Local Ladies Recommend the Best of Jozi

Egoli Gals

Text: Keith Bain

Images © Supplied, Lungelo Mbulwana, Dylan Harbour & Keith Bain

In celebration of National Women’s Day on 9^th August, we asked six dynamic Johannesburg women where to see and experience a fraction of what South Africa’s biggest city has to offer.

The Chef: Andrea Burgener

Andrea’s Melville restaurant, The Leopard (leopardfoodcompany.co.za), was voted South Africa’s top bistro in 2013’s annual **Eat Out Awards**. Known for her imaginative and eclectic approach to cooking, she’s also written a cookbook, **Lampedusa Pie** (Macmillan), and another is on the way in 2015.

“How to describe The Leopard? Hmm... noisy, busy, hopefully cosy, ramshackle, and mismatched. Although my cuisine is mixed up, the word fusion gives the wrong idea. I like the term “mongrel food”. Lots of the city’s food is mongrel, and aren’t they the best dogs? I am greatly influenced by the food from the Chinese, Indian and Pakistani, and Portuguese parts of town. I like The Dosa Hut in Fordsburg (+27 11 492 1456) and Shun Dek in Cyrildene (+27 11 615 7168) for dim sum. The best Japanese food is at Japa in Rivonia (japa.co.za).

"When I’m not cooking, I have a family to raise. We live close to Zoo Lake, so rowing on the lake with a picnic on board, and feeding ducks and geese as we go, is a favourite. I also love visiting the tiny rooftop market at Bambooin Melville (bamboo-online.co.za) on Saturday mornings. Below the market, Love Books (lovebooks.co.za) has the city’s most intelligently (and lovingly) curated book selection. Across the road, I buy old crockery at The Odd Plate, and I visit Superellanext-door for genius clothing in a store that’s also the designer’s studio.”   

The Writer: Caroline Wanjiku Kihato

Caroline is a researcher, academic, and freelance writer. Her new book, **Migrant Women of Johannesburg: Life in an In-Between City** (Wits University Press) examines the vital role played by women in the development of African cities like Johannesburg.

“I moved to Joburg from Nairobi in 1994. In many ways they’re similar cities; not in terms of infrastructure, but because of something invisible. I think they’re soul mates. They’re both edgy cities, not necessarily easy to live in, but similar in the way people interact. Johannesburg’s energetic force is its unpredictability. You’re never quite sure what’s going to happen here.

"The centre of the city is an exhilarating place with an incredible density of Art Deco buildings. My favourite is Cornerhouse (77 Commissioner Street), a gorgeous example of old school glamour in the heart of ‘new Joburg’. There’s a history of wealth and modernity here, yet there are also signs of a very different sort of life. The street traders, for example, and the ways in which people make sense of the streets in ways that aren’t modern at all. There’s always something that disrupts your ideas about what a city should be. I like that kind of unpredictability. That exhilaration.

"I like to visit Maboneng (mabonengprecinct.com), where I can satisfy my love of Ethiopian food and coffee at Little Addis Café (+27 82 683 8675). There’s also the Ethiopian Quarterdowntown on Jeppe Street, with several places to eat. There’s a Mozambican-Portuguese spot in Rosettenville, Parreirinha (+27 11 435 3809), that’s been around for almost 40 years. It’s in an old police station and they serve the best seafood in town.

"For a treat, I head downtown and get my hair done by one of the ladies on the street. When you visit the city, and you see these women hairstylists, sit down and ask one of them to do yours, whether you have a wash or want braiding. It doesn’t matter what kind of hair you have, do it! Doing someone’s hair is very intimate. We end up talking about relationships, love, boyfriends, husbands. It’s weird, because I have very few of these conversations elsewhere, even with my friends. So you’re in a very public space having an intimate conversation with a total stranger, and that’s exhilarating.”

The CEO: Annabell Lebethe

Annabell is CEO of the iconic Market Theatre(markettheatre.co.za), situated in the Newtown Cultural Precinct.

“You walk into this space and you get the sense of time and history. I love it because you see

South Africans in all their shapes and sizes, colours and hues, and many great performers from TV, stage, and film. Right now [until 17^thAugust], we have Athol Fugard performing in his play, **The Shadow of the Hummingbird**.

"We’re next door to MuseuMAfricA (+27 11 833 5624), where there’s currently a fabulous exhibition entitled **Rise and Fall of Apartheid** (riseandfallofapartheid.org), which runs until 2015. If you walk across Mary Fitzgerald Square, there’s the Worker’s Museum (+27 11 832 2447), and further south there are all sorts of niche cultural spaces: Moving Into Dance (midance.co.za), which offers open dance classes; the Bus Factory (+27 11 492 3696), which is now an art gallery; and the Market Photo Workshop Gallery (marketphotoworkshop.co.za), where photography is taught and exhibited; as well as the Bassline(bassline.co.za), a live music venue for younger crowds.

