Budget Breakfast Review - Farmyard Farmstall

I ventured a bit further north this morning hoping to find a good budget breakfast in Melkbosstrand. I arrived in Melkbos just after 8am and realized that every single restaurant was still closed. I guess this little town just north of Bloubergstrand don't have many early birders. It is one thing I cannot understand from many restaurants. Why do they serve breakfast but only open at 9? I usually get up early and I am sure there are other people too who are morning persons that would like to have an early breakfast before they get on with their day. Anyway, with the lack of restaurants to choose from I went to a restaurant just outside Melkbos called the Farmyard Farmstall. Even they were still closed but they open at 8.30 and it was 8.20, so I decided to stick around.

The place has a very farmyard feel to it. There are chickens walking around and with a name like Farmyard Farmstall you can imagine that they would do everything to give a farm atmosphere. There is only one problem with the location - it's right next to the West Coast Road. So, despite their efforts, the noise from vehicles passing actually makes one a bit uncomfortable after a while. The other thing that irritated me a bit was the flies on my food. I guess this is just seasonal and if you want the farmyard feeling I assume that flies goes with the territory.  Anyway, this was not reason never to go back there.

Bran muffin

Kiddies breakfast

They don't have a budget breakfast. The cheapest breakfast is on the Kiddies Menu and at R29-00 for one egg, a slice of toast, bacon and chips, it is much more than what you would pay for the same amount of food at one of my previous "'cheap" restaurants. OK, you get a small glass of fresh orange juice with it, but it is still not "budget". With no other option I went for the Rooster Breakfast at R48-00. This choice gives you a couple of things you normally won't find in budget breakfasts, but the bran muffin and the orange juice was so small, I would've put that on  the Kiddies Menu. The meal is served on a tin plate, which I have no problem with, but it was cold when I finally started eating. I had to go search for salt and pepper first. The home baked bread is very nice, but the eggs were put on the toast with no butter. I love butter, so I would've liked to have it my preferred way rather.  I just had one bite of the baked beans, I don't like baked beans too much and the 'hash potato" looked more like a scoop of mashed potatoes. But in general the food was not to complain about. For that price I would've expected a bit more though.

This is also a child friendly venue, and there are enough things (jumping caste, jungle gym, animals) to keep the kids busy. So, if you have children and you want to enjoy your breakfast while they chase the chickens or feed the birds, then this is not a bad choice. If it wasn't for the traffic noise, this would've been a very nice setting. And if you are not looking for a cheap breakfast, even better. But, according to my criteria I cannot give this restaurant much more than a 6.

Farmyard Farmstall: 6

Chaplans: 8

Mugg & Bean: 7

Wimpy: 7

Carlucci's: 9

Just because I can

Today is yet another miserable day in Cape Town. For the past couple of days Cape Town has been hit by one cold front after the other. I shouldn't really complain about the rain, we always need rain, but unfortunately I am not a winter person and my mood changes with the weather. Secondly, when it is cold and raining like this, I prefer not to ride with the bike, meaning I get stuck in traffic. Capetonian motorists take a while to adapt to driving in the rain, so they tend to make the traffic experience worse than what it normally is.

Well, yesterday it was different. In between the cold fronts we were blessed with a "no-rain day". I cannot say sunny, because I don't think the sun was actually shining until later the afternoon, but I know for sure that it was not raining. So yesterday I obviously took the bike to work. After work I decided to go for a ride instead of heading straight back home. For no reason, but just because I could. While I was riding towards Melkbostrand I was thinking about appreciation. How much we should appreciate things we have and how little we actually do. We had the nicest longests summer, and after 10 days of rain I start complaining because of the weather. I have a bike that I use most of the times but after taking my car and getting stuck in traffic I start complaining. So my ride yesterday was a just-because-I-can ride, a ride out of appreciation.

On my way towards Melkbos I drove past a couple of guys taking off with their powered paragliders from Dolphin Beach. Maybe I should've stopped to take pictures, but I see them so often, actually know some of the guys, that I just drove by. Further along the beach were all the joggers, even people on rollerblades. This is one thing about South Africans, they cannot get enough of good weather. One gap in a cloudy sky and they are all out there. There were guys surfing next to the Sely 1which is sinking deeper and deeper into the sand. The plan is to refloat her and to sink her somewhere else. I think she should stay, it improves the waves. Further along the coast people were fishing, some just walking on the beach. I was just cruising along enjoying the view and the fact that I could do it. At Melkbos I stopped for a while next to the beach. What a beautiful place. The sun was already low and I knew that taking a picture of the sunset with my mobile phone camera was not going to do it justice. So I just took one in the opposite direction. What a privilege to live here. What a privilege to know that this cold spell is just temporarily. What a privilege to be able to get on your bike and go for a ride just because you can. Maybe we should do more things just-because-we-can and stop complaining about the nitty-gritty stuff....