{"id":3005,"date":"2013-12-27T12:30:39","date_gmt":"2013-12-27T10:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=3005"},"modified":"2014-09-10T15:23:07","modified_gmt":"2014-09-10T15:23:07","slug":"food-from-afar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/food-from-afar\/","title":{"rendered":"Food From Afar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Words by Georgia Schumann<\/em><\/p>\n

Images by Matthew Ibbotson<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A group of foreigners bringing their tastes and cultures to the mother city through unique restaurants.<\/p>\n

Keenwa<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"hertiageportraits_1\"<\/p>\n

German de la Melena\u2019s love for food extends back to his childhood in Peru. Weekends were spent watching his father make peanut butter from scratch, or fig preserve from the fig tree in the garden. Three years ago, after travelling the world as a model, he decided to settle in Cape Town and turn his passion for cuisine into a restaurant. Keenwa (the phonetic spelling of quinoa \u2013 a staple food in Peru) serves a smorgasbord of authentic, home-style Peruvian dishes such as Ceviche (fresh, raw fish marinated in lime) and Aji de Gallina (spicy creamed chicken).<\/p>\n

\u201cModern Peruvian cuisine is a fusion of the various regions,\u201d he explains, \u201cAt Keenwa we remain true to the original recipes by making no changes to the ingredients.\u201d Except, that is, for reducing the original spiciness of the dishes to suit the less robust South African palate. \u201cWhen Peruvians come to my restaurant they often request more chilli,\u201d he laughs, \u201cIn Peru, the chillies are so hot you cry when you eat them.\u201d<\/p>\n

German\u2019s passion for food extends to South African cuisine. \u201cSouth Africa has the best meat in the world,\u201d he says, marvelling at our ability to braai the perfect filet.<\/p>\n

Keenwa also serves as a meeting place for local Latin Americans, whom German describes as genuinely open-armed and sincere. Every second Friday is Latin night at his bar upstairs: \u201cYou can always spot the Latino\u2019s,\u201d he smiles, \u201cThey can\u2019t help but dance through the door and all the way up the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keenwa<\/b>
\n50 Waterkant St, Cape Town<\/b>
\nTel: 021\u00a0419 2633<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

San Julian<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"hertiageportraits_2\"<\/p>\n

This unique, little gem is run by Patricia Garcia Aispuro and her two sons, Arturo and Ricardo. Ricardo studied and worked as a chef in Mexico before moving to South Africa with his family in 2010. He now heads up the kitchen of Cape Town\u2019s first truly authentic Mexican restaurant. \u201cRicardo was a food critic from 5 years old,\u201d laughs his mother, reminiscing about his vociferous critiques of her refried beans.<\/p>\n

San Julian is an extraordinary establishment \u2013 not only because of the obvious passion with which this trio runs their business, but also because of the remarkable amount of care, time and respect for tradition that goes into making their food. The corn flour or \u2018nixtamal\u2019 which forms the basis of so many of their dishes is made from scratch on the premises, using the arduous 7000 year old process of the ancient Mayans. Their chorizo is handmade using their great aunt\u2019s recipe, limes are freshly squeezed daily to recreate their grandfather\u2019s famous margaritas and their exquisitely refreshing Jamaica (Mexican iced tea) is lovingly concocted from fresh fruit and hibiscus flowers.<\/p>\n

Ricardo and Arturo are vocal about their distaste for preservatives and fast foods. Their philosophy is to respect and support local produce and to stick to organic, preservative-free ingredients. The menu focuses on simple, classic Mexican dishes and they urge their guests to eat the Mexican way \u2013with unashamed gusto and joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cCooking is about connecting and communicating,\u201d says Ricardo. \u201cI cook slowly, respectfully. I cook with love.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Julian
\nStatehouse Building
\n3 Rose St
\nGreenpoint
\nTel: 021\u00a0419 4233<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Ethiopia<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"hertiageportraits_3\"<\/p>\n

Yeshi Mekonnen is a remarkable woman. When she moved to Cape Town ten years ago to study, she was met with great interest in both her country and her culture. This led her to believe that there was a market for introducing foreigners to the exotic allure of her national cuisine. And so \u2013 three years ago \u2013 she made the brave decision to stay in South Africa and to open her own Ethiopian restaurant.<\/p>\n

Little Ethiopia stands true to its name \u2013 the restaurant, hailed by Mail & Guardian as \u2018one of the best finds in Cape Town\u2019, is a tiny room bordered by a handful of small tables. Ethiopian music blares out of the TV and traditional paraphernalia lines the walls. The food is spicy, wholesome and unpretentious, served without cutlery. Rare spices are brought in from Ethiopia, as well as the coffee that is their national pride. The intimacy of the space gives you the feeling that you are visiting Yeshi at her home, and she treats each guest accordingly. From lunch until dinner, this cosy room is a bustling hive of regulars, tourists and local Ethiopians looking for some home-cooked fare.<\/p>\n

Hospitality and food are central to Yehsi\u2019s culture and upbringing. She speaks fondly of her mother as an outstanding cook and hostess. \u201cThe value my family placed on hospitality is how I learnt my trade,\u201d she says, \u201cI make food from the bottom of my heart. Seeing my customers enjoying themselves is my greatest happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>
\nLittle Ethiopia Restaurant<\/b>
\n76 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town<\/b>
\nTel: 021\u00a0424 8254<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Words by Georgia Schumann Images by Matthew Ibbotson   A group of foreigners bringing their tastes and cultures to the mother city through unique restaurants. Keenwa German de la Melena\u2019s love for food extends back to his childhood in Peru. Weekends were spent watching his father make peanut butter from scratch, or fig preserve from the fig tree in the garden. Three years ago, after travelling the world as a model, he decided to settle in Cape Town and turn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":2950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3905],"tags":[3197,3547,3548,3549,3550,3551,3552],"class_list":["post-3005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visiting","tag-cape-town-restaurants","tag-cultural-restaurants","tag-food-from-afar","tag-heritage-restaurants","tag-keenwa-cape-town","tag-little-ethiopia-cape-town","tag-san-julian-cape-town"],"acf":[],"brand_slug":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3005\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}