Cape Town
Cape Town is a foodie mecca witha huge variety of restaurants to choose from, but if you’re looking for a true taste of the city, the Cape Malay cuisine is definitely where you need to be looking. The Cape Malay culture has influenced a wide variety of culinary delights in South Africa and its aromatic splendour is due to the variety of spices used in the recipes. Cumin, coriander, star anise, tamarind, cinnamon, cardamom and turmeric, to name a few, give the Cape Malay dishes an exception, unrivalled taste.
What you have to eat before leaving:
Koesister: Spongier, plumper and spicier than koeksisters (spelt with a “k”) – and never plaited – these traditional Sunday morning Cape Malay treats are not to be missed. Think of a doughnut, spiced with ginger, naartjie peel, cinnamon and aniseed, cooked in syrup and sprinkled with coconut.
Garden Route and Klein Karoo
The Garden Route and Klein Karoo is a region as diverse as it is large. Famed for its oysters and champagne – you HAVE to attend the Knysna Oyster Festival in July – and its port and ostrich meat delicacies in the Klein Karoo (you haven’t eaten steak if you haven’t sunk your teeth into an ostrich steak in Oudtshoorn).
What you have to eat before leaving:
Ostrich pie: Sink your teeth into a succulent ostrich pie in the Klein Karoo before heading home. Not only is it delicious, but also healthier than other meat pies!
Cape West Coast
The Cape West Coast is a massively diverse region, as renowned for its pristine beaches as it is for the boulders and mountainous outcrops in the Cederberg. The same goes for the food, with a large array of flavours ever-present, but if there is one thing the area is really known for, it is its seafood, with a number of amazing restaurants based in coastal towns such as Langebaan and Paternoster. Grab some crayfish for lunch, the catch of the day for dinner, or do both. You won’t be disappointed.
What you have to eat before leaving:
Bokkoms: a whole, salted and dried mullet, this is a well-known delicacy from the region and something you NEED to tuck into before leaving.
Cape Overberg
Lying between the Cape Peninsula and the Garden Route, the Cape Overberg is widely considered to be the ‘breadbasket’ of the Cape, because of its wheat fields and large harvest of fruits. The Elgin Valley produces around 60 percent of the total annual apple crop for the country.
What you have to eat before leaving:
Roosterkoek: Balls of bread dough cooked on a grid over the coals - best eaten piping hot. Traditionally served at a braai (barbeque), the tasty treat comes with a variety of fillings or toppings.
Cape Karoo
The Cape Karoo is a world of its own, possessing both a unique beauty and charm. This is an area that will have you searching over every hill, wanting to discover what lies beyond and it also happens to be a place with the best lamb dishes on the planet!
What you have to eat before leaving: Lamb! You will not find more succulent lamb than in the Cape Karoo, where the sheep graze among fragrant shrubs and grasses, making it the most fragrant and tasty as well.
Cape Winelands
The Cape Winelands is an area that is famed for its outstanding wines. In recent times, however, its gastronomic offerings have caught up with the wines. Valleys such as Franschhoek and Paarl have outstanding offerings and the combination of wine and food is second to none.
What you have to eat before leaving:
Wine pairings: The towns that make up the Cape Winelands all have a taste of their own with signature flavours – both in terms of wine and food – and we recommend you try a wine pairing – or three – before you leave the area.
