ANY OTHER NAME, GUYS
Love Me So recovers from outrage over its initial name to become a clearly popular, jolly place — but can SA recover from its ‘comedian’ rulers?
Someone is laughing at us. Seriously, the longer I follow politics in this country the more convinced I am that what the ANC refers to as its national executive committee meetings are actually joke-writing workshops.
These guys are amazing. Take Supra Mahumapelo, a man who has singlehandedly destroyed North West province (for years not a single municipality in the province has received a clean audit). He was doing such a terrible job of running the place that his own people rioted against him. The
ANC agreed he was useless and fired him from the premiership, sending in
Job Mokgoro to wipe up after him.
Good luck to Mokgoro, plucked out of retirement, because the people will not have much patience this time round.
Here’s the joke, though. After all the misery that he visited upon his own people the ANC has decided that Mahumapelo is so gifted and steeped in the party’s ethos, principles and practices he should spread the message to all other cadres. Yes, the man whose offices have been raided by the Hawks and who faces a number of corruption investigations is now the head of the party’s political school. No, I am not making it up. No-one can.
I guess the ANC knows what it’s doing, though. After all Tony Yengeni, who was convicted for taking backhanders from arms deal bidders, spent some time in jail and then came back like a hero to become . . . head of the ANC political school.
Sigh. It’s still a glorious country.
Three weeks ago my lovely wife and I went to Love Books for the launch of the book Heist! by Anneliese Burgess. She breaks down the characters, methods and aspirations behind cash-in-transit heists and lays it all bare: how, why, where, when. It’s a very good book.
From the launch we went to a lovely new Asian fusion restaurant, Love Me
So, in Melville. See what we did there? Love Books to Love Me So? Ha!
Just when you think Melville is hitting the skids it manages to surprise. Love Me So was packed with funky, elegant, gorgeous, mostly young people.
This is doubly odd because the owners got into trouble by naming their restaurant Misohawni — a stereotypical and rather race-tinged throwback to women in the Vietnam war as depicted in the movie Full Metal Jacket. The global social media storm over their (now-changed) name may have subsided somewhat.
We hadn’t booked but we got the last table available. Service was speedy, jolly and knowledgeable.
This restaurant has taken over the old, popular The Leopard space but you won’t recognise it at all. They have done a total redecoration and it’s lovely.
The menu is a mix of Asian dishes from ramen, Korean BBQ (you can have this on your own coal-fired contraption at your table) and of course the medley of Japanese-style tapas or izakaya.
We started with kimchi (fermented cabbage), edamame beans and tuna tataki. Excellent. For mains the place prides itself on the ramen, BBQ and poke (Hawaiian) bowls — most reviewers have raved about them. I look forward to trying these next time I go. On this occasion I was dying for the seared tuna, rolled in sesame seeds and served with Korean rice and stir-fried vegetables. It wasn’t too bad, I must say.
Love Me So is very nice. Its naming disaster was unfortunate but following the owners’ apology hopefully they will overcome that in time.
Love Me So ★★★½
63 4th Avenue Melville, Johannesburg Tel: 060-717-6728
★★★★★ Thuli Madonsela ★★★★ Excellent ★★★ Good ★★ Poor ★ Pathetic
Yes, the man who faces a number of corruption investigations is now the head of the party’s political school