Review #3 - Govenders Eaton Road

Last week Friday, the crew and I went looking for a place to fix my radiator from my Cortina. Most of the places that repair radiators are around Umbilo so whilst we were in the area, we decided to visit Govender's on Eaton Rd.

The place has been transformed into a classy joint from the last time I visited it. There is a large restaurant area and the bar area has also been revamped a bit. Though it has gone through a change for the better, It still reminds you of a setup 15 years ago. Really takes you back.

We ordered 3 quarter mutton and a litre of Fanta orange. The bunnies were priced at R25 each and the litre was R11. Service was very quick even though a lack of waiters.

When our bunnies arrived, they were steaming hot - you could actually see the steam coming of the sides as well. This was a good sign because it was a fresh curry. The size of the bunny was impressive as well.

I had difficulty taking the first bite because this bunny was still hot. I had noticed a lack of gravy in mine, so I asked the waitress to bring over some more gravy. She did so , in a large bowl and also added a potato as well.

I let the bunny cool down a bit before I tackled it. The curry reminded me of a home cooked mutton curry - something like what my mother or granny would cook. It was good - not too hot and spicy - just right. The bunny was packed with mutton and potatoes and this was the first time in a long time that I felt as if I couldn't finish it.

I felt satisfied after having this bunny. One of my colleagues didn't like it that much because he compares every bunny to the ultimate bunny chow joint. I am not going to mention the name - you'll will find out soon.

My overall rating of this bunny is 7/10. I have nothing bad to say about it except for the lack of gravy.

Likes:
Size
Price
Taste
Service

Dislikes:
Meat not of a high quality
lack of Gravy

Review #2 : Jaipur Palace, DBN North

Greetings to all. Today, being a fasting day I was craving a broad beans bunny. A few months ago I remember eating a Beans bunny from Jaipur Palace @ Durban North which tasted too good for words. I was very impressed with that bunny chow.

So today I told the guys at work that we all should go and try out the bunnies from Jaipur Palace once again. On our way to Durban North we got stuck in a bit of traffic due to the roadworks by the new stadium.

The new Jaipur Palace Express Take Away is a very classy joint and appealing to patrons due to their cleanliness and setup. My colleague ordered a 1/4 mutton and I ordered a 1/4 broad beans. Now some info for everyone: the price of the sit down meal is about 4 to 5 rand more than the take away item. The reason for this is that they state in the menu that they provide the following with the Sit Down meal:

• Extra Gravy in a bowl
• Serviettes and Wet Wipes
• Soji
• Papad

So we both decided to have our meals there and see what they were giving. The mutton bunny came first and we were astonished with the size of it. No word of lie - it was large with the pieces of meat overflowing from on top of the bunny. And as they promised, it came with a small bowl of soji, extra gray and papad with a bowl of salad.

I must admit, this was value for money and the presentation was excellent.

Then came my broad beans bunny. Looked almost the same as the mutton bunny with all items discussed above. At first bite, it felt as if they forgot to cook the curry fully. I didn't like it one bit. I felt like returning it for a mixed veg but I didn't want to cause a problem so I just kept on eating it.

Basically the broad beans were not fresh. They used canned broad beans / butter beans to make the curry and there was a hint of the taste of preservatives. The gravy wasn't that grand either.

After I tackled the bunny - though I must admit that I didn't enjoy it one bit - I then tackled the soji and papad. That on the other hand that was excellent and well worth the praise.

I apologize for not posting any pictures on this article but next time I will post a picture of the mutton bunnies which looked excellent to me.

PS. I wont comment on the mutton bunny as I haven't tasted it for a while. Wait for my review coming shortly.

Likes:
Good Price - R15
Excellent Size
Presented perfectly

Dislikes
Taste
Quality of ingredients

My overall rating of the bunny is 5 / 10 . The tinned beans didn't taste good at all.

Review #1 : Hollywood - Springfield Park

Today I decided to take my crew out for a post birthday lunch. Yesterday was a fasting day for me so I had to postpone the celebration. We decided to go someplace we had never been before and Hollywood came to mind as we always spoke about going to that place but never got round to doing it.

I was waiting in anticipation to taste this bunny as I had heard from a few people that the chow was tops. So we drove from town into the realm of Springfield Park where our adventure would begin. When we got to Hollywood there was no parking available because that place is always full.

We managed to get a table and sat down to order the meal - 3 quarter mutton and a coke, cream soda and a liquifruit.

The drinks came about 5 minutes later and the waitress told us they didn't have liquifruit, so my friend had to change his order to an orange juice.

After 15 minutes of waiting we finally got the food. At first glance the bunnies looked quite delicious - average size and loaded with meat and a large potatoes at the top.
At first bite the bunny tasted like it had been cooked with fish curry spice as it had a hint of fish curry in it. But once we got used to it, it started tasting a bit better.

My bunny was loaded with meat. Nowadays you hardly get more meat than bread. The meat was soft and there were less bones which made it easier to eat. I must say that the bunny was a bit dry and lacked gravy. I usually like to soak the virgin in gravy before I start to tackle the rest of the bunny but there was nothing to soak up.

