The best of Asia ... right in our own backyard

I started the evening with a Mango Mai Tai

Can you believe we have finally eaten in the best Asian restaurant in Joburg a mere three weeks away from our departure? Yep. And besides it's being a stone's throw away from Valley Lodge, I have been literally passing by it at least four times a day on the days Vince is in Joburg and I drive him to and fro his office. 

It's our fault really. We have totally taken for granted the low-hanging fruit right in our own backyard and instead have been lured by the more tough to get to restaurants in far-flung locations. But now that time is running out, we are starting to think and act more locally. Case in point, Gwefey Asian Cuisine located in the World Trade Center in Morningside, Sandton. 

Displayed in its windows on the West Road side are the many awards it has received - as one of the Best of Joburg Reader’s Choice Awards - since it opened a scant three years ago. Best Eastern Restaurant. Best Business Lunch Restaurant. Best Romantic Restaurant. And it was named one of the 2014 Eat Out 500​, the power list of the best restaurants across South Africa.


An unlikely place for a fine dining experience, Gwefey Asian Cuisine is located in an elevated atrium at the base of the World Trade Centre on the edge of the Sandton CBD. But its location is probably responsible for its Best Business Lunch Award. It is within sight of several major corporate headquarters such as Investec, Old Mutual and IBM.

I made a dinner reservation to celebrate the end of the EcoMobility World Festival and told Vince to walk on over after work. (It is only about three blocks from his office and about half way home to Valley Lodge.)




Their menu is Pan-Asian with an extensive assortment of dishes from all over the region - Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, etc. and several provinces and cities in China including Sichuan, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Everything we sampled was really really good! And the Vegetable Spring Rolls were crispy and crunchy just the way I like them. That definitely explains the Best Eastern Restaurant Award.

Shanghai soup dumplings!

Gwefey had all our faves, albeit many with different names. Shanghai Soup Dumplings are called Xiao Long Bao, Singapore Mei Fun are Char Kway Teow, and Sesame Noodles are called Dan Dan. And they have a nice selection of Sichuan specialties to satisfy our collective "spicy tooth" such as the Spicy Shredded Pork, Hot and Sour Soup, and garlicky Sizzling Eggplant we sampled. They have a Tea House downstairs and they do take out and delivery!





The name Gwefey comes from a legend about the controversial love affair between the reigning Chinese Tang Emperor and his son’s ex-wife. Their obsession with each other blinds them to the corruption unfolding around them, and finally the legend culminates in her tragic death and the fall of an Empire. That legend and the gorgeous views may explain the Best Romantic Restaurant accolade. All I know is I'm certainly in love with Gwefey.

And even though we are leaving soon and came rather late to the game with Gwefey, I have to console myself with the fact that we are soon moving to the Best Asian Restaurant in the World. Asia itself!

There are two other locations for Gwefey in the area. There is a Gwefey Tea House with a little gift shop attached in Sandton City and the Gwefey Meeting Spaces are in the Sinosteel Plaza.

Now it's your turn to fall in love with Gwefey ...

Dia de los Muertos @ Salsa

It seemed like there were dozens of Dia de los Muertos parties going on all over Joburg this year. See what happens when Mexican food catches on in South Africa? It becomes a fiesta!

Home altar dedicated to Africa's poached rhinos, ellies and lions

There were parties planned at the Stanley Beer Garden in Braamfontein, Mexicho in Melville and a whole Dia de los Muertos Street Festival at Carfax Newtown in the CBD.

Stanley Beer Garden

It seems everyone wants to go drinking with Saints!

Salsa Mexican Grill in Fourways

We chose to celebrate the dia at Salsa Mexican Grill in Fourways. The Day of the Dead, one of the most important Mexican holidays, is more a celebration of life than a sad and solemn memorial. And since we are in Africa, I used it to celebrate the lives of our rhinos, elephants and lions.

Social media madam Irene & Salsa restaurateur George

Salsa has great food, ...

... great margaritas and cervezas, ...

... and if you didn't paint your face before you came, there were artists on hand to do it for you!

