My mom and dad like to call me in the evening, South African time, and without fail, they would ask, “Aren’t you supposed to be cooking dinner?”

The truth is we don’t (have to) cook every day at home because we have lots of friends in South Africa who cook and I really do eat like a queen without lifting a finger on some days. Sometimes we do meet at a restaurant, but most of the time, it’s a home cooked meal. Or rather, elaborate and hearty home cooked meals.

Just to give some recent examples, here’s me digging into a sumptuous Mexican meal. Definitely the best home cooked Mexican meal we’ve ever had. Look at the size of the fajita I was building!

Margaritas to kick off the evening, followed by fajitas, tacos, pico de gallo, guacamole, mexican rice and lots of salads. It was a meal for the royalty alright.

The best tacos are always home made. Because they will be overfilled with the best stuff. =)

On very cold evenings, the steamboat pot is out. Nothing gives a better kick than a good spicy ma-la hot pot. That Szechuan peppercorns infused broth will make everyone sweat.

I love steamboats and it’s extra shiok to eat it outdoors on a roof top, in the cold.

Nothing beats a bowl of hot spicy broth with my favourite liao. That shrimp and fishball were practically whispering my name. That’s my ultimate comfort food, living overseas. The fish balls were my contribution. My last stash of fresh fish balls smuggled into South Africa from Singapore. I am once again in deprivation mode for my favourite fish ball noodles.

We’ve been really blessed to have so many friends in our life to share our love for food with. We’re constantly treated to all kinds of gastronomic delights.

So yeah, I’m not always the one cooking these days. =)
 

We were wowed by Cleopatra’s environment when we first arrived at the farmhouse. See earlier post on Cleopatra Drakensberg Mountain Farmhouse.

But the biggest surprise came when it was dinner time. We had been informed earlier that all meals were included in the deal we had paid for, but what we didn’t know was that Cleopatra was notorious in the region for their food and exquisite dining experience and we were going to be in for a really good treat.

After driving an entire day, the hubby was relieved that we would get to eat a “special anniversary dinner” without him having to go find a romantic restaurant at the last minute for us. Yes, I do make my man sweat when it comes to anniversaries. Heh heh. Ladies, do learn. =)

The evening started with drinks in a gorgeous lounge.

It’s so nice to have a fireplace to huddle up close to when it’s like 10°C outside. I was freezing! We went down to the underground wine cellar and the hubby picked out some lovely wine for our dinner.

When everyone was quite relaxed smashed from the cocktails and wine, the maitre d’ stepped in and began to explain the menu for the day. This would be the moment where everyone started to wipe their mouths as we all salivated with every word she spoke.

It’s a blurred shot of the maitre d’ in front of the menu board because I had snapped a shot only after she had finished speaking.

It was a gastronomic feast ahead. I had forgotten that people still do eat 6 course dinners over 2 hours. This housewife has gotten too used to chop chop dinners and hearty home meals.

Just looking at the cutlery made me excited –

I loved the way Cleopatra let all the guests mingle when it was pre-dinner drinks and then separated us into our own private corners when it came to the actual dinner. This gave us our own romantic space. It was really dark in there and the candles were really our only source of light.

Every dinner we had at Cleopatra’s was amazing. It was extravagant. Ridiculously elaborate. Almost pretentious. But heaps of fun for us. And everything, especially the main courses was so yummilicious. It was gastronomic paradise.

Here are some of our favourites from the experience -

The best wild mushroom soup we’ve had in a long time. I found a recipe on their website here.

A lovely roasted yellow pepper with roasted tomatoes and shaved parmesan cheese and olives. I’ve done something similar with our boy once here.

Smoked salmon soup with caviar

Shrimp wrapped in parma ham over avocado

Our all time favourite main course. It was to die for -

Roasted springbok with potatoes, asparagus and pumpkin

We ate like royalty. It was hard to believe we were in a mountain farmhouse and not in a posh Michelin 5 star restaurant in a big city.

Roast lamb on potatoes and cannellini beans

Be careful not to stuff yourself with bread rolls before the meal. The kitchen bakes fresh twice a day and the rolls are SO GOOD. Plus, the chef Richard is famous for his sauces and every dish had the most delicate and delicious sauce. We could not resist mopping up the jus with our rolls. Recipe on their website here.

Dessert is always the best part of the meal and after so much food in the beginning, it’s a wonder if you can still find any space in the stomach for it.

Stewed pear in red wine, over puff pastry. Served with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce

I didn’t take down any notes for the food we ate, yet I remember them so well because they were really unforgettable meals. My only complaint is we did go to bed with our stomachs quite full. The maitre d’ recommended that everyone nibbled and enjoyed the taste of the food instead of gobbling it all down, but I was like, What?? I wasn’t wasting any good food here. Heh heh.

