Big Tick For Twing!

When Fish Tales in Grahamstown closed down without warning, I was not particularly happy. Sure, I had been complaining about the number of places for fish in Grahamstown for awhile, but why did my favourite one have to close down? But the disappointment did not last long. Before long, I realised that the loss of one of my favourite restaurants meant the possibility for a new one to take its place.

I have never really considered myself an expert in Asian cuisine. For a long time I avoided some of the more spicy aspects of it and stuck to the regular cashew chicken at pretty much all of the Chinese, Thai and Fusion restaurants that I visited. Of course, going to Korea kind of pushed me into liking both more Asian cuisine and more spicy foods, and so when I returned to Grahamstown, I found the Asian offerings a little lacking. No Chinese, no Vietnamese, no Mongolian. There was one Thai restaurant, but even my beloved Ruan Thai felt a little lacking (not to mention that I don't get to go there nearly often enough). So, when I saw that the new restaurant had reopened over the weekend, I was very keen to find out what it was that they were offering. I knew that it had been taken over by the owners of Twing, the sushi restaurant downstairs, and I had high hopes of Chinese. And, though I wasn't quite right, I wasn't let down either.

Walking up the red walled and black tiled staircase into Twing Wok was a very different experience to the boring white that had adorned Fish Aways. No glass door awaited at the top, instead you entered a wide expanse of red, black and white, all beautifully decorated and incredibly modern feeling. Elegant black metal chairs adorned tables that were scattered around the floor while a couched smoking? room stood to one side. The windows were open letting in the fresh air and the sounds of Peppergrove centre (something that may not be appealing often, but on a wonderfully cool evening after a warm day, is very welcoming). A selection of square lights and mirrors line one wall looking like a work of art and adding to the modern feel of the place. This was a different class to the regular Grahamstown restaurants.

Picking up a menu, I wasn't sure what I was going to go for. There was, of course, the sushi that could be ordered and freshly prepared downstairs, but I was more interested in some of the new items on the menu. Did I want one of their different sounding salads (words like citrus soy and edamame jumping out at me and making my mouth water)? Did I feel like noodles instead, with choices of egg, rice, udon and pad thai flavoured with Japenese, Chinese or Thai sauces? I knew for sure that I was going to be getting some of the dim sum, but which ones would I choose?

In the end I decided to go with a Wok Platter involving four different kinds of dim sum (shared with my lovely friend, Kath), all of which were divine. In fact, divine feels like too mild a description. Delectable might be more apt. There was spinach and cream cheese, chicken and ginger, and prawn and mushroom (all steamed) as well as some fried prawn ones, and I cannot tell you which of them was the best because I thought they were all amazing. Once the starter was complete, our main meals were quickly placed in front of us (no need to wait, which was lovely) and I started on my Chinese (sweet and sour) chicken with egg noodles. Which, I must say, was pretty darn good. I am not a big fan of noodles and would have preferred rice myself, but the sauce was delicious and the meal most enjoyable. Halfway through, I decided to swap with Kath and got to try her Thai beef with rice noodles, which I found to be very tasty and a little more interesting than the sweet and sour, simply because it was a new combination of flavours for me. It was spicy, it was tangy and it was a little sweet. For me it was perfect, for Kath the sweet and sour was the choice of the night. It goes to show - different strokes for different folks. But overall, I found both meals to be great and, to my surprise, quite light on the wallet at only R40.00 each (for the noodles, not the dim sum as well).

My verdict? I think I have a new favourite restaurant in Grahamstown! I can't wait to go there again and try the rest of their menu. Hopefully next time I will have my camera with me too :)

Vacation in the Cape

I have a belief, and raise your hand (or like/comment/post/something) if you share it - a holiday isn't a good one unless you come back exhausted.

I know, I know. People have this notions that holidays should be relaxing. My dad has this notion. When he is on holiday, he is happy to just stay in the hotel all day reading the newspaper and (possibly) lounging by the pool. I, on the other hand, seem to take after my mom - trying to fit in as much as I can in as little time as possible. Sure, I can spend a day relaxing, but any more than that and I just get bored and agitated, wanting to do things.

My Cape Town holiday is no different, and I tried to make it as fun-packed as possible. I bustled into town on Thursday afternoon for a short five day trip and intended to make the most of it. Of course, Thursday was pretty much a write-off. I arrived at 16:20 and it was around 5pm when I finally made my way out with my bags in tow. Just enough time to get home, greet the cats, chat with mom, go for a walk and head out to Chinese at Reddies with mom, dad and Michael. By the time I came home, Cherie was back with her visiting boyfriend and we caught up briefly before I decided that it was time to hit the hay.