We chose to paint some masks instead (photo courtesy of Irene & Salsa Mexican Grill)

Lou & Serge wore their skeleton costumes for a second night in a row!

Viva Yvonne!

nice ink!

nice wings!

number juan in your hearts!

she painted her face herself and won a prize for it!

viva el chef!

salsa dancing

Photo courtesy of Irene & Salsa Mexican Grill

And we won a prize for best costume!



















It was totally Lou & Serge's doing. They were a hit.

celebration shots!

Thanks Lou & Serge and Salsa!

tabletop altar for the poached animals of Africa

We got an E for Effort for mounting our tabletop altar. (I did transport the Oculto beer with me to SA from Texas for the occasion too. That was a bit of an effort.) 

Save the Rhinos! Save the Elephants! Save the Lions!

my sugar skull purse from Retrospective (Cape Town)

¡Feliz Día de los Muertos!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Jane, Chris and I @ 44 Stanley in the Joburg CBD

We have been entertaining some American visitors since Thursday. Chris and Jane stayed on in Sandton over the weekend after a two week trip through South Africa and a jaunt up to Victoria Falls. They picked the best time and the worst time to visit Sandton and see more of Joburg.

Joburg rolled out the purple carpet for our guests!

Firstly, the Jacarandas are in full bloom. We took them to the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff to take advantage of its fabulous view overlooking the Jacarandas of the Parks and Joburg below.

And for their sundowners of course - or in this case, clouddowners.

Sterkfontein Cave

And the Homo naledi exhibition - which was originally scheduled to close on October 11 - was serendipitously extended until October 18 which allowed Chris and Jane to experience this other incredibly ephemeral opportunity. These two circumstances made it the best of times.

They were there!

In one of her previous lives, Chris ran a consulting company back in the USA which helped plan educational exhibits for museums. We introduced Chris to the Rising Star Expedition's Lindsay Hunter who is in charge of designing the National Geographic visual lab experiences for Homo naledi at Maropeng.

But it was also the worst time to visit Sandton. Their visit landed right smack dab in the middle of the EcoMobility World Festival in the Sandton CBD and Jane and Chris stayed right smack dab in the middle of EcoMageddon Ground Zero, the Protea Balalaika Hotel. We had to drive in and out of Ground Zero several times over the long weekend and with all the road closures, detours and restrictions, it was very painful. The worst.

How do we know Chris? Chris was Vince's High School Senior Class English teacher! She was a huge influence on his life and he has seen her and kept in touch with her all these years. She recognized his writing ability amongst the football jocks in the back row and according to Vince, "mercilessly edited and critiqued his work." Two published books as well as several chapters written for other authors' works, countless papers, magazine and journal articles, speeches and talks later, he is in Cape Town right now being interviewed for an upcoming TED Talk documentary on cognitive computing. (see the finished product below!) Thanks Chris!

I wonder if they read A Tale of Two Cities that year. It would have been prophetic. "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; ... " - Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities

 

EcoMageddon Week Two Status Report

Jacaranda Taxi photo by Caroline Hopkins

We're halfway through Week Two of the EcoMobility Festival in Sandton. School is back in session. Good news: I haven't really noticed much of a change in traffic volume.

But  to be totally forthcoming I have not tested it during rush hour. Vince is traveling this week in Istanbul and Dubai so I don't have to do the daily commute. But I did drop him off at the Sandton Gautrain station on Sunday which is on the border of the no-go zone. No problems there either. And I did actually go shopping at Sandton City yesterday. Plenty of parking and hardly any traffic. It's working!

But we have guests arriving tomorrow who will be staying in a hotel right smack dab in the middle of the Sandton CBD. I called the hotel to ask how best to navigate the street closings and one-way restrictions to get to the hotel entrance. There is a way, but it will still be interesting getting them to and fro outings and the airport. Needless to say, we won't be doing much actually inside the CBD over the weekend!

putting out cones on Sandton Drive for the rush hour lane restrictions

bringing a little orange into Sandton's purple October

 
  .

I'll tell you one thing though. I think it was brilliant to schedule the EcoMobility Festival during the height of the Jacaranda Bloom. I almost want to sit in traffic and take them all in! Almost.