Watch this space… or rather, don’t. Next time Mess hosts a dinner for twenty or so fans it will be somewhere completely different. Last night their pop-up restaurant was held in a vacant renovated store-front, almost ready for a lucky tenant. It was on the corner of Juta and De Beer, Braamfontein, in the heart of developer Adam Levy’s facelift precinct – sometimes described as Joburg’s Soho. The food prepared in the pop-up kitchen was so delicious and original (a bit too original for me), the company, vibe and sounds of distant vuvus made for an evening that was soooo Joburg 2010.
Mess are Kate White (copywriter and author) and Jonathan Cane (Vega lecturer). So nice to see talented people sharing their creativity outside the agency, and for only R150 a pop.
Here’s the situation. I bet there is a large percentage of people out there in Joburg that didn’t know we had a Chinatown. Alive and well, and just before Bruma, in the quiet suburb of Cyrildene, is the very cool. very functioning Chinatown. But, Chinatown used to be in the city centre, and thankfully some spots still remain like Swallows Inn and the Yung Chen Noodle Den. Swallows Inn is an incredible place, when you know the history of the area. What made them stick around? A love for the city?
There is this large downtstairs section that was probably once the spot to be seen seen eating noodles this side of Ghandi Square! It was here that I discovered the fantastic combination of whiskey and Chinese Food. Going there now, you greeted with smiles, and the same quality fried rice you get anywhere. Just this time, you walk out and stare down commissioner with a smile on your face! This is the right Chinatown. When you wanna take someone down….you gotsta do it in THIS Chinatown!
Cruise down Commissioner Street. Once you enter Newtown territory in the west, if you cant see the luminous chinese signs you shouldn’t be on the road.
Illovo has really grown up in the last few years. Wolvesis the new kid on the block… or rather the new girl with pigtails on the swing in the park on the block. Filled with all manner of kitch art, toys and ceramic deer, the latest addition to the strip is a welcome breath of fresh candy-floss flavoured air. They don’t have a liquor licence (yet) so either bring your own or have some tea and a cupcake instead. The red velvet cake is the most sublime way to start your morning.
Wolves is also one of only two stockists in Joburg of must-have Australian fashion and design magazine Frankie.
4 Corlett Drive, Illovo. Parking right outside, or on the corner of North and Oxford (accessible from North Rd).
Great place, super cozy, and super nice pizza. I know those aren’t the ideal adjectives one normally uses to describe a place. But then again, nothing in Jobusy is ‘ideal’ in its explanation. I had a fantastic pizza when I was there, the base tasted sweeter! It’s exciting to see Illovo come of age and build itself up as a little hub of coolness. Check out Roseboys, and the cutest little Italian spot around the corner.
They’re on Oxford Road, but right on the corner of Corlette Drive.
I must say, I had my doubts. It had Tourist Trap written all over it, but on the night I went there, there wasn’t a single tourist in sight. All local, all lekker. The walls are covered in great old photos, most of them out of the iconic Drum Archives. All of a time depicting a time in Joburg’s history when gangs called The Americans roamed the streets kidnapping local singers like Dolly Ratebe, holding her randsom, and at the same time doubling her street cred over night.
I ate what can only be described as Gourmet Boerewors, with pap and veggies on the side. If you not feeling particularly adventurous, go for it.
LIVE JAZZ WED and SAT nights. But we’re talking Marcus Wyatt people!!! not just some dude and piano.
1 Central Place
Cnr Jeppe and Henry Nxumalo
Newtown
Johannesburg
Ko’s Spotong have got it very right. Using the true nature of the inner city (ie the hippest African vibe), add a chain of bar/restaurants around the city and you needn’t bother pretending you’re anywhere else except in Africa. The real Africa, not the one where you feel as if you’re in a theme park and you need to get your face painted in little white dots and flowers to convince yourself, aka Moyo.
While at the same time it also manages to be quite different from Jobusy favourites like Mamas Shebeen and Mama Tembos in that it’s far less conceptual, it’s just itself. No funny business.
I like La Bella Figura because they’re not trying to show off anything. It’s a restaurant where I’m beginning to discover a new charm to it every time I go there. First, I loved the fact that the menu was very small, but very well thought out and amazing. Then, I discovered that the coffee was fantastic. Then, on my most recent visit, I saw them making their own pasta, something I learned isn’t always the case with Italian restaurants.
It opened at the end of 2009 and has already been really well received. Maybe an evening in conjunction with Rose Boys just around the corner?
The only offensive thing about Cafe 1145 is the “Welcome to Randburg” sign about 50m away from the entrance. Don’t expect the rest of the neighbourhood to have the same lovely-ness as this breakfast and lunch spot. The owner Mathew van Lierop is such a perfectionist that he wouldn’t stand for anything less than exceptional in his restaurant. His simple menu (with daily specials – I had amazing salmon fish cakes) is fresh, original and delicious. It’s the perfect spot for lunch or breakfast in between racing up and down Jan Smuts Ave from one meeting to the next .
Warning: once you’ve eaten your lunch you may see Blandburg in a new light…
101 Conrad Drive, Blairgowrie (cnr Hillcrest Road, just off Jan Smuts Avenue). 084 401 7454. matvl@mweb.co.za
We want to include Sai Thai for one simple reason. It just might be the best Thai Restaurant in Chinatown, if not the entire city. If you’re cruising Chinatown with Bruma behind you, its located down at the very end of Derrick Street (the road that effectively makes up Chinatown in Cyrildene). They’re the last restaurant on your left. Nice quiet atmosphere and good food.
The Grant Ave strip in Norwood has more than one Asian restaurant. In fact is has many. Not including Rainbow, we’re talking something like three, which in a 200m-odd strip is a lot. For a while Rainbow was the fourth Asian restaurant, offering both Chinese food and sushi.
They have been so popular (probably because they’re so awesome), that they’ve opened another restaurant 100m down the road. That means they hold both first and second place in Jobusy’s Norwood Asian restaurant competition.
The idea is simple. In order to truly love something, you first have to understand it. Johannesburg is no different in this regard.
Connect with the real city through those who live and play here. The result? A catalogue of Johannesburg like no other.