The curry was a bit spicy but ok. The potatoes were also a bit on the dry side and out of the three bunnies that we got served - 2 of them were funny bunnies.

Overall I would say that it was an "OK" bunny and @ R26 well worth the price. Drinks were also moderately priced and the service was better than some of the other spots we had been to - yet 15 minutes sometimes feels like 1 hour.

Likes:
Alot of Meat
Good Bread and size
Good Price

Dislikes:
Fish curry taste
Less Gravy
Dry potatoes

My overall rating of the bunny is 6 / 10 . The bunny lacked the flavour you expect from a bunny. I will not be returning to Hollywood anytime soon.

Size Matters - The case of the shorter quarter

What is the correct size of a quarter?

I am sure everyone thinks about this. From the time the idea of the bunny chow was conceived, the size of our bread loaves have been diminishing over the years.

If you dont believe me or dont remember - go ask your mother. She will bear witness to the fact that the loaves have been decreasing in size and weight. A few years back there was a big investigation regarding the actual weight of a loaf of bread. The packaging used to display 900 grams but the bread only weighed 650 grams. We were getting ripped off and were paying even more for this. So the government set heavy fines for bakeries that were hitting us down. But we didnt even get compensated for all the years we were getting the raw deal.

Remember those days the slices of bread had to be sqeezed into the tupperware we used to take our lunch in. Nowadays the sandwiches are loose in the tupperware - except for Albany Superior - The BIG Bread.

But on a more positive side : There are many establishments that still serve the correct size quarter. These people know what the correct size of a 1/4 bunny should be - at least 8-10 slices high.

Anything less than 7 slices or less than 8 cm's high is a funny bunny - a rip-off. You are getting ROBBED.

Bunny Chow Barometer - A Scam

Has anyone ever attended this event? I went twice a few years ago. The atmosphere was tops and the crowd - well you know us chaarou's.

All the different competitors were there showing off their makeshift stalls and some go out of their way and hire these Wedding Decor people to put the fancy brasswear and drapes to make the stalls look good.

In any case I think the is the biggest scam ever. For example, the first year I went, they called out the three finalists. I then saw some aunty's looking very excited and already hugging each other. I thought "what kind with these aunties?". Then they called out the winner and these aunties didnt look surprised. It seemed like they already knew they won.

It so happens that I also bought a bunny from this same establishment. People, I wouldnt lie on this blog - the bunny was $h1t. It was too hot - alot of oil and the list goes on.

I lost faith in the bunny chow barometer as I make it my habit to go and visit these establishments to taste the bunny and rate it personally. Most of them give 100% only during the competition.

Have you ever noticed that if you go to a bunny chow joint that has won the competition previously - they feel that it is right to charge you R35 for a quarter even though they now selling you a funny bunny.

Do you know how these people are chosen to be finalists? Just like Pop Idols. You have to sms a few thousand times and vote for your favourite bunny chow establishment. Trust me - I know. I got a connection from Stanger who owns a Take Away and his bunnies are top stuff. Our whole family sent sms'es to vote for him but our attempts were too minor to compete with the big guys from Durban who buy sms bundles and vote. It was sad because I knew for a fact that his bunny chow would compete with the Durban establishments. He has this Indian aunty that works for him - she is one of the top cooks in Stanger and she cooks the curry every day and maintains consistency with the taste. I am sure that you'll have visited some of your far relatives from Stanger and you'll had lunch/supper there and the food was bomb - now you will know how this aunty cooks. And everyone knows that the farm style cooking is the best - like an outside fire chow.

I am going to boycott this event in the future. Wait for my letters to the editor in the Post and Rising Sun.

My Top Bunny Chow Joints

My colleagues at work and I go out twice or thrice every week in search of the ultimate bunny chows. What we have discovered is that there are more funny bunny's than the real thing out here in Durbs. Below, you will find the TOP spots(in no particular order) according to our opinion:

Updated 04/02/2014

Happy Chappy Take Away - North Beach
Little Gujerat - Prince Edward Street
Britannia - Springfield Park
Silverani's - Suncoast Casino & Musgrave centre
Hollywood - Springfield Park
Hollywood - Argyle Road
Sultans - Chatsworth
Goundens - Eaton Road


Please note that I have rated these places on their consistency of providing a good bunny at a good price all the time. If a bunny chow joint is not listed here then its most likely I had a bad experience there.

I will be posting my experiences and rating the above mentioned spots in due time. Wait for it!!!

Welcome

Hi to all of you and thank you for visiting my blog.

The reason I created this blog was due to the fact that everyone - well most of you'll love the bunny chow which is had originated in Durban and also a big part of our Indian culture.

I regard myself as a self proclaimed Bunny Chow critic and usually frequent alot of Bunny Chow hotspots. Recently I have been a bit disappointed on the quality of bunny chows in and around Durban. The actual reason I created this blog was because of a bunny that left bad taste in my mouth.

This blog is my only means of letting the whole world know who's hot and who's not in the business. This blog will be based entirely on my opinion and feel free to comment if you feel that I am being biased to a certain establishment.