Showing posts with label Madam Zingara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Madam Zingara. Show all posts

7 Feb 2013

A night with Madam Zingara



Madam Zingara has been on my Bucket list for as long as I can remember and we've finally ticked it off.

For those of you who don't know Madam Zingara's Theater of Dreams is a travelling dinner circus, not the kind with elephants and poodles. The kind where beautiful girls with glitter and feathers do amazing acrobatics from the top of the circus tent while you enjoy your delicious 4 course meal. It takes place in the only Spiegel tent in Africa and is propped up by 1000 beveled mirrors.

We arrived a little earlier to enjoy the atmosphere and take in as much as we possible could. The entrance itself is a feast for your eyes with so many different things happening around you, from the Geisha on a podium to the floating top hats at the bar.
Once you enter through the door you find a fancy dress shop so you can make yourself feel at home as well as face painters do the most exquisite art works.



Fancy dress shop
Face painting
                                     
Welcome drinks are passed around and you're ushered to your seat (we were lucky enough to get an upgrade so we were even closer to the action). Before the show started we were served a wonderful mezze platter with a wonderful spinach and pear soup as well as cheeses,roasted nuts, bread sticks and a variety of dips.


Delicious Mezze plater to start the evening


The lights dim and the magic starts. A giant chandelier is lowered from the top of the tent and two women climb on and are lifted to the ceiling where they start the most spectacular acrobatics - no safety nets or strings attached. It's hard to take your eyes off them as they dangle above the audience.

The show is stolen by Cathy Specific, Queen of the Skies. She has a body to die for and quick wit to match, she had us laughing every time she was on stage. Cathy Specific is originally part of the musical comedy Mile High with Cathy Specific. What an awesome performer...she's have you eating out of the palms of her very large hands.







After the first half of the show dinner is served. What a menu, they've really made a huge job out of choosing what you want as a main. After our waiter Sheroo had gone through the list it was a no brainer to choose the Madam Zingara specialty of Chocolate Chilli Fillet with a magnificent tower of vermicelli which was equally spectacular on the taste buds as the show was on the eyes. (This awesome dish can also be found at the Bombay Bicycle Club if you can't get tickets for the show)


The rest of the show was one jaw dropping performance after the next with Russian balancing acts and contortionists to mention a few. Madam Zingara definitely brings a slice of magic to Cape Town and the Theater of Dreams will be at the V & A Waterfront until June. Tickets range from R385 - R475/R495 depending on where you are seated but seating is staggered so you are able to see from anywhere. Booking online seems to be the simplest way to book.























16 Jan 2013

This is not the Post Office


Because I’ll literally jumping out my skin I’m so excited to go to Madam Zingara Theater of Dreams this month (you just have to check out this website) I thought I’d do a bit of a prelude and share our adventure to This is not the Post Office.



A while back we went through to Cape Town on a complete different adventure which landed up not happening so we took the opportunity to do a little exploring and ventured up Kloof Street. The main reason was to find the Bombay Bicycle club (this strangely enough is also part of Madam Zingaras group) which I'd heard about a few times and was rather curious. It's hard to miss with their massive Jollywood sign on the roof and the car balancing next to it. When we got there they told us their kitchen wasn’t open yet –really disappointing because the menu looked delicious. In hind-sight it was probably a good thing ,because the décor is so crazy I don’t know if I would have been able to keep my eyes on my plate. One of the tables even has swings suspended from the ceiling instead of chairs. The theme seems to change like Cape Towns weather so there's always something new happening.



After we left the Bicycle club we wondered down the road to the giant post box we saw on the way up to investigate further. This is not the Post office is one of the most exciting places you’ll ever stumble upon. I can only describe it as an Alice in Wonderland meets Nania meets Harry Potters under the staircase  room meets some wonderful magical carpet ride. It’s a hoarders dream with nik-naks and sparkly things from floor to ceiling and like Mary Poppins carpet bag it just keeps on going the more you look around.


This is not the Post Office is open mondays to fridays from 10:30 till 6pm 
Saturdays from 10:30 till 5 and sundays from 11 till 4pm
you can find it at the top of Kloof street (number 114)
or you can phone them on 021 423 7817 if you get lost