Yip, last week was Eid Mubarak, and I missed out on all the good food while living here in Korea, where even just finding halaal food is quite hard. There are a few good Indian cuisine restaurants but nothing can compare to proper Cape Malay cooking from Cape Town.
I think Cape Town celebrates our mixed Asian culture with a far more unique taste, literally and figuratively. Regardless, if you are muslim or not most of us us Capetonians like our barakat! For those unenlightened ones, barakat is what you take home after a big party or family event. Food is an incredibly important part of an event for most of us Capetonians, especially if you invite the church people or holier than thou elders who will judge you on what you serve and if it complaces with their satisfaction levels.
Although, barakat is not something to be taken too lightly. Let's not deny it....we all have that one family member (mainly an aunty) who comes to all events with that empty 2 litre Country Fresh ice-cream bakkie in the Pick 'n Pay packet looking to swoop down on the leftovers in the kitchen and table before home time in the aim of not cooking lunch or dinner the next day. Ja, and there is "niks skaamte" for those people, for some reason they reckon it's their right I suppose. It's also just plain greediness.
Although, I won't keep myself above it as I once made a small barakat when I had a plus one invite to the prestigious Fleur de Cap awards in Cape Town not too long ago. These weren't your ordinary snacks and treats with Frutus, NikNaks and blocks of chocolate cake from a bakery factory from Grassy Park. It was off the hook insane. We talking about Lindt, those other fancy sweets you get at Clicks, Lindt chocolate fountains, Lindt ice creams, prawns al la mode, lamb and caviar. I restrained myself to just stashing as much of the Lindts in my bag. Plus, the crowd that was there probably didn't even understand that barakat even existed!
I think Cape Town celebrates our mixed Asian culture with a far more unique taste, literally and figuratively. Regardless, if you are muslim or not most of us us Capetonians like our barakat! For those unenlightened ones, barakat is what you take home after a big party or family event. Food is an incredibly important part of an event for most of us Capetonians, especially if you invite the church people or holier than thou elders who will judge you on what you serve and if it complaces with their satisfaction levels.
Although, barakat is not something to be taken too lightly. Let's not deny it....we all have that one family member (mainly an aunty) who comes to all events with that empty 2 litre Country Fresh ice-cream bakkie in the Pick 'n Pay packet looking to swoop down on the leftovers in the kitchen and table before home time in the aim of not cooking lunch or dinner the next day. Ja, and there is "niks skaamte" for those people, for some reason they reckon it's their right I suppose. It's also just plain greediness.
Although, I won't keep myself above it as I once made a small barakat when I had a plus one invite to the prestigious Fleur de Cap awards in Cape Town not too long ago. These weren't your ordinary snacks and treats with Frutus, NikNaks and blocks of chocolate cake from a bakery factory from Grassy Park. It was off the hook insane. We talking about Lindt, those other fancy sweets you get at Clicks, Lindt chocolate fountains, Lindt ice creams, prawns al la mode, lamb and caviar. I restrained myself to just stashing as much of the Lindts in my bag. Plus, the crowd that was there probably didn't even understand that barakat even existed!
