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Harbour House (V&A Waterfront) ****
Quay Four, V&A Waterfront Cape Town
Tel: (021) 418-4744
Nhlanhla Nene *****
Excellent ****
Good ***
Poor **
Jacob Zuma *
— FOOD FOR THOUGHT
I leant over to the French couple at the next table. No, reader, I don’t always do that sort of thing but these were special circumstances. I needed to know. For research purposes.
They had polished off their meal. She then moved and joined him on his side of the table, looking out to sea and at the boat lights flickering in the harbour. They had murmured their dessert order to the waitress and then sat cuddling, enjoying the views.
Their dessert arrived; crème brûlée. It looked very good — crusty and brown on top, and leaving you wondering about, and hankering for, the inside.
"How was the crème brûlée?" I asked. "It was wonderful," the woman replied. "The crust was a bit cold when it should be hot, but wonderful, smooth."
"We got our just deserts," smiled her partner.
That got me thinking about another man who is finally getting his just deserts — our former president, Jacob Zuma. Last week the country’s uber-spineless man, Shaun Abrahams, finally announced that Zuma’s ancient corruption charges would be tested in court. There isn’t really much to test.
Zuma’s friend Schabir Shaik has already been convicted and served time for giving Zuma kickbacks. Proving that Zuma was the recipient should be a doddle.
That’s just the first of Zuma’s woes. His successor Cyril Ramaphosa is undoing his legacy and slowly firing his minions in the state-capture saga.
The man is going down. Finally.
Shaik has already served time for giving kickbacks. Proving Zuma was the recipient should be a doddle
— Justice Malala
So. I was sitting next to the French couple at the Harbour House in the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. When Ramaphosa spoke about doubling tourist numbers in SA he clearly hadn’t visited the Waterfront. Every South African politician must be made to visit this place just to learn what we can achieve with tourism. Happy tourists and happy workers.
You can understand why the tourists are piling in. On a hot, still, clear day this place is a heaven of sea, sun, mountain, wine, majestic views and friendly people.
Anyway, off my nephew Bruce and I went to Harbour House. We went for dinner. We hadn’t booked.
Thankfully the maître d’ had a table, outside, but with some glass sheeting and heaters protecting patrons from the worst of the howling wind. We took the table despite the chill. You sit outside with your coat and hat on. It wasn’t bad, but I did envy those who were sitting cosily inside.
This is the second iteration of the famous Harbour House in Kalk Bay — smaller and cozier, fewer items on the menu, a tad less picturesque. But the service is excellent and swift and the food is very good. I started with an excellent avo ritz, then finished that off with a whole fish, grilled and lashed with peri-peri sauce, Mozambican-style. Bruce went for the grilled Mozambican prawns and I have to stay they were just, well, tender and delicious. My fish was fresh, perfectly cooked and the peri-peri complemented it beautifully. The Remhoogte First Light chenin blanc slipped down beautifully.
The waitress leant over afterwards: "Dessert?"
We demurred. I had heard enough from the French couple. And I left the just deserts to Zuma, bless his cotton socks.
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