Southern Sun Maputo

I think I actually started writing about this hotel while I was staying in it for business back in June. And then…life happened. Nonetheless I decided to revive what I wrote as it was my first experience in Africa (outside of South Africa that is).

For two weeks, the Southern Sun Hotel was home in Maputo. I generally prefer staying at boutique hotels as I always feel like I receive a more authentic experience in new city. But in a city that is completely different to what I am accustomed to, I appreciate staying with a big hotel brand where you know you’ll receive a level of service that you’re used to.

I arrived in Maputo in the middle of the night, tired and ready for bed and as soon as I checked in, I hated my hotel room. For a hotel on the beach, the view from my room was that of the street. I very quickly received assistance from reception who promised to move me once sea-facing rooms were available. And boy did they live up to their promise. I cannot imagine any scenery better to wake up to than the sound of gentle waves against the shore and the sunlight peering into my room. It even contributed to my mood as I woke up happy every day.

My colleague told me that Southern Sun Maputo was undoubtedly the best hotel a few years ago. Since then many other hotels have popped up in the city and along the beachfront. Unlike the other hotels along the beachfront though, this one is right on the shore so you needn’t walk far to experience the beautiful beaches that Mozambique boasts about. The only downside is that it’s not a private beach and at times my seaside sounds were disrupted with locals holding very loud prayer sessions on the beach.

Although Maputo is not far from South Africa, it’s completely different to what I’m used to – the culture, the amenities and the language. It is so difficult to find someone who speaks English on the streets but at the hotel, I was so grateful that everyone spoke my language. The staff were so friendly and ever willing to help you learn a few Portuguese words…which comes in handy when you’re hungry in a café and all the foods have Portuguese names.

The common areas of the hotel had a pretty modern décor but the rooms were in serious need of some renovation. Some rooms had a damp smell to it whilst others just needed a fresh coat of paint applied to the cupboards and some handles on the drawers. All that didn’t matter when I opened my room window and was embraced by amazing weather, birds chirping and gentle waves…

Room service, although looked great, didn’t taste as good as sitting in and ordering at the hotel restaurant. For dinner, I’d recommend the tiger prawns – the biggest prawns I’ve ever seen. Even better was the usual English and continental breakfast with some Portuguese cuisine. The giblets and livers were delicious and there were scrumptious Portuguese custard pastries that I couldn’t get enough of.

Overall, I enjoyed my stay. Although I’d like to try out another hotel during my next visit to Mozambique, I’d gladly come back here for the mouth-watering breakfasts, the beachfront location, friendly service and stunning ocean view. 

Les Mills Bodycombat

I used to be quite fit back in the day and then life happened and here I am; fat and unfit without having regularly exercised in almost 2 years!

A friend recently heard about Les Mills Bodycombat, a new fitness class at Planet Fitness. She loved it so much after one class that she decided to join the gym just for that. Since it's just recently beeb launched in South Africa, they are promoting the class by offering a free guest pass. My friend decided to take me along with her. 

I was pretty excited after seeing the video. It looked like a rock concert - so upbeat and so much fun. Also it was a free class - who wouldn't love that. The only problem is that I'm not a fan of large gyms. Their selling point is that they are relatively cheap and have all the resources, equipment and trainers that you would need. I am just not sold on the level of trainers at gyms. I've found that most trainers have basic training experience and because they need to tailor classes to the majority (who are just looking for a workout), it's hard to be able to learn some of the more advanced or specific exercises, routines, etc. I find a lot more value at a yoga or pilates studio than similar trainers in a gym. 

Well Le Mills comes in three types of classes. The one I picked is called Body Combat and is quite cardio intensive. Think high paced kick boxing so lots of non-stop movement to get your heart rate up and your body sweating. As unfit as I am, I was able to keep up with the class so it's definitely not too hectic for beginners. The trainer introduces movements, stances and exercises inspired from combat skills and that just made it all the more fun. I absolutely loved the music and how the trainer choreographed our moves in time with the song. It also feels so much more satisfying to end a set or routine as the song ends with a bang.

Afterwards, I felt great. Because of my joint issues, I wouldn't go back until my joints are a bit more strengthened. I do believe though that this is an excellent class to try out before signing up for a gym membership. If you have any friends at Planet Fitness, ask them to pick up a guest pass for you. 

I'm on a mission to get my fitness levels back up so if you know of any new studios, classes or clubs that I should be joining, let me know - I'd love to try it out.  

Win! With Abba Seafood range

After blogging about my salmon and caviar stuffed potatoes recipe, Abba generously offered to give me some of their products to give away to my readers on my blog.

Abba Seafood has launched a number of different Norwegian products in South Africa. They are retailing at the major supermarkets and I've seen the products stocked at Spar and they are reasonably priced.

The most exciting product is the caviar. I can't say that I've ever seen caviar sold in supermarkets and I've only ever eaten them topped on sushi. Next time you're inviting guests over, what nicer way to impress them by getting a little jar of caviar to use as a garnish or even spread on top of crackers. It just gives entertaining that touch of opulence. Abba caviar comes in both black and red.

The Abba seafood range is designed to be used in canapes. It comes in small jar and a little goes a long way. My favourite of the range is the herring. It comes in following flavours: marinated with dill, in mustard sauce and in garlic sauce. I liked the Sweddish herring in garlic sauce on top of crackers. It's creamy and goes down deliciously. Eating it on it's own wasn't to my liking but then again I don't have a palate for the finer foods.

The seafood spreads are pretty cool. I had a wrap with creamed salmon spread on it and filled with lettuce and other healthy stuff. It's great if you want a hint of flavour without eating the actual fish. The spreads come in creamed salmon, creamed tuna and mild creamed fish roe.

