Franschhoek mountains

There are a few words in the English language that are tragically overused: delicious, delectable, sumptuous, scrumptious, gorgeous, exquisite and mouthwatering – to name but a few. When it comes to places like Genot Restaurant I wish that there was some way to resuscitate these terms, to re-inject them with their original meanings. Sadly this is not possible and I will have to make do with these clichéd, time-worn terms.

I suffer from a chronic condition my father calls ‘champagne taste on a beer budget’, which basically results in me spending an atrocious amount of my expendable income on fancy dinners and wines when I really should be focusing on the state of things like, say, my shoes. My latest over-indulgence was hosted my Genot Restaurant.

Situated on the beautiful Klein Genot wine estate in Franschhoek, the Genot kitchen is run by renowned chef Mark Radnay. I had been to the farm before, but at that stage the restaurant wasn’t quite finished yet and I had been biting at the bit to go ever since. And man, is it impressive! A large, voluminous building with clean lines and lovely surrounding landscaping, the restaurant/cellar/wine tasting room is situated smack bang in the middle of the Klein Genot vineyards. Patrons are greeted at the gravel-strewn parking lot by a very friendly attendant who then accompanies you to the restaurant and hands you over to the hostess.

Although it was a lovely balmy evening, there was a hint of thunder in the air and the proprietors had erred on the side of caution and decided not to set up the outside dining area. We were, of course, having none of that! A table was swiftly laid and we settled down to watch as dusk descended slowly and spectacularly on the Franschhoek Valley. I can only imagine what the view must be like on a clear evening, but the moodiness of the cloudy sky added a certain sense of drama that was somehow completely delicious.

Being innately curious I couldn’t just be a well-behaved customer, I had to get up and explore the restaurant. The main dining area is a stunning combination of bare brick walls, accented with baroque element like boldly printed wallpaper and an abundance of crystal chandeliers. And best of all – the kitchen is completely visible, so you can view Mark and his team bustling about preparing your meal. I am of the opinion that a visible kitchen says much about the way that a restaurant team approaches their craft – being on display like that means that you have a lot of confidence in your abilities and after having my meal I can honestly say their confidence is certainly not misplaced.

The smoking section is also lovely. As a smoker I often feel like sitting in the smoking area of a restaurant is somewhat akin to being shunted to the corner with a dunce hat, but there is none of that at Genot. The smoking section hosts the bar and is laid out around a nice, big fireplace (something I will simply have to experience in the heart of a Cape winter). The chairs and tables are comfy and stylish and imbued with the air of a gentlemen’s cigar lounge from the previous century while still managing to be completely on trend.

So, the food, oh the food! Here is what we had:

Joseph:

Rooikrans smoked snoek quiche with apricot chutney and a side salad
***
Aged sirloin (m-r) with butternut gnocchi, onion marmalade and Pinotage jus
***
Vanilla pod crème brulee with apricots and an almond koeksister

Anna-Bet:

Seared tuna with daikon cucumber & mint with a soya-mirin and wasabi mayo
***
Vanilla pod crème brulee with apricots and an almond koeksister

Beverage-wise we each had a glass of Villiera Tradition Cap Classique since we were celebrating Jo’s birthday and then moved on to a very nice bottle of Porcupine Ridge Viognier-Grenache (how incredibly cultured are we!). The wine was absolutely, unequivocally, drop-dead gorgeous and I don’t care how completely unsavvy it is to say so. Although it is a white, it went perfectly with both my fish and Jo’s meat (that was perfectly done by the way).

Special thanks have to go to Babs Sogwedla, our waitress for the evening. She succeeded in being courteous and friendly without being overly familiar, a juggling act that very few waiters ever manage to achieve. She was also well-dressed, well-spoken and completely versed in the intricacies of the menu, something that I greatly admire.

I will be keeping an eye on this restaurant; it is most certainly going to be an incredibly big hit with foodies from around the Winelands. Plus I am already envisioning a lovely spring wedding hosted in the spacious courtyard (something that will probably give my both my dad and his bank manager many sleepless nights). Do yourself a favour – if you are planning a Cape Town tour, save up and head out to Genot. There is no way you’ll be sorry.

