much needed rest?

umdloti beach

i am finally taking that much needed break. off to umdloti beach for a few days. my flight departs on sunday morning, so i am sure to have a hectic working week.

the break as it turns out is not going to be much of one, my car has been parked off on the coast for three months now, and i need to get her serviced, that should take a couple of days, then,.. there is the security company to be contacted for the alarm system, telkom for the telephone line,landscaper for the final touches to the garden.

5 days, from the office, it seems that i will be working for the better part of those 5 days, the problem's will increase when i get back to the office, work will have piled up, and there will be problems to attend to, bills to pay, and general mayhem,my return, will make me wish i had never left johannersburg.of this i am certain.

is this the case for most people? when taking a break becomes more exhausting than it's worth.

on the bright side,i had a great (no not great just good) meal last saturday night, at "KASHIF'S FUSION FOOD". the word fusion is usually prone to drive me away from such eateries,why does one have to mix cuisines, the outcome is not always edible. however, kashif is a one man show,..and he produced some good seafood dishes, how long he can keep up the pace solo, is beyond me.the restaurant didn't offer coffee, some of the dishes on the menu were not available,why, have things on the menu you cannot provide?i don't believe a solo chef, could handle the demand alone, further by the end of the evening, what he produces would be tired and mediocre to say the least.

we ordered calamari and chicken livers with a greek salad for starters,the starter portions were small, (to be expected, enough to wet the taste buds), the salad for once (this is after all an indian eatery)did not have limp lettuce, as always loads of lettuce, not much of the other ingredients that constitute a greek salad, olives,cucumbers,feta cheese,onions.that is how restaurants make their money, i suppose, scimpimg on ingredients.

arshad had the malaysian style prawns as his main meal, subtly flavoured, slightly sweet, the prawns were fresh, we also had a fish called pangasius, the peri peri at this eatery is definitely of the atomic variety, so the waiters recommendation of having it with a combination of the sauces, was well received, peri, peri chicken kebabs not bad at all, the desert menu, was limited, however the ras malais (can't spell it) was good, not overly sweet, so that was a bonus.
all in all we enjoyed the meal,it was early in the evening, shudder to think what the later meals were like.

the trip to kashif's literally took us back to the "hood", there was not a person in the restaurant, my dad did not know by name or had a nodding acquaintance with, my good friend and her family were at the next table,there were prams and toddlers everywhere, it was really like attending an indian wedding without the stress of having to dress up, a track suit and no make up, was sufficient, and we could meet and greet, with relaxation. customers streamed in throughout the night, there was a fist fight outside, as people tried to get a table for dinner.
the usual hoopla on a saturday night in the hood, no parking,pakistani national's spitting out their flat windows, loud music,street food, just your usual hectic saturday night.

my dad of course has vowed never to return, as the flying spit,zeroed in on him. he seems to attract, the uninvited. :)spitting missiles is one habit, which is not welcome from the sub-continent, why do people find it necessary, to empty their throats in public spaces, the germs ....ooooooh it is just unbearable.great way to end a fun evening wouldn't you say. there should be health laws restricting people from such behaviour.

i enjoy the hood none the less :)