An innocent tweet about eating great dim sum in Joburg got me a little more attention than I was seeking. So it’s time to reveal all, well almost. Saturday morning the sky over the city was grey and foreboding and having recently returned from a weekend away in Parys I was still hungry for adventure. Be warned my idea of adventure usually involves discovering good food and exploring Joburg’s inner city. Continue reading
#166. Recommend that if you love reading and food, or recipes, or have any interest in Chinese culture, and/or Taiwan (or all of these) then you should pick up a copy of Emperor Can Wait by Joburg restaurateur Emma Chen. For the uninitiated the title refers to a chinese proverb “The Emperor can wait –while we eat”. First a disclosure – I worked [as an editor] with Chen on the initial manuscript. Now that’s out of the way … the book launched a few days ago with a wedding feast at the Red Chamber, Chen’s restaurant in Hyde Park that is celebrating 20 years of existence (In Joburg restaurant parlance, a lifetime).
That’s 20 years of the best cucumber salad in Johannesburg, possibly the world. There are people who would kill for that recipe and in this city it’s possible they already have.
#69. Mix up a cocktail in Saxon-boutique-hotel-style, one of this city’s most luxurious and discreet hideouts. Once the home of Douw Steyn – and still owned by him – the Sandhurst residence was Nelson Mandela’s first home after he was released from prison in 1990 (It now has 4 presidential suites). It’s where he took time out to edit his master work “Long Walk to Freedom” and where, rumour has it, Oprah keeps an office when she visits South Africa to check in on her Leadership Academy for Girls. Continue reading