Valentine’s Day was, of course, amazing. I may not be the most romantic man in the world, but I had organised the most romantic dinner for my girlfriend and I. For legal reasons, I won’t reveal her name, so let’s just call her Miss Sunshine. A work colleague of mine passed an email on to me, revealing this amazing dinner for two at the Synergy Restaurant, located on the seventh floor of the Nelson Rhodes Place in Cape Town. The price was fantastic as well, as it was only under R500 for a five course meal for two. I could hardly resist. I called a moment later to book our place and confirmed reservations for 7pm on February the 14th.

Flash forward three weeks. Miss Sunshine and I were smartly groomed for the night ahead. We scooted over in style, as the night was warm and inviting, welcoming all of its patrons into its inky black fold. We parked on the lower level and squeezed ourselves into the world’s smallest elevator to reach the prestigious seventh floor. What greeted us was a spectacular sight. A sparkling bar, with ebony white features as the main greeting station and rows of comfortable seating lined the restaurant up and down its entire length. We were greeted by another patron of the night, a tall blonde waitress who showed us promptly to our table.

The tables themselves were lavishly decked out in a splendid romantic theme. Little hearts decorated the crisp white table cloth and a heart was also drawn into the plush seating of our high-back chairs. Miss Sunshine was given a single red rose and we were both privy to a Strawberry Daiquiri. As we sat and watched the light slowly fade over the elegant pool (many guests live directly above the restaurant), our enthusiastic waitress greeted us with a friendly smile and our menus for the evening. Also, there was to be a draw (which we would not win). This was another highlight of the already splendid evening.

And so dinner began. We were asked of which one of the main dishes we would both be choosing, as the options were either the rack of the lamb or the pan-fried Norwegian salmon. We both chose the lamb, as we had eaten salmon for supper the night before. And with that, the menus were taken away and the Amuse-Bouche was placed in front of us. I am at a loss to explain what the meat exactly was (my girlfriend wagered ostrich, I bet on biltong) but it was presented in such a way that it did not matter. A tiny drivel of meat, splashed with glass noodles and a delectable sauce, it was a most appetising snack. We made the mistake of telling our waitress to take her time with each meal, as our food only came in 30 to 45 min intervals. After a substantial waiting period, and two drinks later, the Tomato Consommé was delivered to our table. Synergy is known for combining eclectic ingredients to create extra ordinary meals and this one was no different.

A sliver of tomato, with salmon mousse crammed inside and a quarter of what can only be described as a prawn rootie, floated gently in a tomato broth. It was a taste sensation and one that I can remember through thought alone. After another lengthy wait, the salad arrived. It was designed by the hands of an artist, as each leaf, and each cube of cheese was so expertly placed that it was almost a shame to eat it. But eat it we did.
After the longest period of time yet, the Rack of Lamb had finally arrived. It too, was handsomely decorated and wonderfully prepared. The meat was soft and moist, dripping of the bone at the slightest touch of my cutlery. This alone made up for the outright lack of service we were experiencing. It was served with a delicious potato bake concoction on the side. After berating our waitress slightly for the lack of attention, the arrival of our dessert snapped us out of the foul mood her attitude had placed us in.

The chocolate malva pudding with a twist was an unbelievable sight. Like art nouveau, the dessert was designed to shock the eyes with a unique and otherworldly sight. A ribbon of crystallised sugar jutted out of the plate, with a wafer supporting the malva pudding on the bottom. And inside the pudding, there was a scoop of ice-cream which contained a parcel of wild berry sorbet. My friends, it was the greatest dessert I have ever had, or will ever have. This marked the end of the evening, and Miss Sunshine and I did not decide to stay for coffee, it was already 10:30pm and it was time for the evening to end. Synergy was an amazing restaurant to spend our special day at; it is a pity about the poor service. I can understand that they were busy, but they could have compensated for this by having more waiters on staff. Overall, this was an amazing experience and well worth a visit. No tour in Cape Town is complete without having visited this restaurant in the sky.

