Krispy Kreme Durban

Well if you didn't know already, Krispy Kreme has hit the East Coast of South Africa! Yes, the doors were officially open to the public this morning at 7am and judging by the mass sleep-out over night, many of the locals couldn't wait to get their hands on the sugary goodness! I was lucky enough to attend the VIP opening on Monday night where members of the media and local celebs got to experience not only the delicious selection of donuts and drinks but also go behind the scenes to see how the donuts are made!

With much fanfare, the VIP opening was all that it was hyped up to be, with local artists consisting of Kyle Deutsch, DJ Deemo and Sketchy Bongo wowing the crowds with their chart topping hits and the Fudart food truck providing mouth watering burgers to whet the appetites of the guests before the opening of the store. Guests were then led in by limited numbers so they could get the full Krispy Kreme experience. Servers greeted us with big smiles and asked us to select any 12 donuts of our choice to fill up the dozen box, the selection is phenomenal! From the original glazed to the gourmet, of which the New York Cheesecake was my favourite, everything was packed and fresh! Along with our box of 12, each guest received a dozen of original glaze to go along with it. 

Next up was choosing our beverage of choice, Krispy Kreme is renowned for their great coffee's which compliment their donuts oh so well but being Durban, I needed something to cool me down from the humidity. They have a great range of chilled drinks too, I opted for the Peanut butter & cookie milkshake which was incredible! We were then given a guided tour of the kitchen, which started off with the making of the dough for the great donuts, it then gets put into the giant donut making machine, called the 270, which can make 3274 donuts in an hour on full production! The dough makes it way through the cutters which cut and shape it, it then goes through the proving conveyor and then dropped into the hot oil river, flipped over to ensure even frying and then almost immediately gets galzed to seal in that freshness and great flavour. It is essentially ready to eat right then but they pass through a cooler which cools them down for further prep. 

For the gourmet donuts, they then get taken to different stations for the various toppings. I tried my hand and making a few and I have to say, it's a skillful art that needs lots of patience and lots of practice to perfect! Working with the delicate donuts is no easy feat as I learned the hard way with my first failed attempt but eventually I sort of got the hang of it and got a thumbs up from Kwanele my helpful supervisor. All in all it was a great experience and a fantastic way to summon the opening of a great global franchise on our door steps. I can foresee myself going back again and again for more Krispy Kremey goodness, and if you're in the Umhlanga area, be on the look out for the "Hot Now" red sign, which this is switched on, it means there is fresh donuts in production!

Pictures by Al Nicoll photography

Bucket Scene: Republik

When it comes to guys, there's just two B's you need to keep them happy, Beer and Burgers, well there is one other B but for the sake of keeping things clean I won't mention it. Now you take those two things and enhance it, you get Craft Beer and Gourmet Burgers, open up a place that serves just that and you're onto something special. I'm not sure if that was the thinking behind opening the place but I'd like to think Matt Richardson and Tayne Draper had something similar in mind when they decided to create Republik. 

Their motto is "For The People", their aim is to encourage everyone around to eat responsibly and act responsibly by going back to our roots through means of handcrafted, great tasting, high-quality, natural and free-range produce, while striving to act in a a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable manner. It's a mouthful, I know but so is their burgers! Seriously though, we live in an age where people accept the most unnatural, over processed, food as suitable for consumption and by eating these things on a daily basis, we're only doing more harm to ourselves so it's great to see a place that doesn't stand for that ish. 

I've visited the guys down at Durban North a few times since they opened and never once left disappointed, the staff are friendly and ever willing to help with your choice of burger and they add that family type value to the place, a quick example would be Matt remembering myself and my friends after visiting them for the first time 3 weeks prior, knowing what we ordered and what we preferred. You don't find that genuine client service in a hurry and that was one of the things that blew me away with Republik. 

Enough jibba jabba and onto the main part, the food and drink! They have a wide selection of Craft Beer, mostly local and they have a number of them on tap. In fact they have so many, they even have a separate menu for it! All the local favourites can be found including Darling Brew, Union Brewers and Jack Black. The nice thing about the menu is that it gives you a brief description of each beer so you know exactly what you're ordering as many other places that serve craft just have in the fridge for you to choose. 

The food, I love my meat and since I do not eat beef do to religious purposes, I more than often find myself eating chicken most of the time but I was glad to see Republik do offer a lamb patty option that comes in at an extra price but for me, if its good quality lamb, no price is too much. They also have an ostrich option, if you prefer the big lean bird. The menu is pretty straight forward, you choose your base, you choose your patty and then your toppings. If you're on Tim Noakes, your base can be a no bun base, if you don't want a roll but still don't want just a patty you could go for the hipster option which has portobello mushrooms substituted for the buns. Sides include, shoe string fries, zucchini fries or sweet potato crisps. All of which are served with a honey mustard dipping sauce which is the bomb. 

