Not quite Kloof Street (Part I)

I love Uppsala. There I said it!

In the mornings I have an inspirational walk past the majestic cathedral, University buildings, castle and botanical gardens to work (all covered in sparkling snow). My one complaint: I cannot seem to adapt to the coffee... Is it me? Probably. Is it possible for me to adapt? Unlikely.

My approach to the problem was two-fold:

1. Find good prepared coffee (i.e. I do not make it myself)

2. Find good beans (i.e. I prepare the coffee myself)

How fortunate that I am at the moment living one block from Ofvandahls, an Uppsala institution. The espresso had adequate crema and with a surprisingly acceptable aftertaste. And at SEK23 for a double espresso, this could be come my new morning coffee :-)

Beans, well, I asked/pleaded with Braamie to bring some from Origin Coffee Roasting in Cape Town (perhaps even Africa's Cup of Gold!). The attendant at the local Böner & Blad recommended I try El Salvador Bourbon Estate. My first pot resulted in mixed feelings - but to be honest I prepared it too weak...

More coffee hunting will follow...

The one with almost last post...

Today is the last day that we occupy the apartment on Kloof Street. I asked Braamie to take a last photo. Four years were way too short. I could do with a lifetime on Kloof Street. Although I felt protected from the woes of the world in my little patch of paradise, I have witnesses the ripples of the current economic downturn on Kloof Street. If you ever go to Cape Town, be sure to visit some of the places that I have written about, gaze up in wonder at Table Mountain as you drive/walk up the street and experience the energy that is uniquely Cape Town. I cried while I was writing this... not of sorrow, but just because I am letting go.

The one with the second last post

So, with five days left on Kloof Street, I managed to create a Facebook group (yeah, you can guess the group's name) and will transfer the blog contents over the weekend.

The one with all the closures

The bad news first:

Naked... gone

Seattle Coffee... gone

Rozenhof... GONE!!

Iron Fist... gone?

Some potential good news:

Hudsons - The Burger Joint

(Braamie and I had burgers there on Monday - good meat and the double-fried fries were unexpected, but they do sell a 'local' beer. When asked for comments, we did mention that the music was way too loud, but the waitress cleverly remarked that it was to drown out the noise from the table with the birthday party (with children). Score?)

Sumo

(Closed on a Saturday afternoon at 15:30)

The Opal Lounge... Manolo's renamed?
(Will never forget how scary that place was. I felt so intimidated by its sheer trendiness.)

Some really, really good news:

The Java Lounge is serving Origin Coffee :-)

The one with the Amazing Amazi pancakes

Received an email from my dad last Sunday:

Hello Janssoon,

Terwyl jy en die groote Bengel /Pieter-Louis sit en skaak speel tik ek gou die A(mazing) A(mazi) resep in. Onthou die Amazi is 'n geheime ingredient,want dis eintlik 'n v d Merwe suurmelk pannekoek resep wat Mimzy by haar Tant Johanna van oom Fanie Crouse gekry het.Hulle oorkant ons in Van Zylstraat in Universitas gebly voordat ons na Whitesweg 27 getrek het.Hulle dahlias was iets om te sien en oom Fanie had baie voeltjies in groot hokke in hulle agterplaas.Nadat hulle 2 maal getrek het het hulle in Aandrus in Haldonweg gaan bly.

2 koppies meelblom

1 teelepel bakpoeier

1/2 teelepel sout

2 eetlepels suiker

2 koppies suurmelk/amazi

1 teelepel koeksoda

2 geklitste eiers

1 teelepel gesmelte botter

Blus die koeksoda in die melk/amazi,meng met eiers en gesmelte botter

Voeg droe bestandele by en meng goed

Bak met olie of botter in klein bakpannetjie of in n groot pan deur die deeg in die rondte te gooi van die middel af tot teen die rand van die pan

Die pannekoeke is redelik dik en neem n tydjie om gaar te word. Bedien met enige bolaag bv konfyt of stroop met gerasperde kaas,of roomys of maaskaas of oxo of geurige maalvleis of hoender of...of...

Kan vooraf berei word en in yskas/vrieskas gehou word tot verorbering.

So, checking gmail on my cell phone, Deon made the batter and the pancakes :-)

Hello Kloof Street

And I am back...

As soon as the rain stops, I will investigate Sumo and that new hamburger restaurant..

Was Jimmy killed by a bad prawn?

