"Pre-Birthday", 2nd March 2012: Check-in & Lunch
As we had arrived so early, our room was not quite ready for check-in, so we decided we may as well take the opportunity to embark on our first food journey, which would take us to 'Zibibbo' for lunch. Upon arrival, we were greeted by he Maitr d', a rather rough looking character...I know one shouldn't judge people on their appearances, and unfortunately, apparently not everybody in our developed country can afford decent dental care, but with several teeth missing or blackened, front of house at a Restaurant may not be your most ideal profession of choice...In any case, after a bit of an awkward welcome, we made our way upstairs to the empty restaurant, bemused and curious. This was turning out to becoming a “Food Adventure” rather than a journey of food-discovery!
Several of the Lunch offerings sounded like interesting flavour combinations, however they all contained meat, and as the SoulFood Family is a bunch of Pescetarians, the meat elements oviously deterred us. Although Papa being the most casual with this term (according to him, cows can swim!), definitely having the odd hunk of meat when out, but today we all wanted to share the following...
This proved a challenge to share as it only came with ONE (Tiger?) prawn, but I suppose it was enough for us to have a taste. (Naturally I got left with its bottom/tail!) The avocado salad, I would describe more as a finely sliced cucumber salad with bits of avocado. It had refreshing flavours, particularly due to the cucumber soaking up the 'dressing', although this had a bit too much mayonnaise or cream in it, which overpowered the slight lemon zing the dish needed to keep it, shall we say “Salad-y”?!
Entree size Goats Cheese Fritters with Artichoke Salad and Smoked Tomato Mayo (18.00, Main 23.50)
As you can see more like “Cheese Balls”, very cute looking little guys, and according to my taste, one can't go wrong with fried goats cheese! The salad and mayo were just that, nothing amazing.
For an Entree size, the Mussels were good value we each had 4, which was just right. The tomatoey juice/sauce they were bathing in was tasty ,but in hindsight, comparing the menu and my taste memory, I cannot recall the pungency of coriander.
Entree size Steamed Green-Lip Mussels with Tomato and Coriander Sauce (16.50, Main 24.50)
Side: Large portion Wood Roasted Beetroots with Walnuts and a Blue Cheese Sauce (13.50, Small 9.00)
Although it matched the roses on my top beautifully, the side was probably Zibibbo's biggest let down. Which makes me sad, as sides are supposed to compliment and be the Mains best friend! Not only did we doubt the beetroots were “wood” let alone oven-roasted (rather tasted like a heat up job in the microwave...) but furthermore the 'Blue Cheese Sauce' just tasted like runny cream. Definitely missing any proper seasoning or blue cheese tang. It just didn't taste good, not worth finishing.
All in all our lunch experience was pleasant enough. As previously mentioned the restaurant was empty, which could have to do with our relatively early lunch (12pm) which is also when the actually open, however we were there for at least an hour and during this time only one lonely old man came in, who in his battered raincoat was looking more as if he was seeking shelter from the storm, than having any serious interest in a Food Adventure! Not that that this was what we experienced, it was more like a “Hop-on, Hop-off Tour” through a city you have lived in for 20 years. Glimpses of new discoveries, only to find yourself in the dodgy part of town, realising there is a reason you never wanted to go there...or at least not go back.
That is all!
Yours truly,
Frauelein SoulFood
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