Our South African travel blog will be incomplete without a posting dedicated to the food! We loved the food, so much that I bought a cookbook! I could write a novel on all the different types of food and their respective histories - hence the name 'Rainbow' Cuisine. But to save time and to save me from drooling while composing this posting, here is a link to an article that covers it all!
Authentic Cape Malay (indonesian influenced food with a touch of Dutch) food is not easy to find, but we were treated to some good home-cooking food on the safari and while we were in the Wild Coast. Boerwors (handmade sausages), Bobotie (my favourite - mince baked with a custard topping and the most yummy spices), curries, Impala Potjie (tradiational stew), etc.
Biltong (beef jerky) is Charlie's favourite. They love it so much here you can find a Biltong shop on every other corner. Bunny Chow is another. It's basically Indian curry in a half loaf of bread. It's cheap and delicious.
Then there are the yummy veggies like Butternuts, Sweet Potatoes (different from the ones we get in the States), Pepperdews (a very small red pepper that's sweet and a little hot - extremely delicious) that always accompanies the salads, meat dishes and are essentials at the Braai (bbq).
We also had some authentic Xhosa food in the Wild Coast, where the Xhosa people live, which consists of a plate with cabbage salad, beet salad or some greens supposedly made up of 13 different herbs, pap (like grits), and samp - a corn and bean type slop but very yummy. The best Xhosa meal we had (and definitely one of the best meals we had on this trip), believe or not, was from a dingy little take away place at the gas station on a side road from Coffee Bay to the highway - for R12 (less than US$2) - and that came with a generous portion of the most tasty mutton I have ever had.
Of the various traditional dishes, Cabbage salad, Beet Salad, Pap, Boerwors, Biltong, and especially the Braai - the most popular way to eat in his country, seem to be common throughout South Africa, for Blacks, Coloureds and Afrikaaners alike. They are truly the meat and potatoes kinda people.
Posted by Karen at June 02, 2004 04:20 AM