Friday started off fairly early with Cherie and I dropping mom at gym and then making our way to Tygervalley. Not particularly keen for a shopping trip, I elected to stay in the car and make Cherie do the running around while I planned the rest of my day. By the time she returned (empty-handed), it was time to pick mom up again and make our way into town for the facials that mom had planned. I am not a person who particularly likes having my face touched and examined, but it was quite a relaxing hour and a half. The only part that I did not enjoy was having a mask that was two inches thick plastered onto my face and covering my mouth and eyes. I have never thought of myself as being claustrophobic, but I certainly felt it then! Once that was done, it was a stop at Kauai for a quick lunch before I had my mom drop me at the Adelphi centre in Sea Point. There I met up with Ryan and we took a short walk to his apartment before starting to pack it all into boxes. Yes, I chose to spend my holiday helping someone move, and I have no regrets. I got to see Ryan, and I felt really productive thereafter. Certainly not bored! After moving, Ryan took myself and the two other assistants out for a nice Italian dinner (gnocchi bolognaise for me) before dropping me back at my parents' house in Welgemoed.

I woke up nice and early on Saturday and spent much of the morning in a state of exuberance as I waited for Robyn to pick me up. We had ahead of us a day of catching up and chatting and just general enjoying each others company. We walked around the Slow Market in Willowbridge, had a lovely brunch at Woolies, a cup of coffee at the cafe that her sister works out (which included much mocking of a particular waitress in a teasing fashion) and then headed back to her place (in her new car!) to just have a proper catch up. By late afternoon it was time to head back home and get ready for the braai that was to come. It is traditional whenever I come and visit that the family get together for a braai. It meant that I got to see everyone, even if it was only for a little while, and hear the news and not have anyone feeling left out. It is also a great excuse for a good meal, and we had an awesome one. Once most of the family had left, I stayed up a little later chatting away to Jade and her husband Eric and hearing what was happening in their world. But unfortunately, I had to retire early as I was on medication that had a tendency of making me feel both nauseous and exhausted, a combination that tends to make for bad company.

Sunday was my day for sleeping in, and that I did! Until 8:30!! It was awesome. Then I woke up and started getting ready for the day. Another family tradition is going out for Sunday breakfasts, and the two favourite places are Franschoek and Claremont. As the family had been to Franschoek the week before with Cherie, it was decided that the Gardener's Cottage in Claremont was the place to go. We made our way there (mom, dad, Michael, Cherie and I) and had a lovely breakfast at the restaurant before making our way around the nursery. I'd had plans to have a movie-day with Ryan at my parents', but he had to change it to coffee instead, and he picked myself and Natasha (who was to join for the movie) up and took us to Tygervalley were we got some terrible service at Oppie Koffie. Thankfully, the company made up for it, and we had a good afternoon chatting and laughing away. When Ryan had to leave, Natasha and I made our way to the cinema where we booked three tickets for Midnight in Paris. Michael joined us for the movie and it turned out to be a lovely one! I will have to write a review at some point. After the movie, we made our way home, had a light dinner of leftovers from the braai and had an early night.

Monday was a particularly busy day, as it was essentially half a day spent enjoying myself and half a day spent travelling. It started early with taking my mom to gym, stopping in at the chemist to get pills for mom and dad and stopping in at my aunt's new shop to take some photos. From there it was a rush to the giant sports shop beside Tygervalley to get some running shoes (a job in itself considering how many people had decided that the Monday before school was the day to go uniform and sports good shopping), a stop at home to pick up Cherie and a dash to the airport. We got there on time and I was checked in with time to spare for some lunch, so we decided to go to Mugg and Bean, since it was the closest and healthiest place around. A bad idea if ever there was one. The service was terrible and slow, and I ended up having to scoff down what I could in 5 minutes before jumping up and hoofing it through security. I made it through, but not before being called by the announcer. This could have been highly embarrassing, but they pronounced my name wrong (as they always do) and so I felt far more worse for any Ms Solomon's in the building. An hour and a half later, I walked out of the airport and met Ashlea who took me to my car and I was back on my way to Grahamstown. Usually I drive as fast as possible to get back as soon as possible, but I'd heard that there were a huge number of policemen hiding on the road, so I tried my best to stick to the speed limit and made it in just over an hour and a half.

And so, my holiday completed, I arrived at my house and practically collapsed on the bed. It was the best sleep that I have had in ages. Imagine just how good the holiday must have been!