Peli Peli

[Durbs 2]

This past Saturday my wife and I dined at Peli Peli's Restaurant in Vintage Park, what a breath of fresh air compared to our experience at the 'Out of Africa' restaurant. Peli Peli is a somewhat South African American fusion cuisine. The restaurant was clean and airy, the walls painted in shades of burgundy. Guests are invited to dine under a 30-foot tall, one-of-a-kind Acacia Tree and illuminated sky while enjoying live jazz, avant-garde architecture and a spacious dining area. The restaurant seemed to operate smoothly for there opening week, the only glitch I noticed was a plate of food brought to the wrong table.

 

A form of getting a good indication of a restaurant in my opium is by the standard of the bathroom, here I must say there bathroom was fantastic, not your normal type of hand basin but more contemporized with the water running off a glass board into a glass bowl. Brick work on the lower portion of the walls with a painting that represented shades of zebra skin. I did not sample the woman’s bathroom but my wife was taken back by the woman’s toilet.

 

I was really looking forward to having Kingklip, but was disappointed when I noticed it was not on the menu, I asked the server to check with the kitchen on its availability, unfortunately there was none available. As Kingklip is a sea barble caught in very deep waters where the sunlight does not reach hence the pink color skin on a Kingklip, I was happy that they did not disguise it with Catfish but only serve it when available.

 

APPETIZER;

We ordered a bowl of biltong and chicken sosaties, the biltong was made from beef with a fair amount of fat in it, fat is flavor, although made from beef it had a wonderful flavor, my wife enjoyed them so much that she had a second bowl for her entree. The chicken sosatie was tender and literally melted in ones mouth. I was impressed that the sosaties came with fresh butter lettuce served whole where one can use them as a lettuce wrap with the chicken if desired.

 

ENTREE';

For my entree I went for the signature flame pepper half chicken. I know chicken as an appetizer and chicken for my main course is against my principles but I wanted to try the signature dish as there will be many more visits to try other courses. Once again the chicken melted in your mouth and the couscous extravaganza and mango coleslaw complemented the dish.

 

I was surprised to note that there were a large number of American people dinning at the restaurant which is a good sign, Americans are bland eaters and don't tend to try different foods. So if you can get them to eat at your restaurant it bodes well for the future. There were two groups in that evening celebrating birthdays and a group in the private room. The area where the band plays (two guys on acoustic guitars) is kind of hidden although at the entrance but the finger work and picking of the one guitarist was amazing. I guess this is not to bad an idea as I would have focused my attention on the guitar player and got myself into hot water with the wife.

 

All in all a good experience and looking forward to another meal at Peli Peli in the near future.

Peli Peli

[Utah 0]

Sounds great.

[Korky 0]

Good Report back :ilikeit:

 

 

You really need to have it published in the local news paper

 

 

Glad to hear you both enjoyed it :ilikeit:

 

Were the portions excessive or just right (suppose that depends how hungry you are) did you have sweets? (or would that have spoilt the spicy flavour?)

 

were the servings well presented?

 

Sorry so many questions

Edited April 21, 2009 by Korky

[Spokie 1]

Looks great!

Will have to go there, if we're ever in the area :ilikeit:

 

Their prices looks reasonable...

I have the same questions as Korky.

[Polfyntjie 0]

To add a question: Maybe they'll be willing to sponsor pure bred SA help ?? Just asking?!

 

(Just to be on the same continent as my dd!!!)

Edited April 21, 2009 by Polfyntjie

[Durbs 2]

Were the portions excessive or just right (suppose that depends how hungry you are) did you have sweets? (or would that have spoilt the spicy flavour?) The portions were just right (for me that is) I don't like huge servings allah American style but prefer small good quality portions. No we did not have any desert as we were comfortable after the Entree's although I had my eyes on the African Mud Hut desert.

 

were the servings well presented? Persentation was good

 

Sorry so many questions

 

[Slaptjips 1]

My hubs and I took friends to Peli Peli last night and on a scale of one to ten we would rate the restaurant an ELEVEN. The staff went above and beyond any restaurant - American or South African - that we have experienced in a long time. The food was exquisite, the service incredible and we will certainly be going back again, and again, and again. Our friends thought the biltong Caesar salad was delicious and they loved their entrees: peri peri chicken and prawns. I had lamb chops (DELISH!) and my hubs had fillet mignon on a deep fried bun. Desert was amazing - hubs and I shared fruit-filled crepes.

 

The highlight of the evening was meeting the owner, Chef Paul. His attention to us as guests was incredible. He was one of the original founders of the former Mike's Kitchen in SA. He moved to Houston in the late 70's. Mike's Kitchen was absolutely bland by contrast to our dining experience last night. Chef Paul was at our table several times and explained the SA touch to his menu to our friends and my hubs. After dinner he brought a sample of his incredibly yummy peri-peri chicken livers and his SA version of Louisiana gumbo. Both were to die for.

 

And finally his table side Irish coffee table side service brought back so many memories and almost tears. You have to admit, nothing beats a good SA Irish coffee! Our friends and my hubs had never had one before and loved the layer of cream on top!

 

I would strongly encourage other South Africans in the Houston area to visit the restaurant and those who visit the city, make sure you pop in. We left just after midnight and it was absolutely worth the $318 bill!!!

 

Thanks for telling us about the restaurant Durbs!

[Durbs 2]

Glad you enjoyed the experience Slaptjips, my mum flies in next week on Mother's day and we are planning on taking her to Peli Peli that evening. Looking forward to our second visite and trying something different on the menu. Friends from work who live out this way (She's American and he's British with SA ties) went there twice in one week they just loved the place.