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A Braai Master and a Secret Sauce
Tikka chicken, mixed grill and boerewors braai in Bo Kaap
You’re sitting outside, but feel like you’re inside, all while eating a delicious braai and admiring a breathtaking view. That’s what you’ll experience when you grab a bite at the Bo-Kaap Braai Chicken Tikka.
This Bo-Kaap institution has been serving braai specialities on weekends for 20 years, and what sets them apart from any other venue like them is the experience of being there, and the quality of the food.
Image by: The WorksBrothers
THE SETTING
The Bo-Kaap Braai is a fast-food dive set-up on a field on the corner of Pentz street. The food is made inside a multi-coloured shack, which fits in perfectly with the brightly coloured homes around it. You, however, sit outside.
That’s not a bad thing though: trees intertwine overhead creating a natural roof, your seating options are four handmade tables and benches, roughly assembled and dotted randomly around the shack. Lighting is provided by the sun (or moon and streetlights if you come at night), the Bo-Kaap atmosphere is buzzing, and there’s the city skyline on one side and Table Mountain sloping up on the other.
It’s as rustic as Cape Town gets, and the experience is only made better by your company and the food you’re having.
MIXED GRILLS
They say you eat with your eyes first, but when the smell of the Bo-Kaap Braai’s just-braaied meat hits your nose, you won’t care what it looks like. From spicy tikka chicken to mixed grill and even boerewors rolls, lamb chops, T-bone and ribs – everything is succulent and braaied with the skill of a braai master more than 20 years in the game.
The lamb chops melt in your mouth and the ribs slide off the bone plus your side of chips is crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and just enough to make your meal filling. You have a choice of sauces too: from tomato to barbecue and one secret sauce that’s a family heirloom.
ABOUT THAT SAUCE...
While tikka chicken is in the name, the real speciality at the Bo-Kaap Braai is the Portuguese sauce. Created by founder Abduragmaan Faias, the sweet and spicy sauce has become the takeaway’s most popular staple. The sauce is a family secret, and Faias has handed the recipe down to his son Zahier, along with the business, which he now runs with his wife. Zahier has expanded the business to doing events like weddings, birthdays and community functions.
WHERE IS IT?
The Bo-Kaap Braai Chicken Tikka is situated on a field opposite 21 Pentz Street in Bo Kaap.
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