Secret Eats Rebooted

Secret Eats, the 'Underground Dining Experience' is back in Durban, having taken a leave of absence for most of the last year. My first taste of Secret Eats was back in June 2014, when it burst onto the Durban dining scene with a bang, pairing the edgy, urban hangout of the Factory Café by night with the renowned cooking of Marcelle Roberts of Café 1999.

The concept of pairing an unexpected, out of the ordinary space with a talented chef is a winning one, and pairing it with a heavy emphasis on social media buzz ensured that Durbanites were lining up for elusive tickets to the next event.

The first event in Durban in many months was announced online with much fanfare, and I was happy to grab two tickets, to see if the kind of magic that had been conjured up in the past could be created again. Secret Eats events are a bit of a lucky-packet leap of faith, as you have to pay upfront without knowing where the event will be hosted, or who the chef will be. Parting with my R1190 (R595 a head) I crossed my fingers, and hoped that the outlay would be worth it.

On the morning of the event, I received an email revealing the secret location for the event - The Green Door in Glenwood, a flexible events / shared office space converted for the night into our venue (it's next door to the Coffee Tree café).

Normally at these events, there's a bit of a fuss made about knowing a secret password to gain access. Silly, but sort of fun. This evening fell more on the silly side, as we delivered our line, and then rather than being ushered into a hidden venue, we were instructed to stand awkwardly on the pavement, where a gentle drizzle was drifting down.

A welcome drink of white wine sangria (peach, strawberries, Ernst & Gouws Sav Blanc, refreshing) was served, and gradually the guests for the night accumulated, up to the final total of around 35 or 40. While we stood on the pavement, sipping sangria and making an effort to feel sophisticated, we nibbled on mouth-sized bites of curry served on a kind of tortilla chip - lamb, cauliflower and chicken versions were served on mirrored trays, all very tasty.

Moving indoors, two rather sparsely decorated long tables were squeezed into the limited space, and the usual seating dance ensued, as everyone tried to sit next to either the people they came with, or having come on their own (as we did) opposite somebody who looked like they would make good conversation. This is actually one of the highlights of these events, as the chance meetings are almost always interesting and a fun way to meet people you wouldn't normally.

A card on the table informed us that the theme for the evening was South African flavours, in an unfortunately timed nod to the rugby world cup (minutes earlier, New Zealand had booted us out of the semi-finals). The chef was chef Ros (no surname given) of Olive Twist, a 'Bespoke Catering Company' according to their website.

The 'Coastal Consommé' starter was a winning effort, served in a tall glass bowl, and looking for all the world like a rock pool on a summer afternoon, complete with plump prawns, slivers of fish, rice-balls and salty broth. Fun to look at and to eat. The paired wine was a rather decent Chardonnay.

Lacking from the evening, sadly, was any real introduction to the chef, discussion of the food we were about to eat, or information about the paired wines being poured. This kind of fanfare at previous Secret Eats was part of what gave one the impression of being privileged insiders, rather than regular restaurant patrons.

Too soon after the starters were cleared, mains began to arrive, in fits and starts, with one end of a table being served, while the other waited. Service was not a high point of the evening, and waiters were generally only good for shuttling food from kitchen to table, and had none of the repartee and energy of the more student-y waiters from previous efforts.

The main course was described as 'a delicious black salt crackling of slow cooked pork, served with a true homage to our wonderful rainbow nation'. The true homage to our wonderful rainbow nation turned out to be steamed tenderstem broccoli, potato bake (the chef would have probably said 'potato gratin' and a lonely asparagus spear). Crackling was sadly noticeable by its absence (there was none on my or my wife's plates) and the dish was only just warm. Sure, the pork belly was soft and tender, but spice was lacking, and the whole dish brought to mind upper middle class weddings, which presumably is where it was first delivered. Buyer's remorse was starting to set in at this point.

Happily, dessert was more inspired, being a Durban inspired curried pineapple, served on a kind of cocoa/biscuit ground, and served with chocolate truffles and a dollop of ice cream. The tall glass bowls were back out, and we had another round of scooping food out from the bottom, which was quite enjoyable.

And that, sadly was that - having begun starters at 8, dishes were cleared by 9.30. No coffee was on offer, nor were any drinks available other than the paired Shiraz and Merlot. Not being a big red wine drinker, I returned to the welcoming sangria. An earlier promised charity raffle either failed to materialise, or took place after we hailed our Uber home at around 10.30.

