EAT, DRINK AND MAKE MERRY - #BLOGCHATTERA2ZCHALLENGE

 

“Eat, drink and make merry… for tomorrow you may diet!” This axiom is very true when we are in Johannesburg. Everything here is about fun, food and family, and we even have a WhatsApp group that says so.

Less than a week and we have already had a taste (pun intended!) of how the food scene for the next fifty days is going to be. It started with the anniversary braai last week, of course.

Zo’s birthday saw us all heading to Picanha’s for a long but enjoyable lunch. Since it was a gloomy, rainy day, the children had to forgo the play area that was outside and stick to the small little area within. Luckily, there was a ‘Make Your Own Pizza’ in which the two littlest ones donned chefs' aprons and caps and chose their pizza toppings. They sat down and decorated their pizzas with bacon, ham and chicken strips (any two) and cheese, of course. The pizzas were then baked in wood fire ovens and voila, their lunch was ready.

The older two preferred to have chicken wings and spaghetti respectively. I have always maintained that the children’s menus are the easiest to traverse. Once they are sorted, the adults sit back and then take ages to decide what they want to eat. The elaborate menus do not make it any easier as everything looks better on a glossy page.

Six adults, and we had our work cut out. The confused waitress went to and fro, trying to get her head around our orders. Finally, when all the dishes were on the table, she sighed in relief and went into the kitchen for a well-deserved break, while we tucked into our respective dishes – pizza, steak, fish and chips, chicken wings and salad, livers and lamb chops. Of course, we Indians cannot do without our dessert, and while brownies and cheesecake were the flavour of the day, the birthday girl, Zo, got a special birthday celebration, replete with a candle on her favourite waffle. It was a treat to see her, bashful and thrilled at the same time.

Collage: Priyanka Menon Rao

The next afternoon, we meandered towards a restaurant called My Pot, the concept of which was unique. There were four varieties of broth which we could order, and many kinds of meats and veggies which could be cooked right at our table. We ordered the Spicy and the Hot and Sour broths, which were cosily ensconced in the centre of our table over an Induction cooker. In no time at all, they began to boil, exuding aromas that whetted our appetites further.

What excited us further was the variety of condiments that were arranged on a sideboard – spring onions, coriander, crushed garlic, peanuts, chillies, chilli oil, soya sauce, vinegar et al - (my mouth waters even as I think of these!) – which could be added to our broth and ingredients.

The waitress brought the cuts of meat that we had ordered, along with shitake mushrooms and small bowls of steamed rice and fried rice. All we had to do was dunk whatever we wanted in the broth, give the meat and veggies a bit of a boil and voila – our deliciously fragrant meal was ready and steaming.

It was an experience, and even though the bites were small and we struggled with chopsticks till spoons and forks finally appeared, it was akin to every drop making an ocean. By the end of it, we were all stuffed to the brim, and ready to swear off dinner, and probably breakfast. (Till P announced that we would be having biryani for lunch on the following day!)

                                                                                   Collage: Priyanka Menon Rao

It is said that eating together as a family warms the cockles of the heart and the lining of the stomach. That is exactly how we felt after this uniquely special meal.

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I am taking part in #BlogchatterA2ZChallenge2025.

https://deepties.blogspot.com/2025/04/eat-drink-and-make-merry.html