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By Dave
Baird - June 2008
OK, let's
see. How do I go about setting out these memories? I guess
that I need to start at the beginning…
My family
arrived in South Africa from Scotland in early October 1967.
The immigration people were dead keen for us to stay in Johannesburg,
but thankfully, my Dad was determined to live in Durban, and
after about ten days we found ourselves on the Milk Train,
bound for Durban. The journey was interminable - we made acquaintance
with every dorp and lamp post between Johannesburg and Durban.
I remember the stop in Pietermaritzburg most of all. Outside
the window of our carriage stood a group of boys in grey flannels,
blue blazers with gold twin stripes and boaters. These were
Marist Brothers scholars, and little did I know it then, but
for the bulk of my schooling I attended Marist Brothers in
Durban - St Henry's. We arrived in Durban and were accommodated
at the Esplanade Hotel.
I am sure
that my Dad went into a frenzy of job hunting and such, but
for me as a 9 year old boy, things were just one big adventure.
Dad found a job at Elgin Engineering and we found a flat to
rent in Ogwini at the Esplanade end of Russell Street. The
flat was number 144 and had magnificent views of Albert Park,
the Berea and the entire length of the harbour. While still
at the Esplanade, I recall two flavours that defined my memories
- a Bombay Beef Curry and Mountain Dew.
We explored
our new home city on foot and by bus and found our way to
many wonderful places - Brighton Beach, Durban Beachfront,
town centre - all exotic and exciting. Once we moved into
Ogwini, a place was found for me at school - St Josephs School
in St Andrews Street. This was run by nuns and boys were accommodated
up to the end of Standard Two. Thereafter, we were deemed
to be a danger to the morals of the girls and dispatched to
other schools. At this stage a place was found for me at St
Henry's, and this despite the family being "non-Catholic".
The connection was that my parents had been very friendly
with some of the Brothers at the Marist College in my home
town of Dumfries.
Prior
to going to school (it was the Michaelmas break) I would accompany
my Mother into town to shop for the family. The OK bazaars
was our local supermarket and they had a wonderful arrangement
whereby shopping could be done, the goods packed into a box,
moved by suspended conveyor to a dispatch area and delivered
to your home at a pre-arranged time - science fiction for
us! The tea room in the OK bazaars was above the doorway exit
to Smith Street and my Mother would take me there as a treat…or
more accurately because she could not resist their wonderful
waffles with maple syrup and cream! My personal favourite
there - the pie, gravy and chips (you will find this to be
a recurring theme).
Now that
we are on the subject of food, let's see what I can remember
about the places that we found to eat in the first few years
in Durban. I will try to do them kind of geographically, working
from Albert Park to the Beachfront…
Albert
Park - The Tropicale. The spaghetti Bolognese was unsurpassed
- anywhere, ever! And for dessert a Chico the Clown (maybe
Coco the Clown) - a decorated ice cream cone.
At the
top end of Russell Street, and just into Smith Street there
was the Mexican Hat which belonged to the Tomson family -
great hamburgers and hotdogs. On
the corner of West Street and Broad Street, the Polar Bar,
which was open on two sides, closed off by a grid gate at
night. Probably the best hotdogs I van remember.
Greenacres
Department store, an upmarket tea room, silver service - elegant
and formal with great cream teas. Across the road, Payne Brothers
department store restaurant, which served a savoury toasted
cheese which became a staple of Saturday morning shopping
trips. In Greenacres Arcade, the Clover Bar - fantastic waffles
and milkshakes. John Orrs Department Store - similar to Greenacres
in its attempt to be slightly more upmarket - good food but
nothing springs immediately to mind.
I have
already mentioned the American Diner style tearoom with its
red leatherette barstools and great waffles and pies at the
OK Bazaars. In the arcade through Eagle building (the tallest
building in Durban in 1967) lurked the Wimpy. Thinly sliced
onions and fantastic burgers in a toasted bun, with thin cut
chips - and a large Coke, all for the princely sum of just
35 cents!
In London
arcade, the Three Monkeys Restaurant - probably the best toasted
sandwiches in town! In Aliwal street, the Kings Restaurant
- once again, pie gravy and chips to die for. At South beach
there was the Pickin' Chicken and the XL. Chicken in a basket
was de rigeur at the Pickin' Chicken and the XL did a famous
mixed grill - not for the faint hearted. At North Beach was
the Cuban Hat and the Nest. I confess that I was more of a
Nest person, and their pie, curry gravy and chips haunts me
to this day. These were drive in restaurants and in the evenings
we would drive there (5 of us in a Morris 1100) and order
our food, then after eating stroll along the lower Marine
Parade.