And just when we thought only dinner was fancy, we woke up to the kind of breakfast we’ve never eaten before. The breakfasts served at Cleopatra took fancy to a whole new level for us.

I think I will never eat cereal for breakfast again. Is the hubby reading this?

Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse is located in the beautiful Drakensberg region in South Africa, and is approximately 5.5 hours drive from Johannesburg. Rates start from R1595 (~SGD252) per person per night.

Sometimes I cannot believe the life we lead. One moment I’m getting mud on my feet playing with children, and the next day, we are having one of the poshest high teas I’ve ever had in my life at The Westcliff Hotel.

The Westcliff is one of the fanciest hotels in Johannesburg. It’s on elevated land and all the rooms are on a hill. They have vans and buggy carts to send guests to their rooms and to the restaurants. And the restaurants provide a view like this -

The entrance to the restaurant, La Belle Terrasse appeared to be unimpressive..

But once we entered the room, it was gorgeous inside.

We haven’t had such a posh meal in a while and I was thrilled. I had skipped breakfast and lunch for this spread!

The buffet was pretty impressive (although not so by Singaporean standards). There were savoury items like roast beef station, lots of salads, sushi, rolls, sandwiches and soups. And then there were the yummilicious scones, cakes and fruit.

One cannot be counting calories in an experience that involved so much good food..

I loved the whole set up of this high tea. It was wonderful.. sipping tea, nibbling on delicate food, taking in the gorgeous view and chatting non-stop with good friends. The restaurant’s service was fabulous.

I am really grateful for the variety of experiences we can have here in Johannesburg.

The high tea (or any of their buffets, actually) gets booked up very quickly. We had to book weeks in advance. So if you are keen, book early!

High tea at the The Westcliff Hotel is served at the La Belle Terrasse every Sunday from 1pm to 5pm at R225 (~SGD36) per person. For reservations, call +27 (0)11 481 6000 or e-mail: restaurantreservations@westcliff.co.za

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And now for the results of The Bing Necklace Giveaway..

There were a total of 136 entries, after removing all duplicate entries. And the winner is … *drumroll*… Comment #126!

Comment #126 -

Susan Lee – My favourite accessory has to be my earrings which I wear everyday. It was my 21st birthday present and has been wearing it ever since.

Congratulations, Susan! I hope you will like your own customised name necklace. And hope it goes well with your favourite earrings!

Big thanks to everyone who supports this blog and who took part in the giveaway.
 

We love seafood and one of our favourite restaurants in Johannesburg is The Fishmonger. There are two outlets that we frequent and both have never failed us.

Take a look at a typical platter that I will have for lunch. Yummmm…

Joburg is an inland city and it’s much easier to find a great steak here than a beautiful piece of fish. So when you get prawns, calamari, langoustines, mussels and fish fillets together, it’s like heaven on a plate.

Fishmonger is very flexible and will put together any platter your heart desires. And they have the loveliest creamed spinach and roast squash to go with it.

I always start a meal here with lobster bisque. It’s a large bowl of the most delicious creamy soup at only about R45 (~SGD7.40). Super good value. And it’s served with lots of warm soft bread rolls.

The hubby loves this restaurant for its Japanese food. Weird, but true. This is his favourite place for fresh sashimi and sushi.

We do all our Japanese takeaways here. Some seafood and white wine and it’s a lovely meal.

The restaurant is very popular so it can get crowded and noisy. We know which tables to pick if we want a quiet spot. And our favourite spots are always al fresco.. dining under the stars with a soft breeze in our faces is the most romantic way to have a date night dinner.

The Fishmonger restaurants are located at the Thrupps Centre at Illovo, Johannesburg and at the Firs Piazza at Rosebank, Johannesburg.
 

I was wearing my Bing necklace in the above picture. Don’t forget to take part in the giveaway here.

One lucky reader will get to win a customised name necklace. Just like my Bing necklace but with your name of choice! Giveaway closes on Tuesday 3 April 2012 at 11:59pm UTC+8.
 

We miss alot of Singaporean dishes when we live overseas. And one of the foods that Singaporeans miss most is pandan chiffon cake. It’s the kind of food that we take for granted when we live in Singapore because it’s so readily available. But once we become expats, a taste of that good old green cake will bring warm fuzzy feelings of home.

I’m not sure why I decided to learn to make it. I wasn’t craving badly for it. And I wasn’t feeling very enthusiastic about baking in South Africa, given the higher altitude conditions. But I found myself smuggling in some pandan leaves when I came back to Johannesburg from Singapore.

When the leaves threatened to turn bad and go to waste, I finally moved my ass and baked a pandan chiffon cake with them. I did alot of research and found most recipes to be somewhat the same. They had pandan juice, lots of eggs, coconut milk, vegetable oil, flour and sugar. And they all called for merciless beating of the egg whites.

