People in the Diaspora, especially, found it interesting. I’m, pleased. One lady asked what had happened to Wimpy Bars. Sorry, I’d overlooked them! Well the answer is that (and I stand correcting) with the possible exception of the one at Masvingo, they’ve all gone.
I can’t say I’m sorry. Indigenisation (which I do NOT regard as a dirty word) turned a bog-standard chain of British-style burger joints into an unspeakably bad local version, churning out sadza, bones, rape and scraggly roadrunner type of overstewed tasteless chicken. Service was appalling and, in Zim$ days, prices were extortionate.
Local folk obviously did not like that style of catering and one by one Wimpy Bars shut. Vic Falls should have been a licence to print money for anyone knowing how to flip a burger, boil a hot dog or brew coffee, but they failed dismally in that prime location as they did at Avondale and Borrowdale.
O’Hagan’s moved to Borrowdale Brooke, but very soon changed their name to Paddy’s. About nine months ago, a proper O’Hagan’s franchise opened at Borrowdale Village and I see one is due to open at Chisipite.
I hear the Keg and Sable, Borrowdale is to soon close and re-open under new management as an up-market wine, cheese and cigar bar. The new Café Espresso at Newlands on which fortunes have been lavished is still not open; goodness knows what the delay is.
Prinsilla, who ran the eponymous restaurant at Mukuvusi Woodland, phoned to say she’d hung up the towel. I don’t know if anyone else has taken over a site which, if we had tourists, should be profitable.
I’m not sure I believe it, but I heard delightful dancer Wan Pen, who used to run Thai-Thai at Helensvale and in other suburbs, will run a planned new restaurant/bar in Graniteside.
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Found a good value for money lodge in Kariba last week.
Caribbea Bay, which has lost much of its glitter, anyway, was full with Air Rally types, when we went to the lake to do a tale on Lake Harvest Aquaculture (see last week’s and next week’s Zimbabwe Independent).
I thought for a horrible moment I heard we were staying in the Zambezi Valley Hotel in Nya-mhunga Township, which is renowned for horrendous noise.No! It was the D’Zimbabwe Lodge, overlooking what was Kariba Breezes (apparently foolishly demolished to make way for a new operation aimed at non-existent visitors for the World Cup!) Developers seem to have run out of loot, so Kariba is a hotel short!
D’Zimbabwe Lodge’s no Claridge’s in London, nor Raffles in Singapore or Dubai and much TLC is needed on a 10-bedroom (but being extended) B&B facility.
But it was comfortable, cool, really quiet and just US$50 a night for a splendid bed and man-sized full English breakfast. Views are stupendous. Staff were friendly and helpful (even one whose personal hygiene left much to be desired. Soap-and-water very much needed there!)
Supper is US$10 “a plate”, by which I suppose they mean a main course. It smelt and sounded delicious, but we had arranged to go to Caribbea Bay for a meal.
Buffet there was great piles of — wait for it — sadza, bones, stew and rape and the a la carte menu was minuscule. I had whitebait (kapenta) just piled on a side plate; my friend, Amanda, tried rather bland crocodile tail fillets.
Her Mexican style pork chops were very ordinary bits of pigginess, looking rather dry. After asking what was “Mexican” about the dish a waiter who’d seemed reluctant to say there even was a la carte available disappeared for a minute, returning with a small pot of what Amanda thought was very likely soup-of-the-day (allegedly cream of tomato) from the buffet!
I had bream fillets which were okay, but unspectacular. Some of the fruit in the apple pie tasted almost raw. But I liked the custard!All being well, and Air Zimbabwe permitting 185, I was due to leave for London on Thursday for my grand-children’s Christening this morning. I’ll be away about a month, but will e-mail stories and pix.
(David Mazvidza owns D’Zi-mbabwe Lodge and a houseboat anchored nearby. For details phone Loveness on 0772 223 832.)
