By now we'd tasted samples from three restaurants, and two out of three were winners. Our R100 tasting budget was running out fast, but we still had a few coupons left for a titbit or two.
We continued on, wandering among the many stands and looking at the samples on offer.The restaurant that attracted the most attention - especially among females - was Beefcakes...probably because of the beefcakes working there. It's amazing how naked flesh sells anything, even food.
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| The beefcake hunks |
We almost hugged the lady at the Coach House Nougat stand when we walked past it. The luxury Coach House hotel, set high up in the Magoebaskloof mountains near Tzaneen used to be our favourite country hotel getaway but unfortunately the owner passed away a few years ago, and with him went the personalised service and care that made the hotel special. A side business of the hotel was a nougat factory that makes the most amazing macadamia and honey nougat. We thought they'd stopped making nougat, so were delighted to see they are still in business. It's a bit sad that the recognisable, classic branding had changed from the gold coach and horses to something a little more modern, but the taste is still unmistakably Coach House. I highly recommend their nougat - you'll find it at most Spar and Dischem outlets.
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| Coach House Nougat |
Fry's new curry offering
Fry's, the popular vegetarian frozen food range also had a stand. We are big fans of Fry's time-saving and tasty schnitzels and pepper steak pies, and here they were, introducing a new Durban range of curries (Durban, really?), and we tried their new 'mutton' curry (why do manufacturer's insist on imitating meat??) served in a bunny chow. It tasted good - not as good as Fordsburg curry, but quite fine for a quick meal.
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| Fry's Mutton Curry Bunny Chow |
The Taste of Joburg outing was a fun way to spend the day, and it was good to see so many people that love and appreciate good food.
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| Yummy Things At The Taste Of Joburg |
However, I still find the prices hard to swallow. Entry cost R80 per person, or R40 if you have a Pick n Pay shopper card. And then there were the aforementioned per-tasting prices, which were quite steep I thought. I feel the restaurants have an opportunity to advertise here, and that the tasters should cost either very little or be free. It felt like I was paying a lot of money for a branded T-shirt, when they should be paying me instead for wearing the T shirt.
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| More Yummy Things |
Tips for next time
Will I go again? O yes! But for the next Taste of Joburg I will go better prepared. Firstly, I will take a hat and lots of sunblock since the festival is held outdoors. I will allow the whole day to explore - don't think you can taste everything on offer in an hour or two. Importantly, I will book the food preparation workshops in advance - they were all sold out. And lastly, before spending anything I'll take a walk around and look for specials. For instance,I could have subscribed to Pick n Pay's Fresh Living Magazine and received one hundred Rand's worth of vouchers thrown into the deal!
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