I have spoken in the past about how the different between excellent service and poor service is often revealed when service goes wrong. Well, here is another example.

Recently our favourite Indian restaurant Gaylords in Muizenberg mysteriously closed. This greatly disappointed both Lois and myself, because it was the only restaurant that served a HOT curry when we wanted a HOT curry. So, we have been on the prowl for a replacement.
Last night, we tried a fairly new restaurant called Bihari in Westlake.

I ordered a butter chicken, and Lois had a potatoe curry. She ordered hers “Indian Hot”, and I thought that I would just have mine hot. We had to send both back because they were not hot enough. Shortly both meals were returned, but only slightly warmer (they had filled my half-empty bowl to the brim). “Oh well”, I thought, “it is not at all hot but very tasty, so no problem.” Besides, butter chicken is not really a hot dish.

After the meal, I mentioned to the waiter that I would have preferred it much hotter, but not to worry since I had really enjoyed my meal, but please make it hotter next time. Well, not five minutes later the head waiter was at the table apologizing, and he offered to arrange a really hot curry for me to take home as an apology. “Sure – lunch tomorrow”. I did start to get a bit nervous when they told me that it would take a few minutes, and they were “just grinding the chillis”.

About ten minutes later the meal arrived, all ready packed to take home, and they brought a little extra sauce for me in a bowl to taste. Well, it was blisteringly hot! I am not sure that I have had a hotter curry in a restaurant. So they can make a hot curry. I decided to throw it into the freezer and keep for supper one evening next week.

But the point of the story is that even though something had gone wrong, and even though I was not particularity concerned about what went wrong, the restaurant (under their own initiative) felt compelled to make it right. No questions, and no fuss!

Will we be back – of course – two orchids!

Contact details etc are here.

Hi all-

I have just been looking at the South African top sites website, and I see that my blog is at number 34 on their blog stats! That’s correct – according to them, Notes from the Cape is currently the 34′th top read blog in South Africa!

So it seems that I do have a few readers overall. It is also at number 150 in the overall charts. I think it is fantastic, so thank you to everybody who is reading my blog.  Now, imagine if we can get it all the way to the top! You can check out my ranking by clicking on the above link.

While you are on my site, please vote for my site by clicking on the image on the top right for the SA blog awards.

Thanks!

So many of my friends have complained about fried computers, hi-fi’s and modems caused by the recent power failures in South Africa. Well, it appears that we aren’t the only people complaining. This is from a post on  Lisa Braithwaite’s website – she is a public speaking coach in the USA.

"Tragedy of tragedies – my modem got fried in a power outage Saturday and I’m without e-mail or Internet until the new modem arrives. Could be Monday, could be WEDNESDAY. Grrr."

So, it’s not just us!

My brother in law James was recently appointed as one of thirteen brand ambassador (4 in the Western Cape) for Hip to be Square – a Shuttleworth Foundation offshoot that focuses on getting school children excited about maths and science.

So, there is an article and photo about him and the organisation in Yesterday’s Sunday Argus. Here is the arcticle.

Well done James!

I have just finished learning a piece of music by one of my favourite composers, John Cage. The piece is called 4′33". I did find it a bit difficult to learn, so I have taken the liberty of editing it to just 33 seconds.

It was first performed in 1952 in New York. I made a live recording of my performance for your enjoyment!

More details about John Cage can be found here.

This is the poster for a show that was on when we were in Las Vegas last year. Zumanity is one of the Cirque de Soleil productions. According to the official website, it is

"a seductive twist on reality…leave all inhibitions at the door and let loose as this adult-themed production takes you on a sexy thrill ride…part burlesque and part cabaret"

Sound familiar?

It was on at the New York New York hotel. I never got to see it, but it looks really interesting!

So, do you live in Reality, or Zumanity?

You can listen to a double live Pink Floyd album on the way to work!

So, I have been walking 2-3km most days for the last couple of weeks. It is really helping my back to recover. But I think that you should all follow my example and go walking. Here’s why:

1. Loose weight
2. Get Fit
3. Reduce cholesterol
4. Meet your neighbours
5. See the world from a different perspective
6. Enjoy the fresh air
7. Reduce pollution (esp if you combine the walk with an errand)
8. Time out from your busy life
9. Inexpensive
10. It’s Fun!

Why is it that I am hearing that statement so often? So, what exactly are you doing then? Are you bringing race into it, or aren’t you?

Because if you are, you had better have a damn good reason to do so…

Come on guys – if you need to make a point, do it with a logical, structured and correct argument. Don’t just pull the "I don’t want to bring race into this but…" card – it doesn’t work!

You know, I never thought that I would ever mention Britney Spears in a post, but I certainly never thought that I would mention her, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin in a single post!

Well, it appears that yesterday I did…and just to freak you out, I have just mentioned Paris Hilton.

Oh well