Style

18 THE STANDARD STYLE / EATING OUT / 40 CORK ROAD
August 24 to 30 2014
40 Cork Road,
Avondale
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1) and 2) External shots including the magnificent jacaranda tree; 3) Currant
muffins; 4) Cinnamon tart. 5) Some of the friendly waiters; 6) Chicken tikka
salad with wedges; 6) chocolate and vanilla scoops; 8) Eating in the courtyard;
9) Chef-patron Ian Munn. All pictures by Dusty Miller
Dusty’s “What’s on Diary”
Contributions are welcome, to arrive in good time, bearing in mind
events in which readers of this page are interested.
SMS 0733 401 347 or 0776 903 161; (e-mail dustym @zimind.co.zw)
CUT OUT, KEEP, WATCH FOR NEXT UPDATE
Aug 24(today)
Birdlife outing to Double O/Carswell Ranch, Nyabira. Meet CABS, Northridge Park, 7am.
Lunch: Alo, Alo, Arundel; Theo’s, 167, Enterprise Road; Adrienne’s, Belgravia; Da Eros,
Fishmonger and Great Wall, East Road; Sitar, Newlands; Palms, Bronte Hotel; Willow Bean Cafe,
Rolf Valley, English roast/pudding US$15. (BYOB, no corkage.) Paula’s Place; Wild Geese, Teviotdale
buffet/live music; City Bowling Club, Harare Gardens (roast beef, Yorkshire pud, horseradish
sauce); Italian Club, Strathaven, Mukuvisi Woodlands Coffee Shop; Centurion Pub & Grill, Harare
Sports Club, Arti’s, New Section, Borrowdale Village; Hellenics, Eastlea
Aug 25 Keep fit, Zumba Dancing, City Bowling Club, Harare Gardens. And every working night except
Fridays. 5:30pm-6:30pm.
To Aug 30 Harare Show
Aug 25-29 Stragglers’ Junior Cricket Week Hartmann House and St George’s
Aug 26 7pm Line dancing City Bowling Club
(and every other Tuesday) 6:30pm for 7 Fun pub quiz Theo’s, 167, Enterprise Rd (opp Redan)
Supper US$5, prizes. Quizmaster Dusty Miller
Aug 27 Farmers’ market, Maasdorp Avenue, Belgravia (next to Bottom Drawer)
Aug 28 (and every Thursday) Tapas night and music by Evicted, Amanzi Restaurant, Chisipite
Aug 29 Greendale Good Food & Wine Appreciation Society monthly lunch Sitar, Newlands.
Fun music pub quiz, (“Spot the Tune”)Borrowdale Country Club. 6:30pm for 7 supper available.
Quizmaster Tony Palmer
Sept 4 (and every other Thursday) fun pub quiz blue@2 Private Wine Bar, 2, Aberdeen Rd, Avondale.
Booking essential, Tel 0772 856 371
Sept 6 Birdlife Marlborough Vlei walk (bottom Princess Margaret Rd, off Harare Drive) 7am
Car boot sale, Borrowdale Country Club
3rd annual Boerewors Competition, Old Miltonians, Bulawayo.
Country Jukebox fundraiser for Joe Esterhuisen’s breathing equipment, City Bowling Club, from
dusk. Supper available
Sept 7 Air Show, Charles Prince Airport 8am-midnight.
Sept 14 Rhino Awareness Day.
Battle of Britain Sunday. Service Athol Evans Chapel. Royal Society of St George Battle of Britain
lunch
Sept 27 Karaoke night, with Dave and Debbie, City Bowling Club, from dusk. Supper available.
Greek night with Costa Nicolas, Hellenic Club, Eastlea. Details Joanna 0772 390 960
Oct 11-12 Zimbabwe Trout Fishing championships Nyanga. To compete: mmatipano@zimparks.co.zw stay
at Rhodes Nyanga Hotel.
Oct 12-14 AEL Tiger Fishing Challenge, Eagle’s Rest Hotel, Siavonga, Zambia.
Oct 22-25 53rd annual Kariba Invitation Tiger Fishing Tournament, Charara Eastern Basin
Oct 29-Nov 8. EatOut Zimbabwe Restaurant Week. Enjoy bargain 2 and 3 course meals at top eateries in
Harare and Bulawayo.
Dec 29-31 Jameson Victoria Falls Festival. Book now!
(Neither StandardPlus nor Dusty Miller take responsibility for inaccuracies,
postponements, cancellations. No charge for entry.
Deadline 10am Tues prior to publication day.)
