based on nothing but lies.”

But Derrick Kauffman, a lawyer representing one of the organisers Sony Entertainment, says the cancellation was valid.

“If we are successful in alleging the city’s repudiation was indeed repudiation and the cancellation was valid, then they lose the ability to claim back the money.”

After the matter was struck off the roll yesterday, Kauffman said this was a great victory.

“We were vindicated. The judge struck the matter from the roll by ruling there was no urgency for the application to be heard.”

He added that the judge ruled costs were reserved which means the two parties will return in a fortnight and argue who will bear the costs of the application.

 

MAYOR BLAMED ORGANISERS

Ramokgopa says they took the organisers to court to ensure the city’s reputation was not dragged through the mud.

“The only reason we went to court was to protect ourselves. It’s a reputation issue. The face of the concert might be TribeOne, but it’s the ultimately the City of Tshwane.”

 

He said plans are being put into place for the concert to take place at a later date.

The mayor denied the city failed to build the necessary infrastructure for the festival and has blamed organisers for failing to sell enough tickets.

City officials remain adamant the venue was ready, but organisers Sony Entertainment and TribeOne say their assessment showed it was not safe for the three-day event.

The festival, which would have seen performances by 130 local and international artists, including Nicki Minaj and J Cole, was cancelled last week after Sony Music Entertainment Africa pulled out.

TICKET ISSUE

Ramokgopa said organisers estimated that 100,000 people would attend, but only about 3,000 tickets were sold by the third month.

He said the organisers themselves approved the venue.

“We received a presentation from the organisers themselves, not from our team, which confirmed that they were satisfied and also to share with us how far they were with regard to the sales of the tickets.”

An estimated R65 million has been spent for the cancelled event, but Ramokgopa said the council was still planning to stage the event soon.

“The case with regard to a concert of this magnitude in this area remains pending. We are proceeding with it.”

 

Source: Eye Witness News

April 7, 2015 Articles, Eating, Drinking & Going Out, Entertainment, Leisure, Sport & Adventure, Financial, Legal & Business Services 0

Sugar gets a caning

The amount of hidden sugar in processed food is slowly killing us.This is according to Fed Up, an American documentary film that will premier in South Africa next Friday.

Narrated by award-winning journalist Katie Couric and produced by Stephanie Soechtig, it compares the US food industry to the tobacco industry and suggests that it preys on consumers.

Academics and health experts argue that it is not only consumers’ fault that they are overweight and apportion some blame to food producers and easy access to addictive foods that are available 24/7.

Robert Lustig, a professor of paediatrics in endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, proposes that sugar is addictive – and processed food is full of it. Americans can’t help but eat more, he says in the film.

One grossly obese child in the documentary explains: “If I see food I get hungry.”

Americans’ actual sugar intake of 41 teaspoons a day far exceeds the recommended five teaspoons, with consumers not always realising that corn syrup, maltrose or dextrose are also names for sugar.

Lustig blames refined and processed foods for “a tsunami of metabolic diseases”, referring to heart attacks, obesity, strokes, cancers and, of course, diabetes.

“If you eat a bowl of cornflakes without sugar, or a bowl of sugar without cornflakes, the effect on your body is the same,” he says.

The film works to discredit the idea that one can just outrun a bad diet. Food with sugar is still bad for you, no matter how much you exercise, it argues.

The food industry has hit back, explaining that it has removed 1.5billion calories from processed food in the US.

“Junk is still junk, even if it is less junky,” responds US journalist and healthy eating activist Michael Pollen.

South Africans are also deluged by processed foods with hidden sugars, but people here are more likely than Americans to prepare food at home, said dietician Tabitha Hume. She said she did not believe food was addictive “but producers know exactly how to create high-flavour food that affects the brain, making people feel awesome”.

At the Discovery Vitality screening of the film, bariatric specialist Tess van der Merwe complained about the ubiquity of junk food.

“There are even vending machines in hospitals, places that are supposed to be havens of safety.”

Hume advised: “We don’t know what is in our packaged food. People need to visit a dietician to be taught to read labels if they are going to eat prepared meals.”

Source: TimesLIve

April 7, 2015 Articles, At Your Service, Eating, Drinking & Going Out 0

Hungry Lion serves up Guinness World Record on Heritage Day

On Heritage Day, Hungry Lion set a new Guinness World Record for the largest serving of fried chicken, handing out over 1.6 tons free chicken to Mitchells Plain residents from a mega sized, 4-metre version of its Pride Bucket, which was specially produced for the attempt.
 

Residents received 13,644 free pieces of king sized chicken with a free Coca-Cola. This broke the current record of 1,076 kg by the Qatar Food Company at the Karaage Festival in Japan.

