La Masseria invites patrons to experience true Italian hospitality in the 100-seater restaurant with open hearth (and Lorenzo bursting into song from time to time) and separate bar area, enjoy long lazy lunches in the al fresco area with breathtaking views over the Helderberg, or make that special party or function unforgettable with the help of daughters, Paola and Kiki and the extended famiglia.

We have gone to this restaurant for romantic dinners and lively birthday celebrations and believe me there is absolutely no way you can ever be disappointed with anythings there. The service is extraordinary and the vibe and ambiance is truly captivating.  The food is phenomenal and Lorenzo bursting into song from time to time makes you really feel you have been captured in Italy with a true warmhearted boisterous Italian family. The food is well priced the drinks are the same and for a great experience this choice of restaurant will never fail you.

About them from their website : La Masseria is the culmination of the Ciman family’s passion for good, wholesome food. The fare is genuine, unpretentious Italian country cuisine prepared and nurtured, as recipes and traditions are passed down from one generation to another.

The charm of this family-run concern is the promise of an agri-tourist experience. Following on from the original venue in the Stellenbosch mountains, La Masseria Evertsdal is located within an old wine cellar on the original Evertsdal Estate established in 1680. The historical and agricultural heritage of the cellar suits the rustic appeal of the restaurant perfectly, making it a favourite for weddings and private functions. The agro-tourist elements are ingrained in the name “La Masseria”, southern Italian for “the farmhouse”. Almost everything served here is homemade - the fruits of the earth are gathered by the massaro, who ritualizes the process of growing, reaping and preserving. This is where seasons create the menu, simplicity is chef, and slow food is a way of life.

The pride of La Masseria is Nonna (granny) who still bakes her biscotti, bread and the like and has become a firm favourite to patrons. Everyday la famiglia comes together to produce fresh homemade pasta, bread, preserves, Italian meats (made by the inimitable singing host, Lorenzo Ciman), marinated goodies and, of course, the delectable Italian cheeses (handcrafted by Miki) from which the La Masseria legacy sprung 4 years ago. From time Miki runs cheese-making courses and cooking classes from an outbuilding next to the restaurant. This has proven very popular, because it’s hands-on and a great way of meeting people and having fun and the classes are a good corporate team-building experience!

La Masseria invites patrons to experience true Italian hospitality in the 100-seater restaurant with open hearth (and Lorenzo bursting into song from time to time) and separate bar area, enjoy long lazy lunches in the al fresco area with breathtaking views over the Helderberg, or make that special party or function unforgettable with the help of daughters, Paola and Kiki and the extended famiglia.

La Masseria - where, “La vita è bella!”

Popularity: 6% [?]

ShareThis

The ambiance on the second floor is totally dull and not enjoyable at all, we were seated right at the stairs and the seats were super uncomfortable. Their food is fine but not worth the bill we ended up paying and the waitress not super excited to be there. We could have the same amount of food and drinks for the same price at La Masseria and believe me for the food and the service, entertainment and ambiance it is worth the trip to Durbanville. So I would never go back !

I am not entirely impressed with this Canal Walk franchise of Col’Cacchio so instead of totally slandering them herewith a little something about them :

“All our dishes are lovingly made to order.  Relax and enjoy your time with us while we prepare the perfect meal for you.  Arrive hungry and dress comfortably - lunches have a habit of turning into dinners here. For the health conscious and vegetarians, the salad selection offers 20 enticing, colorful combination’s, and Pasta lovers will enjoy the more unusual Fresca dish or Lamb Tortellini. We offer 50 outstanding combination of pizza on our menu (each with its unique Italian name). The more exotic combination’s include the Tre Colori with smoked salmon, sour cream and caviar, and the Fantasia with caramelized onion, Brie, and sesame seeds.”

Popularity: 7% [?]

ShareThis

The Polana: The cocktail section at the Polana restaurant in Kalk Bay is literally built on the rocks. Sit on the cushioned window-sill and watch the waves lapping at the rocks while sipping on a ‘Jam Jar’. Where? Polana Kalk Bay, Cape Peninsula. We went there for a friends birthday and the setting is absolutely beautiful. There was a live band and although the quitarist was really rude to my request of a birthday wish to a very good friend it was great to have them play while we partied the night away. Just dont order snacks there, they werent worth the R 115 and not really that great. Otherwise the menu is quite expensive but the drinks are pretty reasonable. The fire place makes it worth it and of course like I have mentioned the waves lapping at the rocks right in front of you. Apparently at full tide the waves crash against the window-sill. If you are in the area and you have been to the AMAZING CAPE TO CUBA before this is something to try out.

