South Africa, Club Mykonos, Langebaan

OK, for a change I want to tell you a bit about travel, not just food. This time it is about a holiday destination in South Africa, in Langebaan on the west coast, about 100 north of Cape Town.

Club Mykonos is the perfect retreat for either a weekend or even one or two weeks at the time. It is all self catering with built in BBQ or Braai as it is called in South Africa. The rooms are serviced daily and one actually finds everything that is needed in the huge complex. Usually one apartment sleeps 4 or 6 people and there is ample space for everybody. The kitchen is well stocked and the stove works very well, which is important for me, being a chef.

There is of course a Casino, so if anybody is interested in making a quick buck or two (or loosing them) this is the place to go. It is not one of the major fancy casinos in Cape Town, but it is overall very nice.

There are a couple of restaurants and bars on the complex. Yes it is nice to have a cold beer or drink at the pool while the kids are playing in the jungle gym. The main restaurant seems a bit big for me, especially in quieter times, but I can imagine that it is humming in high season. I liked the coffee shop a lot, it is just nice to pop in and have something small to eat. The atmosphere is cosy and warm.

Club Mykonos emphasizes the kids entertainment. There is not just a kids centre where they can play, but one can rent Play Stations and more and of course there is a kids program, even out of season which is great for parents who like to have a bit free time. In the photo below you can see the kids centre, it is quite big and has a lot to offer.

There is a lovely mini golf track which is really close to the restaurants and the small shop, so one can play and just pop over to the shop and get an ice cream. There is everything one needs in the shop, so if you need some bread, cereal, milk, yogurt or juice, they have it. It is just so convenient. Even so if someone wants to stock up the fridge a bit more extensively there is a shopping center less than 5 minutes drive from the complex

And then of course being next to the Atlantic, there is a big yacht club. So one can actually sail to Club Mykonos, stay there, use the golf club in Langebaan which is really beautiful and just have a good time. There are many events all year round, yacht races and more, so it is worth checking out the website to be up to date at all times

Overall this is a great place to be, even so far from Cape Town it is still close enough to do a day trip there and enjoy the tourist attractions there

South Africa, West Coast things to do

OK, you are on holiday in Cape Town and have some time on your hand, so why mot have a little drive up the beautiful West Coast. It is not far but there is plenty to do.

Start the drive and go over Darling, the stunning little Victorian village, worth stopping and walk through the lovely streets with all the renovated Victorian houses. Maybe stop at Ormonde Wine Estate for a tasting, you won't be disappointed. Of course Darling is the town of Evita Perron, or Peter Dirk Uys little theatre, museum and coffee shop. A must to stop there too. The hand made glass pearl animals are so beautiful and well made, and the Koeksusters are amazing.

Then there is the West Coast National Park, lovely to drive through when going to Langebaan, a lovely village on the coast.

Why I actually write this blog so is because of the West Coast Farm Stall. When you drive from Darling direction Yzerfontein......yes you remember right the little seaside resort where I had the sheep's heads last Christmas, you will arrive at the Farm Stall just when crossing the R27. There are plenty of bird cages with exotic birds and the latest attraction is the Lions. They have white and normal Lion and one can get to them with a short tractor drive. The perfect stop with kids, they can see the lions and then play in the jungle gym.

There is Sunday Lunch, and every day lunch. Just a buffet with self service, but really good value for money. Don't expect fine dining, but be sure the tummy will be full.

About an old Swartland Food Tradition Baaaaah

Happy New Year

I hope all of you had a good Festive Season and is ready to put all the New Year’s resolution into practice! It was a busy time, at least from an eating side and being “off line” for a couple of weeks, there is a lot to catch up on!

Now, in the New Year I will have some small changes on the Blog, (my New Year’s resolution) but it will evolve only slowly. I want to start giving the recipes not just in Kilos and Liters, but always in Cups as well. I never thought about that before, being a chef, I only work in Grams and Liters, but many people don’t, so it should make it easier for the recipes.

Of course there will be plenty of recipes, but as well travel experiences and, new, some wine stories, as food and wine go hand in hand.

So, what happened here in the West Coast of South Africa? A lot, that’s for sure but here some of the highlights…….

I always liked the lamb here in the West Coast as well known as Swartland Lamb. I know one says that the Karoo (a huge high plateau, quite arid and full of flavorful scrubs and grasses) is the place for the best lamb, but I like to disagree on that point. Yes I had some wonderful lamb from the Karoo but as well some; let’s say rather strong tasting lamb. The Swartland lamb I always like to compare with the highly priced Pré Salé from the French Atlantic coast. Beautiful tasting lambs as the animals eat the grass close to the coast with traces of sea salt on it which makes the meat really nice and flavorful.

So Lamb is big in the West Coast and in a small town called Yzerfontein, 25 km away from where we live, there is every year the traditional Sheep’s Head eating. There is even a club organizing it every year and, wow, it is popular. Taanya, my wife, found out about it last year already and organized us some tickets for this years feast. They serve as well curried offal and fried Snoek, a fish caught locally for the less adventurous, but we were there for the sheep’s head, the real deal. I felt a bit like Andrew Zimmern from the food show “Strange Foods” and yes I was a bit nervous about the whole lot…..it is a rather strange thing to eat. But it is a long standing pre-Christmas Tradition and Taanya saying it was a great opportunity not to be missed, I said why not!!!! My main worry was of course how would it be cooked, will it be nice and roasted or just plain boiled in water and be all glibberish? Then of course how does one eat a whole head???? We will need some expert advice!!!

Firstly I have to say, the heads were cooked absolutely beautifully, simply wrapped in tin foil and then roasted in the oven in its own juices. The taste was mild, but definitely lamb, just wonderful and I have to agree, unexpected. So I started straight with some meat at the neck, mmmmmm, so juicy, then the tongue, I know not everybody’s favored, then an old fox showed me how to get to the brain. We had sharp knives, like a Swiss army knife and we were cutting and lifting the back of the head, then pulling out the brain…..I know it sounds terrible but it was nice. With the head we had stunning, crusty home baked bread, assorted jams and preserves, all one really needs. Taanya too got stuck in, enjoying it tremendously. She first made sure that she has all the meat from the head, especially the cheeks, before going to the other parts. The cheeks were just melting on the tongue, they were so tender.

I did not think that the head would be so filling, I could hardly finish everything. Yes it is not everybody’s taste, but it was a real experience, not to be forgotten. We had a lovely wine from the region, a Cloof Inkspot which went perfectly well with the meat, we met some lovely people from Pretoria, on holiday in the Cape (they all did not eat the head) but we had wonderful conversation and a great time.

Loads of people just popped in to get some take away, the sheep’s heads were sold out within no time and mountains of food went into the cars of local residents. We had a coffee to finish off a lovely lunch and brought some take away (curried offal) to Taanya’s folks who were looking after the kids as a thank you that we could enjoy lunch “peacefully”. They just loved their take away and will join us next year for the whole event.

As you can see Taanya is very methodical with her sheep's head eating!