Experiencing a new cuisine is a form of armchair travel: an authentically prepared meal can crack open a little doorway into a whole other culture’s childhood food memories and grandmother’s recipes. This, like travel, can be pretty addictive.
In South Africa, some of these cravings are easier to satisfy than others. While our restaurant industry shows a colourful variety of influences such as Indian, Malaysian and European flavours, there are some cuisines which are sorely missing. Luckily, these four pioneering restaurants are bringing those harder to find flavours to our plates.
Emazulwini
Babushka Deli at Hazendal
Fuegos
KōL Izakhaya
1. Emazulwini
While melting pot menus of South African cuisine can be found at many restaurants, individual local food cultures tend to be underrepresented. This is particularly noticeable in the fine dining sphere. One restaurant that addresses this lack is Emazulwini, the brainchild of chef Mmbatho Molefe. Situated at Maker’s Landing at the V&A Waterfront, this tiny restaurant with a bold menu celebrates Mmbatho’s ancestral Zulu cuisine. Each dish tells a story, and highlights a traditional Nguni ingredient such as mielies, beef tongue, or pineapple beer.
2. Fuegos
While Peruvian Japanese fusion had a moment in the limelight a few years back, South and Central American restaurants are currently few and far between. Happily, as of this month, Fuegos at Knorhoek Wine Farm in Stellenbosch is filling this gap. At Fuegos, Argentinian chef Juan Andres Vais has created an immersive outdoor dining experience to showcase his food heritage. Diners can experience seven courses of authentic Asado-style open fire cooking, featuring locally sourced meat with Argentinian flavour.
Fuegos Argentinian restaurant – Chef Juan Andres Vais
Argentinian Chef Juan Andres Vais of Fuegos
Fuegos Argentinian restaurant – Asado grilled pineapple
Fuegos’ asado-style grilled pineapple
3. Babushka Deli
This daytime eatery at Hazendal Estate in Stellenbosch has one of the only Eastern European inspired menus on the South African culinary map. This is somewhat surprising, as there is so much to like: from pierogi to pickles and hearty comfort food. Babushka, or “grandmother”, aims to capture the warmth and nostalgia of home-style cooking. At the deli counter, you’ll find unusual treats such as apple sharlotka and black baguette, as well as plenty of Eastern European hospitality.
The sweets counter at Babushka Deli at Hazendal Estate
4. KōL Izakhaya
In the Western world, Japan has become synonymous with sushi, but there is so much more to explore. Japanese restaurants tend to specialise in and perfect only one aspect of their cuisine, be it tempura, ramen, or Shojin Ryori – Buddhist vegan cookery. KōL in Johannesburg has brought another style of Japanese cookery to South Africa: Robata. These are traditional grills that use very high-quality charcoal called binchotan, which burns with virtually no smoke or odour. This allows the subtle flavours of high quality and carefully chosen ingredients to shine. At KōL, expect to see dishes such as grilled Wagyu beef with real wasabi root (a rarity in South Africa), chicken heart yakitori and shishamo – a Japanese delicacy of tiny whole grilled fish served with their roe.
We’d love to see more niche restaurants like these focusing on specific regional flavours. As in the saying “jack of all trades, master of none”, sometimes it’s better to go smaller in the quest for authenticity. Sure, we have plenty of Asian restaurants, but not many make you feel as if you are truly experiencing another food culture.
We’d pay good money to get our hands on some Indonesian roti canai, for example, or some Mesoamerican tamales. And a bit closer to home, how about Mauritian or Madagascan offerings? Both countries have fascinating recipes that blend French techniques with tropical ingredients.
We’ve done broad-sweep globally inspired cuisine, perhaps it’s time to try hyper-local instead. Hopefully some entrepreneurial folk will see these gaps in the market and help some hungry and curious South Africans out!
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