From their website : http://www.harbourhouse.co.za/mainp.html .The Polana Restaurant is situated in Kalk Bay Harbour, and is owned by the same team who operate the successful Harbour House Restaurant.The Polana is on the ground level of the harbor house complex, and features a beautifully appointed cocktail lounge built on the rocks, only meters away from the crashing waves. Relax on luxurious leather sofas and sip a cocktail while soaking up a view of unsurpassed beauty. In winter a log fire roars in the lounge, as huge flocks of cormorants trek across the bay. From September, whales are often seen from distances of as little as fifty meters, while playful seals frolic in the kelp beds all year round.The interior of the restaurant is decorated in an elegant colonial style with African, Indonesian and Portuguese elements. This is reflected in the cuisine, which features dishes from Africa, and especially Angola and Mozambique. Angolan chef Claude Alfonso makes every dish a culinary coup de tat. Savour delicious Cabrita No Forno, Morroccan Lamb stew, Espetada de Marisco or Espetada de Carne.

Situated as we are in a working fishing harbor, the Polana has daily access to a wealth of the freshest possible line fish.The restaurant is served by our own fishing boat, which sells its catch exclusively to our restaurants. Other menu highlights include. Mabanga (mussels in chilli and garlic with chorizo sausage), grilled goat’s cheese salad,tiger prawns and crayfish. After dinner, the lounge remains open for drinks until late, and every Friday night, the venue is geared up for a party that lasts until dawn.

Popularity: 7% [?]

ShareThis

Guys come on it is really time for an upgrade or change of management. There is always a queue at the snacks counter and it takes 30 min to get to the front. Then when you finally get there the strawberry slush puppy is always out or just a watery mess.

Each time we go many people get frustrated and they miss the beginning of their movie. It is really frustrating and people do go to the movies to relax. There is an absolute mess each time we go. And believe me many people are pissed off when we are there. I have written about this before where kids run around causing havoc in the movie and a simple warning never scares them or stops them. It is very disruptive and quite irritating.

And if it was not for the fact that Parklands/Blouberg/Tableview have absolutely nowhere closer to go to watch movies you would be out of business. Canal Walk is even worse as their tickets are always booked out and I dont really want to go through all the hassle of paying for the parking, walking into a jam packed mall and guessing which side the movie i want to watch is showing.

Bayside Ster Kinekor other than your tickets being really cheap you suck.  Your snack counter is a mess, it is always messy around there and you let kids run amock! Their seems to be no management and your staff behind the snack counter needs an upgrade.

Your aircon is also piss cold thanks, we are in the middle of winter and if you dont give out blankets very soon I might just wait for the movie to come out on DVD and rather watch it in the comfort of my own clean home, with popcorn at my call. I might miss the salt and vinegar spice but hey I will give that up any day to not be frustrated by your rather pathetic operation there.

Get the queue straps to be in place, get 4 staff behind the counter to serve your movie go-ers  4 queue’s at a time and you wont have this problem. Get the staff to stop dreaming behind the counter and dont train them at peak hour with a new release. Get your stock upgraded and checked, be fully stocked at all times over weekends. Clean up at the spice counters and have a floor manager to keep the kids from disturbing the movie experience. You are the only movie house around this area and I think it sucks that you take the piss out of us. You know we have nowhere to go so you give us slack service.

Anyway this is my two cents worth, I go to the movies every single weekend and have done so at the Bayside Cinema for well over a year. So just say there is so much I can take …

Popularity: 7% [?]

ShareThis

Weird characters and weird movie, I didn’t really enjoy it but Brad Pitt is always good to watch.

The narrator suffers from a lack of sleep. He tries different ways to cure this, but he does not succeed. He does get some sleep, but his conditions rebounds back into it’s original state when he meets a lovely young woman, whose name is Marla. He finds out that she and he both have a lot in common and they spend a lot of time together. While touring, he meets an enigmatic young man named Tyler and after a short conversation both become fast friends. Both like to relieve their inner tensions by hitting each other. Soon word gets around about their fights, and lots of young people also get interested. Then a club is formed, which the narrator and Tyler call ‘Fight Club’. Both start spending a lot of time and both also make lots of money. Then one day the narrator finds out that Tyler has been using him. Written by Sumtira (Corrected by Calista)