My unsolicited advice for the continued success of this enterprise? First of all, pick venues with a little more of a wow factor. The Green Door seems like a lovely space, but doesn't exactly take your breath away. Try to work with chefs that enjoy greater name recognition - good food is not all we are looking for, we want a chance to see what our favourite chefs can do outside of their usual kitchen and regular menu. Make sure you employ waiters with a bit of personality. Have drinks other than the paired wines available. Generate a little anticipation for each course, and impress us with detailed descriptions of what we're about to eat. Put on some music, preferably live. Ramp up the number of courses. Keep your plates warm. Make this a secret too good not to share.

Cake and Satay House

Eating out is something I love to do for a variety of reasons, one of the least of which is simply to satiate my hunger. Yes, I'm a hungry hedonist, but the emphasis is strongly on the hedonism - I eat out for the pleasure of it. One of my favourite activities is exploring a country through its food - ideally in a street market or bazaar, but otherwise while discovering new flavours right here in one of our Durban restaurants.

The Cake and Satay House, specialising in Indonesian food is just such a place where one can go to experience something new. Often described as being in Umbilo - probably because of its proximity to Umbilo Road, it's actually situated in Glenwood, in Albert Dlomo Road (formerly Willowvale), not far from Parc Café and Glenwood Bakery. From the street, a small sign indicating 'Cake and Satay House: Indonesian Delicacies' is the only hint at what lies behind the door that leads up a short flight of stairs to the front room of Anita Leong's house. Here, her and her husband serve up a variety of Indonesian, Chinese and Thai inspired dishes to a small, but appreciative audience.

At the top of the stairs, a security door is opened before you can be beckoned inside. There are two eating areas: a small, enclosed outside room, ringed in fairy lights, and inside, a slightly larger room with a row of tables running down the centre and a display case featuring a handful of sweets and sauces for sale. There are only four or five tables in the restaurant, with a potential capacity of about 20 diners. On the night that we visited, however, we were the only customers. You have to book for dinner here, not only to ensure that you get a table, but also because there is a fair chance that the restaurant won't be open otherwise. 

Ambiance comes courtesy of a single CD of traditional Indonesian music, which reminded me vaguely of the Midi soundtrack on a 1980s video game. It's probably not the ideal restaurant for a first date, but it's a great place to come with a bunch of friends who are happy to create their own buzz. They aren't licensed, so its strictly BYOB, but they don't charge corkage, and they do stock a variety of cool-drinks if you prefer. Also, remember to bring cash - they don't accept credit cards.

Starters are limited to a selection of fried delicacies (wontons, spring rolls, crispy prawns) or soups (chicken or wonton). They also serve those colourful, tongue-sticking, deep fried prawn crackers - either individually, or by the plate. The wontons are hot, crispy and filled with minced pork; the spring rolls are enormous and bursting with crispy vegetables, pork and prawns. A bowl of bright red sambal oelek (basically raw chilli paste) and soy sauce is served alongside, with a small plastic spoon. It's Asian street food, simple, tasty and good for sharing.

The main course options are more extensive, with separate sections for Nasi Goreng (fried rice); Mi Goreng (fried noodles, much like Chinese chow mein); sweet and sour dishes; cashew chicken; black bean dishes, and the titular satays. There are also a handful of sea food dishes, including curried and chilli crabs, which are apparently excellent.

I went for the house speciality and ordered the chicken satay, served ten kebabs deep, with a fantastic, spicy peanut sauce. The pieces of meat are smaller than on a typical South African sosatie, and more tender, coated in a sticky sweet and salty sauce which has blackened on the edges where the flames have caught at it. The satay is served with a small bowl of plain steamed rice - good for when you accidentally eat too much sambal oelek.

We also ordered beef in a black bean sauce and sweet and sour pork. Both came with plenty of lightly fried peppers, onion and carrots. The sweet and sour pork was crunchy-edged, and came with a dark, pineapple-sweet sauce. The black bean dish was full of tender beef, mushrooms and vegetables, although the sauce lacked depth and could have used more black beans and coriander.

As far as I know, Cake and Satay House is the only restaurant in Durban specialising in Indonesian food. If you get a taste for it though, as I have, you can also get lucky at the Durban Night Market where you'll find Suki's Indonesian Food, offering a fantastic selection of satays, Nasi Goreng and Mi Goreng. Now I have to go try that Ethiopian place on Cowey Road...

Parc Cafe, Glenwood

Two weeks ago we were enjoying breakfast at the excellent Glenwood Bakery when we realised that there are actually two amazing venues squeezed into the intriguingly named 'Oslo Building' on Esther Roberts Road. Like Glenwood Bakery, the adjacent parc café (parc-cafe.co.za) is surprisingly understated in announcing its presence. There are no signs outside, and initially I mistook them for an extension of the Bakery. After peering inside for several moments, however, I noticed their simple chalk drawn name on a black feature wall, largely given over to their extensive and tempting breakfast and lunch menus.

