9 August 2008
opinion
WHEN the history of Harare's horrible hyper-inflation is written, the archivist logging the record of Zimbabwe's doom may care to quote some of my experiences.
Ten weeks ago, here, I crowed I hadn't, at that stage, paid one-billion for a full meal, let alone a single course. That soon changed!
On Monday week I was at Meikles grand La Fontaine Grill where some starters were a trillion dollars, steaks $3,64tn, the new menu peaking with kingklip Grenobloise at $4,16tn.
Two days later I was invited (I'm glad to say) to the stunning, award-winning Amanzi Restaurant at Highlands by my (potential) offshore investment consultant, where the bill for two for lunch was a mind-boggling $84 TRILLION!
This was two days before Giddy Gono (again) slashed noughts from our currency: this time 10 of the naughty little fellows; had we waited 48 hours, bottom line would have been "just" $8 400 (I think!!!) of the "new" currency.
Bubbly Nikki Lear, ex-chief exec of Internet provider M-Web, decided her new (and first) baby, Conor, arriving suddenly when well into her 30s, was more important than a demanding 18-hour day career, but soon thought she needed something to occupy her mind flexi-time, so now represents a UK investment, asset management, trust and insurance brokerage.
For years I've been pestered by people far less personable and presentable than Nikki, seeking to look after my wee bit of wonga, but she's the first up to now to stump up for lunch in one of the finest restaurants in which ever country I've been buttonholed.
I went a little early to photograph the sylvan, sculptured, sprawling splendour of Amanzi's mature grounds, carpeted in mainly indigenous trees; centrepiece being a tinkling waterfall feeding deep peaceful ponds where lazy koi in myriad shades of red and gold explore murky depths, flashing to the surface in multi-coloured whirlpools to feed.
I had the grand-tour with owner Andrew Mama, who played rugby for Nigeria and should be capped for cooking for Africa.
When Nikki arrived in a Merc hinting she might be doing rather well at the offshore investment lark, we had a drink (tinned South African Castle Lager in my case, a tall, elegant glass of imported dry white wine for her) on a comfortable sofa on the broad, shady stoep of an archetypical Colonial style former family home, while oohing and aahing at the mouth-watering menu.
We began, sharing a platter of kebab-ed king prawns, Haloumi cheese and pineapple; glazed chicken cakes and teriyaki sauce; caramelised sweet-potato wedges, mini shish-kebabs with hummus (chick peas) dip; king prawn toasts; duck spring rolls and sweet chili and five spiced bream with nuoc cham (Vietnam chili, garlic and fish sauce.) Delightful is the best word for this course, eaten outdoors, the initially early thin wintry sun now belting down so strongly Nikki needed ice to cool her wine.
We then had an amuse-bouché of Chinese style dum-plings: a vegetarian one neither of us were mad about and chicken-stuffed, which were ambrosial.
Neither of us ordered superb sounding salads, but the soups were certainly in the restaurant's trademark "fusion" mould, Nikki selecting a lightly spiced Lebanese cauliflower concoction; mine being laksa Chaing Mai, a house speciality with prawns, noodles, chicken and coriander. Laksa is Malay-Chinese cooking, Chiang Mai a place in Thailand: fusion food nears confusion!
Other tempting soups were a vibrant sounding dried tomato, chicken and toasted sweetcorn (a Kylie Kwong version of a classic peasant soup), chicken noodle, with minced huku dumplings in rich broth and a fiery chicken pepper soup "from the beer bars of West Africa" Our choices came with squares of pizza bread.
Neither Nikki nor I are fully paid up members of AA, both admit enjoying a tantalizing toothful of tincture, typically without temulence or tostication! And the "drink" item on Nikki's bill (I, ungallantly, sneaked a look) was $47tn, while food was $10tn less!
I forced myself to spurn an old favourite dish, West African groundnut stew (with chicken, chili peanut sauce, sweet potatoes and plantains) or lamb curry (with chili dahl and paneer cheese topping), plumping for divine comfort food: a generously piled platter of very slowly cooked braised oxtail with five spice, ginger and garlic with creamy mash, green beans and carrots.
Nikki had a sushi tempura plate: nigris, California rolls and mixed tempura with wasabi (the sinus-searing Japanese equivalent of mustard/horseradish sauce: which I think remained untouched) and gari (thinly sliced pickled ginger, looking misleadingly like smoked salmon in some lights).
We both relished selected mains, others of which included garlicky bream with a nutty crumb topping and coriander tzatziki (Greek dip); baked Nyanga trout with a nutty butter sauce; pork chops with hoi-sin and ginger marinade; vegetarian coconut and butternut curry; huku breasts baked in orange, rosemary and cream sauce; char-grilled sirloin steak with Béarnaise sauce and half Mozambique-style piri-piri chicken.
Nikki's strawberry crème brulee looked a fine example of the pudding maker's art and my honeycomb ice-cream with ginger snap cone was succulently superb. Other puds included lemon cream mould with poached strawberries, fruity ice-cream sundae, Kahlua poached apples, coconut rice pudding with fruit coulis and chocolate nut torte with vanilla ice-cream.
Andrew said the honeycomb ice-cream recipe came from friends of his running a great restaurant in Congleton, Cheshire; in turn they took away details of the West African groundnut stew which is a wow there. (Apparently they didn't go a bundle on sadza and bones!)
His wife was busy looking after their elder son, home from public school in the UK. She has been busy hanging art throughout the restaurant and repainting autumnal shaded walls in different autumnal shades. They are now organically growing all their own unsprayed, no pesticides or insecticides vegetables on lush plots at their home, at the restaurant and at their blue chip residential operation, Amanzi (formerly Barker's) Lodge.
Amanzi Restaurant, Enterprise Rd (opposite Nazareth House). Tel 497768. Jazz nights Thursdays.
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