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GREENDALE Good Food & Wine Appreciation Society’s March lunch at Komba Hari Grill Room, Rainbow Towers was re-scheduled at the 11th hour as refurbishment of that outlet — planned to take a month — hadn’t finished after five weeks.
Now I’m not one to teach gogos egg sucking, but fear a lack of foresight and thinking outside the box, if a hotel closes its flagship restaurant all February, when hosting a prestigious, well-attended, if not spectacularly successful, Zimbabwe Tourism Investment Conference.
Lateral thinking would also seem lacking, when closure also encompasses St Valentine’s Day — a licence for restaurateurs to print money in Zimbabwe — a country where the feast of lovers is taken very seriously, while paradoxically “boasting” the world’s highest divorce rate.
Had it opened March 1, as scheduled, it wouldn’t have been too bad, but I was phoned to say the GGF&WAS bunfight must take place elsewhere, as refurbishment wouldn’t be completed by our “do” on March 5.
I write this March 11: the joint may still be shut. I’ll investigate at lunchtime and update.
RTG’s loss was Mama Mia’s gain. Nick and Annette Kalamatas agreed to host us at the last minute.
There was a full turnout but we heard on arrival that Zesa had zapped Newlands (again); there was no power; the menu would be unfortunately truncated.
No grills were “on”, nor could anything be deep-fried.
I heard no complaints — in fact nothing but compliments — about what was produced under taxing circumstances. We all had a la carte; in my case the restaurant’s superb minestrone soup, slathered with parmesan. There were no home-baked breads, due to lack of electricity, but we could live without.
Tuscany pork chops are always excellent. Those ordering them were served two or three, subject to size and weight. Chips were out, but creamy mashed potato or, in my case a nice jacket spud and al dente greens with great gravy ticked the right boxes.
Members also oohed and ahhed about exquisite liver I would have had, but for the fact I’d enjoyed steak-and-kidney the night before, pan-fried bream and — of course — the Italian outfit’s trademark pasta.
Fridges struggled, despite Mama Mia’s nowadays the almost constantly in-service generator; towards the end of the afternoon, canned lager wasn’t quite as chilled as topers would have wanted.
But when 16 members of GGF&WAS arrive for an impromptu meal, even the best-run bar, operating under optimum conditions, takes a severe hammering!
I stopped typing at the exclamation mark above, to walk to Rainbow Towers and investigate Komba Hari’s progress or lack thereof.
Still in darkness, I heard it had been re-wired, griddles “sorted”, new carpet laid and extractor fans seen to.
“So when will it open?”
Several eloquent Shona shrugs, but I got the idea it MIGHT be ready by month end: double the anticipated down-time. I also got the impression pigs may fly!
Plan B was, if Komba Hari were still shut (couldn’t ring to find out: the RTG numbers I have are either constantly engaged or never answered!) I’d have a sandwich and coffee in The Gazebo.
Something made me continue past the grill room to Harvest Garden’s buffet restaurant, where the display looked too good to resist. I didn’t!
Soup was pleasantly herbed cream of leek and potato, which, candidly, could have been a tad hotter, but was acceptable, with pleasant brown whole-wheat rolls and butter.
I meant to stick to salads: eschewing a dinky side plate for full sized dinner platter. Smoked huku, charcuterie, cheeses, fish, tuna salad, carrot-and-orange with sultanas, fresh crisp leaves, beetroot, cucumber, different olives, potato salad and lots more were munched contentedly for seemingly ages.
Judging by their eye-ball-searing technicolour holiday wear, an American (or possibly German) couple at the next table reeled in alarm as a very noisy crowd of young men arrived. If I hadn’t been told they were Zimbabwe's Young Warriors soccer side, I’d have been no wiser.
They shunned light, crisp, fresh masalads like the plague, stacking plates with enormous pyramids of protein and carbs (sadza/rice/mash/chips and various types of nyama) gulped as if their lives depended on that lunch.
Many (there were far more than the usual football XI) attacked a pudding display with gusto … then all disappeared before I’d sucked the goodness out of a last unctuous olive.
Waiting for RTG publicist Eltah Nengomasha for coffee and a briefing on what the group’s up to regionally, I also tried a small plate of pork curry, with rice and sambals, which was unbelievably finer than anticipated.
Hotel curry is rarely in the top bracket, but a previous GM/operations director, Dave Church (ex-Durban), was a global authority on the genre.
Harvest Garden opens daily for breakfast, lunch and supper. The buffet: soup, salad, starters, choice of several main courses, cheese and biscuits, pudding and coffee/tea is $18.
FAREWELL Bob Savania, who ran the Delhi Palace Indo-Pakistani restaurant at Greystone Park with his wife, Nicky, and family for many years.
Sadly, Bob died of a heart attack recently.
He and Nicky joked one of them was Hindu, the other Muslim, but they couldn’t recall which was which.
As Bob was cremated, it presumably solves the riddle.
My sincere, heartfelt, condolences to all his lovely family.
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BY DUSTY MILLER
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