BAKWENA SPA DAY - 27/12/2018 - Velmore

So I forgot to blog about this experience. It was a good one. My father in law booked us (My husband, Brother in law and sister in law) into a full day spa. He got the deal on a black Friday deal but it is usually around R1600 I think for this package.

So anyway, the spa day begins at 8:00am. We get there. They welcome us with a drink. You get to use their gowns and a fresh pair of disposable slippers. There are lockers to store your belongings for the day. So, each person starts with different treatments. It will not always go in the same order because they rotate people into different rooms depending on how full they are.

Firstly, you are allocated a table, which is like a restaurant set up and you can sit at that table between treatments and help yourself to coffee or tea. We were given breakfast first, which was lovely. They say they are halaal but we just ate the vegetarian options.

From what I can remember, we started with a body massage. So my SIL and I were in one room. It is better if you are a couple or with your same gender because of how you have to strip down. LOL.

Then they accommodated all of us in the same room for a facial and I think I fell asleep there. Awkward. The hand massage, neck massage and foot massage were all in rooms with a few people at a time. It was interesting but a little awkward in the neck massage department because you only have a towel around you. Although, the masseuses help in making sure you are always covered.

Each room is named. "Love". "power". Some other words.

I know we ended off with the hot stone massage and we went a little over time because I think they may have forgotten about our treatment because at one point we were just sitting for like half an hr at the table.

We also were given lunch. Again, I went for all the vegetarian options. It was nice.

We also tried, "Mr Nibbles" Instead of the hot tub. This is those fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. It felt so weird, I just couldn't leave my feet in when they were on it but eventually I did and you could see all your dead skin off.

It was a lovely experience over all. Very relaxing. Always a change of scene through the day. They have beautiful gardens and take you through their venue. So you are never really in one place all the time. We ended around 5:30PM.

I would recommend this. It is worth it.

I do not have pictures of the rooms but that is the experience itself. It is better to see it yourself.

MY LUNCH - HMMMM ROASTED POTATOES

14 JULY 2018 KAI THAI SPA (ERASMIA)

So I have been to spas before, but never thought of reviewing them. We went here on Saturday for a girls day out and we went for their winter special massage of R250 for an hour. The massage while painful at some parts in the moment made you feel great afterwards. Note, there was a part where they use their knees on your back which I did not expect but it was fine because it cracked all the knots in my back. They use massage oils and go from head to toe, back to front. Upon arrival they gave us warm cloths and some water. After the massage they offered us drinks, we had Hot chocolate and all chatted outside. It was a nice experience, especially if you looking for something to do with friends that don't take up your whole day but an hour of your day is not too bad than off for lunch and dessert.

15 July 2018 - Pizza Hut - (Mall of Africa- Restaurant)

Whenever we go to MOA, I have to eat Pizza Hut, because we don't get much Halaal ones anywhere really. They took my favourite Peri peri chicken off the menu. WHHHYYYY... we settled for Chicken tikka pizza. It was pretty good also. Indiany taste I guess... we ordered their cheesy chips for the first time. It was chips topped with cheese and macon but the cheese was not real cheese, more like a cheese sauce and big macon bits. I would not buy that again. Though my husband liked it and finished it. Rocamamas chilli cheese fries are still theee best!

14 JULY 2018 -RJ'S (ERASMIA- RESTAURANT)

So for supper, my father decided to take us to RJ's. yes, today was a bad day. too much indulgence and I basically ate at every restaurant in the Shezan Centre besides Akalwayas. RJ's was taken over by new owners so apparently the food got better. We went to try it for the first time. I bought something called the saucy burger. Beef burger with a sauce of your choice, I took mushroom sauce. It was nice. Pretty normal. I wouldn't really order it again. 

But, everyone shared with me some of their food and my husbands Californian chicken Schnitzel was soooo yummy. I don't have a pic of that but it was topped with cheese and macon bits and chips on the side. It was a nice size as well. Very filling. 

My mother ordered the Lamb Bunny chow. That was so tasty as well. I took half of hers home and ate it for supper the next day because she couldn't finish it and I regretted why I didn't have that. I would buy that next time. I've tried bunny chows before and this was by far one of the best ones I had. I would have it again. Especially in this cold it was amaaazing! The bread was soaked in curry.

14 July 2018 - Jimmy's Killer Prawns (Erasmia-restaurant)

After our pizza, we went to Jimmy's for dessert. We usually like desserts here because the Lindt pancake is amazing! IT is a pancake filled with vanilla ice-cream and topped with Lindt. It is R65 but three of us shared it because hell no is one of us gonna finish that because A that's wayy too sweet  and B wayyy to fattening. But yes, it was lovely with a side of my cappuccino and cream.

14 JULY 2018 - Pizza Vera ( Erasmia- Restaurant)

So this Saturday, we went for a spa day with some friends. We went to Pizza Vera after. It has been a long time since I actually sat down and ate there. We ordered the Luca and Dante Pizza's. I like their pizzas because the crust is crunchy and so is the base so when you eat it, it is sort of crispy. So a proper oven baked pizza. We usually order the dante because it is something different. They do not put alot of toppings but they put a decent amount. The dante has an interesting sauce and is topped with prawns. I Can't eat alot of prawns so the amount they put is perfect for me and I always love the taste of this one, but two slices of this is enough for me. WE also tried the Luca, which is a Chicken pizza, with feta and pepperdews. This was nice as well, but not out of the ordinary. We usually buy the saucy steak for take away, that one is usually awesome. The whole pizza is full of steak and it is so spicy and saucy. But I am a pizza lover, so just having pizza on a cold day is the best!

