Tag Archives: Simply Asia

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 7 of Level 3, 22 June 2021

 

Tuesday 22 June 2021, Day 7 of Level 3 đŸ˜·

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Gratitude for a gorgeous day of lots of rain, but it stopping just when I had finished preparing for my meeting at the newkings boutique hotel and Zest Restaurant, Tuesdays being my busiest client day, allowing me to do a Bakoven walk; for a full hotel meeting and a half Zest meeting, guests arriving to dine; for photographing the hotel staff for a post; for having amazing hotel and restaurant owner clients; for a shop at Woolies in the Piazza da Luz, spending my gift voucher I received on Sunday, buying the last two packets of butternut, all of Sea Point clearly making soup tonight đŸ˜±; and for being happy, healthy, and free. Continue reading →

Bree Street opens its doors to Open Streets on Sunday!

Bree Street 2Bree Street is once again welcoming city-dwellers and tourists to visit the trendy foodie street on Sunday 17 January, when the street will be closed to traffic, many of its restaurants will be open, and entertainment will be offered in the street. It is the second such event in a year.

Open Streets is an international initiative, which allows the residents of an Continue reading →

Ramadan attracts Muslim tourists to Cape Town!

Bo-KaapCape Town is gearing for an influx of Muslim tourists from the Middle East, who are spending Ramadan in a cooler climate with shorter days, making the day-time fasting more palatable, according to Cape Town Tourism.  Muslim tourists spend $126 billion globally per annum.

Ramadan starts on Saturday 28 June and continues until 27 July.  In this period Muslims are not allowed to eat nor drink any liquid during the daytime, they pray more, read the Qu’ran, and attend special services in mosques.

Cape Town has the largest Muslim community in South Africa, and our country is regarded as the second most Muslim-friendly globally, a survey has found.  Muslim tourists require Halaal food, reasonable accommodation prices, and Muslim-friendly experiences in the cities they visit. This tourism segment is lucrative, in its fast growing population, and its tourism numbers are expected to exceed those of some of Cape Town’s source markets by 2020.

Cape Town has a strong Muslim history, its local Cape Malays coming from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India, their forbears having been brought to Cape Town as slaves by the Dutch East India Company.  The Muslim community is particularly visible in the colourful houses in Bo-Kaap, in which about 6000 Muslims live, an area dating back to the 16th century.  Athlone and Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: La Parada Bar de Tapas Bree Street is Español puro!

La Parada Kitchen with Bull head Whale Cottage PortfolioOn Thursday the massive new La Parada Bar da Tapas opened on Bree Street, the second outlet with this brand name in the Harbour House group. It is a restaurant and bar that will attract custom due to the extraordinarily low prices of its food and beverages, in a block that now includes Africa Café, Bistrot Bizerca, HQ,  Awestruck, Simply Asia, The House of Machines, &Union, and Birds Boutique Café.  La Parada means stop or standstill, a clever name for one to break away from a busy day, even though one can imagine that it will become very noisy as it becomes popular due to its low prices.

La Parada is in a building that has been extensively renovated, and La Parada has taken the ground floor.  A night club is set to open in the basement in two weeks, I was told by a waiter, and a glass floor in one section will attract attention to what will be happening below.   One cannot help but notice the restaurant on Bree Street, diagonally opposite &Union, as it has windows opening along almost all of the street frontage, with counter seating inside and outside.  It was very cold yesterday, and there was no place to hide from the cold wind inside the Continue reading →