Gold

Category: Classic Contemporary
Toto once sang about hearing the “drums echo in the night”– and so did we as we entered the Gold of Africa museum in Strand Street, because the drumming workshop was still in session.

< p>That was when we realized that Gold restaurant is primarily aimed at tourists wanting an “African experience” for a few hours. Don’t get me wrong, the concept is great – it’s just not the kind of place as a local you’d return to again and again. Unless you have lots of foreign visitors, that is!

It’s a “Cape Malay in Africa taste safari”, as our friendly waitress Alexandria explained. All the waitresses are dressed in vibrant African inspired dress, rich in autumn colours and with dots painted on their faces, Xhosa-style.

The tables are set out in a courtyard at the back of the museum and are essentially al fresco, in spite of a canvas “roof”. There’s lots of vegetation and an airy, spacious feel. Perhaps a touch too airy as the southeaster was blowing the night we visited – but the gas space heaters and complimentary kikoi helped ward off any chill.

There are so many good touches about Gold. You don’t order off a menu – your R200 fee includes all the dishes which are brought to your table in a wide grass basket, nimbly balanced atop the waitress’s head.

The drumming workshop is R75 extra and starts an hour before dinner. Wine and beverages are not included in the price and the winelist is well balanced with a range of really good offerings from Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (Cape Point Stonehaven at R150) to Merlot, Pinotage, red blends, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s a reasonable selection of wines by the glass (R30 or so) but it’s biased towards the wines of Franschhoek cellar Rickety Bridge.

The starter spread placed on the kente-cloth draped table to share included spice-rubbed sweet potato wedges, an African peanut satay sauce, maize nut fritters (apparently favoured by the vaVenda people, Alexandria assured us), Malay vegetarian samoosas and peri-peri prawns, skewered on a stick with an orange wedge. The fritter, samoosa (oh, so delicately flavoured with cinnamon and cumin) and the prawn were particularly good.

Mains included small individual bowls of smoorsnoek, one of the most delicious boboties I’ve had in ages (with chutney, of course), a communal plate of pap and spinach (umfino in Zulu and Xhosa and morogo in Setswana…), pickled carrot salad from the Free State, roti and Cape Malay chicken curry. All the dishes were delicious, especially the pap – superbly creamy and rich in flavour.

Desserts take the form of a small individual plate containing a wedge of malva pudding, a fresh strawberry and a tasty pumpkin fritter with cinnamon and sugar on the side for dipping. And then the show starts… a troupe of dancers and drummers take to the courtyard amid camera flashes galore from the delighted tourist groups. The dance form and oversize puppets are from Mali and the show is really good but the highlight for me was when the dancers relinquished the floor to the kitchen staff and waitresses. Their simple exuberant dancing and singing was more entertaining and authentic than the formal floor show.

Overall a good evening’s entertainment with authentic African flavours. It’ll be a hit with tourists and overseas visitors but won’t necessarily be the sort of place you’d frequent more than once.

Set cost of the meal: R200.

By Fiona McDonald
Address: MARTIN MELCK HOUSE, 96 STRAND STREET, CAPE TOWN.
Tel: 021 421-4653
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