One of my favorite parts about traveling in any city is
exploring the food culture. Food can tell you a lot about a place—it’s history,
the people who live there, the resources available to these people, etc. Cape
Town, with its rich and tumultuous history of many cultures blended together
offers its own unique food experience.
And so while some people enjoy spending their time and money
on adventurous activities and thrills, I’m perfectly content finding great
places to eat and indulging myself. Cape Town has not disappointed when it
comes to finding good food, whether highly acclaimed or lesser-known gems.
As a group, we’ve eaten at plenty of delicious restaurants
around the city: Sevruga, Beluga, Mama Africa, Gold, Lyra’s, Hussar Grill and
Brass Bell, among many others. However, a major part of the food scene in the
city is not sit-down restaurants. Rather, I found the numerous food markets to
be particularly enjoyable. Every major city has its food markets, but Capetonians
really seem to relish the opportunity to try a variety of fresh foods and
experience it in the marketplace setting, which allows for casual social
gatherings, a quick drop by, etc.
During our stay, we visited three local food markets, each
with their own distinct selection of foods both raw and prepared. They included
the V&A Market on the Wharf, the Old Biscuit Mill (also known as the
Neighbourgoods Market) and the Blue Bird Garage Food and Goods Market.
The V&A Market is located on Cape Town’s bustling waterfront,
a central location popular to both locals and tourists alike. The only
permanent market space among the three aforementioned markets, this market’s
vibe fit in with that of the rest of the waterfront, an area known for being a
bit ritzy and shopper-friendly. While I personally enjoyed a delectable steak
and avocado wrap, others enjoyed homemade dried fruits and springbok jerky (a
local specialty), fresh fruit smoothies, fish and chips, empanadas and a
variety of other foods and cuisines with influences from around the world. The two-story
market was a great place to convene after an afternoon of exploring the shops
along the waterfront or even a visit to the aquarium located almost next door.
A birds eye view of the V&A Market on the Wharf from the second level balcony.
The next market we visited was the Old Biscuit Mill, which
was my personal favorite of the three for its tasty and varied selection of
foods and cool venue. Located in the Woodstock neighborhood in the eastern part
of Cape Town, the Old Biscuit Mill is known as a hip marketplace and became
extremely popular for it’s Saturday-only food market. The venue is a converted
mill (hence the name) that houses the market along with various other shops and
restaurants, most of which operate during the week as well. However, the
relative infrequency of the market compared to the daily V&A Market made a
trip there an experience in and of itself. The market is filled with stands where
vendors sell locally made products similar to those found at the
waterfront—except the options are staggering. I came planning to eat a light
meal and left on a very full stomach.
Walking through the market was a bit overwhelming at first,
but after perusing the options it was easy to get tastes of everything. Many of
the vendors even gave out free samples of dips, salamis and other foods, a
major plus for college students like us. I worked my way around the market to
try as much as I could, and for my last purchase I settled on a deliciously
amped-up hot dog: the “Mandog”. Made by Dasdog, the Mandog was a German frank
topped with caramelized onions, rocket, bacon and dijonnaise on a freshly baked
bun. While it was by no means healthy, it proved to be one of the tastiest
foods I ate on the entire trip. Who knew I would find a German hot dog with
flair at a market in Cape Town?
Last, on our free weekend in Muizenberg we went to a local
market called the Blue Bird Garage Market. The market, which was only open on
Fridays, was similar to the Old Biscuit Mill but smaller. Once again, I managed
to taste a variety of foods ranging from samosas to Chinese dumplings to fudge.
The market was also unique for its location just a couple blocks from the beach
in Muizenberg, a surfing town south of Cape Town. It was a fitting end to our
food market experience.
Overall, I loved the food markets for their affordability,
their incredible selection of food, their casual environment and their cultural
value. One can go to any of the food markets and expect to spend anywhere
between R50-120 and leave satisfied. The foods also represent the awesome
diversity of Cape Town, a testament to its international flavor. Flavors from
Asia, Europe and the Middle East complement the more traditional African foods
found in the markets. Cape Town is truly an international city, and the food
culture as demonstrated through the food markets reflects that.
-Ben Kahn
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