The Africa Cafe, Cape Town

Well dressed traditional dancers come to entertain diners with singing, dancing and beating of cultural drums.

Cheese, chick peas, sauces, cassavas, beans, breads and more.   The promise of a menu that stretches from Morocco to Malawi and the Transvaal.   Maybe too idealistic, perhaps a brilliant idea.   It is not just a food experience. The Africa Cafe wants you to also soak in the culture in a  fun and relaxing way.  And so they did pull it off.  On a Wednesday evening mid week, my group was provided a sumptuous banquet, had our ears open to rhythm, given an chance to dwell in the strong colours of costumes - and each of us realised that the continent is truly large in geographical spread.

Perhaps an unassuming outside but a much well though of and designed interior.

The variety of dishes can only be sampled if one tries to try all.

My way of looking at how to cover so much variety in the cuisine offered is to take nibbles, samplings and bites.   There are salads, deep fried stuff, rolls, condiments, meats  - the risk is a fish mesh in the mouth, so it is good to at least recognise from where each item originates.  

Basmati rice,  Dahl curry, Cape Malay offerings and broccoli salads are obviously foreign influences, from across the Indian Ocean.  Hey but wait,  there are filleted chicken breast marinated in a macadamia sauce; the Vet Koek (lightly fried bread balls); Channa fish; Karoo-style lamb stew; spinach cooked with peppers and tomato, from the Congo; and a chili dip from Mozambique.  Servings are on the generous side.

The ceiling above your dining table.

The menu tucked in a bottle.

We were seated upstairs, inside what seems to be an Euro styled mansion from the past, with walls brightly coloured to echo the colours outdoors.   May be it is fusion, with white cloths over dining tables, so-called exotic food, with a harmony co-existing amongst the grains, veg and meats.  

Did I sense a bit of a tourist trap?  Heck no, I felt like coming home to an extended family dinner.  The staff members are mainly young and I missed checking out the kitchen.  Located in downtown Cape Town, the Africa Cafe is easily accessible but I did not feel like I was in the proverbial middle of the forest.   I recommend this place as a viable entry point to African cuisine for someone who has not been to the continent but it does lack some iconic dish offerings from the north.

Our personal host explains before we begin our dinner course.

Starters, snacks and appetisers.

The wine list emphasises Blancs - Sauvignons and Chenins - plus Rieslings, Pinots and Chardonnays.  Reds include Merlots, Cabarnets, Bordeaux and Shiraz.   Concurrently there is a good choice of African liqueurs, freshly made fruit cocktails and world wide whiskeys, so there is much choice indeed.

Value of the food menu can be in the eye of the beholder so I leave it to individuals 
to judge whether prices are on the higher side or not.   Guests are provided with rose scented water to wash their hands on arrival.  Entertainment includes drumming but i noticed guests are freely allowed to walk about the premises as well and not just get stuck on their allotted chairs!  You can have a bit of face painting for a diversion in the middle of dinner.

Mid way we have some meat creations.

Salads and sauces.

The Africa Cafe is in Cape Town CBD at 108 Shortmarket Street, City Bowl, Cape Town, South Africa.Opening hours  - Evenings from 6pm to 11pm.Telephone + 27 21 422 0221

New Zealand Remembers - Te Papa Wellington 2015

Mr. Spencer Westmacott OBE, 1885 - 1960.

The Great Adventure, that is how it is referred to at the Museum of New Zealand - Te Papa - to commemorate, reflect and remember  the great and deep sacrifice made by individual New Zealanders joining British another troops from the Commonwealth in the Great War from 1914, particularly at Gallipoli, Turkey.   In a remarkable set up at Te Papa, Te Aro, on Wellington's waterfront, are three bigger than life size recreations of three selected players of a real life saga - a supporting medic, a sniper in action  and a waiting digger.  

Dr. Percival Fenwick, 1870 - 1958.

The Maori Regiment, New Zealand Engineers and the Mounted Rifles have their efforts and trials embedded in history.   Visitors can examine in confronting detail the lapels of uniforms, the dust on shoes and the expression on realistic recreated skin of the exhibits.  Rousing and yet haunting music play in the background, whilst visitors to the Museum are transfixed standing or sitting in the darkness.   I stood and yet moved with a group of widows who still can recall with fondness what it all meant, what they had undergone inside their hearts.

Dr. Percival Fenwick

In the coolness and comfort of climate control inside the Museum, we did not fully appreciate the stifling heat and humidity of the southern Turkish coast in those hours of conflict, stalemate and dangerous uncertainty.   We were spared the utter reality of sudden noises of gunfire, desperate cries and aggressive booms in the air.  We did not have to face the violence, the smells or sweat, the risks and being so far away from home.   We did see the recreated artificial blood stains, the forlornness of lying on foreign soil and the sheer blank looks of being caught up personally in a time to rise for honour, to fight for a cause and to try to survive in a down out scenario.

Mr. Jack Dunn, 1889 - 1915.

