[CH] Visit to Southern Africa
Sue Callaghan (scallagh@african-life.co.za)
Tue, 6 Apr 2004 10:49:23 +0200
Karen Stober wrote "I'm going to be in South Africa in two weeks. Most of my
time will be a photo safari on elephant back in the bush. However, I will
spend a few days in Capetown, Johannesburg, and the Zambia side of Victoria
Falls. Any chilheheads there? Any hot spots and shops you can recommend?
Love to meet you."
I hope this email reaches you before you leave for SA. The digest only
arrived this morning and your message was dated Sunday a week and a half
ago. I live outside Johannesburg and work in town so could give you advice
on what to do/see not do/see around here and perhaps other parts of the
country. I could meet up with you depending on when you're around my part of
the country.
You're in luck! Chiles are a popular ingredient in food here although the
varieties available were very limited until recently (unless you buy on the
'net from Dave at TLCC like I have for the past 8 years or so). SA had a
history of importing slaves from the East (Malays and Indians mostly) and
they have influenced the food here tremendously. You'll find curries are
very popular and Thai restaurants seem to be popping up all over the place.
There is an abundance of sauces available in the supermarkets and the choice
of fresh chiles has expanded to include Habaneros and a few other less well
known varieties apart from the Serranos, Jalapenos, Cayennes etc that are
readily available. Fast food places such as Nandos specialise in chilified
food and I can recommend their extra hot peri-peri flame grilled chicken as
a great meal whenever you're hungry and in a hurry. Portuguese restaurants
always have a few peri-peri dishes on their menus (Chicken livers, chicken
etc). Ask for HOT in restaurants if that's what you want as the chile levels
are usually kept to "commercially" acceptable levels (I can hardly taste the
chile in a standard dish). If you're going to be staying and eating in
hotels most of the time you won't find that much chile usage as they cater
for the average person unfortunately. You can always ask for chopped chiles
or a sauce on the side although you're likely to be offered Tabasco half the
time ;-)
Send me a mail letting me know when you'll be in the Jhb area and perhaps we
can arrange something. Otherwise enjoy your trip - this is a beautiful part
of the world.
Cheers from Sue in Sunny South Africa