So, if you’ve been reading this blog regularly you would’ve recently enjoyed my diatribe about the plastic institution that is Valentine’s Day. Although I believe that romance should not be dictated by greeting card companies and other commercial institutions, I do however believe in enjoying a good meal every now and again and Valentine’s Day is just as good an occasion as any other to indulge this particular whim of mine.

So, off we went to Eaglevlei. After a little detour (not due to a lack of directions on the website, just due to general lack of direction on my part) my partner and I arrived to find the venue buzzing with Valentine’s celebrations. This included a very talented live Jazz band, the name of which I unfortunately neglected to take, and a lovely picnic area where patrons could enjoy their own packed lunches provided they bought wine from the restaurant. This being the more frugal option, I obviously elected to have lunch at the restaurant, which happily turned out to have been a great idea.

The atmosphere was a bit tense – there is a new manager and his obvious nervousness manifested itself in a certain brusqueness towards the clientele and an unnecessarily rude manner towards the waiters themselves. My personal opinion is that a tense situation is not made any better by introducing further stressors and he would have created a much better working atmosphere by encouraging instead of berating his staff.

That aside, the rest of our lunch was AWESOME! I have been told that the Vineyard Kitchen’s food is great from various reputable sources and they were most certainly not exaggerating. After being seated in a particularly lovely part of the restaurant (a shaded area just off of the bar from where we could view all the beautiful artwork in the venue’s fledgling gallery, as well as the surrounding vineyards) we were given ample time to peruse the tempting menu and expertly guided in our wine selection.

We ended up choosing the Eaglevlei Pink 2008, a beautiful Pinotage rosé that succeeded in being simultaneously juicy and delightfully dry. Being a chardonnay fan myself I am always afraid that rosé might turn out to be too sweet, but there is no such problem with the Pink. Suffice it to say, it was so good that we probably drank it faster than is considered polite.

But let’s get to the food! I had the Gemsbok Loin with biltong sauce, a dish that was so beautifully presented that I felt bad eating it. For about a minute, then I tucked in with relish! Delicate flavor combinations and expertly cooked meat made for one of the best meals I have ever had (I have to admit that I actually made the faux pas of surreptitiously wiping the last little bits of gourmet goodness from the plate with my forefinger…). My partner enjoyed the Fillet Herbie’s Way. I unfortunately cannot attest to the flavours of this particular dish as I was not even allowed a single bite (it was that good).

We will have to go back another time to sample their dessert menu (which did look particularly luscious by the way), since we were too stuffed to even contemplate any sweets.

To summarize:

THE PROS:
• Super service from the various people that waited on us
• Fantastic food
• A beautiful location
• Live music
• Clean, beautifully decorated bathrooms
THE CONS:
• Bit of a drive (if something like that tends to bother you)
• Managerial difficulties
• A less-than-perfect website. Before I made the booking I tried to find their menu on the web, which turned out to be impossible. If I hadn’t heard good reviews of their food beforehand I would probably not have made a reservation due to this oversight. A great venue like this should really make proper use of all the media avenues they have available and their website would be a good place to start.

I would recommend a meal at Eaglevlei for anyone who enjoys having good food in a beautiful location. If you have a family you could even make a day of it. There is a great big jungle gym for the kiddies to enjoy while mum and dad partake in tasting of the estate’s wines. The venue is also great for birthday parties and could (I imagine) make a great wedding location as well. A Cape Town tour like no other, a day in the Winelands is a must for any culinary adventurer!

Down here in Cape Town, it seems that the infamous February heat is here to stay. It is this time of the year that I give up on pretending that being female means you that don’t sweat. Not the best time for a Cape Town tour. You want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? We delicate little creatures, we well-brought up ladies, we do sweat, a LOT.

Which is why leaving the house on a day when the mercury is set to rise to 42 degrees centigrade is not at the top of my list of priorities. There are only a few select reasons why I would even think of crossing the threshold on a day like this – natural disasters, an inviting swimming pool and family members in mortal peril number amongst these; as does registering to vote in the upcoming election.

I had foolishly left my registration for (possibly) the hottest day of the year. Not going was obviously not an option, so I was forced to get up from in front of my industrial strength fan and make my way down to the relevant registration station with the rest of the fools that didn’t yet have that reassuring little bar-coded sticker on the inside of their green identity documents.

