February 19, 2020

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Pre stay Day 7

Food Tour

Today we have a food tour scheduled. We will meet the tour at a coffee house. It is not too far away, but we have received conflicting reports regarding the safety of walking there. We will use Uber.

The app worked like a charm. David picked us up on schedule and delivered us 6 minutes. This ride cost us $3.00 including a nice tip.

Justin met us as we got out of the car and checked us in. He was acting for 4 more people when we join 4 people already upstairs. They arrived as we headed inside. It turned out that a couple from Reno and we will join Quest tomorrow. 4 others were on Quest now and chose this tour for their day in Cape Town before disembarking tomorrow. The final couple both work for the state department and are stationed in Central Africa for three years. They are here on holiday. It is a very congenial group, and Justin is a superior guide and host.

In the coffee house, we learned about how they brew coffee with a siphon. We also learned why and how they chose the beans. They specialize in a well-balanced coffee that is fine if drunk black. Alice agreed that when she drank this coffee black it was very smooth and she did not miss her milk.

We walked to our second stop, Cafe Charles. Here we experienced bobotie. This is a mild Malay curry served over yellow rice. It is accompanied with sweet chutney and sambal which was very mild. The combination of flavors was very pleasant. Time to walk on.

Now we stopped at Beluga. This beautiful restaurant seats 300 inside. We sat outside in the breeze. and enjoyed beef carpaccio &  chicken peanut pot-stickers paired with a glass of Boschendal Brut. The beef was thinly sliced and garnished with thin greens. The pot-stickers were fantastic. They had been fried on one side and then place in a steamer basket for final cooking. Chopsticks were the order of the day unless you requested a fork. One of us had a fork. Both of us had enjoyment. The champagne complemented the meal nicely.

After touring the inside of the restaurant to observe how fine it was we moved on.

This walk was a little longer and took us to Cafe Extrablatt. Here we sampled a lager, an Amber Weiss and Imperial IPA. All were good and a welcome respite from the heat. Most of us agreed that the Amber Weiss was the hit of the trio.

Now we walked to The Butcherman. This butcher shop specializes in fresh cuts of beef, pork, and lamb. Of course, chicken is also available. The butcher works behind glass at the back of the shop. Cooler shelves stocked with fresh cuts line the walls.

A specialty is dried beef in different forms. Some were chewier than others. Some had been dried with different spices. All were tasty and refreshing. These are items that travelers without refrigeration could use for good nourishment.

After sampling these we sat down to enjoy beef sausage. These fat sausages Were amazing. They were very lean and very tasty. Our breakfast bar offers beef sausages, but I have been getting the familiar pork sausages. I won’t tomorrow.

We passed through the university campus and arrived at the V&A Waterfront near the aquarium. We walked through the Water Shed, past Nobel Square and The Wheel as we headed toward a building close to the mall. Alice and I recognized this  as the building that housed the tourist information office when we stopped here two years ago. 

Now it is Cause Effect. This bar specializes in herb-infused liquor. We had a spritzer infused with an aromatic leafy plant. Cape Brandy with Malva Pudding completed the presentation. The spritzer was flavorful and very refreshing. The brandy was excellent. What a fitting end to our four and a half walk.

Justin did an outstanding job of explaining everything we ate and drank. He fleshed out that telling with stories of the history and sourcing of the product and ingredients. 

In talking to some of the others as we went our separate ways, everybody felt that we had gotten far more than our money’s worth. Justin and Cape Town Culinary Tours far exceeded our expectations.

Now we are back at the City Lodge I will try to assemble the pictures that go with the blog and upload everything before we board the ship. we heard today the internet speeds onboard are less than desirable.

For now, we are pausing to pack up our Cape Town gear, and ready our bags for tomorrow. Check out is 11:00. We will Uber to the pier. The only challenge is to get a car large enough for 4 suitcases.

It is now 10:45 Wednesday night, and I have just finished adding the pictures and publishing this blog. I am having fun. I hope you are too.