Monday, September 19, 2022

Pizza at Nonna Lina after watching Blind Ambition

We finally got to see the film Blind Ambition this week. It is showing at the Labia Theatre. Lynne had been trying to book tickets, first to a Pick n Pay showing at the Waterfront, tickets apparently available on Webtickets, and she has lost all respect for Webtickets. She tried to get through; they said they were sending a one-time pin and it never arrived. The complaints department is a senseless bot that asks the same questions and answers none. We went to Webtickets in Pick n Pay at the Waterfront, but they couldn’t access the showing. Nor could the cinema help as it was a private showing! 

Then we discovered that we could see it at the Labia and went to this magical place for a 5 o'clock show, the first time we have been to a movie theatre in about 14 years! And what a wonderful film it is; do try and see it, it is winning international awards. We have known all of the four Sommeliers, the heroes of the film, for several years as we met them in restaurants and at media tastings and came to see how skilled they are at their craft, even though they come from a Zimbabwean background that gave them no exposure to wine

The Labia has four small cinemas and shows many films that would not get shown on the “commercial circuit"
They sell food and snacks; there is a bar with tables outside to sit and enjoy the peaceful garden
And we were able to take our drinks into the theatre to enjoy as we watched the film

There is street parking in the area, but you might have to walk a block or two

The film finished at 7 and we had decided to visit one of our favourite Pizza restaurants, Nonna Lina,
which is on the next block in Orange Street
We have not been there for quite a while but it is very popular, still busy
and it survived the Covid lock down by doing take-aways

It is spacious inside and has several outside tables too, if you fancy eating al fresco
The menu is very varied, serving many classic Italian specialties, not just Pizza
https://nonnalina.com/menu-view/

When you sit down, you are immediately given some lovely garlic redolent tomato bruschetta on the house
to enjoy while you ponder the menu and the wine list

The restaurant is owned and run by Antonello Scamuzzi, who is originally from Sardinia, and his good team
We had a good catch-up chat and offered him a taste of wine from the bottle we had brought
Our excellent waiter Lorenzo (Laurence, taking on an Italian influence from the atmosphere!)
was very helpful and service was quick

We had a bottle of Morgenster Vermentino 2021 which we had been given;
we thought would go perfectly with the Pizzas and their corkage policy is generous at R55
Vermentino, like Antonello, appropriately has a Sardinian background
And, indeed, it did pair beautifully with the food. It’s full of ripe peach on the nose,
rather Chenin-like at first, on both the nose and palate,
but then a line of clean, crisp minerality, fresh lime and some zingy acidity appears and balances the sweetness
and handles the richness and oiliness of the cheeses and meats on the pizzas
Very refreshing

John chose the Quattro Mori, a version of a Quattro Stagioni (Four seasons)
divided into four sections with Tomato, mozzarella, gorgonzola, salami, artichokes, onions, black olives, and tuna
He loves artichokes and enjoys different flavour combinations

Lynne chose her old-time favourite, Patatina, an unusual Pizza with cooked potato as one of the toppings
No one thinks it will work, but it does. It is topped with tomato, mozzarella, salami, gorgonzola, peppadew and potatoes
It has changed a bit over the years, but is still good; it’s the gorgonzola with the potato that makes it shine
It used to have fresh rocket and Prosciutto, which is now rather expensive and would put the price up a lot
Lynne admits that she is not a fan of pizza crusts, unless they are like these at Nona Lina
They are wafer thin, hollow and crisp and shatter in your mouth, so good

One third of Lynne’s went home with us as the large size (32 cm) is a bit much for a smaller appetite in one sitting
and, heated up in the fan oven the next day, was just a delicious as it was in the restaurant
The smaller 26 cm might have been a better choice, but we thought, when ordering, that it might not suffice

The bill including service and a small donation to Street Smart, which we support

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Posted by MENU at 11:08 am 0 comments

Nasi Goreng at the Mojo Market in Sea Point

Lynne discovered that Sea Point now has an Indonesian restaurant. It is called HONG (House Of Nasi Goreng) and is in the Mojo Market in Regent Road. As we are huge fans of Indonesian food, we decided to go there for lunch with friends last week. The menu is small and compact; they just serve Nasi Goreng and we were delighted to find that it could offer our vegetarian friends three different versions, with several meats and a prawn version for us carnivores. The Nasi comes with a small bag of Kroepoek (prawn crackers). If you want extra sambals, you can order those to add to your dish

Mojo Market has many different food stalls, where you can buy to take home
or to eat down or upstairs, where there are tables and chairs

Woks going full blast. The rice has the sambals incorporated in it

The take away restaurant is run by Ben Ungermann
If you are a fan of Masterchef Australia, you will know he was twice a contestant
Memorable were his interesting and sometimes strange ice creams and his good Asian cookery
He told Lynne he has now settled permanently in South Africa

Ben has some Indonesian blood from his parents,
 which is why he loves to cook their food, which he grew up with at home

The Babi Nasi Goreng is topped with a gooey egg, and crisp and spring onions
Then the pork slices, which look like barbequed spare ribs without the bones
We needed a knife to slice these and luckily John had his pocket knife
The rice is very good in texture, not at all mushy and the flavours are spicy and warm and very authentic
Lynne liked it very much and will return to try another dish, but this time to eat at home
It is a huge helping for her, and was served for lunch the next day
Just needs a fried banana perhaps.... And yes, you do see some fresh cucumber salad tucked in the corner,
another traditional sambal, which you can enjoy or ignore at your pleasure

John chose the smoked beef which is sliced and plated on top of the Nasi rice

Our bill. The bill for the vegetarian food was a lot less

We drank a bottle of Woolworths lovely dry Strawberry Rosé, made by Weltevrede,
such a bargain and such a good match for the spicy food. We took our own glasses too

Which noise? Actually, there is a LOT of noise in the market,
the music is played at an ear-splitting level and we regret to say that we will not be eating there ever again,
just doing takeaways
There is a block of flats next door and we are sure that noise complaints from them,
which is probably why these windows are sealed shut

The tables with the best sea views are high and have uncomfortable wooden seats
The tables are sanitized but are sticky and not pleasant

Upstairs, downstairs. Perhaps we should have sat downstairs, but it was louder there with no sea view

Then we went in search in the market of some dessert in the market
This was John's choice, the most expensive, one scoop of chocolate and raspberry ice cream
in a tiny container measuring 5cm deep x 7 cm, but it was very good
Lynne tasted the pistachio, but it was just a (coloured pistachio green) vanilla ice cream
with a few nut (?) shavings and the vanilla was fake
No thank you, very disappointing. At the prices they charge, it should be real

R44.90 for one small scoop!

Loraine and Ronnie opted for two small squares of pistachio baklava from a Greek stall they often visit
Very moreish

and Lynne bought a slice of carrot cake for R35
this is just half the slice; John had the other
Good moist unsweetened carrot cake with lots of nuts, with a very sweet icing to balance it out
We had our dessert at home with a good cup of coffee made by John

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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Posted by MENU at 10:26 am 0 comments
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