What? A bit of winter in SA?

We really have been dodging winter the last few years, so hanging around in SA until mid-July was a bit of a novelty. In May, Neil did a bike trip with Tommy and Coenraad and we had time in Joburg to catch up on all our chores, like getting vehicles serviced and fixed, applying for visas and going to doctors and dentists! There was enough time for catching up with friends and family, including a fun night at Madam Zingara. This was in between trips to Dullstroom for fishing, Namibia and Botswana on safari, a trip to the Eastern Cape and the  Grahamstown Festival and a Midmas weekend at Maizefield Farm. It was great to have all the Maizefield owners together for a party as well as some of the regulars and some Midmas newbies too. Pam said she thought the food was the best Midmas spread ever and a few revellers ( you know who you are ) will be glad to know some photos are staying safely out of the public domain! Ditto the morning after pics!

Food and Wine Pairing

Food and Wine Pairing

16 Chardonnay Crescent – 17 May 2014

Starters

Mandy and Tommy       Rissotto     Fat Bastard Chardonnay

Gail and Neil        Butternut Soup        Gabriels Kloof Viognier

Paulette and Gavin    French Onion Soup    Creation Syrah Grenache 2012

Carol and Jane    Scallops and Bacon     Delaire Chenin Blanc

Mazzie    Mussels au Gratin      Brancott Sauvignon Blanc

Mains

Ferna and Alan    Kabeljou Kebabs with Salsa    Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc

Gail and Neil    Bobotie     Jordan Riesling – the real McCoy

 Ann    Mediterranean "Pasta"     Porcupine Ridge Viognier/Shiraz

Megan    Asian Pork    Pinot Noir

Carol and Jane    Pork Belly     Eagles Nest Merlot 200

Desserts

Mandy and Tommy    Bread and Butter Pudding     Amarula or Ovation Rhine Riesling

Paulette and Gavin    Cheesecake    Lambrusco

Ferna and Alan    Chocolate Mousse      Peter Bayley White Port

Ann    Baked Nut Cheesecake    Boland Muscadel

Mazzie    Snap Crackle Pork    Hendrik Lodewyk Sparkling

Sing, Sing, Singapore

We popped in and out of Singapore three times between other legs of our Asian journey this year and had plenty of time to catch up with friends and enjoy one of our favourite cities for a longer time. A few more families we know are saying farewell to Singapore as home this year, so it was nice to see then all once more. Of course, the world is a small place these days, so we will no doubt meet up somewhere else instead over the next few years. We loved the new Marina Bay Complex and dinner and drinks at Ku De Ta were awesome. You pay for the view, of course, with a small glass of wine costing SGD25. (ZAR200) Deirdre showed us the most amazing park with the best views of the city and BYO wine!

Three nights in Bangkok

We flew to Bangkok on 25th April for 3 nights.We met up with Tommy and Mandy again. Bangkok was hot and humid. Our hotel was on the river so for most journeys we used water busses. That evening, we started out with drinks at the Oriental Hotel, followed by crazy Chinatown. Dinner was authentic enough and we even had ducks tounges! 4 up in a tuk-tuk, we headed for the night flower market. Next morning it was off to the Grand Palace and the Reclining Buddah. Very beautiful, very crowded, very hot. We got lost walking to Khao San Rd. After lunch we needed a massage to revive ourselves. We loved dinner at Issaya, enjoying the chef's tasting menu and a few exotic extra courses they gave us.The next day we did a klong long-tail boat trip followed by shopping  at Chatuchuk Market. After a wild cross-city, four-up, tuk-tuk ride with a crazy old toothless driver, who had no idea where we wanted to go but tried to get us there anyway; we had dinner at Asiatique, a very touristy waterfront development not far from our hotel.
On the 28th, we headed for Bangkok Station for the epic train trip to Singapore.The first train departed from Bangkok at 14.45pm. We had a boozy afternoon with our own whiskey and after a noodle dinner, our booth was folded into single bunks for the night.
23 hours later we arrived in Butterworth, Malaysia.We found a motorbike repair shop near the station that also stored bags and caught a local ferry across to the Unesco site, Penang. The old Chinese quarter was quaint and interesting but hot, humid and dirty! In the evening we headed back to Butterworth, then after dinner of fried chicken and rice in a local hawker stall, we boarded the sleeper train to K.L. The third train was a day train to Singapore, arriving around 4.30pm on 30th. That's 3 days for a journey of about 2 hours in a plane!