My meal was a full Portuguese chicken dish and I have this every time as this is the house specialty. All the meals tonight were less than what we paid for burgers eating out in the UK which is kind of nuts.
Tonight we went out as a family for a birthday celebration and is about the only time we ever go out to eat. The restaurant is a local favorite known for it's Portuguese food and 5 minutes up the road is the original Fernando's restaurant which everyone knows as Nando's. The entire area South Of Johannesburg has a Portuguese/Lebanese influence mainly from those relocating whilst fleeing Mozambique during the civil war. I do think my family has got so used to my cooking there is no need any more. They have even started to complain over the weekends if I have not done my customary steak rolls or rare roast beef dunk dips.
My son had the steak Espetada in a Madeira sauce.
Tonight's meal was not expensive according to what everyone else experiences in Europe or the States as the mains were roughly $10 each and the total bill including a generous tip for 5 adults and 2 kids with starters ,mains and drinks was $100.
Granny had prawns which I am never tempted by and have just never been a fan of them
Sometime in February I will be in the Algarve and I am keen to try the local dishes to see if our local Portuguese restaurant meets up to the expectations. In the past I have been disappointed because I think when you travel you somehow expect a certain standard mainly because in my case you are often paying three times more. Unfortunately price does not mean the food is any better and in most cases it is not.
My dad was a chef and was raised around a kitchen whether it was an upmarket hotel or a restaurant. Having an interest in food is something I have lived with all my life and continue to seek out new flavors. Only in the last few years have I taken over the daily cooking at home and have progressed rapidly expanding the menu offerings. Prawns however is an ingredient that will not be on the menu as you tend to generally cook what you feel like and then everyone else just kind of fits in.
I do find it quite alarming though how the prices of food varies around the world as even though you shouldn't you are going to compare against prices you know. There ae many steak houses here I just refuse to visit as I cannot justify paying $20 for a steak when I know full well I can feed the entire family kings sized steaks of the same quality meat for the same price at home. This is why we literally only eat out a handful of times per year and have stopped trying out new restaurants as that normally leads to further disappointment.
Next month in The Algarve I am looking forward to see what is on offer and looking for anything I may have not tried before. There are certain countries you cannot be too adventurous as I have ordered horse before in error whilst travelling France. Another time I ordered Charcuterie thinking charcoal cooked meat and received a plate of cold meats. I have since learned to ask the waiter what each dish is just in case as these can be expensive errors. This is all part of the fun exploring the different dishes even if you do not like what you are tasting.
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