16 June 2018 Comida (Restaurant) Durban

So this weekend after Eid we tried a place called Comida - Italian mmmm.

So we tried two pizzas and three pastas. We all shared. There was seven of us and the pasta portions are huge.

So we tried a pizza called prego which is just your basic steak, green peppers, jalapeños and prego sauce. It's was nice. But a usual.

Then there was another pizza called exotic chicken. With the toppings described, I wouldn't even look at something like that. It was chicken, green curry paste, coconut milk and coriander... It was so saucy and it was amazing. I would never have thought I would have liked something like that.

The pastas we ordered were Alonso, Penne picante and Blanco.

The Alonso is a penne pasta in creamy Napoli sauce. It has black mushrooms and green peppers and you can decide if you want chicken, steak or prawns. We had chicken. I'm a person who likes spicy, so this pasta is a mild option. For those who don't like such spicy food.

The penne picante was mixed with ground beef and chilli in creamy tomato sauce. There is a generous amount of steak because you can actually taste the steak sepeate from the pasta. It was very spicy. I liked it! (Don't think I got a pic of this one)

The Blanco was creamy tomato sauce with chicken, prawns and pepperdews. It was a decent amount of spicy. I love pepperdews. I literally only order peri peri chicken pizza from pizza hut because it had pepperdews but I think they took that off their menu. Anyway, pepperdews for the win.

It was a lovely restaurant with good, accommodating service. I would go there again.

Maverick and Jane - snacks

Maverick and Jane is basically popcorn coated in different flavors. Sort of like diddle daddle in different flavours. Its so addictive and delicious. I love the hazelnut one which is like their signature flavour. I think it's the Ferrero Rocher coating. We also tried cookies and cream. It's pretty expensive though for popcorn but if you like to spoil yourself with a new taste now and again.. Go for it. It's R80 a jar and to refill its R65. You can buy cones also. There's one in Rosebank, Mall of Africa and the one we bought from in Gateway.

Hubcaps- Restaurant - Cowey Road

Hubcaps is a pizza shop that also sells some burgers and sandwiches but their specialty is pizza. It is also a themed restaurant where the pizzas are named after vintage cars. It is wood-fired pizza so it is awesome. The base is crispy. The toppings will obviously go according to what you like.. We tried peri peri chicken. It was lovely. We have been there before and usually eat one with kebaabs for toppings. Tastes like an Indian dish on a pizza. The water is labelled as break fluid and the milkshakes comes in an "oil container". We bought candy Floss flavoured milkshake.

I like how far they take the theme. It's good pizza for pizza lovers.

Village Table - restaurant - pearls Mall

This isn't a halaal restaurant but we went there for coffee. It's at the back of the pearl hotel so you get somewhat a nice view if you sit outside. The coffee is normal priced and it isn't like out of this world. It's pretty basic. We ordered Cappuccino and mocha. Atleast it comes with a little biscuit. The service is pretty nice too.

Rocky Bunny - Umhlanga - Food

Rocky Bunny is a small cafe at the corner by a garage around the hotels. It sells bunny chow ofcourse. Seems like an old cafe and they sell about three flavours of bunny chow. Mutton, chicken and beans. We bought mutton. I'm not really sure what a bunny chow supposed to taste like but it was pretty good.

Canvas Grill - Restaurant - Durban

This is a restaurant on Cowey Road. It has very classy vibes. Like even though there isn't any real dress code, you feel like you should be well-dressed to eat there. It seems like you need reservations there on some nights but because we went off-peak, during lunch and on a week day... It was empty. It is one of those themed restaurants where the food is named after famous artists, composers and art pieces. The food is done up like something you would see on Master chef. We don't really get to see that with halaal food. The chef is a guy named Ismail Arbee.

We ordered something that was the "chef's choice" called the Raphael. It's a steak with three cheeses in between and a prawn in the middle with a side of mash potatoes. It tasted pretty good and it was filling. My husband and I shared it. We also tried a pomegranate cordial which was also pretty nice.  Id go there again.

The Pearls of Umhlanga - 20 Jan 2018-Hotel/Apartment 704

We are staying at one of the apartments at the Pearl and it is one of the most beautiful places I've stayed at. It is self-catering because it is an apartment in the hotel so you get the hotel vibes but not all the hotel perks. It's nice in a way because you feel like you are living here and you are not so bound by hotel rules depending who you got the apartment from. There's a washing machine so no need to take loads home when the holiday is over.. They hire a cleaning service so it gets cleaned daily. You are literally above the new mall so if u take the lift down you are in the mall. There are Halaal restaurants in the mall also.

Everything in the hotel is thumb print activated so once our thumb prints are activated we only have access to our floor and the doors at reception. It keeps alot of people out.

The room is spacious enough to put a camp cot and still have ample of space. It has a nice balcony and view.

We are here off peak so it is very quiet here but the room itself is very comfortable. It has dstv compact to pass Time. The only downside is that there is no wifi. The owner of the apartment has to put a router in.

There is an air con,  fridge, iron, toaster, stove, oven, microwave  and kettle. There is a big shower but no bath.

It's a lovely place to stay in if u just need a room and go out all day.

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).