The one where Africa Nova impresses

Abraham's ex-SASOL-colleague and friend, Lolan, has been living with us for a few days. He took us to Andiamo's, in the Cape Quarter, for dinner last night (I ordered the ossobuco and Abe wanted the lobster but had to settle for a pizza). On our way out, I was mesmirezed by the window displays of one of the stores, Africa Nova. The colours are, well, just magic. 

The one where Wall Street hit Kloof Street

Has Wall Street hit Kloof Street? 

The Abraham (that ersatz economic gift to mankind/lover of mine) says that this has always been a tough street for businesses, and especially restaurants. 

The most noticeable changes are the closures of street cafés Naked (for some months now), Seattle Coffee and Limnos.  Caramellos has also scaled down on their floor space. 

Exciting news, however,  is that Exclusive Books are opening a childrens book store next door to their exisiting shop in the Lifestyles Centre on Kloof Street. Which makes sense, given that a primary school is right next door...

As mentioned earlier, the recycling facilities have relocated to Jan van Riebeeck Primêre Skool and are not open on Sundays, which is a nuisance (but it did result in me winning a HUGE argument with The Abraham).

The one where Cape Town is burning

Deon van Zyl took this photograph just after midnight. A terrible inferno.

The one about parking on Kloof Street

My pet hate: illegal parking :-(

The one with a photo taken at sunrise

Tamboerskloof seen beyond our kitchen window and reflected on the window facing Kloof Street. Taken at sun rise by Mimsi.

The one with Table Mountain at night

Braamie took this photograph in December using my mother's small Olympus digital camera. The mountain is being lit up during 'the season' - which makes this time of year even more special. 

The one with a mojito at the Mount Nelson

The Abraham and I joined his colleague from NEF for a wee drinking at the Mount Nelson after work. The Planet Bar makes the best mojitos in town!

The one where to recycle on Kloof Street

The Abraham and I are now recycling at Laerskool Jan Van Riebeeck. They offer more options compared to the recycling bins at the Wellness Warehouse (including tin cans). Sadly, there are no facilities for recycling cardboard... I would hope that cardboard could be recycled?

The one with a cheap lunch at Sinns

Visiting our second office, TKZ and I enjoyed the lunch special at Sinns Restaurant and Bar in Wembley Square. Well, actually, TKZ had the special and I had a chicken and potato salad. The lunch special (R50) included a glas of wine. The service was terribly slow, though... 

The one with a memorable Danish

Looks like Caramello's is downsizing a bit, but there doesn't seem to be any problem in quality. Their apple pastry is a winner at R10 and I dare anyone to finish a whole one :-)

The one with a photo on Christmas day

Braamie and I traveled up the West Coast with my parents. After a picnic at the Langebaan Yacht Club, we had coffee at Paternoster. What a great way to escape that Christmas Feeling.

The one about the migmatite

My grandfather, Jan Sarel van der Merwe (geographer/geomorphologist), would have celebrated his 100th birthday today. To bring him to memory,  we went to Bantry Bay to capture the unique migmatite rocks on the shore on camera. On his visit to Cape Town, Darwin inspected this unique phenomenon which clearly shows how the earth's crust was formed millions of years ago. 

My mother and I visited this historic site in clear sunshine and with an azure sea in the background. We duly celebrated this occasion with champagne at dinner! 

[text courtesy of my father, Dux, and heavily edited by me]

The one about Shelley's Gourmet Kitchen and the great scrambled eggs

Shelley's Gourmet Kitchen opened on Kloof Street in October. The Bramer and I bravely investigated. We ordered scrambled eggs with smoked salmon served on a croissant (R40) and a cuppuccino each (R14). We decided to sit in the small back garden and read the weekend newspapers. Hearing cheerful noises in the kitchen is always a good sign.

The scrambled eggs were devine and breakfast scored a solid 7 on the Braamie-o-meter. A good start to any day!

The one about a cheap breakfast at Café Sophia

For R25 you cannot expect too much these days. At Café Sophia this bought a Village Omelet (filled with roasted peppers, spicy sausage and melted cheese) served with toast and coffee. The service was quick and the setting comfortable. The manager told us the other Cafés are located in Seapoint, Rosebank, and Greenside (Gauteng). A fifth store is opening in Green Point soon. 

PS: no free internet was available - apparently, they are still waiting for the vouchers...