Beluga for days

Recently a few mates and I were craving some Sushi, and so one bright spark recommended Beluga (Umhlanga) for some great Sushi and Dim Sum. I had never been before, and the idea of finding good tasting Dim Sum in Durban, was a new one to me. Anyway we were hungry (as always) and decided to get some grub.

Upon arrival we were invited inside the restaurant by some breezy hostesses, we were taken to an elegantly dressed table and soon after our waiter was ready to serve us, but not before offering up some complimentary bread.

We started out with cocktails which were of course half-price. I say "of course", because Beluga's trademark is being know for offering half priced Sushi, Dim Sum and cocktails almost all week long.

Following a squizz through the vast array of choices on the menu, we decided on the Roasted Butternut, Feta and Onion Pot Sticker. We requested that the Dim Sum skip the pan frying phase, as we just wanted it steamed. Or waited obliged and delivered what we asked for. An order of Spinach and Cream Cheese Har Gau was also on the table. We furthered that with some Deep Fried Wontons, however when we got the Wontons we found that our waiter got the order wrong. No problemo, he was nice enough to correct his mistake and quickly offered us the incorrect Wontons to taste on the house.

Next up was the sushi, we opted for 8 pieces of the Salmon California Rolls along with 1 Vegetarian Handroll as well as 2 pieces of the Bean Curd Nigiri. It tasted great and all the ingredients were of the highest quality and most importantly fresh! The presentation of the plates were fantastic and the vibe of Beluga provided a great ambiance for a lunch date with good friends.

I won't hesitate going back to try a main dish or two, along with one of the delicate sounding desserts.

A culmination of a good convenient location, good team, efficient service and most of all AMAZING food is totally worth a trip to Beluga. I'm glad I don't have to go back to China to find me some good Dim Sum, cos that is one delicacy that is tough to get right, but Beluga has it down!

The restaurant chain runs an awesome website, where you can check out their menu, and locate a restaurant closest to you. You can find the site here.

For now Beluga Gateway has my heart and it provides the perfect spot for a catch up lunch with the buddies, date night or even some wholesome family dining.

Royal Riot 2014

Another long weekend has just passed by, as us Saffa's celebrated 20 years of freedom. It was a joyous occasion and the sense atmosphere was heightened by the upcoming South African election taking place on May 7th next week. I managed to fit in some celebrating as well, by heading over too 'Royal Riot' an annual event hosted at the Pavilion Shopping Center. Organizers appeared to have high hopes in upping the previous 2013 event and the large crowd of people proved that this time around, the it was definitely bigger and better. Party-goers danced the night away to great music and were treated to headliners Neelix and Matty Lincoln along with a bunch of other great DJ's.

Pre-sold tickets for the 14 hour event were going for R80.00 through Computicket. If you headed over and decided to purchase a ticket at the venue, one would have had to fork out R130.00. All in all good people, music and friends resulted in it being a great night out. The only downside to Royal Riot was the bar inside the venue ran out of  glasses way too early into the night. Hopefully that wont happen at the next one.

If you are ever around when the next Royal Riot swings by again, be sure to get yourself a ticket and enjoy the dance fest.

To keep up to date on The Pavilion's latest events and happenings just click here.

Photo op! 

*Photo Cred: Shanil Dayal

Hello Durban, Hello Burger King

So it's been over a month already since I have been back on SA soil. It's different this time around. The last time I visited it was all fun and frolic along with 2 weeks of utter mayhem. That's because the pretense of my stay was for vacation purposes only.

At the back of my mind I knew there was a job I had to back to in South Korea, a house that needed to be tended to as well as an expat life that needed to be lived. This time however it's a completely different experience. And I can all too easily be swallowed up by these chilled Durban vibes. It's awesome being back (on someday), but it is definitely taking some adjusting.

Well moving swiftly on, the Easter weekend passed us by recently which provided a great four day break for the working folk, whom got to go out, stay in, relax or just chill with their mates. I myself got to do a bit of exploring and found that my return could not have been more perfectly timed as it coincided perfectly with the launch of the Pavilion's food court, which brought with it the "whoppingly" amazing Burger King. Old favorites have also returned such as Spur, Cafe Gitano as well as Mimmos along with several others. Durbanites however, were treated to the first ever Burger King in Durban on the cinema level of the mall. Excitement fulled the air and so did the scent of fast food. People lined up hoping to get their hands on some of the deliciousness going around. So like the rest of the herd, mom and I followed suit and waited in like for no more than 15 minutes. The service was great and the food even better. I had tasted my first Burger King whilst in Tokyo, and biting the bun here sure brought back some epic memories. All in all a trip to the Pavilion nowadays will sure be a pleasant one for many.

Fellow Burger King lovers queuing up

The new look New Metro cinema

Why not head on over and check it out sometime. For newbies or if you're travelling through Durban for a bit and have never been to The Pavilion here's where it is:

Jack Martens Drive 
Sub 9 Lot 2369 
Westville
3611 
The Pavilion trades from 9am to 7pm daily.

For further information you can visit The Pavilion website here.

I hope you will love Pav as much as I do ^_^