Victoria Falls Walk, Zimbabwe

Boma Restaurant Victoria Falls

Carving details on fruits welcome you to a dining experience you will not easily forget.  Diners have hands washed, are greeted by a drumming dance in which they can take part at the entrance and also are provided with local brew.

Grill central - in the centre of the restaurant, which provides both an outdoor atmosphere and covered seating.   Some of the eye opening items that caught my eye and palate are smoked crocodiles, the Mopane worm, game ostrich, Warthog fillet and Nyimo beans.

Guests are provided with an African themed fabric - Chitenges -  to wrap around and soak in the place.  Two languages - Shona and Ndebele - are spoken to greet customers.

Although emphasising barbecued meats, the Boma also has delightful desserts. 

I could not fill in all after a sumptuous feast .

Wander to the meat grilling section and you receive a friendly welcome as to what you want on your plate.
There is also soup from the camp fire and also a sad counter with lots of choices.

The spit and the quality on the outcome depends so much on the skills of the roster and the marinade utilised.

The Boma Restaurant is located as part of the 
Safari Lodge Resort in the town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Opening hours are from 7pm each evening.
Nightly entertainment is highlighted by the Amakwezi dancers, Amazulu drummers, a Sangoma (healer) and a traditional oral story teller.

Mooncake Festival - Innovative Tastes Continue

Image Copyright - Intercontinental Singapore

Maple glaze used to give more taste and shimmer to the outer skin or crust pastry.  As new variations of tea arise, so have to be the mooncake creativity in making them.   Poetic names are significant to captivate, attract and make a purchase.  Snow skin,  low sugar, double happiness, assorted.  The moon cake heritage meets with a  modern, fast paced world where elegance, uniqueness and quality are rewarded and sought after.

Colours become more subtle or striking.  Servings become smaller as moon cakes are rich and packed with ingredients.  Moon cakes are bought not necessarily to be consumed, they are icons of respect, honour and love given to deserving recipients.   Tea blends are not limited to Oolong or Black Sesame but widened to the best of Earl Greys and Matcha. Are moon cakes still partaken at quiet family gatherings at home, or now more so in public, at restaurant dinners, community gatherings and political celebrations?  The act of juniors offering prettily dressed up gift boxes now accompany the bringing of wine, dressing up and listening to music at hotel functions.  Bakeries, associations and hotels use the mooncakes as the centre piece to mark anniversaries, occasions and parties.

Creations from 2AM Desserts Holland Village Singapore

Image Copyright - Li Bai Singapore

In the old scheme of things, there can be only four variations - lotus paste, black sesame, five nuts and red bean.  Now the gate has been opened for some time now, you can have a wonderful variety.  Mao Tai and dark chocolate.  Durian, but of the most quality and expensive fruiting breeds like Musang King.  What about cranberry?  Mooncakes are supposed to be a heady mix of savoury, sweet, nutty.  There is amazingly a Kopi-O mooncake, perhaps trying to chase up with the craze in coffee blends.  Cherry Brandy, Chocolate Brandy and Lychee Martini are also lining up to curry your favour and palate.  May be the cream cheese mooncake?  East and West meet in more than a hundred ways.

I would rather have a strawberry and lime Margarita truffle mooncake.

The concept of single or double yolks plus water melon seeds still continue.  There can now at the same time be more of candled macadamia and almond nuts.  Baileys Truffle seems to be rising in use.  Chestnut lotus is a new variation, together with stand out ingredients like rose and pistachio combinations that reduce the over whelming sensation of some old fashioned items.

Mung bean can now be missed with coconut truffle, echoing the Chinese diaspora in south-east Asia.
Pandanus flavours with palm sugar Gula Melaka has been around for several years in Singapore.  I have yet to taste a dried shrimp paste mooncake though.

My fav currently is sea salt caramel truffle or one with peanut butter - hello Adriano Zumbo!!   Bird's nest with custard has the best chances of being a thumbs up with the older generation.