I believe in giving credit where it is due and I have to applaud the Electoral Commission for making registration as easy and painless as it was. No queues, no unnecessary paperwork – just polite efficiency. (Granted, when I got outside my car had been decorated with a few COPE stickers but since these came off with relatively little effort I wasn’t too upset.) So now I am officially registered to vote in the upcoming election, which gives me the full right to criticize any halfwit decisions our government may make in the next four years.

Those of you who didn’t register, however, won’t have that luxury. You will have to sit quietly in your little corner keeping mum about corruption, mismanagement and general apathy at the hands of our future leaders. The only way that we will ever get our beautiful country to function to its full potential is to get involved, and registering to vote is the first little baby step in the right direction (even if you run the risk of getting vicarious sunburn just by heading out the door).

The time has come to stop moaning and get actively involved. Stand up and be counted – if we don’t care enough to make this country work, why should anyone else bother?

It’s hot. I’m not talking slightly balmy, I’m talking start sweating when you wake up and don’t stop until ten o’clock tonight-hot. Jip, the dreaded February heat is upon us and there is not much we can do about it except hide inside air-conditioned buildings.

On the plus side, it’s good for the grapes. At this very moment, every single winery, cellar and distillery in the Cape Winelands is abuzz with activity. Cellar lackeys are running around, dragging great big pressure pumps, stacking French Oak vats and scrubbing sorting tables to within an inch of their lives. Winemakers and administrators, on the other hand, are nervously stomping around the cellar, barking orders and generally being aggressively nervous about the state of the grapes. If they come in too slowly it means that there is something wrong with the harvest, it they come in too fast the cellar’s infrastructure won’t be able to handle it – and God forbid they come in at exactly the right tempo, then it’s just the calm before the storm and something BIG is about to go wrong.

Such is the life of a winemaker in the South African wine industry. As we all gear up for the big showdown that is the harvest, winemakers around the country are getting ready for 16 hour workdays. My father loses an average of 10kg’s each year during harvest time (which he gleefully gains back throughout the rest of the year, of course). Whether this is due to working such long hours or because he’s nervous about the state of the grapes or simply because he has to deal with the divergent opinions of 12 obstinate wine farmers, I don’t really know – suffice it to say I’m getting ready to only see my dad again in April.

But I digress. Back to the heat and why it is good for the grapes. See, the thing is, a grape’s ‘skin’ is porous, which means it can absorb things (especially water). Thus, if it should start raining now, all those lovely bunches of sun-ripened grapes that have been hard at work photosynthesizing the whole bloody summer will absorb the water through their skins and burst – which makes it effectively useless for human consumption OR winemaking. A sad state of affairs really.

So, today’s lesson is: embrace the heat. If it weren’t this hot now, then the harvest would be a disaster and in two years’ time you would have been paying through your ears for lackluster wine. Next time you go on a Cape Town tour or book accommodation in the Winelands for a weekend away, take the time to look around you. Those vineyards don’t just happen to trellis, prune and irrigate themselves; those tidy little rows of grape-bearing plants are the result of backbreaking work at the hands of viticulturists, soil scientists, farmers and farm workers. So uncork a bottle of lovely Chenin Blanc (I recommend the Riebeek Cellars Reserve Chenin, of course) and propose a toast to all the hardworking people that are the cogs in the great South African winemaking machine. Tjorts!

Elegantly wasted

Sign up for a Cape Town tour and chances are somewhere along the line you’ll find yourself heading out to Stellenbosch for a wine tour. This beautiful little town in the heart of the Boland region of the Western Cape lies surrounded by a whopping 130 wineries, cellars and wine farms.

