Back to the Westcoast Farm Stall and another great meal

After our enjoyable breakfast run and my meal I think Janet was a bit sorry that she had not ordered the same as I had, she also likes that particular meal; 'offal' which is made from the stomach and intestines, in this case of  a sheep or lamb. Perhaps it would be appropriate here to tell you how we came to like a meal that a lot of people wouldn't consider eating. This is more for my overseas readers more than the local ones because offal is popular here to a certain extent.

We happened to move into the then independent homeland the Transkei in the Eastern Cape during mid 1977 and lived in the small village "Idutywa" which is on the N2 close to Butterworth until mid 1987. We did various jobs there, met a lot of lovely people during that time, many of whom are friends to this day. It was during this period that I learned to speak the local Black language; "IsiXhosa" which has stood me in very good stead, to this day I am one of very few "Whities" who can speak the Black language in this area.

There we were first introduced to Offal, or as the locals call it "Nqweme" (and the 'Q' is a hard click. made with the tongue on the roof of the mouth.) The locals do not clean the entrails as well as others might so the flavour can be quite harsh but we came to love it and the rule was that if our staff wanted to use our stove to cook their food they had to make enough for us as well.

After we left the Transkei in 1987 and moved around to the western cape we missed the meal and started looking for places that served it, albeit in a "less flavoursome" manner, and so it was that I was happy to find it on the menu at the West Coast Farmstall.

To get back to my story then; on Tuesday the electricity for our area and Vredenburg went off at 08h00 and was supposed to be off for the whole day, what the hell do you do if there's no power? You get on the bike and head off somewhere, that's what. I suggested to Janet that we head down to Yzerfontein and have lunch at "Lula's Portuguese retaurant" on the beachfront. They do a very good Peri-Peri chicken that I'm hooked on, so off we went.

It was a lovely day, mild and warm, a light breeze and I held the bike back at 120kmh, relaxed and loving it. It's a nice enough road, the R27 but it's boring, soon I was blipping down through the gears for the turn down to the coast but I pulled over to the side after the turn and stopped to talk to Janet; "Would you rather like to go to the Farmstall to try the Nqweme?" I asked, knowing that she likes it too. She agreed that she would so we pulled in there, perhaps I would have it again.

Pleasant, shady garden

Old biker in a rustic area

Janet's happy with her choice

One of the pleasing parts of this meal is that you usually get, included in your pot, either the stomach lining made into a bag containing the brains which I got on Sunday or you get the whole tongue which I got this time. This is real excitement akin to winning the lottery, Janet got the stomach bag this time.

If the pot is properly made there will also be a lot of ankle/foot bones with skin and gelatin intact which are a delight to suck, the pot is usually served with samp meillies (corn) our favourite or in this case with rice. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meal washed down with a nice bottle of local Sauvignon Blanc.

Before we left we wandered around the extensive aviary having a look at the exotic birds and then it was time to head for home.

We will be back, that's for sure and for the not so adventurous eaters they have a good menu, steaks, burgers, pizza etc. and the prices are very reasonable.

This has made me think about another "Skaapkop" (Sheep's head) meal though, long time since I've had that. Cheers for now, ride safe.