Being
Scots, the family were soccer mad, and we attended both Durban
City and Durban United games during the winter, on Sunday
afternoons at New Kingsmead. While the soccer was important
for me, the burgers from the catering van were equally important,
or, as an alternative, a hot pie from the kiosks. Also, there
were the Eskimo Pies (ice creams) sold by the vendors. We
also went to see Natal getting regularly beaten at rugby,
across the road from New Kingsmead, at Kings Park on Saturdays
- and the same burger vans had the concessions there too,
as they did at the old Alan Ford Stadium where we went on
a Friday night to watch hot rods.
It didn't
take my dad lomg to join the Kingsmead Club and the family
would often eat dinner there after the soccer on a Sunday
night. Sometimes this entailed formal meals, like Tournedos
Chasseur or Crayfish Thermidor, followed by a dessert of sherry
trifle, all served under the careful eye of Frank, the Head
Waiter, and sometimes it would be snacks like samoosas and
smoked sausages, usually eaten while watching the Sunday night
movie. It was in the Kingsmead club that I was first introduced
to the Rock Shandy (soda water, lemonade, dash of bitters
and a slice of lemon) - cool and refreshing.
I also
used to go with my Dad and brother when they played golf at
Windsor Park, and it was a treat to stop at the 9th hole and
have a hot pie (Perks or Bakers specials), washed down with
a pint of Ginger Beer and Milk. My Dad went on to work for
Delville engineering at Mount Edgecombe, and we were then
introduced to the Huletts Country Club - the food was beyond
compare, whether it was a salad, steak, chicken or seafood
- classy and elegant.
As time
went on through the 1970's and into the 80's tastes and restaurants
changed as I moved from attending them with my parents to
taking girlfriends out for meals. The Hungry Hermit in hermitage
Street served a wonderful Coquilles St Jacques. The Bali Hai
at the Elangeni Hotel served Polynesian food as did the Api
Taki in 320 West Street. The Royal Grill was reserved for
formal evenings - important birthdays and the like and the
meal was enhanced by the wearing of dinner suits. Also in
the Royal Hotel was the Ulundi Curry Bar - just exactly what
it says, but the classiest curries in town.
The 80's
also saw the rise of the chain restaurants in Durban - Steers
and Spur - unmatched quality steakhouses. In Davenport Centre,
as well as at the bottom of Bluff Road and in Northlands Drive
were the Burger Ranch take aways. They served the best range
of sauces for burgers - Barbeque, Bermuda Onion, Texan Mushroom,
Peri Peri - the list seemed endless. They also did a wonderful
foot long hotdog - just superb, with ketchup and mustard.
[I truly mourned the closing of the Burger
Ranch in Davenport. The first owner I remember was called
Manny, who made the most delicious patties, and then was Nelson
who bought the place and was smart enough not mess with the
recipes. Do you remember that the logo was a funny round little
man? I was amazed to find him again on a Burger Ranch in Haifa
in Israel in 1987, on Mount Carmel, I think. The were offering
Big McDavid burgers at that point. Allan Jackson]
Our weekend
nights out would never have been complete without a mutton
bunny from Hansas Food Market in Gret Street, accompanied
by some red sausages, and a litre of milk, all carefully taken
to the Yacht Mole to be consumed, and the yachts used as target
practice for the bones from the mutton curry. [Alert
readers will have noticed the reference to bones and yachts
and remember something similar on my
page about bunny chows. Yes, indeed, David and I (and
some others) were the guilty ones. Allan
Jackson]
Durban
was awash with places to eat and I am sure that I have missed
out a lot of them. There were great places for bar lunches
- curries at the Astra, Athlone, Balmoral, Beach, Willowvale,
Plaza and Blue Waters Hotels were fantastic - and cheap. There
were fantastic take aways - Uncle Jacks in Clairwood, the
Casbah Burger Box and a plethora of places in Point Road.
There
was the Swiss Restaurant in Rutherford Street and the bar
meals at the Edenroc. While attending Natal University, the
refectory produced the best sausage and mash I ever tasted,
as well as superlative cheese and mushroom omelettes and fantastic
cold meat and salad rolls. I also have hugely fond memories
of the scones with cream and jam at Mitchell Park.
I had
the privilege of living in Durban for almost thirty years
and there never was a place where food was such fun. I hope
these memories are accurate, and I apologise to anyone if
I missed out there favourite eatery. Next time I will try
to recall some of the pubs clubs and disco's of the 1970's
and 80's
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