PAUL - MELROSE ARCH

so after Roco Mama's, for my sister in law's birthday outing; we went to Paul for dessert/ drinks. Paul is a Coffee shop/ patisserie. It is based on the original Paul, a world-famous French Bakery brand. They sell food, but since it isn't halaal, we just went for the coffee and the instagrammable pics. So we all tried the Cafe Marocchino which according to their menu is an Espresso shot with PAUL hot chocolate, frothed milk and cocoa powder. A coffee and chocolate combination; it was amazing! The place itself was also very cozy. Once inside there, the cold night was forgotten. The waiter was very professional and accommodating since we were like six people and there wasn't really space. he pushed three round tables together to make space for us. It was very classy and quiet which made for a nice evening. It seems like a nice place to go to for a friend catch up session or a "quiet date night." The prices for coffee are reasonable, considering what you pay for cappuccino at other places and don't even get half the quality and yummyness you get here. I mean we paid R31.00 for a kind of gourmet drink. Usually, at other franchises I pay like R24-R30 for Cappuccino and half the time it is bitter or dark or not even made well; so if you really want a good hot beverage; from my one experience here and one drink tasted, I'd say go here. 

Cafe Marocchino 

SUNSQUARE -MONTE CASINO (HOTEL)

07/08/2017(Monday)- we stayed at Sunsquare hotel on Monday. The room had an interesting layout. The bathroom was in the room but the toilet and shower was closed off with glass doors. The pictures above are from the site but that's exactly what the room looked like. Pictures, ofcourse,make the room look bigger. We stayed on the 5th floor (515); so we had the view of the Teatro. In order to get to your room, you needed to insert your room card in the lift so you can access your floor. That was nice, because it created another level of privacy. The staff were friendly here as well. The breakfast the next day was good (like I said, we can't eat half the stuff). We had waffles (that was yummy). We only stayed there for one night and on a working day. The stay was pleasant. The other three pictures were taken by me. The first one is of the reception area. The second one was the view from our room and the third one was our breakfast on Monday.

LAL-QILA -PALM CONTINENTAL HOTEL(RESTAURANT)

05/08/2017 (Saturday) - So Saturday night, we went to this restaurant with my husbands family. Alot of people like and suggested that we try this place. You pay R200.00 per person for a buffet of different dishes (apparently over 70 items). Note: drinks are excluded in that price. When we walked in there; it was very noisy. You can't really hear anyone especially if you are a big crowd. Secondly, being a buffet style, people are always up and down; at their table then not. It's a nice restaurant if you want to try different foods all at once and you can go back and forth to see what else there is. The down side; you might not always get what you want or what you enjoy. Like I know each time one of his family members went up to get this fried prawns, it was always finished. If by some chance you finally got there in time to get some, you are full. So I tried chowmein. The chowmein was spicy, like everyone who took it, just left it because of how spicy it was. Then I had some vegetable fried rice with like a steak in sauce which is like a steak sizzler equivalent in an Indian restaurant like Bayleaf without the sizzle. I also had a slice of pizza which had that home made feel to it. It was nice. The drink which cost an additional R35.00, which was a pina colada, was lovely. They also had a line of different desserts which you could help yourself to. I tried the chocolate mousse - didn't really taste like chocolate mousse. I also just had some vanilla ice-cream and a hot jalebi. Basically if you want variety in food, then sure go here. It will remind you of attending an Indian wedding (that's the vibe I got; that I was attending someones engagement or function or something) except you pay for it. The lighting was dim, which made the place feel a little dark. Then there was an annoying bell going off every time a table called a waiter that everyone could hear so that added to the noise. The waiters on the other hand were very helpful and friendly, like the one we had. So yeah, the noise coupled with the dim lighting and all the movement isn't the best dining experience; but if you enjoy and are mentally prepared for a night of that kind of vibe; then you will enjoy it. It was fine for a family get together like the one we went for; but if you are planning to make it a romantic supper or a place to go talk - nope. For the price also, you should have a really good appetite. At a normal Indian restaurant, you can get a decent sized meal and drinks that will cost you half of R470 if you have a small appetite. I'd recommend it if you want to throw a function and have variety and a neat restaurant to host it at.