It turns out that parc café has been around since May last year, and is run by a brother and sister team, Brett and Lara Gentles (Brett was previously at 9th Avenue Bistro). I was excited to try them out, and we managed to get back to Glenwood last weekend for a Saturday morning breakfast.

On arrival, you can instantly feel an arty, hipster vibe which in true Durban style manages to remain completely unpretentious. The waiters are fun and friendly and the clientele range from young locals arriving on fixed gear bicycles to out-of-towners who park their hulking SUVs alongside the small tables which line the pavement.

Being Durban, it's already pretty warm by nine in the morning, and we ask our waitress if she can find us a couple of iced coffees.

'It's just espresso and milk over ice', she warns us. 'We don't crush it or anything'.

We assure her that we are fine with that - the coffees at Parc are made from beans supplied by Colombo Coffee (of Factory Café fame) and when they arrive they are delicious - cool, silky-smooth and full bodied.

We pick two of the breakfast options off the chalkboard and order. Reluctantly, we omit the 'Not-so-Benedict' (bacon and poached eggs with hollandaise on next door's rosemary potato bread) - I am still cherishing the memories of my last Eggs Benedict, and it would feel like a betrayal to be moving on so soon. Luckily there are plenty of other exciting sounding options, and before long we are presented with two plates - one holding a toasted scone topped with poached eggs, bacon, roast red peppers and wholegrain mustard cream, and the other piled high with corn and zucchini cakes, poached eggs, halloumi, lemon and olives with a tomato and vanilla relish.

In situations like this, the time honoured tradition of 'eat half and pass on' is enforced, and I can't decide whether to be happy or sad at half time, as each dish is wonderful, and both are so fresh and unusual. The 'eggs on scone' comes first - eggs are perfectly poached, bacon crispy and mushrooms joyfully sautéed. The mustard cream pulls the dish together, and the scone base is a great idea - plenty of room to soak up all of the juices. This particular scone is a little hard, but with the quality of the other ingredients I'm hoping that this was a once off error. 

Next arrives 'eggs on corn and zucchini cakes'. The cakes are basically a stack of fritters, lightly bound corn and zucchini just fried through - warm and moist. The lemon and olives are not the first things I would think of when it comes to breakfast, but they work together beautifully, in harmony with the eggs, the fritters and the halloumi (my only request here is for MORE halloumi).

Our waitress tells us that she doesn't have Tabasco sauce, but she does have chilli sauce. A simple bowl of blended chilies arrives - the perfect accompaniment to eggs, and one that leaves a warm glow after the table is expertly cleared and the bill promptly delivered.

On the way out, we popped into the Glenwood Bakery for a couple of bagels - heavenly!

Glenwood Bakery

Glenwood Bakery (398 Esther Roberts Road) is the kind of place that you hear about from a friend - and having been there, the kind of place you want to share with your friends. Completely unflashy, the bakery sits in a quiet suburb of leafy Glenwood in a two storey building topped with a red tiled roof, like so many Berea houses. With no prominent signage, the only indications of its presence are a small 'open' sign in a window sporting a tasteful Glenwood Bakery logo and a collection of three small tables that line the open pavement. Looking into the light, airy space, a central communal table fills most of the room, while a bookshelf filled with well thumbed books lines one of the walls. A wire rack holds the days offerings - biscotti, grissini, wholemeal sourdough, croissants, and other freshly baked treasures.

Because it's a Saturday, Eggs Benedict and Eggs Royale as well as a variety of toasted sandwiches are also being served. Apparently you can get pizza on a Monday night, and the rest of the week sandwiches are available. It's pointedly more a bakery than a restaurant, but that only makes the limited offerings all the more desirable.

We sit at one of the small mosaic tiled tables outside and order two Eggs Benedict and two glasses of homemade iced-tea. Within ten minutes our food arrives. Naturally, the eggs are served on the bakeries homemade bread - one of their dark sourdoughs. A sliver of finely sliced cured meat (possibly Chuck & Bob's prosciutto?) rests beneath two perfectly poached eggs, which must be from the most organic, free-ranging chickens in KZN, as the yolks are an almost startlingly orange and taste like happiness and sunbeams. The whole creation is cloaked in a soft yellow blanket of hollandaise, which is rich, buttery and contains just a hint of lemon to holds the flavours in check and keep the dish as fresh as the dusting of bright green chives scattered across the plate.

It's the kind of food that you would make yourself the morning after a late night out - if you were a master-baker capable of whipping up a quick mother-sauce, and always kept a leg of dry-cured ham hanging in your larder.

Oh yes, and we also took a rye bread sourdough home, which made delicious toast and sandwiches.