"I also love the Wits Art Museum (wits.ac.za/wam) in Braamfontein which was converted from a university parking garage to become a gallery for its prestigious collection. There’s also an excellent restaurant in there. For pre-show drinks, or a meal, we have the Market Bar & Bistro (+27 11 022 5708); or there’s Sophiatown (sophiatown.co.za) on the Square. In the city centre, I love Anka’s Kitchen in Marshalltown (+27 11 492 1440). She does traditional African food, like **mogodu** (tripe) and curries and stews served with pap, samp, and rice. At 44 Stanley in Milpark, Vovo Telo (vovotelo.co.za) serves lovely fresh-baked bread, and I love Koi (+27 11 447 2440) in Rosebank for delicious Asian food.”

The Hotelier: Hannia Weber

Hannia is the creator and owner of ilali House (ilali.co.za), an intimate guesthouse in Parkwood with individually designed bedrooms and suites, filled with great South African art.

“ilali is near several Jo’burg art galleries. Within walking distance is the excellent Goodman Gallery(goodman-gallery.com), where the exhibitions always make me feel

poor and inadequate. It’s worth popping into David Krut Projects (davidkrutprojects.com), a working studio with small-scale exhibitions which also has a branch at Arts on Main in Maboneng. Further along Jan Smuts is South Africa’s oldest commercial gallery, Everard Read(everard-read.co.za), a repository of important artworks for over a century – I’m forever finding another room that I’d forgotten about, so I can visit again and again. Across the road is the gallery’s newer sibling, Circa (circagallery.co.za), which is something of an architectural showpiece, with fascinating exhibitions.

"One of the city’s must-sees is Constitution Hill (constitutionhill.org.za). This includes the Constitutional Court(constitutionalcourt.org.za), which has a collection of artworks and a free ‘Art and Justice Tour’ on the last Thursday of every month. Another special spot is the Nelson Mandela Bridge. My heart skips a beat every time I cross it.

"Some days at lunchtime I only have one thing on my mind and that’s Shayona in Mayfair (shayona.co.za), and then I simply **have** to drive out there. It’s a vegetarian restaurant with a take-away section where you can choose from the pots of curry and dahl. Their coconut, coriander and chilli balls are superb.

"When I really need a steak, I go to The Local Grill (local-grill.co.za), and another favourite is Stelle in Parkview (stellerestaurant.co.za) – their artichoke ravioli is to die for.”

The Jazz Sensation: Melanie Scholtz

Melanie (melaniescholtz.com) is among South Africa’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists, with five albums under her belt and an extensive international touring schedule.

“I only recently moved to Johannesburg, but I have always loved its energy. I don’t know the city well enough to dish out advice on where to eat and drink, but one spot that resonates with me is The Orbit in Braamfontein (theorbit.co.za). It’s a jazz bar and bistro, where I am already a regular. It’s great after rehearsals – watching great musicians perform gets my creative juices flowing. I first performed at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz(joyofjazz.co.za) in 2010. It’s a great music event where there’s less chance of running into the “jazz police”, as it’s more about getting the music to the people than delivering jazz only in its purist form. At this year’s festival (25^th – 27^thSeptember, Sandton Convention Centre) I’ll be performing in **Jazz Divas** with Sibongile Khumalo, Tutu Puoane, and Gloria Bosman.”

The Tour Guide: Jo Buitendach

Jo is an archaeologist and founder of Past Experiences (pastexperiences.co.za), a company specialising in walking tours of inner-city Johannesburg and Soweto.

“Our tours primarily explore inner-city life, with a major focus on art. Our graffiti tours are

particularly exciting and happen in collaboration with some of Jozi’s most respected street artists. Our tours are all on foot or using public transport; the idea is to meet locals and see how ordinary people live. In the city, the Johannesburg Art Gallery is fantastic. It has a huge art collection, spanning old and new, and includes my favourite Joburg artist, Mary Sibande. To buy art, there’s the Artist Proof Studio (artistproofstudio.co.za) in Newtown, a printing workshop with lots of young printers and artists. On Saturdays, there’s the very vibey Neighbourgoods Market (neighbourgoodsmarket.co.za) in Braamfontein.

"For a more underground atmosphere, I like the Fordsburg Night Market. It’s an Eastern market and goes till late on Saturdays with lots of delicious Pakistani street food. One stall does incredible bean bunny chows and they sell freshly squeezed sugarcane juice. I also get my hair done and have my eyebrows threaded in Fordsburg – I go to The Rose Beauty Salon on Crown Road. They do a head massage and paint **mendi** on your hands. It’s a pamper session in a different cultural context

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