Mango Ginger

 19 May 2022

 

Mango Ginger

27 Lower Main Road, Observatory

 

I’ve always wanted to say that I’ve found a hidden gem and today I did and my giddy joy was unbounded until I realised the Hidden Gem in Lower Main Road, Observatory, sells clothes, not food. Never a break.

 

Mango Ginger is on the next block and we stopped there to overcome this crushing blow and the let-down of our brief sojourn at Frankie Freeloader (Salt River) earlier this morning.  (See separate entry)

 

 Today, “we” comprised the younger goddaughter’s significant other and me. He was on a week’s leave; I don’t work and the wife works harder than ever from home.

 

There is a sizable, covered, high front stoep, with a group of tables for the good weather, though, having said that. it was fully occupied by noon when we left, despite the coolness of the day.  

 

The look and vibe of the interior is old-school, cosy tea room with mostly four person tables, at least one larger table, a lounge corner and counter seating at the rear against a side wall.   There is a deli area with a display case,  space next to the service counter, with pastries and a fridge with frozen vegan food.

 

The quite spiffy laminated menu offers an all-day breakfast, and the choices are oats porridge, the granola  and yoghurt combo, seasonal fresh fruit, poached egg and avocado, scrambled eggs, French toast, eggs Benedict, crumpets with sweet or savoury toppings, omelettes and also a variety of toasted sandwiches. Nothing too adventurous or foreign,  in keeping with the old-school feel, but the variety caters to most, if not all, tastes.

 

Both of as ordered the eggs Benedict. Mine had bacon (R110)  and his had 60g of smoked salmon (R130.) 

 

The eggs were perfectly soft-poached and were served on two halves of a  crisp, well-toasted English muffin and there was plenty Hollandaise sauce, which, natch, didn’t have much lemon zing. The bacon was a tad leathery for my taste.  On the whole, it was a good, tasty bit of nosh.

 

My friend raised no issues with his dish.

 

He finished with a macadamia nut brownie, which was too much for him to finish, and my sweet choice was a vegan beetroot and berry cake, which was okay, though too dry over the stretch and with a crust that seemed overbaked and chewier than I would’ve liked.

 

Both espresso and Americano were generous, and excellent. My friend drank two cappuccinos.

 

If I’m correct, the bill came to R522,00  (including some take aways) before tip. (I didn’t pay.)

 

Mango Ginger is no hidden gem, either by name or by nature, as it’s clearly quite popular and must have good wi-fi for those who come to coffee shops to MacBook. The demographic appears to be a generation or two older than Millennial, and who, I expect, favour the cosy comforts of this kind of throwback to more genteel times. Given what I’ve observed, it might be the Lazari of Obs, for all I know.

 

Our food was good, the coffee is excellent the service is efficient send the atmosphere welcoming.  I haven’t fully investigated all that Observatory has to offer in the way of coffee shops but my ill-educated guess is that it isn’t likely one will find  anything that tops Mango Ginger.

 

I took home a lemon and coconut cheesecake for the wife, who didn’t like it much because it has a dry, pie crust type shell and the dryness and coconut flavour overwhelm the flavour of the cheese cake.