31 December
2017
New Years’ Eve … what shall we do … going for a pizza
at Ciao Baby on the piazza at Montecasino a few days before the 31st, we
decided to book into the Sunsquare hotel for 1 night. While I watched the
kids play in the water fountain, Hein walked to the Sunsquare hotel. I enjoyed
a Virgin Mojito and fleetingly wondered why Hein took so long … since the
Sunsquare hotel is JUST there.
Eventually Hein walked back from another direction …
Sunsquare hotel was fully booked, so he booked us into the Pivot hotel.
Enjoying a fabulous garlic and cheese pizza (me) and Amatriciana pasta
(pancetta, red wine, tomatoes and chilli with fettuccini) for Hein, we walked
through Montecasino to have a look at the Pivot hotel. On our way, we
decided to book a table for New Years’ Eve.
Well … first I phoned Mythos, Greek restaurant and a real
firm favourite of ours. R750/person for New Years’ Eve.
Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me???????????? Are you out of your mind? What
the heck are you going to offer me for R1 500 …. A shoulder rub, a
complimentary bathrobe, golden truffles???? Nope. Not going to
happen.
At the new Mexican restaurant (where Cobblestone Pub used to
be) – La Rosa – we asked … R450/person …. Nope. Definitely NOT
going to happen too. I said to Hein even if we buy bread and cheese and
eat it in our hotel room, it will be an outing. Right at the one exit of
Montecasino towards the Pivot Hotel, there’s Kai Thai (http://www.kaithai.com/) . We stopped
and asked … nope … they DO NOT have a set menu for New Years’ Eve. And
YES, they do have a table for us for 9pm.
Just across the Montecasino exit is the Pivot Hotel.
It was a fabulous night, we sat outside on the terrace enjoying a beer and cappuccino.
Sunday, 31 December 2017 – after early coffee at home, I
weeded the outside garden (6h30), then we had a quick gym session and decided
to leave around 11 am and have lunch in Montecasino before we booked into the
Pivot hotel at 2pm.
Parking downstairs, we left our overnight bag(s)
(yeah yeah, okay, we had 2 bags) in the car and decided to just announce
ourselves at the Pivot reception desk. It was 11h30. The lady
looked at our booking and said: your room is ready, you can check
in. Hein and I was flabbergasted! A whole 2 ½ hours before
time! Jippeeeeeeee.
Quickly we fetched our overnight bags and up to room 318 …
it had a balcony!!! A lovely hotel room, separate bathroom with bath and
shower and sliding doors between the bath and bed. I unpacked everything
(yes, yes, that’s what I do. I really detest living out of a suitcase)
and we walked over to Montecasino for lunch.
Since La Rosa was out of the question for that night, we
thought we may try them for lunch … but no luck. They were still
closed. Onwards then … it’s not like we didn’t have a choice.
Our lovely neighbours, Sue & Mahven, told us about this
lovely new place … Fireroom -(https://www.tsogosun.com/montecasino/restaurants-bars/restaurants/fireroom)
a fusion of Orient and flames. A table was open right next to the
walkway. I ordered a Schweppes Dry Lemon and was pleasantly surprised when it
arrived … not in a can … but in a small glass bottle! Hein had beer.
I decided to try the flamed Salmon bowl – the waiter asked
if I wanted the starter or main portion. I said main portion. Hein
ordered a fillet with veg and potato and a flamed butter sauce. My Salmon
arrived … it was a HUGE bowl filled with Salmon cubes, topped with a honey-mustard
sauce. They poured a flaming sauce all over … very impressive. Then
Hein’s fillet was set alight with his flamed butter sauce. Oh my goodness
…. My Salmon was out of this world!!!!! Raw, tender and the sauces
complimented it perfectly. But the portion was really big … and I
wondered what the price would be. (On the menu I saw a price of R120 …
but that’s maybe for the starter portion??)
Hein really enjoyed his steak. It was cooked to
perfection, the flamed sauce was good and veggies yummy. He also helped
me finish my Salmon.
It was the last day of 2017 … no ways I’m not going to have
a dessert. Sue & Mahven said that the fried chocolate was just okay …
so I chose to have the warm poached pear with a flamed sauce. OH MY
GOODNESS! It was absolutely delicious!!!!! Pear was soft and
served with a lovely sauce and ice cream.
Now for the bill …. Surprise … that ‘monstrous’ bowl of
Salmon was R120. We will definitely be back!
Back to the hotel, I changed into my costume and we lounged
outside on the pool terrace. It’s a shady area, overlooking a pond
(there’s a small (and very cold) pool) and lots and lots of trees! One
can barely see Montecasino drive. Black swans glide on the pool with
ducks. I had a few dips into the really cold water and over the edge of
the pool, I saw a swan’s egg in-between grass and reeds.
Weather was once again perfect. Not too hot, not
cold. Relaxed, we sat, watched people and after my 2nd dip, I
had to order a cappuccino … I was a bit chilled. Since our dinner was
booked for 9pm, we opted for a late afternoon snack on the pool terrace.
Quite a few options, so we chose the beef sliders. 3 Small buns filled
with different toppings and chips. Delicious.
My eyes drooped and we had a nap in the hotel room.
After a long relaxed bath, we dressed and walked slowly towards Montecasino,
planning on having a pre-dinner drink on the piazza. But alas … the whole
outside area was booked for a private party. Warnings were also given for
loud fireworks later the evening. My goodness, thankfully the Sunsquare
hotel was fully booked, otherwise we would have been in the midst of all that
noise.
Walking through the casino part, I played a few bucks, got
bored and we had a drink at one of their cocktail places. Arriving at Kai
Thai, we sat down and looked around … the place was full and yet … we didn’t
have to order a set menu. Now here’s the story of Kai Thai…
End of 1999, Hein and I moved to Bromhof, Randburg from
Durbanville. In President Fouche drive, at the Engen garage, there was a
BIG wooden shed … that housed the original Kai Thai. The owners, Ron and
his wife Kai, started it. There were only a few tables … if you order whisky,
you don’t ask for a certain brand. If you had to pay by card, they ran up
to the Engen garage to do the transaction. We had our very first Chicken
Green Curry with cashews there … with fried rice. It was absolutely
sublime!
After a few years, they moved to Rabie Street (but has
closed that branch) and from there, they ‘exploded’ into numerous branches.
Back to 31 December 2017 … sitting at our table, I saw the
owner Ron. Now we haven’t seen this guy in … I don’t know how many
years!!! He sat down at another table and told us … it was his last day …
he is 73 and is retiring that very day. What a coincidence! After a
lovely talk with him, Ron mentioned that in Rabie Street they plan to open
another branch – the original Kai Thai. Right opposite the Fusionista
restaurant. We cannot wait to visit them.
Veg spring rolls we ordered and wow … these were fat spring
rolls … crispy and golden outside, stuffed with julienne vegetables!
A couple at the next table asked about our food … the guy
then also ordered the Angry Duck but said: It was okay, but I didn’t like
the crispy duck pieces. Hellooooo ….. I said the dish had crispy
pieces. Idiot.
Once again, I had to order dessert. Deep fried ice
cream. They roll a scoop of ice cream in finely crushed crumbs (cookies I
think) and quickly deep-fry it. It was delicious!!!!
Just before 10pm, we walked out of Montecasino and a wave of
people passed us … wow, we were lucky to escape that crowd. At the hotel,
we sat outside on the balcony but faded quickly. Startled by really loud
bangs, we awoke just after midnight … and saw the fireworks at the piazza.
Goodness, it was really loud!
No comments:
Post a Comment