Tag Archives: night

Chai-Yo – Spiro’s Corner, Durbanville

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Restaurant Table

It seems as though we don't go out for dinner much these days unless it's to a function like GeekDinner, 27Dinner, or something similar. I arrived home this evening to a wife not up for cooking and myself not too much in the mood either.

A quick decision was made, which entailed rationalising the fact that we deserve eating out tonight - because we've been working so hard, you see. ;) Anyway, we've been meaning to try Chai-Yo, a Thai restaurant in Durbanville, for some time.

To be honest, we're never really impressed by restaurants in the northern suburbs, and most often find ourselves eating out in the city or in the southern suburbs. The thing that normally counts against restaurants in the north is the service - which is usually just not good, or pretty average at best (to be honest).

But this is what made our visit to Chai-Yo really awesome. The service was impeccable - polite, helpful, and attentive without being overly intrusive. The thinly-cut, seared, tuna starter that Kerry-Anne and I shared was delicious, as were the traditional Thai chicken dishes that we ate as our main course.

So to sum it up, there was great service, good food, and a pleasantly comfortable yet smart ambience. Well done Chai Yo, please do keep it up!

Night-time view of Beach Road in Mouille Point

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Beach Road in Mouille Point at night

On Wednesday we showed you the view from Wakame; this photo was taken from the same section of the restaurant (the upstairs bar area), but facing in a slightly different direction (looking up Beach Road, towards the lighthouse and Sea Point). And it was at night, of course. ;-)

We don't often find ourselves in this area on a weeknight, and so we were very surprised to see just how busy this part of the Atlantic Seaboard was. We had to drive around the block quite a few times to find parking - pretty impressive, considering it was 8pm on a Thursday...

Boat trips from the V&A Waterfront

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Spirit of Victoria

The 58-foot yacht Spirit of Victoria carries passengers on trips around Table Bay, taking them a little way along the Atlantic Seaboard, in fact. At night she lies quietly moored at the north pier of the V&A Waterfront, bobbing about, content after a day of hard work. If you've spent much time looking out into Table Bay you will almost certainly have noticed the schooner's distinctive brown sails blowing in the wind; see another photo here.

Time permitting, Kerry-Anne and I will try taking a trip on the Spirit of Victoria before summer is over, and then report back on the experience.

Excellent seafood and sushi at the Waterfront

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Sevruga at the Waterfront

Kerry-Anne's parents were given a restaurant voucher for their wedding anniversary last year, and kindly invited us to join them in spending it last night at Sevruga, a restaurant close to the water's edge on the V&A Waterfront's harbour pier. If I'd taken a step or two back from where I took this photo, I would have been bobbing around in the water!

We had a pretty good time at Sevruga. The service was friendly and good (albeit a little slow, I felt), and the food was well-prepared and well-presented, and tasted very good indeed. Considering the quality of the food, Sevruga's prices are not bad at all, as you can see on their menu.

Sevruga offers a half-price sushi and cocktail special every day between 2 and 5pm. They have an extensive range of cocktails and a huge sushi menu (I'm not a sushi fan, but Kerry-Anne said that the sushi starter she shared with her mom was superb, as was her seared tuna main course. My steak was excellent - tender, perfectly cooked and tasty.)

All in all, a really lovely experience, and we'll definitely be back to sample some of their other dishes.

We’re loving summer

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The Waterfront at night
Today was exceptionally hot; even now as the clock is about to tick over into a new day I'm absolutely baking here in my office.

Hot, quiet and windless evenings like this make Capetonians head for the outdoors. While we were at the Waterfront watching the sun slowly fade into an array of pastel colours, hundreds of people would have been meeting up with friends on various beaches around the peninsula, many would have been walking up Signal Hill, and yet others would have been catching a ride to the top of Table Mountain.

Another perfect summer's eve in Cape Town...

Don’t even think about stopping

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No-stopping sign

In the background of this photo you can see the arches of the Provincial Legislature Building, which houses the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. The building is located in Wale Street, more or less opposite Mandela Rhodes Place.

If you see a sign like the one in the foreground, it means that you cannot stop your vehicle at the side of the road - even if it's just to pick someone up or drop someone off. This particular sign is a temporary one (they were doing some work at the side of the road and presumably didn't want anyone stopping while they were busy), but the markings on a permanently mounted No Stopping sign would be identical.

Mandela Rhodes Place

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Mandela Rhodes Place

Mandela Rhodes Place is an upmarket mixed-use development located in one of the oldest parts of the city (very close to the Company's Garden, in fact).

About four or five years ago the idea of inner-city living began to regain some popularity in Cape Town, and one of the most notable developments that originated during that period was Mandela Rhodes Place. The developers, Eurocape, restored several old buildings on the corner of Wale Street and Burg Street, the idea being to preserve the facades and historical architecture of these buildings, while entirely revamping the interiors.

Mandela Rhodes Place was launched in November 2006, and now houses a number of luxury apartments, a 5-star hotel, a winery, retail stores, restaurants, cocktail bars and coffee shops. I've only been there twice (at night on both occasions), but I must say, I love the atmosphere inside - it's quiet and stylish, with a real feeling of spaciousness.

Fishing boats of the V&A Waterfront

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Fishing boats at night
Fish Quay, seen above, is in the V&A Basin of the Waterfront, very close to the Clock Tower mentioned in this post a few days ago. Although I've never seen fish being offloaded, presumably because we normally visit the Waterfront over weekends or in the evening, I believe that visitors to the Waterfront can stand and watch as these deep-sea fishing boats dock and offload their super-fresh fish.

Unfortunately, I doubt that one can purchase fish directly from the boat captains here. If you're keen on this, then Kalk Bay harbour is the place to be, as recently caught fish can be bought directly from fishermen on the pier.

New Year’s Eve at the V&A Waterfront

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Crowds at the V&A Waterfront

As I said in yesterday's post, it really was busy at the V&A Waterfront last night. If you're familiar with the Waterfront then you'll likely remember the narrow swinging bridge at the Clock Tower. This crowd on the Clock Tower side was trying to change places with a similarly large crowd on the other side.

Speaking of the Clock Tower: in case you don't know what it is, the Clock Tower was the old port master's watchtower, built in the late 1800s when the harbour was still full of old-style sailing ships.

The tower houses a huge clock (hence the name "Clock Tower"), which was about 5 minutes slow on New Year's Eve. The crowd on our side of the harbour must have been watching the tower because only when a roar of cheering was heard from the other side of the harbour did our side erupt with the realisation that 2009 had arrived at last.

Another revolution

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Ferris wheel at the Cape Town Waterfront

With no particular plans for seeing the new year in, Kerry-Anne and I went through to the Cape Town Waterfront to join the thronging crowds watching the annual fireworks display. We bought tickets for a ride on this ferris wheel just before midnight and watched the new year approach from several metres above the ground.

You may notice that only the "W" in "Ferris Wheel" was lit. As we boarded the giant wheel I wondered whether or not I should be concerned that the ride operators were not even able to keep all the lights in working order... :)

In closing, thanks for spending the last year with us; we've certainly enjoyed ourselves and hope that you've enjoyed sharing in Cape Town each day. We wish you an exciting and fun-filled 2009 with much love, joy and peace!

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