You’re young. You have an easy, well-paid deskjob. You have a condo, Swedish furniture, artistic coffee tables and a fridge full of condiments. Yet you feel emotionally and spiritually empty. You eventually find comfort in going to support groups for lukemia and cancer victims when there’s nothing wrong with you until they’re hijacked from you by another faker. Then you meet Tyler Durden, a man that shows you that not only can you live without material needs but that self-destruction, the collapse of society and making dynamite from soap might not be such a bad idea either. Written by John Weeks {J.T.Weeks1@student.derby.ac.uk}

A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground “fight clubs” forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion. Written by Anonymous

A lonely, isolated thirty-something young professional seeks an escape from his mundane existence with the help of a devious soap salesman. They find their release from the prison of reality through underground fight clubs, where men can be what the world now denies them. Their boxing matches and harmless pranks soon lead to an out-of-control spiral towards oblivion. Written by Joe50000

A nameless, desk working man becomes consumed in his emptiness until he meets a Tyler Durden, a cunning soap salesman. The two set off to form fight clubs and eventually turn onto a path towards anarchy. Written by Nathan_S

Popularity: 6% [?]

ShareThis

 I absolutely loved the movie. It made me want to live in New York. And the actors were all very interesting, they were brilliantly cast. It was a heartwarming easy to watch Saturday afternoon DVD movie and I would give it a 6/10.

Romantic comedy: Will Hayes, a 30-something Manhattan dad is in the midst of a divorce when his 10 year old daughter, Maya, starts to question him about his life before marriage. Maya wants to know absolutely everything about how her parents met and fell in love. Will’s story begins in 1992, as a young, starry-eyed aspiring politician who moves to New York from Wisconsin in order to work on the Clinton campaign. For Maya, Will relives his past as a idealistic young man learning the ins and outs of big city politics, and recounts the history of his romantic relationships with three very different women. On the campaign, Will’s best buddy is Russell McCormack. They not only have similar political aspirations, they share the same type of girl problems, too. Will hopelessly attempts a “PG” version of his story for his daughter ad changes the names so Maya has to guess who he finally married. Is her mother Will’s college sweetheart, the dependable girl next-door Emily? Is she his longtime best friend and confidante, he apolitical April? Or is she the free-spirited but ambitious journalist? As Maya puts together the pieces of her dad’s romantic puzzle, she begins to understand that love is not so simple or easy. And as Will tells her his tale, Maya helps him to understand that it’s definitely never too late to go back…and maybe even possible to find a happy ending. Written by Orange

On the day she has her first sex ed class, 10-year-old Maya grills her divorcing dad Will Hayes about her conception. That night, he fills her in, changing the names of the women who were in his life then to keep her guessing which is her mom: Emily, his college girlfriend when he came to New York from Wisconsin for Clinton’s ‘92 campaign; April, edgy, a little cynical, who misses her father; and, Summer, a writer attracted to older, established men. In demanding the story, Maya’s motivation is clear: to get her dad to fall in love again with her mom. Will this parent trap work? In the telling, might Will discover his true Penelope? Definitely. Maybe. Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

Popularity: 6% [?]

ShareThis

This was an EXCELLENT slap stick comedy ! And people should just sit back and enjoy the movie for what it is. I think there is an important message in the film and they are making a light comedy of a war that has been going on for over 2000 years. Come on people no one cares anymore except the ones fighting still. Adam Sandler was absolutely fabulous in the movie and his Hebrew accent was done really well.

From IMDb …I’ve been a fan of Adam Sandler for much of my life. . . all the way back to his SNL and ‘Airheads’ days. I’ve seen him go through many phases, from some great films like ‘Punch-Drunk Love,’ ‘Reign Over Me,’ and ‘Big Daddy’ to some of his lower-end films like ‘Eight Crazy Nights’ and ‘Little Nicky.’

‘You Don’t Mess With the Zohan’ is not one of his best films, but it’s still enjoyable. Personally, I’d place it along the comedic quality of ‘Billy Madison’. . . contains mostly sight gags and juvenile humor. But, c’mon. . . sometimes that’s what we need. Our world is going to Hell, so shouldn’t we have some relief from the pain and torment we must witness on a daily basis? No. It’s not a great film. But it’s funny and stupid and entertaining. And that’s the reason to see it. . . don’t expect a comedic masterpiece like ‘His Girl Friday’ or ‘Forrest Gump.’ Expect what the film actually as and accept it as such. . . if it’s not for you, then it wasn’t MEANT for you.

