Moz-am-bik
Published: 01 Jul 07
Category: Lovely local
bout his native Mozambique.
The place is inviting with its ochre walls, organic lighting fixtures, profusion of plants and brown paper table cloths with diners' names chalked on them. There's even a packet of roasted nuts on the table for your first drink. The only thing missing is an ocean view.
Ferreira's welcome was warm: "Here the beers are cold, the peri-peri hot and the prawns are in between." So we enjoyed ourselves, shared every dish and left the table looking like a disaster area.
Let me say upfront that I've never been a fan of Portuguese restaurants. Too often the menu is predictable, and the cooking less than glorious. I've had way too many stringy peri-peri chickens or plates of floury prawns awash in a greasy garlic butter. But I was pleasantly surprised. While the menu is basic, it includes some interesting twists on the old classics, and someone in the kitchen is adept. The grilling was top-notch.
Starters included calamari done a myriad ways, including with chourico, olives and chilli, or peri-peri chicken livers, while green olives stuffed with cashews and marinated in chilli and lime tempted. There were steak strips, giblets in a Mozambik sauce, prawn rissoles and even a chickpea and roasted vegetable salad. Father-in-law and I opted for chourico flamed with firewater and chicken livers in a lime and bay leaf sauce.
The boss flamed this classic sausage at the table in a little earthenware pot. The firewater - or aguardente - was a white spirit that reminded father-in-law of his youthful experiments with mampoer. The chicken livers were exceptional. Perfectly cooked and juicy with a sauce that had us fighting to mop up the dregs with our breadrolls.
All the while two signature dishes kept coming out of the kitchen: prawns cooked in beer and chicken Zambeziana. The prawns were a good size and perfectly cooked. The baby chicken was with chilli and coconut milk, and should come with a warning as it was big and could easily feed two.
Otherwise both are available in the traditional garlic and herb, or peri-peri options, or as a combo. There's even a Chicken for Girls: this one deboned, minus any hint of chilli and with a side salad. Ideal for those who don't want to get their hands dirty... but then Portuguese food is traditionally a finger-licking banquet, and here it's encouraged. There's no such thing as a finger bowl - instead you wash your hands at a man-sized clam shell basin in the middle of the restaurant.
Other options include espetadas, steak with a red wine and bay leaf sauce topped with smoked ham and a fried egg, or creamy garlic and peri-peri. Fish can be anything from plain grilled to Cabo Delgrado topped with green banana, mango, coriander, shallots and coconut milk. Father-in-law chose "fish between the sheets" - essentially fish stuffed with roasted veg and baked in a Parmesan crust. Huge hit. My calamari espetada, a combination of baby calamari and squid heads, a testimony to good grilling.
I can't comment on desserts because there was no room for any - but it was a fairly conventional offering anyway.
The winelist is a simple affair. Six whites, six reds, a rosé and some Portuguese offerings means you'll find something that goes with seafood, chicken and peri-peri too. Portuguese beers, ports and cocktails like Catembe jugs (consisting of red wine and cola) or Caipirinha complete the offering. The espresso was top notch, the crema lasting to the end.
Average three course meal excluding wine: R120.
Address: Mo-zam-bik, Boulevard Centre, Jack Powell Street, Ballito. Open Tues-Sun for lunch, Mon-Sun for dinner. BYO R25. Tel: 032 946 0979
Food:
Wine list
Ambience:
Service:
Value:
Proprietor Luis Ferreira encourages patrons to relax, knock back a glass of wine and tuck into plates of prawns. It's a simple concept - exactly what he enjoys most a
The place is inviting with its ochre walls, organic lighting fixtures, profusion of plants and brown paper table cloths with diners' names chalked on them. There's even a packet of roasted nuts on the table for your first drink. The only thing missing is an ocean view.
Ferreira's welcome was warm: "Here the beers are cold, the peri-peri hot and the prawns are in between." So we enjoyed ourselves, shared every dish and left the table looking like a disaster area.
Let me say upfront that I've never been a fan of Portuguese restaurants. Too often the menu is predictable, and the cooking less than glorious. I've had way too many stringy peri-peri chickens or plates of floury prawns awash in a greasy garlic butter. But I was pleasantly surprised. While the menu is basic, it includes some interesting twists on the old classics, and someone in the kitchen is adept. The grilling was top-notch.
Starters included calamari done a myriad ways, including with chourico, olives and chilli, or peri-peri chicken livers, while green olives stuffed with cashews and marinated in chilli and lime tempted. There were steak strips, giblets in a Mozambik sauce, prawn rissoles and even a chickpea and roasted vegetable salad. Father-in-law and I opted for chourico flamed with firewater and chicken livers in a lime and bay leaf sauce.
The boss flamed this classic sausage at the table in a little earthenware pot. The firewater - or aguardente - was a white spirit that reminded father-in-law of his youthful experiments with mampoer. The chicken livers were exceptional. Perfectly cooked and juicy with a sauce that had us fighting to mop up the dregs with our breadrolls.
All the while two signature dishes kept coming out of the kitchen: prawns cooked in beer and chicken Zambeziana. The prawns were a good size and perfectly cooked. The baby chicken was with chilli and coconut milk, and should come with a warning as it was big and could easily feed two.
Otherwise both are available in the traditional garlic and herb, or peri-peri options, or as a combo. There's even a Chicken for Girls: this one deboned, minus any hint of chilli and with a side salad. Ideal for those who don't want to get their hands dirty... but then Portuguese food is traditionally a finger-licking banquet, and here it's encouraged. There's no such thing as a finger bowl - instead you wash your hands at a man-sized clam shell basin in the middle of the restaurant.
Other options include espetadas, steak with a red wine and bay leaf sauce topped with smoked ham and a fried egg, or creamy garlic and peri-peri. Fish can be anything from plain grilled to Cabo Delgrado topped with green banana, mango, coriander, shallots and coconut milk. Father-in-law chose "fish between the sheets" - essentially fish stuffed with roasted veg and baked in a Parmesan crust. Huge hit. My calamari espetada, a combination of baby calamari and squid heads, a testimony to good grilling.
I can't comment on desserts because there was no room for any - but it was a fairly conventional offering anyway.
The winelist is a simple affair. Six whites, six reds, a rosé and some Portuguese offerings means you'll find something that goes with seafood, chicken and peri-peri too. Portuguese beers, ports and cocktails like Catembe jugs (consisting of red wine and cola) or Caipirinha complete the offering. The espresso was top notch, the crema lasting to the end.
Average three course meal excluding wine: R120.
By Frank Chemaly
Address: Mo-zam-bik, Boulevard Centre, Jack Powell Street, Ballito. Open Tues-Sun for lunch, Mon-Sun for dinner. BYO R25. Tel: 032 946 0979
Food:
Wine list
Ambience:
Service:
Value:
