Glenda's Restaurant

An evening out at Glenda's Restaurant in Hyde Park Square.

I was pretty amped to see Musgrave Gin & more so, the #MusgraveMinis on the bar counter as I arrived. And as I turned around, there was a glass of Lourensford MCC waiting. Now that's how you should be welcomed at any restaurant. 

Before I begin with my review, I will say, portion sizes are small & looking at what they cost you, slightly on the more expensive side.

For my starter, I opted for the seared salmon. Absolutely beautifully plated with various elements to add texture to the meal. Served on wild rice puffs alongside a horseradish cream. I believe that a seared salmon, should be just that. Seared. Mine was slightly more well done, but still tender & full of juice & flavour. The horseradish cream definitely compliments the salmon very well & is definitely not a bad dish to try out. 

For my 1st mains, I decided on the Fillet, which should be served with a cauliflower puree, dauphinoise & braised short rib potsticker. I am pretty sure, the piece of steak that was on my plate was a rump medallion & sadly not fillet. What was supposed to be a medium piece of steak, was more on the rare side of things on the inside & char-grilled on the outside, which didn't make for the best flavour on my palate unfortunately. The plating however is done beautifully & colourful with varying elements that add some more texture to the plate. 

The 2nd mains that I chose, was the Crispy Pork Belly served with a Bacon Veloute & Grilled Pears. Absolutely delicious. Soft & tender pork belly meat with a nice crispy pork crackling of a skin. This was a winner of a dish in my opinion.

Then for dessert, I was the person being different & wanted the Jelly & Custard. Least to say, everyone was jelly about #LloydsJelly. A homemade chai jelly & custard was full of flavours & creamy, but not overpowering. Served with a homemade raspberry ice cream to break the flavours of the chai & finished off with broken meringue. Delicious. I will definitely not mind having one of these again. 

All in all, not a bad night out, except for the mishap with the steak. I would definitely be keen to get back to Glenda's Restaurant to see how some of the other things on the menu are, especially for dinner. I do get the vibe that most people would want to spend their lunch times here. But I would recommend giving it a try for dinner too. 

Tomato? No Zomato...

Have you found yourself sitting at home and wanting to go out? However you find yourself unsure of what restaurant to go to or where to go get takeaways. Then you always end up sticking with your usual choice because you know it is "safe" and you know what to expect and what you will be getting for the money you paid.

Where is the adventure in eating out and looking to find new and exciting places to try and discover new dishes that could possibly blow your taste buds away? 

I discovered this app called Zomato. No, not Tomato! That is no spelling mistake. You read right. Zomato! 

Again, I like using pictures in my articles. So, here is what Zomato is all about and what they offer.

So what basically happens is that when you log in on the app or the website, you set your location or if you are fancy, it uses your gps and automatically locates where you are.

You then have various options to 'filter' restaurants in order to find some new and exciting restaurant that you have never heard of to try tonight for a family dinner, tomorrow for a business breakfast or on Saturday for a lunch with friends. It does not matter what type of place you are looking for you can filter according to the 'time of day' eating orders by using a quick search. With the click of a button a whole list of restaurants that are in your area will pop up and you then have a further option for filters: popularity, location, cuisine, establishment type, approximate costs for two, alcohol, outdoor seating, credit cards, WiFi and generators for those nights you are sitting in the dark suffering from loadshedding and need to feed the family. Your options are endless. 

Finally found a restaurant that you like and you want to find out more. Click on it. Its like a mini website for the restaurant that opens.
The contact numbers of the restaurant. A map with the exact location. Images of the actual menu's. Photographs of the restaurant and of their food.

And the best part. Reviews of the restaurant by actual people that have visited there and haven't been wined and dined by the owner or the manager just to write a good review. This gives you a true reflection of what some people think about the restaurant. No biased opinions. If a person wishes, they can rate their experience out of 5.
Therefore after reading a few of these reviews one quickly gets an idea of what to expect from that specific restaurant and then proceed to decide on whether or not to try it out or move on to the next listing.

In the side bar next to the restaurant details, Zomato provides you with a list of restaurants that have a similar vibe or similar menu to that one which you are having a look at, at present. So you basically have so much information about so many restaurants right at the tips of your fingers which can lead you to make an informed decision about where you are heading out to have your new culinary experience.

Have a great time? Or you find that your experience was not as pleasant as you had hoped, you can write your very own review on a restaurant and help out other people who are in need of making a decision on which restaurant to choose.
Like a review? You can favourite it and build up your own list of favourites and best restaurants. You can follow individuals that are foodies and that have provided you with useful reviews to keep up to date with their latest culinary experiences. 

So if you are someone like me who just loves eating out and keeping the kitchen clean, but tired of going to the same old restaurant over and over and in need of a new adventure into the amazing restaurants that are in your area. Go have a look at this website and download the app on your phone for when you are sitting at work and wondering what's for dinner tonight. It's the best restaurant directory in the palm of your hand.

Check them out on the Web: www.zomato.co.za
They are on Twitter: @ZomatoSA
Facebook: Zomato