Perfect Turkish eggs (çilbir) at Against the Grain

 26 January 2022

 

AGAINST THE GRAIN

102 Wale Street, Schotsche Kloof, Cape Town

 

Against the Grain used to be on Buitengracht Street and relocated to these premises, once the site of Harvest Café, at the beginning of the year. There is still a Deluxe Coffeeworks outlet on the ground floor, next to the entrance and stairs to Against the Grain, but the other premises in this corner building, with its colourful and distinctive exterior painted in homage to  the Dutch master Piet Mondrian,  are empty but I hear that a butchery and deli will open there in the near future.

 

The first-floor restaurant space hasn’t changed much. The banquette  booths on the one side are built on brick foundations and can’t be moved but the once voluptuous greenery between the booths has been trimmed back to reduce privacy but increase the sense of space and light that is the hallmark of the room.  The tables with their light wood tops on metal bases, the black metal chairs and the ample natural light give the restaurant a buoyant, upbeat, elegant contemporary  ambience.  The splendid views over the city and mountain, if one sits at the corner windows, are almost reason enough to come here.

 

The menu is quite simple, with most breakfast items on bagels (ironically, in contrast to the anti-grain motto, they love their wheat products),  and there are three healthy breakfast bowls and four more “exotic” dishes under the heading of “The Food Journey.” There are several add ons if your basic meal seems on the lightweight side and no pork products.

 

I tried the “Constantinople” (R80), their take on çilbir (the dish must be named in jest, as, I would think, Turkish eggs were never served in the Byzantine city of Constantinople) and asked for  garlic free yoghurt.

 

Çilbir, or Turkish eggs, is fast becoming my breakfast “pork belly,” in that I tend to order it, as I tend to order pork belly for dinner, because I like these dishes and want  to compare with the same offering at other restaurants. Where  huevos rancheros once was popular on breakfast menus, it seems that Turkish eggs are currently the faddish, exotic breakfast item du jour. 

 

The çilbir Against the Grain served me is the real deal  The two eggs were perfectly poached  and nestled in the equivalent of a thick goose down duvet of indulgent abundance of yoghurt (i.e., there was plenty) with a pleasingly intense chilli butter sauce, and two slices of good sourdough bread.  

 

Hugely satisfying and, so far, the best version of this dish I’ve had in Cape Town and surrounds.

 

I rounded off my meal with three Malay koesiesters.   For me, a Cape Malay fast food feast is epitomised by the samosa, mutton curry salomi and koesiesters as a starter, main and dessert combo. The latter always brings back memories of Mariam’s Halaal Kitchen in Constitution House, on the St George’s Mall side of the building, where one had to be snappy for your Friday morning fix because the freshly made batch of gloriously addictive koesiesters was usually sold out by 10h00. The koesisters weren’t available on any other day, which made Fridays a red-letter day.

 

The koesiesters from Against the Grain were on point for flavour and taste but the  thick, slightly tough crust isn’t a feature I care for much.

 

I arrived after 009h30 and the place was already busy and more customers arrived after me, creating a noisy, joyful atmosphere.

 

There is also an open rooftop with an even more spectacular 270 degrees view over the city that will apparently one day be an extension of the restaurant but currently there is only a large bar/serving counter in one corner and the rest of the area is covered with a green baize-like material, like a putt putt course without the demarcated putting greens. At the moment the roof top is suitable only for gawping at the view and for photo opportunities with the city as backdrop.

 

My bill (breakfast, three koesiesters, espresso and latté) came to R143,00 before tip, which is very reasonable in Cape Town today.

 

The USP of any restaurant on this site is the copious natural light and the exemplary view. If the rest of the food at Against the Grain is as good as the “Constantinople,”  it’s even more worthwhile hanging out here.