Today I am craving avo and pig tails, thanks to last night’s brilliant episode of MasterChef SA. The ads in between didn’t help my cravings – they oozed the most delicious spreads – avocado on toast, scoops in salads and spicy guacamole. And now I can’t stop thinking about it.

By the time the show started, we had just finished a porcini mushroom risotto for dinner, but thank goodness I still had the new Woolworths self-saucing chocolate pudding to munch whilst watching. I left it to my eldest son to dish up, and he came back with sundae glasses piled high with decadent ooziness, sprinkled with white chocolate drops and a dusting of icing sugar. It curbed my cravings for a while – until Lungile produced her scrumptious pig tails. Silly me, I shed a tear for her and Bennie’s pure connection over the most passionately produced dish.

At last I managed to eat at Societi Brasserie in Tokai at the weekend. Unfortunately the tongue special was finished by the time we ordered (I’ll be back for that) but the Jack Black beer-battered hake with the best-ever tartar sauce was a great stand-in. It was simply fabulous. The juicy piece of fish was all puffed up and golden from the ever so light and crispy batter. I honestly have never had such a well-prepared batter.

I couldn’t decide what to have for desert, but eyed a homemade vanilla ice cream, and after a friend reminded me about affogatos, I ordered exactly that! I asked for the double espresso and ice cream to come at the same time and it was worth every sip – even though I struggled to get to sleep for a while.

I needed an espresso on Monday evening when I watched the live streaming of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. I was delighted to two of our Top 10 restaurants, The Test Kitchen and The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français were awarded. The Test Kitchen came in 74th place and The Tasting Room in 57th. A huge congratulations to Margot, Luke and their teams.

Happy eating!
Abigail