Wakaberry

Among the many gems that exist on the streets of Stellenbosch breathes one of my favourite guilty pleasures. Bring the massive sweet-tooth that I am, I often find myself drawn to delicious dessert and sweet establishments. This past Friday I found myself on the backend of a double date and my ever present sweet tooth was making me itch for something sweet and delicious. As I’ve often done, I obeyed these cravings and made my way to Wakaberry.

Wakaberry is something I’m not too sure you would have heard of, due to its exclusivity. If you haven’t heard of it, I suggest you do what you can to make yourself better acquainted with what is fast becoming one of my favourite establishments. Wakaberry itself is not a restaurant, it’s not a fast food joint, it’s not a Café, and so what is it? It’s difficult to describe what it is due to it not being one of the standard previously mentioned establishments, so at an attempt to describe exactly what it is, I’m going to go out on a limb and call it a ‘self-service frozen yoghurt and sweet bar’. 

The bar itself is childlike in nature. Everything from the décor and furniture, to the flavours of yoghurt on offer. The whole place is full of bright colours and pictures, you can’t help but feel like a child again. How it works is: you walk into the place and you go find yourself a little plastic bowl which you can pour your yoghurt in to. There are a wide variety of flavours from Mixed berry, and banana to Condensed Milk and Crème Soda. The owners change the flavours regularly keeping the customers guessing, and not allowing the bar to become stale and boring. Once you have chosen your preferred yoghurt and filled your bowl to its brim you make your way over to a selection of sweets which you naturally add to your bowl and enjoy with your frozen yoghurt. The sweets on offer, much like the yoghurt come in a wide variety. Picture every sweet you ever loved as a little kid growing up, now picture every sweet you wished you had while growing up, Wakaberry has them, plus more. The amount of activities going on in that sweet selection would be enough to put a diabetic in a sugary, chocolate coated, sour worm infested heaven. After you’ve scooped all the sweets you need to into your bowl, you make your way over to the weighing scales, weigh your yoghurt and pay accordingly.

Another plus about this wacky establishment is the fact that all the yoghurt is fat free, so although it sounds incredibly unhealthy and somewhat fattening, there is an element of health to it. Apart from being deliciously satisfying on the pallet, what makes this establishment is the; quirky, childlike character which firmly exists within the walls of Wakaberry. If ever you are in Stellenbosch and you are looking for something yummy to eat , make your way down to Wakaberry you won’t be disappointed, and if you are, I may have a bone to pick with you. Regardless of your age, shape, or size Wakaberry will make you feel like a kid again, in a good way. Try it.

BAISA

Being a part of a relationship, one is often obliged to splurge on fancy dinners and romantic dates every once in a while. Over the last few months my never so impressive student account has been just that; unimpressive. However, thanks to some left over birthday money and the welcomed generosity of Grand West Casino I found myself with a little bit of money at the end of the month. What should I do with that money I thought? Save it? Mmm ja ok. Invest it in an overseas holiday? Ja, I could do that. Spend it right away? Yes please, I’ll do that.

As I mentioned earlier, when one is in a relationship you often find yourself in situations you not really used to or comfortable with. I can guarantee you, that if you’ve ever been in any serious kind of relationship you would have, no-doubt at some point found yourself in an incredibly fancy restaurant with incredibly fancy people. If you are more wowed by the price column than the dishes on offer, that’s when you know your bank accounts going to take a bit of a beating. However, be that at as it may be, it was date night and I felt like spoiling the ‘wife’ for a night. I felt like doing something romantic for this special person; however I found myself at a loss for anything original and creative. This was largely due to the fact that all my great romantic dates were used up within the first few months. I eventually decided to do the cheesy cliché thing, and take her on a romantic dinner date. So there I found myself typing “romantic restaurants to eat at in Cape Town”. A number of appealing options popped up, the one that most caught the eye was a restaurant called Baisa in the Waterfront.   

I immediately knew we were in for a treat the second we walked through the doors. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant oozed class. From the attire of the people, to the warm welcoming we received. Every element I could possibly lay my eyes on lead me to believe that my wallet was going to take a beating, but as we sat down my financial worries began to subside. I found myself lost, taken a back, and left in awe at the amazing view I was experiencing. Say what you like about Cape Town, but there really are fewer sites more beautiful than the Waterfront harbour at night, absolutely gorgeous. It’s seemed my impressed emotion was only going to be further aroused, our waitress was - superb. She was very polite and insisted on calling me sir (something I always find quite awkward, especially because she was old enough to be my mother), nonetheless I was impressed and duly felt the effects of the ‘over and beyond’ service I was being treated to.

The menu was one of those where you understood every second option (a sign that you in a restaurant you probably can’t afford). After the waitress read out the many specials that were available, we both panicked and ordered the starter that had something to do with a mushroom and a main that had something to do with a platter. Needless to say both dishes were delicious. The mushroom ‘thingy-majigy’ was full of wonderful flavours and aromas, whilst everything on the seafood platter was cooked to as close to perfect as I believe it could have been. The calamari in particular was superb, an outstanding balance of flavour accompanied by a smooth chewy texture. I am struggling not to salivate on my keyboard as I re-live what truly was an incredible meal.

At many fancy restaurants that I’ve eaten at in the past rely on their fancy image, high prices and elitism. In doing so, they neglect the most important thing, the food itself. It’s crucial that in any restaurant, if you willing to charge the prices you’re charging, and offer the service you’re offering, you better be able to deliver in the kitchen, and perform on my plate. After this night I can honestly say that Baisa ticked all the necessary boxes and its 5 star restaurant title is richly deserved.