Mighty munching in two-faced Melville

Melville: a suburb of many faces? Well, yes… and no. The face of Melville we’ve come to accept is the jolly, well-fed Melville. The almost-wealthy Melville that may never get to be millionaire’s row but is okay with bubbling just under. The “other” Melville can be found loitering in its parks, poverty stricken, or in its student community that drinks too much too late at night.

But the affluent, lifestyle-adventurous Melville is the one being celebrated in what has recently been coined the “Republic of Melville”. Of course, the new country west of the city is really just a marketing ploy out to sell what Melville sells best: a good time.

Grape juice giant Monis has launched this year’s Melville Meander. It’s a concept-driven excursion to four established restaurants in the area around 7th Street fondly known as “old Melville”.

The hungry media was treated to a dry run of the Melville Meander earlier this month. While the evening didn’t begin for us in the lazy sundowner manner its promoters are promising, all went according to plan. This bodes well for the two-night festivity ahead.

It was unfortunate that we had, for whatever reason, to miss the cocktail-on-arrival deal that will take place on the rooftop of the Graphiti Art Gallery on 4th Avenue. This gallery looks over the north, and from it one can get a good view of the Melville koppies. This should provide a heartwarming reminder – as one experiences sunset over that prehistoric landscape – that this area has been a lifestyle choice of locals, for hundreds if not thousands of years.

We began our meander at Nuno’s Portuguese restaurant. As I was munching on a standard prawn cake I felt for my car keys and discovered they were missing. So I reluctantly sped off to my car, parked on 2nd Avenue, where I found a familiar guard in lime green bib, hovering around my vehicle vigilantly.

I took a turn around my car and discovered that I had left my keys in the ignition, with the door slightly ajar! It struck me that the rather “relaxed” guard hadn’t noticed. Or perhaps just doing a good job. Either way I resolved to pay him at least five bucks (I still owe him a few). I locked up and hotfooted it back to the Melville Meander.

The progressive meal happens at three venues, with the appetizer served at Nuno’s Portuguese restaurant. Visitors will be divided into three groups depending on their particular specifications. The groups have been named after the promoter’s products: Monis White, Monis Red and Monis Classico.

I landed up in the Classico group named after the mock champagne that Monis has crafted for non-drinkers. For starters, this group gets to do South East Asian specialties in the tasteful confines of bamboo, on dark wooden trays at Soi. For this you have to be a fan of Asian finger food – little things that dip into littler things. Most unusual is something called Meamg Khum. Basically, you get to roll things like dry roasted coconut, chilli and lemon grass in small spinach cones. Somewhere between a salad and sushi. It’s all very tasty and good looking but not at all filling.

The Classico main course is served in the rustic atmosphere of Pomegranate. The Meander press pack quotes Bob Knuckey of that venue calling his food “uncomplicated.”

What was served was a simple burger – made of lamb for a change. For those who reckon they know about fine dining, the mere mention of the word “burger” will be enough to send them rushing for the door. But I must say I found a sense of comfort in a main course that fancied itself as a comfort food that is generally considered lowbrow. The burger in question wasn’t very large, but it was the third course and my tummy was beginning to smile.

Finally, the parting shot happened at that piece of New York (or is that LA?) in Melville: Sam’s Café. This was a sticky apricot pudding and in the homely stakes it really hit the spot. In the throes of dessert our media colleagues from another group arrived to share the news that, at one of the venues a street urchin had shoved his hand through an open window and stolen a journalist’s handbag.

Thinking back on the experience I had with my own car keys I realize that the Republic of Melville is two-faced indeed. So, stay alert, stay alive. Watch your bag and pay the car guard handsomely – spare a thought for the poor.

The Melville meander takes place on October 28 and 29 at 6.30pm. The price of R175 per person includes a Monis juice cocktail on arrival, and a glass of wine with each course. Only 150 guests can be accommodated.

To Book

Call the Caxton Academy on Tel: 0800 002 136.

Where