But that is not the only thing that Stellenbosch is famous for. Stellenbosch University is the only Afrikaans-medium tertiary education facility in the whole country and was first officially established in 1918 (although there have been accredited education establishments in the town from as early as 1685). In the intervening years, the student body has grown from a modest 500 to an incredible 22 000 individuals that are housed in hostels, student homes and flats throughout the town. Those are the boring stats…

In reality, Stellenbosch is one of the most vibrant student towns you will ever come across. I studied a BA in Languages at this fine institution and can honestly say that there is no way to properly describe the energy that suffuses our beautiful campus. Think tree-lined avenues, beautifully solid faculty buildings, the largest subterranean library in the Southern hemisphere and then add 22 000 kids that just got out from under their parents’ thumbs. You can only begin to imagine the ensuing chaos.

This absolute elation culminates at Carnival, normally held at the beginning of the year when all the First Years arrive, fresh from high school, home school or a gap year abroad. Those who were lucky enough to get place in a hostel are then herded , coaxed and gently bullied into participating in ‘Vensters’ (loosely translated to ‘windows’), the street show portion of Carnival. This basically involves a girls’ and boys’ residence teaming up to produce a street play that is performed throughout town for one evening during Carnival Week. Further festivities include the mandatory floats, a big music festival on the town common and lots and LOTS of drinking.

It is estimated that the clubs in Stellenbosch accrue around 20% of their annual revenue during Carnival time. Interestingly enough, pharmacies also report a 40-50% increase in sales of the ‘morning after’ pill during this time… Get what I’m saying? The first word that comes to mind is debauchery.

Since I first arrived in Stellenbosch in 2003 the idea of Carnival has become less and less appealing each year. What’s so great about running around, losing your friends, your wallet (and at times, a few smidgeons of self-respect) – struggling to find parking and struggling even more to get into a club where you are supposed to be having oodles of fun, all the while struggling to even breathe? Pretty dismal outlook, hey?

The truth of the matter is that you outgrow Stellenbosch. There is a famous drinking song that was written by a local musician/writer called Koos Kombuis that says ‘Stellenbosch is no-man’s land’. Nothing could be truer. The first few years of studying in Stellenbosch constitutes utter bliss. You simply cannot walk into class, the library, a club or even a restaurant in town without running into someone you know… and then they start leaving. For jobs in the city, for courses at other universities, for other continents. And before you know it, it is four years later and there is not one single person you know in Bohemia. Sad but true.

As cliché as it sounds, the only thing you can really do is live in the moment. Enjoy the crystalline beauty of each moment that you are allowed to be part of it all and look forward to becoming a sentimental alumnus who write blogs about her alma mater just because she misses it all so much (even the debauchery).

Where does it go?

Payday! Whoopee! After days of living on peanut butter and toast there is nothing more satisfying than taking a surreptitious peek at my bank balance only to find it a bit less depressing. One bone of contention, however, is the dreaded bite the Taxman takes out of my modest, yet hard-earned, salary.

I used to get really pissy when taxes were mentioned. As a young working individual, I really felt (and still feel) the loss of those few hundred Rands and for what? To line the pockets of the government fat cats, to keep the gravy train on its rails? Recently, however, I’ve started to notice things going on in Cape Town. Small things, inconspicuous things, but if you start adding you up you get quite a surprise…

For one thing the streets are absolutely spotless. Granted, there’s not much we can do to improve the lacking infrastructure (short of a major demolition project nothing is going to make a difference) but there is not a piece of paper or a scrap of plastic lying around. This begs the question – have the good people of Cape Town all undergone a simultaneous ecological paradigm shift? Or could it be that government is finally getting with the program? Surely not?

But they have, it seems. Helen Zille was recently named the best mayor in the world and I can see why. I daily encounter teams of neatly dressed men and women who are cleaning the streets, sweeping up garbage and cleaning the gutters. At night time these groups are replaced by a neighbourhood watch. I come from a small town with very little crime, my parents sleep with the back door unlatched for heaven’s sake, but I can honestly say I’ve never felt safer anywhere than in Cape Town right now.

Furthermore, during the December holidays when I drove out to Onrus to join my parents over weekends, I noticed road works. You know – those stop/go numbers that irritate the living bejeesus out of everybody. I also noticed increased police presence on the road, which included various road blocks, one of which made me over an hour late for a dinner date. But despite the relative inconvenience of these encounters, I was impressed. For the first time since I can remember I could see my tax money at work and I liked what I saw.

