Tag: roosterkoek

South African Talk Is More Than Lekker

M's Adventures
Roosterkoek is a type of bread.

Lekker. If you mention that you are traveling to South Africa, people will tell you about lekker (which means “great” or “awesome”), but there are other fun phrases and words to learn in colloquial South African (Afrikaans is a separate language, but some of these words, like lekker, come from there). Here are some of the phrases I heard and asked about with South Africans. (Other than vocabulary, there were some funny signs. I’ve used some throughout this blog posting).

Boomslang is an elevated walkway.

Lekker: is “great” or “super” and is used frequently.

Braai: a barbecue, as in an event, a thing, etc.

Boma: a campfire meal gathering. Come from British Officers Mess Area.

Lanie: translates to fancy or posh (posh is pronounced “poache” like gauche)

I just liked this sign.

It is not a train smash: it’s not a big deal.

Pleasure: used like an affirmation as in “it was a pleasure” but they use the word by itself.

Shame: can be used both as negative and positive. Like “oh really?”

Hot chick’s. Notice the possessive.

Hectic: means bad.

Hish: also means it’s bad.  

A banana general dealer.

Now now: means it’s not happening now. In a while but not as soon as “just now.”

Just now: means that it will get done but not right now. 

Is Hardbody Mogodu the proprietor?

Yobo: an enthusiastic yes. 

Exciting revamp ahead.

Robot: traffic light.

It’s a monkeys wedding: when the sun is out and it’s raining.

Do not feed the baboons.

It’s such jol: it was a great time. 

I love symmetry.

Howzit: how is it. 

Biscuit: roundabout or traffic circle.

Ladies mile.

Cap/MCC: sparkling wine (cap classic). 

Pudo: a post office box or receiving box like an Amazon box.li

Lip ice: lip balm.

What is shabby fufu?
Eye catching.

10 Things To Eat and Drink in South Africa

M's Adventures

Steak, venison, filet, bone marrow, and game meat. Okay, also drinks. While there is lots to eat that is vegetarian, South Africa is delight for meat eaters. Not only is there a lot of meat on the menu, it is not expensive, and there is a great variety. One can have a full steak dinner for 20 bucks. Tip is ten percent.

Let’s start with the sweet tooth.

Malva pudding: It’s a dessert sort of like sticky toffee pudding in England, except that Malva is made with apricots instead of dates so it is not as sweet. Just kidding. It is served with custard rather than toffee sauce, and that is what makes it less sweet.

Malva pudding with distinctive custard sauce.

Wine: Wine tasting is a big thing to do in South Africa. They have so much wine.

Amarula: is a liqueur sort of like Baileys. The urban legend is that the elephants were getting drunk off the fermented fruit of the Amarula tree and the humans got inspired to try it.

Amarula shots.

Biltong: is dried meat, like jerky, but it can be soft like dried mango in texture. The South Africans don’t like it when you say it’s jerky…

Bunny chow: is curry in a loaf of white bread. South Africa has immigrants from South Asia so there is lots of curry.

Bunny chow.

Kudu: is a kind of deer, or DLC, deer like creature (as one South African calls anything that can be turned into biltong). Delicious.

Eland: another edible hoofed animal. Bigger and delicious. Maybe the most delicious.

Bone marrow: is served a lot here. Maybe it’s a fad.

Bone marrow.

Roosterkoek: is a kind of bread a bit like a bun that is grilled so it gets good smoked char and deep grooves for absorbing taste. The bread is a yeasty bread so I liked it. Crunchy and yeasty. Now we are talking.

Roosterkoek.

Calamari (chokka): in South Africa are often served as “fingers” and is probably made from the local Cape Hope squid. It is exceptionally tender. No rubber bands here! See below.

Calamari sticks that match the fries.
The square things are “rusks” which are dried bread.