Pancake Café

It’s Sunday evening, and the end of the western tradition called Mother’s Day. Up until two years ago I loved this day, all the planning, surprises, food but most of all the company of gold, my mother (may she rest in peace).

It is because of this day I’m reminiscing about a previous Mother’s Day where I took my mum and two aunts to Franshoek.  Last weekend I was in Franshoek with my beloved so the memory is strong. I love the town, its beauty, tranquility and the feeling of being away.  Thinking about Franshoek is reminding me of Pancake Café.

Pancake Café is perfectly situated in the main street of Franshoek surrounded by the mountains. The café itself shares space with a gift shop.  Inside seating is very limited and looks straight into the kitchen area where everything is prepared and teases you with all the delicious smells. Majority of the seating area is outside with lovely views of the town.

I have been craving pancakes and ordered the caramel with banana pancake. I simply loved the fact that it was served with runny caramel sauce filling my whole plate. Pancake Café thank you for hitting the spot. It was the perfect portion served with what tasted like homemade ice cream.

If you find yourself in Franshoek and looking for something sweet or savoury I strongly suggest a visit to Pancake Café.

 

 

Yum Eat Café

It’s Sunday and another long weekend and I am feeling nostalgic thinking about my last long weekend break-away with my bestie. Easter Sunday and we had decided to drive out from Hermanus and go exploring.

In complete holiday relaxed mode, we took a lovely Sunday drive with picturesque views along the way. We ended up driving through a small town called Stanford as the quaintness caught my attention.

Driving through the town, which felt like we were in back in history a pinkish vintage style house transformed into a café caught our attention. Naturally I pulled into the driveway of Yum Eat Café.

It was a public holiday so we were delighted to find the café open. We were welcomed to the café by the owner and shown to a table. As you walk into Yum Eat Café the pink wall where the coffe is made and cakes live pull you in. The café is also an art gallery with beautiful paintings all around.

Yum Eat Café has a warm artsy feel to it. Aside from the paintings they also sell various artisanal local goods. We sat at a table opposite the desserts and looking into a vintage cabinet full of their own brand of teas.

We loved the fact that the café is owned by a lovely couple and everything is freshly made by them and their friendly staff. We were also impressed to find out that the husband is also a Pilate’s instructor.

It was lunch time but the cakes jumped out to us and it was evident that dessert was going to be lunch. I am a very fussy carrot cake eater but I took a chance and tried Yum Eat Café’s…..my taste buds were blown away with the first bite. Their carrot cake was moist and simply delicious. All the ingredients were carefully put together by hand by the wife. Well done on this pure delicacy!

Yum Eat Café you have left us with very fond memories, we will visit soon when in Stanford.

 

 

The Orchard

My long weekend started in a good way with the blessings of a Friday. The past Friday has been the best one for me by far. It marked a very important milestone to the start of a beautiful life journey and also marked the start of my bestie road trip to Hermanus.

With road trips come random stops and the inspiration to this post.

We stumbled across the Orchard Farm stall while reaching the end of Sir Lowry’s Pass in Elgin. From the road it looked like a lovely “dorpie”style farm stall with a massive outdoor garden and entertainment area. The explorer in me immediately made a sharp turn and informed my bestie that this was where we having tea. It was such a great spontaneous decision.

As we walked through the farm stall we felt like buying all the homemade goods…not to worry we didn’t break the bank but we did buy Popeye sherbet…how could we resist the childhood thrill of sherbet through a pipe.

After making our way to the restaurant / coffee area, we were seated in the enclosed “stoop”area. This was very cosy filled with paintings and overlooking the outdoor garden / play area with easy access to the farm stall.

Thanks to our walk-about through Orchard we knew exactly what we wanted before looking at the menu. I ordered the scones that were served with strawberry jam and cream and my bestie took a chocolate butter icing and a dollop of caramel.

I absolutely devoured the scones, it was the best tasting melt in your mouth scones. It was that good there was no time for chit chat.

If you ever find yourself on Sir Lowry’s Pass I strongly suggest a pit stop at Orchard.