Ne ke ile Brazil mono
When I think of Brazil, I think, salsa, Samba, dancing in the streets, exotic parades, never really food. Let me tell you, Brazilian food is exuberant and packed with flavour! It is a colourful mix of Portuguese, African and other Native Foods.
In a way, this diversity of ingredients and influences - coupled with a desire to preserve these differences - is largely what defines traditional Brazilian food. Just like the country itself, the cuisine is vibrant, diverse and exciting. Rodizio Brazilian Restaurant is preferred among individuals and families looking to Indulge in a cultural experience of bold flavours, rich meals prepared with heart.
Almost everyone has tried Mexican food, it happens to be one of my favourites and so I was excited to discover the many influences Brazilian food shares with Mexican cuisine that I was expecting on rice, beans, and chilies.
This restaurant has stood the test of time. The first one opened in Riverwalk Shopping Mall years back and it has always been central to corporate activity. Years later with a winning formula it expanded with a second branch at Phakalane Mowana Park Mall, located in suburbia (where we chose to be chic and indulge), it is the perfect setting for intimate celebratory sessions or lifestyle events.
The target market of diners who want to have casual dining in an environment where they can hold conversations and have an option of stepping into other establishments is well catered for as choice of location for this restaurant has mainly been in malls. For a small private function, birthdays, showers, or corporates there is an upstairs section for hire, it is furnished with a lounge, air conditioning, soft music and lighting on request ensuring it does not disturb patrons downstairs. Rodizio offers all the Mexican comfort dishes and more. You are guaranteed to be greeted with a friendly welcoming smile. Even through the masks one can always feel a smile. What they have is a casual dining restaurant of choice, offering some authentic and tasty meals at affordable prices, and the portions, my word!! What pleasantly generous portions! We enjoyed some unique dinner dishes and refreshing drinks on the balcony in a tranquil ambience.
The fresh authentic flavours were amazing and drinks kept us cool as they were so refreshing. The margaritas were perfect, it was clear we had to try the Caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail, made with cachaça, sugar, and lime. The drink is prepared by mixing the fruit and the sugar together, then adding the liqueur. Both did not disappoint.
The Meat Lovers Choice (commonly known as Meat Rodizio). It is bottomless serving of different cuts of Beef, Lamb, Chicken and Pork, you are presented with a two-coloured baton which communicates to the waiter to BRING ON THE MEAT or STOP, WE’VE HAD ENOUGH! One other top seller is their Seafood Platters.
For starters ,I dug into Marilia Snails – the lemon infused in the garlic butter enhances the taste of the snails which were a perfect size with amazing flavours.
I was starving and this was definitely a good way to start the evening. My other guest had the Chorizo Assado starter, which can easily be judged from a distance but up close you get to realise it is not any regular sausage. The Portuguese pork sausage is grilled and served engulfed in a flame. Every last bite of it is crunchy, meaty and juicy.
For the mains, we got the black beans and rice we looked forward to under the Brazilian Specialties section of the menu. Feijoaca Brazileira it’s called, making me feel like I’m on an island as I try to pronounce it - a traditional black bean stew with cuts of pork, beef and chicken, seasoned with virgin olive oil and garlic with rice.
I had them remove the beef from my order (because as my husband puts it, my palate claims its not from BW)… just because I don’t eat red meat, Ao Bathong! As a celebratory dish, feijoaca is traditionally served on Saturday afternoons or Sunday lunch and intended to be a leisurely midday meal.
It is meant to be enjoyed throughout the day and not eaten under rushed circumstances.
The meal is usually eaten among extended family and paired with an event like watching a soccer game or other social event. Because of the dish’s heavy ingredients and rich flavours, feijoaca is viewed as Brazilian soul food. Delicious, simple meal, complex flavour profile and so filling I had no room for dessert.
Another guest of mine indulged in the Rodizio Espetada. This traditional Portuguese dish mainly comprises cuts of succulent rump neatly skewered with thick vegetable slices (usually onion and peppers).
It is cooked over open flame or over very hot coals whilst tossing bay leaves on the coal giving the meat a smoky herbal flavour and scent. What a gastronomical Haile’s Comet! I was told.
The smoky flavour makes the melt in your mouth tender pieces a joy to manoeuvre in the palate, with a secondto-none taste profile that lets you know, you have never had meat prepared in this way before. So good!!