 |
| Source: vam.ac.uk |
In a bid to find cheap, baby friendly activities and places to go before my impending return to work, I stumbled on Afropolitans', the June edition of Friday late at the V&A. I've heard of V&A's Friday lates but have not had the opportunity to go for one reason or another, I however shall not be missing this one! The night promises a mixture of African photography, fashion, films, discussion and music all free of charge? yes, perfect, let's go there!
Exciting stuff, I'm looking forward to the South African music sets, I've long been a fan of the sounds of Lady Blacksmith Mambazo, unashamedly love Afro beats and a bit of hip life but I'm really digging South African house music at the moment.
South Africa is still on my list of places to visit, by the grace of God these feet of mine will touch South African soil soon. Anyhooo, I recently went to a South African restaurant in Camden. It was my friends 25th birthday and she wanted to celebrate in style with a nice meal in Shaka Zulu. Camden is like Marmite, you love it or you hate it, personally I'm a fan, however stepping into Shaka Zulu is like stepping into a different world far from the cobbled streets of Camden Town. Needless to say I was very impressed by the grand design of the restaurant, from the outside i didn't expect it to be soo big, spanning over two floors the restaurant hosts amazing carvings and huge wooden warrior statues. I found the menu quite cool, with a selection of 'authentic' South African dishes including Zebra and Ostrich meat (which I wasn't brave enough to try) I stuck to the baby chicken but found the price to be too steep considering that sides had to be ordered separately. So for the price I expected the chicken to be oozing with flavour but much to my disappointment I was left reaching for the salt. Being my friends birthday I'd had a good time at Shaka Zulu and even gave in to having a warriors' shield painted on my arm by the resident complimentary face painter. I didn't feel that the meal was value for money but later found out that an optional £1 cover-charge is donated to help fund education projects in South Africa maybe this would have made me feel a little better, had I have known, this should be made more obvious, I'm sure diners would be happy to make this charitable donation. Overall I'd give Shaka Zulu 5/10, it definitely offers a night out with a difference in stunning surroundings, the food however was a major let down, lacking flavour and overpriced.
 |
| Shaka Zulu main restaurant |