This version is a combination of ideas from several recipes I’ve researched online and it worked very nicely for me, even with my first attempt.

If you’re after the perfect recipe that gives you the perfect looking and perfect tasting pandan cake, you’re at the wrong place. This is not necessarily the prettiest looking pandan chiffon cake.. hell, I didn’t even have a pan large enough for it to rise neatly.. and I had some large air bubbles in the cake.. but it was love at first bite when I sank my teeth into it. Light, fluffy and delicious. If you’re Singaporean and have been living overseas for a while, this cake will literally take you home.

CLICK HERE for more photos and tips, and for a step by step tutorial + recipe on how to make this cake.
 

When in Africa, one must try some game meat, even if it’s just for the experience. One of the best places to sample game meat is at The Carnivore Restaurant.

The concept of this restaurant is very much like a Brazilian churrascaria. All kinds of meat is served buffet style, where the servers bring the meat to you and slice it on to your plate. We had an experience like that in Los Angeles in 2009 at the Fogo De Chao restaurant.

I was a huge skeptic about this restaurant because we drove for half an hour from the city to it and the road leading to the restaurant was pitch dark with no street lights. I couldn’t believe that tucked in a corner of what seemed like forsaken land was this gorgeous restaurant.

It was larger than I had expected. The atmosphere was wonderful and the service was very professional. I was impressed even before we started eating.

The Carnivore claims that herbivores can have a great time here too because they have a selection of vegetarian options, but I say if you are not a meat lover, forget it. Even if you ate only vegetables, the smell of logs and logs of meat being slowly roasted on Masaai tribal spears on this huge circular open fire grill will drive you nuts if you aren’t ready for some protein.

And speaking of protein, at The Carnivore, be prepared for protein overload. Because it’s all meat, meat and meat. There was an incredible selection of meat from the typical beef, pork, chicken and lamb to impala, kudu, zebra, venison, crocodile and zebra.

This is the place where you can have a taste of the safari in one plate. My friend, Martina and I are big meat lovers and were visibly excited. Well, she was more excited than I was. We are talking about a girl who eats her steak blood red. Yikes!

The server came to brief us on how the meal would work and told us that every table had a standing flag. When we were done eating or would like a pause, we had to “surrender” and place the flag down. The meat servers would then stop bringing meat to our table. We were like.. We will NEVER surrender!!

We were served some honey bread and a soup of the day to start off the meal. It was both delicious but we were careful not to stuff ourselves with carbs so we nibbled and sipped lightly. Heh heh. I loved the zebra themed crockery!

A lazy Susan came along with a medley of salads at the bottom and lots of different sauces to complement the meats was presented to us. I didn’t try all the sauces because the cranberry sauce was so delicious that I ate all my meat with it.

Once we began with the meats, they kept coming..

I had so much game meat on my plate even though every meat was a small slice. I just wanted to sample meats that I’ve never had before. My favourite meat was crocodile. Yummm..

The meats were beautifully flavoured, although not always cooked to perfection. Be mindful that they come in medium rare or well done. If you like the bloody type, like my friends do, ask them for a less well done cut. The meat servers are really nice folks. If you smile sweetly, they might even let you slice your own meat. Hahaha!

That parang knife made me so nervous. At one point, we asked one of the meat servers if they’ve ever accidentally cut someone with it while serving the meat. Thankfully, the answer was NO. Still, we all leaned back and watched our ears and noses when the knives were near.

I didn’t think I could eat dessert but the chocolate ice cream turned out to be delicious. So I polished off two scoops before we called it a night.

Here are two happy people with very round bellies. We were careful to do head shots only. *burp*

This is a really fun concept restaurant to bring visitors for a taste of the meats in South Africa. It’s not the best food you’ll find in South Africa, but it’s very entertaining. I highly recommend it.

The Carnivore is located at 69 Drift Boulevard, Muldersdrift, South Africa.
Tel: +27 (0)11 950 6061. The cost of the buffet was R175+ (SGD29) per person, excluding beverages.

The one thing I was very excited about in Vietnam was the food. I love Vietnamese pho and fresh spring rolls, and I warned Mom that I could very possibly want to eat those every day.

I thought it would be the easiest thing to eat since I know Vietnamese food relatively well. Except that this was both our virgin trip to Vietnam and we didn’t know till we arrived that not every Vietnamese spoke fluent English. All my Vietnamese friends do, so I had assumed that everyone in Vietnam would too!

I wish I had know this earlier and learnt some Vietnamese words before we came. Because it was NOT easy to communicate with the Vietnamese. Especially when it came to food. I had to gesture alot. Point alot. And wave my hands alot.

We ate beef pho every day. But I could never pronounce Pho Bo in the right way. The waiters grinned every time I ordered.