ROCO MAMAS - MELROSE ARCH (RESTAURANT)

07/08/2017 (Monday)- So... alot of people have been raving about this place, so we tried it also. I think only the one in Melrose Arch is Halaal, so that's the one we were at. We went for lunch on a Monday afternoon. At first it was quiet, which is what I expected because it was a working day; but it got pretty full at 12:30. I'm not sure if the waitress was new or what, but she seemed abit nervous. The setting was nice, abit cramped on the inside; which is where we sat because it was cold outside that day. The outside seating looked more spacious. They give you a notepad and a pen to place your order yourself, which is nice in a way. Atleast they can't get it wrong. So we ordered an old skool Burger 150g where they allow you to add additional stuff(for an extra charge); so we added macon and chilli mayo; 4 buffalo wings with ranch dip and chilli cheese fries (m). My husband and I tend to order little bit of a variety so we can try everything or atleast more than one thing. I liked the burger with the macon. The beef had a nice taste and the macon just made it better. It was lovely if you enjoy saucy food. It wasn't like crazy saucy where it drips out of the bun; but good enough for people who enjoy sauce. The wings were really spicy. you needed that ranch sauce to tone down the spice. The chips portion was a nice size also. we ended up taking the chillies out but it still had a chilli taste which was yummy. Also, the cordials come in these cans; so if you were expecting something done up in a fancy glass for R21.00; rather ask first. The service was overall good. The tap to wash your hands was abit weird to on and off; but I guess it gets the job done. Their cash register was down that day, so we calculated the bill at our table lol. I'm not sure how often that happens. Overall; it was quite nice. I would definitely go there again. Their food is normal priced for those kind of foods and the quality was good.


so we went again to Roco Mamas for my sister in law's birthday on the 2nd of September 2017; but this time for supper. Apparently, you cannot book a table, so when we got there, it was full. It was also kind of cold that night and some of the outside heaters were not working. It was also not very well lit outside. They did have these cute orange blankets on some of the benches which seems to be part of their concept. I ordered the same burger that we ordered last time because it was so yummy; it still was amazing. Their food is really good which is why people love it! This time we tried the "Flavour X" winglets with ranch sauce. It was pretty good, but I still liked the Buffalo wings. On a cold night like that, anything hot was good. They did try and accommodate us by bringing us a heater once one was available so that created some light and warmth. Though I think a place like this is more for the younger crowd as the vibe won't appeal and accommodate a lot of older people's preferences as far as a practical dining experience is concerned. Well... that's just an opinion from what I experienced that night with older people around. 

GARDEN COURT- SANDTON CITY (HOTEL)

05/08/2017- Saturday- we stayed at the Garden Court as an anniversary get away for our second anniversary. We checked in and got a room on the eighth floor. The staff were friendly and accommodating. The room was small but neat. There was no misconception regarding the size. we just thought we would be able to choose whether we wanted one with a bath or a shower once we checked in and as there was a conference around there, we got one with a shower. We were abit disappointed but when we asked someone at the reception if something could be done, they were glad to accommodate and move us the next day to a room with a bath. On entrance there was refreshments and a nice sitting area. There was a shuttle to and from the Guatrain station with no extra charge. They did, however, charge R50.00 a night to park in the hotel parking and didn't tell us about that. I find that abit silly; surely if you are a resident at a hotel, why would you need to pay extra to use their parking. The funniest thing that we noticed that almost everyone had a problem with was that the ground floor was not very distinctive from the rest of the floors when you exit the lift. Everyone who stopped at the ground floor wasn't sure if they were actually on the ground floor and just stood in the lift until someone told them or someone popped their heads out to check. I think the ground floor needs to look different or atleast have a big G there to show you on ground LOL. Breakfast was nice on Sunday Morning. There was someone to welcome and seat you. The buffet stuff were basic (okay, we are muslim, so we can't eat most of the stuff). The chef was quite nice to point us in the direction of a grill that was separated specifically for muslims to suit their Halaal dietary requirements to an extent, which was nice. We had pancakes which was yummy. They then moved us into the room on the 4th (414) floor for the bath. that's the room in the picture above (two double beds because family rooms have the baths). There was dstv and tea and coffee available in the rooms like stated. The internet was pretty good. There isn't much of a view from the hotel, but it's more for a place to stay for conferences not for scenery. Monday there was no pancakes for breakfast, I guess it was for the weekend only. The picture below is the view from the 8th floor (849).