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The Mooncake Festival or Zhongqiujie falls on Sunday evening 27 September 2015.

Chobe National Park Botswana - Of Lions, Instinct and Feeding

With my camera shots taken from a distance (obviously), this was my first time encountering feeding by the big cats on an elephant carcass, tightly hidden behind a bush, as dawn broke out and morning drew near.  I am told that the lions are fond of hunting nocturnally and feeding at night, resting during the day light hours.  This lioness stood guard, stay, pranced and watched for danger and other predators whilst her brood ate, tore flesh and immersed in feasting.

I was not sure how fresh or deposed the elephant meat was, but it looked red-blooded with no sign of obvious decay on one side and bony on the other side.  The need for composure was high as Mr. Rann, our four wheel driver, parked us at various strategic angles for watching and camera shots.  We remained naturally quiet as we had to make sure there was no disturbance with the wild animals.  There was only a minimal level of smell there was no breeze.

Chye Seng Huat Hardware Coffee - Singapore

The transformation of heritage sites  and architecture into useful, business viable concerns remain a challenge and opportunity for many cities finding themselves making financial, cultural and community decisions as what to retain or change.  Urban landscapes require clever designs and ideas to avoid destruction of unique perspectives from the past to be replaced by the rather bland and harsh architecture that emphasises on business requirements more than those of the local culture.  We can have similar looking skyscrapers when we travel across the world but cities like Barcelona, Penang, Hobart, Mandalay, Prague, Budapest, Kyoto, Kunming and  and Kandy captivate our attention, for they combine perhaps the best of old and new in a rather charming way.

It was rather exciting when Julie introduced us to a barista cafe bar, roastery and coffee hub in an old part of Singapore that still retains early 20th century British colonial shophouse architectural feel.  Utilised for many years as a thriving hardware business site, the ceilings are high, the windows as practical as possible allowing much air flow (especially in the stifling equatorial afternoons) and the inside feeling rather shady.  On the ground floor coffee bar, there is a thriving buzz in contemporary tones of having a cuppa, hosting informal groups and providing a respite from the business pace of Singapore.   It could have still housed a traditional coffee shop with round marble tops, as you can still come across in much of current day South East Asia, but no, the modern owners have placed a work space rectangle in the middle of it all, where guests sitting on the side can watch strong and unique coffee blends being made into loving and appreciated cups of addiction.  

The cups we had were on the strong side but I also appreciated the creamy and flavourful undertones.  Papa Palheta.  Coffee is the theme here, even if there is a small interestingly named selection of snacks and cakes available.  Old School refers to a vanilla ice cream sandwich.  The meatball pasta and smoked duck salad are straight forward enough, but what is the "Huat" Breakfast?  To me it was akin to the Aussie Big Breakky - it is lavished with grilled tomato, chicken sausages, ham steak, potato salad and a choice of eggs on toasted brioche.

The upper floors are dedicated to other aspects of the coffee business - roasting, gadgets, etc.

You are not near any shopping centre, MRT station or easy parking.   It can be not that easy to even locate the place, they may be back packer's accommodation nearby and it looks like a gathering hole for coffee lovers.  Industrial lights, gallery spotlights and louvre windows shape the atmosphere as well.   Ceiling fans co-exist with air conditioning units.  There is ample outdoor seating, even if it means a mainly evening thing due to the weather in Singapore.   The commercial coffee blending machines are enormous, stark black and impressive.  The wall on the ground floor must be displaying the widest range of coffee related stuff I have seen in Singapore.

Chye Seng Huat Hardware Coffee is located at 150 Tyrwhitt Road, Singapore (Lavender / Farrer Park area).  The Hokkien name of the place CSH means to flourish again, and this is exactly what the CSHH is doing in terms of the roasting coffee scene in the island republic.

Opening hours are from 9am to 7pm every week day  except Mondays.
On weekends, the CSHH is open from 9am to 10pm.

Vehicle parking is best at the nearby Jalan Besar Stadium.   Incontrast to most Aussie cafes, this is one that is open for business till late night.