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Dusty Miller
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THE last time I typed 40 Cork
Road….in a headline…it ended
with the single word “revisited”.
That was in early July 2005 and I am
yet to find the story relating to my
previous visit. (Probably before the
new millennium!)
Well, I don’t know why I’ve left it
more than nine years to call again
and actually went twice in the space
of six days recently.
On the Friday I was merely killing
time between appointments at New-
lands and Mount Pleasant and briefly
diverted to Cork Road for a hot
drink, on a bitterly cold morning. I
ordered a lovely cinnamon milk tart
(US$2) to go with a pot of Tanganda
tea (US$1) and enjoyed it so much I
followed up with a rich currant muffin:
also US$2.
Chatting to café owner, Ian Munn,
I said I’d return for lunch or a more
substantial spread as soon as the
sun came out and days warmed
up. Number “40” has a restful, Zen-
peaceful garden with a soothing
waterfall feature and much birdlife,
but a thick canopy of venerable exotic
and indigenous trees can make
it cold and miserable on grey days.
The sun belted down from a cloudless
cornflower blue sky on a windless
Wednesday lunchtime, so much
so that many punters asked waiters
to move tables and chairs into the
shade.
Ian Munn said the property was
built in 1911 and was the manager’s
homestead on what he thought was
the original Avondale Farm. He
could be right. Main farmstead of
Avondale was on Avondale Ridge
where the colourful pioneering
French nobleman, the Count de
la Panouse and his wife, Fanny,
“Countess Billy”, who came to this
country, dressed as a boy, produced
milk, cream, butter and eggs. They
were the first couple to have a Christian
wedding in this country.
A pioneer farm was around 3 000
acres (1 214 hectares.) I suppose it’s
just possible a manager, after they
left the country, could have built his
home so far from the main centre of
operations, but my own feeling is
that we are talking about a different,
neighbouring, farm.
Whatever, the place has a lot going
for it, architecturally; gardens are
gorgeous and include the largest,
probably oldest, jacaranda tree I’ve
seen anywhere in the world.
On Wednesday I had a delicious
chicken tikka salad on Thai noodles
which came with a side order
of splendid large square cut potato
4
wedges, golden brown, fried crisp
on the outside. Salad element was
mainly fresh garden leaves, including
rocket, with sliced tomato, pepper
and a wee bit of onion, with a
sprinkling of sweetcorn kernels.
Possibly because I’d hungrily wolfed
a glazed baked roll, studded with
bits of beetroot and slathered with
butter as I awaited mains, it outfaced
me and I took home about a
quarter in a polystyrene box.
Since my previous visit, nine
years ago, Ian has built a separate
thatched wing which houses a ‘tutti
gelati “ice-cream shop (I had a scoop
of vanilla, topped with another one
of rich, creamy chocolate ice-cream:
it was wonderful; and a functions
area which can accommodate up to
about 350 pax at a cocktail party or
other standing event and hold a wedding
reception or similar with up to
200 guests.
A child’s play area is also new
but the original KwaMambo pottery
and gift shop also functions in
the main homestead. Occasionally
I get desperate phone calls, texts and
e-mails asking where KwaMambo
Restaurant is, and I have to think for
a second.
Food tends to be lightish “fusion”
dishes suitable for lovely ladies who
lunch languidly, but there are also
steaks, chops and half chickens for
the guys who graze. They also serve
very substantial Full Monty-style
English breakfasts from US$7-US$12
including free tea or coffee.
They used to open on a Sunday,
but don’t now. Previously they
weren’t licensed (to sell grog); they
are now (but “don’t flaunt it”); I had
a very acceptable chilled “chateau
cardboard” house dry white wine
with lunch.
Ian is a very “hands-on” owner
possibly betraying the fact he has
an MBA and MSc. Not totally necessary
to cook and successfully sell
eggs, bacon, mushrooms and La Lucie
Zimbabwean coffee, but he also
operates PrintMedia Distribution
from “40”. (Distributing overseas
magazines and books: not to be confused
with Munn Marketing, which
he used to own but “we” {AMH}
bought off him years ago.)
40, Cork Road, opens 8am-4pm-ish
Monday to Saturday. Eating on the
shaded stoep or in the garden; smoking/non-smoking
areas. Licensed to
sell alcohol and a fair range is carried.
Very child friendly and quite
handicapped friendly. Guarded
parking on grass verges each side of
the road. Booking’s a good idea. Tel
0778 075 147 or 0712 207 720.
Dusty Miller rating Three-and-ahalf-stars.
dustymiller46@gmail.com