I am cautiously optimistic about the future of our country. Soon it will be 2010 and all the football fans that join us for Cape Town tours from around the globe will be going back to their home countries with pleasant memories of their stay in sunny SA. They will tell their friends and then they will tell theirs and before you know it we may just be able to boost our tarnished worldwide reputation just a little.

It saddens me to see my friends leave our beautiful shores to go seek their fortunes elsewhere. I am getting fed-up of going to a farewell party every single weekend, it makes me mad. I understand their reasons for leaving but I still feel they’re copping out. Why not stay and help us make this country work? Why tuck tail and run at the first sign of hardship? My dad has a saying, “The grass is only greener on the other side because there is more manure over there” and I tend to agree.

Suffice it to say I am here to stay and I’m glad that government has finally joined the party.

The pride and joy of Marianne Wine Farm

Waitressing is a strange profession. Most people hate it, but then there are a few select individuals that find it an easy and lucrative venture. I fall into the latter category. Even though I’ve had various grown-up nine to five jobs, I always manage to squeeze in a few waitressing shifts throughout the week. It’s tax free, cash-in-hand and I am a people person, which means I actually like serving customers. (Well, most of the time. You do get a very broad selection of dining douche bags that should really just stay home.)

The latest restaurant that has the pleasure of my weekend services is Olivello, a beautiful lakeside eatery situated on Marianne Wine Farm just outside of Stellenbosch. Having worked at various franchise restaurants in my time Olivello has been a welcome breath of fresh air. The wooden cottage lies nestled in the crook of a hillside, enveloped in vineyards and flanked by a beautiful lake. Since the setting is so breathtaking the managerial team have take great care not to overpower the venue with unnecessary embellishment. Simply, elegant wooden tables and chairs are complemented by gingham tablecloths and a sprinkling of fairy lights that add a delicious whimsical touch. One simply cannot imagine a more beautiful place to work.

Lynne and Laurille, the enigmatic proprietors, have a genuine love for the hospitality industry. After an exciting, but quite hectic, decade spent managing Café Paradiso in Cape Town, they have brought all their combined knowledge of the industry to the table. Lynne Aberdeen is the food lover and the brain behind Olivello’s inspiring menu’s; while Laurille Krug’s wine knowledge informs the tasty, yet affordable, wine list.

The venue operates on an A’ la Carte basis from Wednesday to Friday. Saturdays are normally reserved for a function (such as weddings, birthday parties or cooking demos) and Sunday’s for the Mediterranean Table, a buffet-style dining experience that has people flocking to Olivello from far and wide. If you’re anything like me, the word ‘buffet’ conjures up images of limp vegetables and overcooked meat in your mind. Not so at Olivello. By the time the waiters sign in on Sunday mornings the kitchen staff had already been at it for hours, chopping, slicing, kneading, basting, you name it. Simple, fresh food is what Lynne does best, which means that everything from the lip-smacking Limoncello to the fragrant seasoning salts are made right there in Lynne’s kitchen.

By noon the restaurant is set, each glass gleaming, each piece of cutlery meticulously polished. As the guests start to arrive Lynne and her team begin by putting out the soups and antipasti’s. (A word of caution: if you ever to end up making the trip to Olivello, be careful. Filling up on the starters is an amateur mistake I’ve seen newcomers make time and again. DON’T DO IT. Keep space for the main course – it’s worth it I promise). These vary from week to week and include everything from dolmades to hummus and all kinds of pretty dishes with names I really can’t pronounce.

Next the blinds to the kitchen area are drawn up and the doors thrown open, inviting diners inside to dish up the main course. Again, there is something different every week, but you can expect treats like Mediterranean lamb, vegetable frittata, fresh fish, etc. Add to this a sumptuous dessert menu that features, amongst other things, a provoking Pavlova and a charming chocolate torta, and you can understand why this little wooden cottage is filled to the brim with customers every weekend, come rain or shine.

