Cape Town International

My son Andrew is mad about airplanes and flying. And I mean obsessed. He can spend hours playing on his flight simulator and his idea of a good time is watching the airplanes take off and land at the airport. He can identify any plane even if its way off in the distance and he can't wait until he's in grade 11 so that he can do his job shadow project with South African Airways. He plans to be an airline pilot someday.

My husband Ron's work takes him away from home all the time and he often has to fly home from Johannesburg after a tour. On these occasions it has become standard procedure that we go to the airport a couple of hours early so that we can have dinner at the Ocean Basket at the Cape Town International Airport and watch the planes take off and land. The CTIA is a world class, modern airport, the second busiest in SA after the OR Tambo airport, Johannesburg.












The Ocean Basket is a South African seafood restaurant chain. They have branches in most shopping malls across South Africa as well as at the +V&A Waterfront . The menu is big and there is a good variety of seafood and fish such as prawns, calamari and mussels, as well as kingklip South Africa's most sought after fish, and hake. They serve large platters for groups as well as single dish combinations such as Prawns and Fish or Prawns and Calamari if you like variety. All served with chips and/or savoury rice and/or salad and the ubiquitous butternut and spinach. The prices are very reasonable. Really good value for money. Meals are served in skillets. Garlic, Chilli and Tartare Sauce are always on the table, as well as bread and butter. This is not haute cuisine, but good solid food that fills the gap. I've never really had a bad meal at the Ocean Basket. My one gripe is that they use margarine instead of butter for their garlic butter sauce and the last time we went the bread was a bit dry and looked as though it had been sliced and left out too long. They have a sushi menu as well which is very popular. Good, reasonably priced wine list.

CALAMARI WITH SAVOURY RICE AND VEG

FISH AND PRAWNS WITH CHIPS