This is the story about a Mossad agent Zohan Dvir, who fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist. He romances his clients by giving them “special services” in the back room. However, he is eventually recognized, and risks losing his newfound life and career. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Don%27t_Mess_with_the_Zohan. For a full detailed synopsis.

Popularity: 10% [?]

ShareThis

What were the Heineken sponsors thinking ? BOOOO !!!

I have had the pleasure of partaking in the annual Knysna Marathon After Party and the off-shoot of the event which can only be described as a beer fest of biblical proportions.

I must add thought that there were way too many events to go to this year and the Heineken after party must have been a disaster. The Crabs Creek After party is legendary and with Prime Circle playing all over the show it was hard to choose were to go to. But we stayed Loyal and headed to Crabs Creek and no doubt about it there was one hec of a party going on the entire day. We were at the Heineken after party at 18:00 just to check it out and there was nothing happening. I was quite excited about dancing to Lady Lea but there was nothing happening and when we hit Crabs Creek I knew why. There were once again thousands of people dancing and partying the night away. Some with sore legs from the run and some fresh out of their sleeping bags - those who only come for the party.

We left because they stopped the music at 2 ?? Anyway we thought we could go to the Heineken spot afterwards but they were cleaning up.

Rock on CRABS CREEK and lets hope they have the Heineken tent at Crabs Creek next year with Prime Circle on the same grounds … We can all be in one spot partying the night away next year.

Popularity: 28% [?]

ShareThis

Hottest Campsite in Knysna - WOODBOURNE

Well planned , level and well-grassed sites with plenty of room for family fun, served by immaculate ablution blocks. Woodbourne’s extensive park-like grounds, make sure that campers and caravanners are never crowded, one of many reasons holidaymakers return year after year.Here you can relax and have a holiday in a private estate only 5 minutes walk from the famous Knysna Heads.  True country ambiance within a 5 km drive from all the amenities of Knynsa itself. The surrounding area is famed for its beauty , with coast, mountain and forest walks in great variety, miles of unspoilt beaches, excellent sea, rock and river fishing, lagoon and deep sea cruises, the famous Choo Choo, and with golf, tennis, squash, bowls clubs close by, all happy and eager to welcome visitors. Woodbourne adjoins a private vlei which is a waterbird sanctuary so special that it attracts migrant waders from as far as Siberia.

We go here every year for the Knysna Oyster Festival and most of the runners come to overnight here for the race on the Saturday. There is an after party that same night and Knysna is buzzing over this wonderful festive period. The Party is the equivalent of a New Years party at Crabs Creek and you will have a fantastic time. But more on that in another blog.

This campsite has a wonderful reception area and the staff is amazing, we met Kara and this young lady was so pleasant and very informative. The campsite is really well kept and the prices are really good. The ablution facilities are immaculate and you can buy wood at reception and get a braai for 100 rand deposit. It is close to everything. We meet the usual’s there every year. Although freezing cold at the time of the festival, there is nothing a bottle of Old Brown Sherry cannot sort out.

This is a recommended site and very safe. We have never had any disturbances or theft !! Going back as soon as we have the chance.

The Map :

http://www.gardenroute.co.za/woodbourne/info.htm#rates !

Popularity: 29% [?]

ShareThis

Not just a great website but an amazing company that will take the number out of you. Call them for service excellence.

About them :

About Us

Financing your own Home or Investment can be overwhelming. But it has never been easier than calling our Team at AssetAnt Bonds. Our motto is, excellence in our service, and we aim to achieve above average levels of service.

Fast and effectively we will ensure that your home loan experience is enjoyable. We will assist you with your application and we will be there with you, right through to the registration of your bond.

Our service will be of no cost to you, as the banks pay the originator and no costs are passed onto you, our client.

AssetAnt negotiates favored lending rates from a series of financial institutions, to get the top achievable rate for clients, potentially saving you thousands over the term of your loan.

AssetAnt has an affluence of know-how to draw on, with expertise in Originating, Property Sales, and IT. We will do a pre-qualification with you to ensure that you do qualify for the home loan with your income and exposure. And we will make sure that all times you are aware of the costs relating to your transaction. We will be at your side until your bond gets registered into your name. Always making ourselves available for any questions/queries that you might have.

Contact

Phone: 021 557 9636
Fax: 086 519 9184
Cell: 082 457 2979
Email: bonds@assetant.co.za

Related Articles;

Switching - The new workable solution to your financial needs.

Popularity: 38% [?]

ShareThis