Working at Olivello has really opened up my eyes to what the world of restaurant dining is supposed to be about. It’s supposed to be about creating an experience, about offering your customers a relaxing spot in which to enjoy the food and drink they’ve come so far for. Restaurants are meant to facilitate escapism much in the same way as good movies and novels do. Sadly we live in an era of mass production and instant gratification and many restaurant proprietors seem to subscribe to the minimum input/maximum profit management style. The only good way to express my disgust at this notion is by means of an Afrikaans expression: “SIES MAN!!!”

So, next time you feel like getting out of the city and taking a Cape Town tour, why not venture out to Olivello? I guarantee the setting (and Lynne’s unique brand of Cape Comfort food) will have you smiling in no time.

Recovery room with a view

There are many reasons to visit the Mother City. We have the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a whole host of incredible beaches, the Waterfront, Table Mountain, the Constantia wine route, a penguin colony, antique stores aplenty, colourful street performers, a laughably good exchange rate and the bulk of South Africa’s worthwhile restaurants and dining establishments (to name but a few). In light of all of this, it would seem strange that many people from around the globe come to Cape Town expressly to take advantage our medical establishments, doctors and rehabilitation facilities, yet they do.

Medical tourism is becoming a booming trade. Places like Panama, Brazil, Malaysia, Costa Rica and India have been tapping this particular vein for a number of years, and it seems South Africa is pretty keen to join the party. (For the uninitiated: the term ‘medical tourism’ relates to a branch of the travelling industry that allows foreigners to combine affordable plastic- or reconstructive surgery with pre- and post-operative forays around the country).

Not a big fan of gratuitous elective plastic surgery myself, I can still understand why foreigners name South Africa as a preferred medical tourism destination. Let’s tick the relevant points, shall we? We have:

1. A favourable exchange rate (my aunt and uncle from America recently had dental work done in Cape Town and their whole trip, including flights, transport, accommodation and the actual cost of the procedures came to around four times less than they would’ve paid for the same treatment in California).
2. High quality medical care facilities.
3. World renowned surgeons and physicians (remember the whole heart transplant thing?).
4. Incredibly scenic surrounding in which to recuperate.
5. Reputable establishments that facilitate medical tourism trips. This includes everything from flights to airport transfers, consultations with surgeons, the actual surgery, a recuperation period in the locale of your choice, as well as pre- and post-operative trips around sunny South Africa.

Basically what you’re looking at is First World health care at Third World prices. What’s not to love about that? Accommodation venues include the likes of five star Constantia and Camps Bay hotels, as well as the beautiful Arabella Sheraton. After your surgery, you can then decide whether you would like to go on a tour of the Winelands, enjoy a Big Five Safari tour or participate in a thorough exploration of the country’s most illustrious golf courses. South Africa is quite literally your oyster (especially if you happen to be around Knysna while to Oyster Festival is underway).

So, there you have it – one more reason to include Cape Town in your global itinerary.

My hero.

I think about videogames constantly. As a child in Cape Town, it was not the tennis courts or the soccer fields which called my name, but the incessant beeping of my Famicon [Nintendo] console. From a very young age, my calling was the arcades. I remember my father having to hoist me up so that I could reach the greasy controls of my favourite game. Final Fight, Pac-man, Donkey-Kong and many more, were my teachers. The virtues they extolled on me were no less than “Be the best at everything you do in life”. As I aged, my lust for gaming grew into a typhoon of consoles; a whirlwind of the latest titles flooded my living room floor daily as I swopped between them. Super Mario, Mega-man and Final Fantasy were my friends and I needed no one else.

My obsession has not abated over my 29 years of living. I have had [in order of date] Nintendo, Game boy, a Mega-drive, Playstation one, Game boy colour, Playstation two, Sony PSP, Xbox 360. Many of these consoles drained my poor parents of money but as I entered into manhood I began to purchase them for myself, distancing my collective guilt and further fuelling my lust for the latest and greatest titles. Loves of my life have become ex-loves as I blatantly ignored them over racing cars or space-ships. This may all sound churlish and naive to you, but for millions of men and women around the globe [mostly men] this is a real and exciting world we live in and play in daily. Just this morning, I was wandering around the irradiated landscapes of Washington DC as my girlfriend slept peacefully in bed. It will probably be the most fun I have all day. And when online gaming captures me, there will be no release.