If you want something different, you could always try their specials of the week which includes a choice of 3, their beef burger, lamb burger or chicken burger. I found myself going for these on all 3 occasions that I have visited for dinner and every time I have been pleasantly surprised. They keep to their word with only the best and freshest produce and no matter what their chef concocts in his kitchen, it always tastes damn good but by far my favourite has to be their "Chips, Cheese and Mutton gravy Lamb Burger Special". Inspired by a Durban favourite, Johnnies Roti, this burger had everything in it that made it local and true to Durban. I have no idea where they got the mutton gravy from but it was authentic curry and work so well with the cheddar cheese and thin, crisp potato fries. Whats also great is that you can pick this burger up with two hands and eat it, many of these other gourmet burger place tend to put so much on the burger, that it becomes a mission just to eat it.

If you're looking for something other than burgers, they do sell salads and rolls, with your choice of toppings. Also other than beer, they also make some damn fine coffees, yes they have a menu for that too! Explaining the various variants. The other day I found myself there to meet a friend for coffee. I ordered the Cotardo which is fairly new on the Durban coffee scene but a great inbetweener from your espresso or cappuccino, now you're going to want something sweet to go with your coffee, thankfully they stock a selection of donut delightness from Wicked Donuts. 

Over the place is another winner in my books and a must visit. While their food range might not be extensive, they concentrate well on the ones they have and make your experience worth while every time. I don't have to say I'll be visiting them often because I already have!

Address: Unit 8 Broadway

               Durban North

               Corner of Adelaide Tambo and Broadway

Twitter: @republikdbn

Instagram: RepublikDBN

Facebook: Republik

Website: www.republik.co.za

Bucket Scene: The Dutch

When I first got an invite to the official opening of the Dutch in Umhlanga Village, my initial thoughts were "not another bar!" but knowing that it was the brain child and owned by the same folk from the popular Remo's franchise, I decided to keep my views to myself until I checked the place out. I frequent Remo's on my trips to the village and they're always busy, great food, comfortable atmosphere and a general good vibe is what keeps the locals coming back for more but what stands out is that the restaurant attracts a certain class of people and it maintains that standards from their service to the food, which keep the wealthy folk of Rocks pretty happy. I presumed the Dutch would be very similar to that hence I decided to ditch the shorts and t-shirt that is so synonyms to Umhlanga bars and slapped on something classy. 

Upon arrival I was greeted by the lovely hostesses and rather big security guards at the entrance, who then escorted me into the bar area. The venue itself takes you back to a classic Italian style mafia hang out, with dark colours, low lighting, expensive paintings and extravagant ornaments. The bar is the centre of attraction and their range of spirits and beers is nothing short of what one would expect in a classy establishment like this, in fact, besides high priced whiskies, they even have a bottle of craft beer that fetches R1000! Being opening night, and having an open tab for the first hour, things were rather chaotic but the barmen have been trained well and managed to get the drinks orders on time despite the large numbers. 

As large as their whisky collection is, I opted to try some of their cocktails. There's a few of the old favourites with a bit of a spin to them and they have some of their own mixes that are sure to suit many taste buds. I was a bit disappointed with some of the sizes of the cocktails but after sipping them I realised they pack quite a punch so it was probably a good thing they kept the size at a minimum!

Crispy tempura prawn with dipping sauce

Drink in hand, I was then greeted by one of the managers who invited me to try some of the food selection off their menu. With the restaurant being next door, the menu at the Dutch is more designed on a tapas style with light finger foods on offer, like croquette's ranging from chicken or butternut and ricotta, sushi, sashimi, tempura prawns (my personal favourite) and there's even dessert! They make mini donut balls filled with nutella that would bring any girl to their knees!

Chicken croquette's

Now if you think of an Italian Mafia bar hang out, there's always a stage with the piano and a hot dame seducing the crowd with her sultry vocals. The Dutch has that stage but instead of the hot dame, they have some of the hottest local talent performing on a weekly basis and as we head into the holiday season they have acts on almost every evening. From Ard Matthews, to Arno Carstens, the Black Lapels and many more! Be sure to check their Facebook page and instagram account to keep up with the latest happenings and make also tickets are available for purchase in advance so you avoid dissapointment.

Nutella filled donuts

Overall I was well impressed with the place, Umhlanga has many a bar but they lacked something like this, a well groomed establishment,(if I may say that). Something that brings sophistication and class to the much rowdiness of the area. A place for you to enjoy a quiet drink while listening to the live entertainment on offer. As I said, they try to keep the standards going in this place so make sure you're dressed to part, no slops, boardies and vests boets, there's always other places for that. I can see this place becoming a firm favourite with the locals and definite must visit if you're new to the area, come and experience #Dutchism

Ard Matthews performing on stage

Website: www.thedutch.co.za

Facebook: Dutchism

Instagram: @the.dutch