We stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson Cape Town Foreshore. Although not really on the foreshore and most definitely not at Cape Town’s famous V&A Waterfront, the hotel is in a pretty good location, a short stroll to the retail and backpacker hub of Long St, the restaurant strip on Bree St and still within walking distance of the waterfront. The staff were incredibly helpful, it is easy to get in and out of if you are driving (and has secure parking) and is a good solid modern 4 star hotel with comfy beds, a decent shower and best of all free internet (with no limits). The main disappointment was the pool – although it didn’t look mammoth in the pics, we weren’t expecting it to be not much bigger than a hot tub. And worse still, perched straight in front of a lively bar that operates from 10am.
After settling into the hotel, and hanging up clothes as we were to be there for more than a week, we decided to head out to get something to eat at the Waterfront. After a false start by trying to get there through the Convention Centre, and taking a twisted route under the road and through what can best be described as a canal estate – more compact than the Gold Coast with apartments rather than sprawling upwardly mobile bogan abodes, we arrived at the waterfront. Everyone has seen the pictures so it is pretty easy to recognise when you arrive. The pastel painted 19th century warehouses that have been, by a masterstroke turned into hotels and the massive marina, mall and restaurant complex. The view of Table Mountain. And the rampant tourism. What you aren’t as prepared for is the sheer size of the waterfront. A hub for tourism in Cape Town, there are several hotels, at least three malls, a (ferris – eye type) wheel, multitudes of cafes and restaurants and some very exclusive dining establishments. And we found our nirvana – a warehouse full of hip little eateries like The Hamlet (or any other hipster food truck hangout) with stalls rather than food trucks.
Predictably Dan headed straight for the first Indian place he could find and procured some butter chicken for himself and some chicken tikka for me – each came with rice, a salad of some kind and the biggest naan breads I have ever seen. While I was busy downstairs watching as my sesame beef rice paper rolls were prepared freshly before me and grabbing an apple, carrot and orange juice, Dan had spied an American-style wings and ribs place and ordered a serve of barbeque wings.
So when all this food arrived, despite the fact we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was now close to 4pm, there was no way we were ever going to finish it – it was all really good, especially the sesame beef rice paper rolls with cucumber noodles and lettuce inside and a fabulous tamarind dipping sauce. Dan couldn’t get over the size of the portions and the cost. The rice paper rolls at $A2.50 each were about the most expensive item The Indian, which could feed a family of four, came to about $A15 in total. People had warned us that Cape Town was a foodie’s paradise and so far they weren’t wrong. After we had our fill, we walked back to the hotel. Originally, we had intended to at least head up to the hotel bar for a drink but a quick snooze turned into a very early night. (Pulse – The Tea Party – one of the funkier tunes off Temptation – it grinds down and diety with the unmistakable vocals of Jeff Martin, the Barry White of metal.)