While queuing at Liberty Promenade Mall, crowds were entertained by the popular Shoprite TopStars singers, a compilation of 12 top singers from the competitions’ eight year history. The group of singers recently released their All-stars CD and performed from the Coca-Cola mobile concert rig erected at the event.

Guinness Book of Records will officially verify the world record and, according to its requirements, two independent auditors were present to ensure the record was true to the submission requirements stipulated.

 

Source: Bizcommunity

April 7, 2015 Articles, Eating, Drinking & Going Out, Financial, Legal & Business Services, Retail & Wholesale 0

Eating, drinking and going out - the best cities in the world

Eating, drinking and going out are some of the most popular past times in the world. Research shows that Americans spend about half of their food budgets, which amounts to around $2 700 or R27 000 per year, on eating out. But which cities are best for eating, drinking and going out?

Best for eating

1. New York, USA
Also known as the City That Never Sleeps, there is hardly any city better than New York for eating, drinking and going out. It has over 10 000 restaurants serving every kind of cuisine imaginable, including Italian, Chinese, Indian, Polish, Caribbean, Mexican and much more. Add to that its many bars, pubs and clubs, and you will never need to visit another city again.

2. Tokyo, Japan
This city has the most Michelin stars in the world with 400 stars between the restaurants (even more than the city of Paris). It is most famous, however, for its quality sushi bars. Ramen Street is also a must-visit destination for steaming bowls of noodles.

3. Paris, France
Paris is of course home to many fine, French dining restaurants. It is home to some of the world’s greatest chefs, including Alain Ducasse, Joël Robuchon and Alain Passard, and the mother-ship of cookery schools, Le Cordon Bleu. The French also excel at patisserie and a visit to one of the many excellent pastry shops in the city is highly recommended.

4. London, UK
Thanks to food television, London has become the home of the celebrity chef. Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey have paved the way for a thriving restaurant culture. Thanks to a highly diverse society, many different ethnic restaurants now sit alongside the more traditional pubs and chip shops.

5. Barcelona, Spain
The Catalan city of Barcelona offers a wealth of fine dining restaurants; from exciting and innovative modern cuisine, to more traditional classic establishments. It also has one of the world’s best food markets, the Boqueria.
Best for drinking
1. New Orleans, USA
Home of the annual Mardi Gras, New Orleans has 8.6 bars for every 10 000 households. Its most famous “drinking” street, Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, is well-known for live music and the many bars lining the street.

2. Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Thanks to a myriad of canals, Amsterdam is also known as the Venice of the North and is home to hundreds of stylish bars and clubs. The most trendy can be found in Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein.

3. Berlin, Germany
Berlin is a cultural hotspot and packed with restaurants and bars. It also has one of the best clubbing scenes in Europe. The city’s most stylish and intriguing bars can be found in the Prenzlauer Berg.

4. Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a party-goers heaven with bars, restaurants and clubs of all shapes and sizes. Join the fashionable elite in one of many flashy cocktail bars, admire the Hong Kong skyline from one of the rooftop bars, or discover the city’s historic side in one of the British-themed pubs.

5. Madrid, Spain
Certainly the most vibrant city in Spain, Madrid is known for its late night nightlife. Thanks to most bars, cafes and restaurants staying open until very late, night owls can party until the early morning hours.

Best for going out

1. Bangkok, Thailand
The cosmopolitan city of Bangkok certainly has a seedy side, but it also has a classy vibe with many gorgeous roof top hotel bars, rock bars, dance clubs and trendy pubs. Try the clubs on Sukhimvit Soi 10 or upscale Ku De Ta.

2. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Also known as the Paris of the South, Buenos Aires is the place to come if you want to dance till dawn. Another plus, is that it is less expensive than most of the big cities of the world. Those in the know recommend starting at the calmer bars of Recoleta and working up to the taverns of Palermo.

3. Las Vegas, USA
Sin City is the place to go if you fancy a night out like no other. The city bills itself as the Entertainment Capital of the World, which should already be an indication of what to expect during a night on the town. Casinos, bars, restaurants and shows are all a dime a dozen.

4. Montreal, Canada
Montreal is the party city in Canada, with most bars only shutting down in the early morning hours. You’ll find the in-crowd at the bars and pubs of Crescent Street, Sainte Catherine Street East and The Village.

5. Ibiza, Spain
Yet another Spanish city on our list, Ibiza, has become famous for its nightlife and electronic music that originated on the island. Its summer club scene is well-known and attracts thousands of tourists to the island.

The list above is only a small snapshot of the global entertainment scene and leaves plenty more exploring to do. Eating, drinking and going out is some of life’s pleasures. Don’t neglect them the next time you travel.

April 8, 2015 Articles, Eating, Drinking & Going Out 0