Unlike today's world when communication is so much easier, apart from your fellow troop members, it was a strikingly lonely world, in and out, for the digger, with obvious thoughts for loved ones in a truly far away land, surrounded by landscapes that were alien.  Yet what kept up the spirits of these individuals is to be admired, respected and upheld to inspire ourselves and future generations.   The sense of contributing to community and country was so far stronger than what you sense these days.  One did not hold a mobile phone, but a can, a shred of written letter, a momento, a small tangible piece of hope and possible return to civilisation and the love of home.

Mr. Jack Dunn

Yet the artistry of the Weta Workshop shines through in this exhibit.   The sheer idea of having giant figures - 2.4 times human size -  speak volumes - and yet it is in the details also displayed that mean more.   2779 Kiwis lost their lives in the eighth month Gallipoli campaign - Lest We Forget.

Mr. Jack Dunn

Visitor entry to Te Papa Museum is free, including this exhibition.   Wi-fi is also provided with compliments at this venue.   The Gallipolli:  The Scale of Our War Exhibit is one of the best on display in this 100th anniversary of Gallipoli.

Katong Singapore

Tanjung Katong in Singapore has had its original shoreline moved as a result of land reclamation.  It once fronted a seaside, has a distinguished history of settlement by an eclectic mix of races from both Europe and Asia and is now touted as a hub of the surviving Eurasian and Straits Chinese culture and tradition in the modern day Republic. Not far from Changi Airport, on the eastern side of Singapre Island, Katong offers a cuisine and culture that stands out depute the multiculturalism and fusion that is today's Singapore.

Who does recognise these very intimate items from a hair dressing table from  20th century Singapore?

Front beaded slip-ons.   The stitching is an art form that requires patience, a good eye and a creative sense of patterns.

Variety of snacks that echo fusion in preparation styles and use of local ingredients, drawing from on practices and recipes from South-east Asia, Southern China, Portugal, Holland and Britain.  There are baked, steamed, deep fried and bamboo leaf wrapped food, many using coconut milk, chestnuts, mung beans and Pandanus flavours.

Typical ware in a Straits Chinese kitchen, ranging from tiffin carriers to enamel coated pots and a Thai-styled steamed rice container.

Cantonese styled mooncakes and pig shaped biscuits.

The bridal chamber.

Peranakan curry laksa, with a more creamy soup and a variation of the multitude of laksas found in south-east Asia.
The version affectionately related to Katong originated from the Joo Chiat area by a vendor known as Janggut by the local Straits Chinese community - Mr Ng Juat Swee.   Such laksa is often best accompanied by the otak-otak, a fish mousse steamed with pandanus leaves (background to the upper right).

An outlet of Awfully Chocolate is located in Katong.
This has one of the most uplifting and flavoursome ice creams, cakes and sorbets in Singapore.

Suggested influences from China, Arabia and Thailand.

Mr. Francis Bernard, the son-in-law of the First British Resident of Singapore, Lt. Colonel William Farquhar, built a coconut plantation here in Katong.    This was followed by land purchases and developments by a series of characters now well embedded in Singaporean history -  Mr. Chew Joo Chiat, Mr. Thomas Dunman, Mr. Whampoa Hoo Ah Kay, the Little family and Mr. Thomas Crane.

The character of Katong transformed to that of large seaside bungalows and a wealthy suburb.. Ornate Straits Chinese mansions particularly were sited along Meyer and Mountbatten Roads.  Another significant group, the Eurasians, congregated in the Joo Chiat side of Katong after the Depression in the 1930s.   The forebears of the founder of the Republic of Singapore, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and those of former Prime Minister Mr. Goh Chok Thong, have also resided in the Katong area.  

The Straits Chinese come from a long line of ancestors beginning in the Malayan Peninsular with migrants from both Fujian and Guangdong Provinces of China in the tenth century AD.  The 2015 world-wide gathering of Straits Chinese takes place in Singapore later this year - 6 to 8 November for the 28th Baba Nyonya Convention, as organised by the Pernanakan Association Singapore.

Eurasians in Singapore can be Kristang (of Portuguese and Spanish descent), of Dutch or British colonial origins or more recently, arise from the mixed marriages due to the city state being  hub of significant commerce and immigration.  I did not get an opportunity to visit places or homes of Eurasian culture on my recent visit to Katong - many have also migrated overseas like to Perth Australia.   Eurasians of note include Mr. Benjamin Henry Sheares, a former President of Singapore;  national swimmer Mr. Joseph Schooling; Ms. Jean Danker, radio personality; Mr. Leslie Charteris, author and creator of novels with the character of Simon Templar, aka The Saint; Mr. Edmund W. Barker, former Cabinet Minister; and Mr. Daniel Shen-Yi Critchley, UK Ambassador Model for the United Colors of Benetton and GAP.

Many of the above photographs taken by me on this visit to Katong Singapore were shot inside the Katong Antique House at 208 East Coast Road.  The staff were most helpful and friendly in explaining the many facets of Straits chinese culture, crafts and lifestyle.