Budget Breakfast Review - Porter Estate Produce Market

I am not a big fan of fresh produce markets...or flea markets...or anything that involves stalls and a lot of people. Needless to say I was not very keen on going to the Porter Estate Market in the Tokai forest either, but when my wife told me that they have very nice breakfasts she convinced me to go check it out. The markets basically provides the same goods that you would find in any market, and I wasn't really impressed with the bread, vegetables and the other things that you could find everywhere else. There were however some things that caught my attention, like the homemade ginger beer and the fresh fruit ice cream smoothies. And then  of course the breakfast stall. Like a typical stall you would find in a setting like this, it was rather "rugged", and I was thinking that the way it was going to be served would be in the same fashion. I was totally correct. However, the smell of the bacon on the open fire was good enough to make you want to eat it with your hands, so the polystyrene plates and wooden utensils didn't put me off at all. Eating everything with your hands under a Yellowwood tree just added to the experience.



Classic Bacon and Eggs

For R10 extra

The cheapie was the "Classic Bacon and Eggs" served on a fresh bread roll for R30. If a you add a few slices of tomato, lettuce and Hollandaise sauce for R10 extra, you get quite a nice looking meal compared to the "Classic". This is however a bit far above my allowance for a "budget breakfast", but I am realizing more and more that finding a breakfast for under R25 is getting difficult. What I liked about the bacon was that it was fried over an open coal fire, and this gives it a very nice taste compared to oven-fried and even pan-fried bacon. And being a fresh produce market where all the greenies are hanging out, the eggs are obviously free-range as well. For R10 you get cold home made ginger beer from a stall not far from the "brekkie" stall. This really went down well and I think I supported the ginger beer stall quite well in the end.



Ginger Beer, R10 a bottle



The Breakfast stall

For the people who are interested in fresh produce markets, more than in breakfasts, you should really try this one. Apparently it is open on Saturdays until 1pm. It is a bit far for me to drive there from where I live, but I am sure you can get your week's groceries there and make the outing an enjoyable one at the same time. There is even facilities for kids to play on while you do your shopping. I don't think I will go back soon, but if I do I will definitely have another breakfast and ginger beer. It is a nice place, but seeing that Carlucci's has set the standard for Cape Town, it has to get an 8.

Porter Estate Produce Market: 8
BICCCS: 4
BigBlu: 10
Farmyard Farmstall: 6
Chaplans: 8
Mugg & Bean: 7
Wimpy: 7
Carlucci's: 9