Asking for extra soup or condiments was relatively easy. I would point at a particular item and go More! More! They get it in one way or other in the end, but not without me feeling silly first in the restaurant. In one restaurant, the waitress didn’t even know the word More! *faints* Asking to change the rice bee hoon noodles to pho noodles in a dish was impossible.

The pho always came with beef fillet, beef flank, beef meatballs or oxtail. We liked beef flank and meatballs. So I remembered their names pho bo chin and pho bo vien (pronounced as “veen”). Quite easy.. bo chin (no chin) and bo vein (no veins).

Mom and I were pigs. We slurped up every drop of soup every time. And then asked for more soup. They hate us.

We ate lots of these fresh spring rolls too. They are my favourite and I make them alot – see Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls recipe here.

To my disappointment, I discovered that these rolls tasted better outside Vietnam than inside Vietnam. Duh. They were rock hard when they were served. And it was like that in 4 different occasions in different restaurants. Try explaining to the waiters that the rolls were too hard. In one restaurant, we tried explaining and they brought us chilli sauce, thinking that we wanted to dip the rolls in sauce. Duh. We finally gave up on this dish and stuck to deep fried spring rolls instead.

The one thing I absolutely adored everywhere was Vietnamese coffee. It was ridiculously rich and fragrant. I loved having mine drip into some condensed milk. I’m a snob. It looked like it tasted better that way.

Thick drip coffee poured over ice. Yummmmm..

There were lots of street vendors selling food in the city. I ended up eating street food because I couldn’t take their pictures without feeling like I should buy something. This wasn’t South Africa. Asians don’t enjoy having their pictures taken by strangers like that.

I tried some of those home street-made waffles and they were delicious! Although I did spot her drop one on the floor and did the 5 seconds rule on it. =p

We had a fabulous time eating in Vietnam. Unfortunately, Mom is now battling a massive bout of food poisoning. She practically hogged the toilet onboard on our way home. =(

More on Ho Chi Minh city later..
 

My friend, Suvarna is an excellent cook. I can’t believe I didn’t discover it earlier, because she writes a popular beautiful food blog at Served With Love.

The first time the hubby and I tasted her Mango Salsa, we fell in love with the dish immediately. I demanded that she give me the recipe. Yes, I’m a bitch to my friends like that. *grin* But better yet, I lured her with an afternoon of wine and fancy Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls to come to my house and make the dish for me. Heehee..

Suvarna, Clare and Me with our delicious lunch.

I am so in love with this dish that I can eat it all by myself. It goes with everything.. a salad, meat, stews, even a curry.. and definitely with some white wine. Yummmm…

This is such an easy dish to make and such a good crowd pleaser that I have decided I will make it forever. Not kidding.
 

CLICK HERE for more photos and tips, and for a step by step tutorial + recipe on how to make this dish.
 

A bunch of gals in my neighbourhood has formed a cooking club. Like my other cooking club, Diversity On The Table (DOTT), it’s just a bunch of gals who like to cook, eat and learn getting together to become better wives/girlfriends at home.

I love such get togethers because I can always learn something new. I’ve learnt to make Belgian, Korean and Senegalese dishes to date, and this time, my friend Laura showed everyone how to make a good roast chicken. Very British.

Since I cook so much, everyone expected this to be easy peasy for me. But I sheepishly admitted that I have never roasted a whole chicken in my life. Hahaha! I have tons of recipes on how to make one of course, but I’ve never really looked into it.

Laura used a recipe by Jamie Oliver (here) and it was really easy and straight forward. She made it seem so easy to put it all together that I wondered why I bother to cook Chinese food all the time and have to spend hours chopping and stir frying.

The poor chicken had to be stuffed with huge lemons.

But my pity for the poor guy ended there. The meal was fabulous. The chicken meat was falling off the bone and deliciously tender and moist. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.

Adding on to the British theme, we also had Pimms cocktails! Wahaha! Alcohol at 10.30am in the morning is seriously a luxury. The cocktail was a mix of oranges, lemons, cucumber, mint, lemonade and Pimms.

I seriously love my cooking classes! All our husbands appreciate them too, I’m sure. =)
 

My Aunt Margaret is a fabulous cook and baker. She’s the one whom I learnt to make the delicious Glutinous Rice In Lotus Leaf from.

When my cousins told me that their mom makes an even more amazing Banana Cake, I immediately asked her to teach me to make. This is one of the most amazing banana cakes I’ve ever had in my life. The technique is completely different from anything what I’ve ever done with cakes.

It’s light like a chiffon cake and not dense like banana bread. Unlike most banana cakes that are heavy and oily, this one is practically healthy!

I brought it to a party and everyone loved it.

It’s super easy to make. I’ve adapted the original recipe slightly to make it a little less sweet and give it a stronger banana flavour.
 

CLICK HERE for more photos and tips, and for a step by step tutorial + recipe on how to make this cake.