I have 4 packs of all of these products to give away. You can win 3 jars of red and black caviar each, 2 jars of herring and 2 spreads. Winning is easy. All you have to do is enter via Rafflecopter below.

As the products need to be kept refrigerated, this competition is only open to readers within Johannesburg. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chicken stir-fry

I eat in a lot so today I figured why not share my recipes on my blog since my boyfriend and I cook almost every day. Here’s something we tried tonight – chicken stir-fry with udon noodles.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts sliced into strips

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 teaspoon crushed ginger

2 green chillies

100g portabellini mushrooms

100g baby corn

65g broccoli tips

1 carrot

70g red onion

2 tbs stir-fry sauce

1 tbs oyster sauce

200g udon noodles

40g bean sprouts

Yes, we shop at Woolies

Method

In a wok, fry the chicken strips in batches with ginger, garlic and chillies in sunflower oil until the chicken has a touch of colour. Remove from heat and keep aside. 

Slice the vegetables and stir-fry them in a bit of oil until the veggies are cooked but still slightly crisp. Add the chicken to the veggies and stir fry with the sauces. 

Cook noodles in a separate pot. Add the cooked noodles to the wok and sprinkle the bean sprouts. Heat through. 

We had it with an Asian style cucumber salad.

Salmon and Abba Caviar Stuffed Potatoes

I was invited to an Abba/Ocean King media launch where I learnt that South Africa’s major supermarkets are now stocking their Scandinavian seafood. There’s a variety of products such as herring, spreads and tuna but I was most interested in the caviar. I decided to try out the caviar for supper and I quite liked it. Caviar and champagne just adds a touch of opulence to your meals whether you’re serving appetisers to guests or treating yourself with main meal. And check how elegant those little eggs look!

Here’s my recipe for salmon stuffed potatoes topped with Abba caviar which I used as a side dish to grilled salmon and a green salad. Feel free to use a large potato and have it for mains. This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients

6 baby potatoes

Cubes of smoked salmon

Fresh dill

2 tablespoons cream cheese

1/2 tablespoon grainy mustard

1/2 red onion

Salt and pepper

Abba caviar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place the potatoes with the skin on onto a baking tray and bake until tender for about 45 hour. Cut off the top of each potato and scrape the flesh into a bowl, leaving a little flesh around the inside of each potato so as to keep a potato shell. Add the salmon to the bowl along with dill, cream cheese, mustard, onion, salt and pepper and mix well. Stuff the mixture back into the potato shells and place them back onto the baking tray. Bake until the potatoes are hot in the center and golden brown on top for about 10 – 20 minutes. Top with a teaspoon of caviar and serve.

Try it and let me know what you think.

Exploring Dar es Salaam

About a month ago, I visited Tanzania on business. It was the first time that I had been to Dar es Salaam and only once I got there did I realise that Tanzanian restaurants hardly accepted credit cards and when they did, network issues prevented the payments from going through most of the time. I was torn between using my own money that I was saving for my mini Zanzibar break and wanting to enjoy what Dar had to offer. Luckily when money became too much of an issue, I could eat at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. Still, I managed to squeeze in bits of Dar. After all, I’d rather have stories to tell than save my money for life’s bare necessities.

I was so lucky to be staying in a hotel that was right next to Slipway. It’s called Slipway because it used to be a boat yard and you can still book sailing trips that leave from here to the nearby islands or just around the bay. Given that I didn’t have a car and I needed to save money that would have been spent on a taxi, I spent quite a few nights here. There’s a bunch of restaurants right next to Msanani Bay but my favourite was The Waterfront. If you get there early enough you can sit right at the edge of the bay and watch the waters gentle caress against the deck. The sunset is amazing when the skies turn all shades of orange. I didn’t enjoy the hotel food very much but I simply loved all the dishes I tried here. The portion sizes though are huge!

There’s a big market at Slipway and the prices are ridiculous. Maybe I just keep comparing the prices from my Thailand shopping spree to everywhere else I go to but most items (even fridge magnets) were not less than R75. I could only afford to buy some bracelets, coffee beans and fridge magnets. Apart from the pricing though, I felt that most items weren’t uniquely Tanzanian or African; I saw quite a bit of Thai products – handbags, placemats, etc. with a huge price mark up. But then again, in the luxurious Msanani Peninsula (kinda like Tanzania’s Camps Bay equivalent), I shouldn’t be too surprised that everything would be expensive. 

There’s a travel agent at Slipway called Costal Airlines. I used them to book my Zanzibar trip. So if you want to do some travelling in and around Tanzania, try them; they are very friendly and super organised.

I worked in Mlimali City so I frequented the Mlimali City mall for lunch every day. It is one of Dar’s biggest malls and it has a lot of South Africa’s favourite store brands like Mr Price and Game. The mall itself is busy but there are tons of restaurants which aren’t crowded if you want to grab a quiet lunch. But this is Africa and sometimes ordering a hot chocolate involves DIY.

I also had time to catch a pub quiz at Trinity Bar and Lounge. It’s in Msanani so it’s mostly frequented by expats and Tanzanian upper class during the week. Most of Dar es Salaam is not as well developed as Johannesburg and I do feel like a snob for saying that the Msanani area feels more like home.  Trinity has a relaxing open air beach bar vibe. They also have very difficult quiz nights if you’re into that sort of thing. I like to just relax in the ambience...

I am scheduled to go back to Dar es Salaam in February. I can’t wait to explore more. I plan on staying at Seacliff this time and apparently there’s quite a lot to do in and around the hotel. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to try it so please let me know.