Restaurant on Fire
6 August 2009
The Oriental made the news back in June this year when a fire broke out in the restaurant's kitchen and the centre had to be evacuated! Was their curry too hot perchance?
This place has grown! When I used to frequent this restaurant, back in the heyday of The Workshop in the late eighties, they occupied a small corner in the ground floor restaurant section. They have since taken over a whole alley as well.
On this occasion it was to be a 'birthday' bunny... Chris was meeting with his long time friend Donovan Baney (mentioned on the homepage) to celebrate his birthday and I was invited to tag along (to take the photos and write the review?). When we arrived I had already made up my mind that I was going to have a kebab bunny, for old times sake. It was scrumptious! I counted eight meatballs in the quarter size bunny and the recipe didn't seem to have changed at all in the 17 years since I'd last popped in here for the same. On the other hand, the other two chose to have a quarter mutton - but were not overly stoked. The meat was tender but "had weird bits in it" and the meal was not served nice n' hot.
The vibe was enjoyable and the restaurant bustling with plenty of patrons, but space was not a problem as there were plenty tables available. The service was efficient and the waitress pleasant and friendly.
Prices were pretty relative, seems to have been a recent price increase all round on bunny chows by around 3 rands, and there were no serviettes once again (as I have found to be the case with most bunny chow orders!) BUT these guys gave us each a rinsing bowl.
The Oriental also has branches in the Value Centre, Springfield and Pinetown. They are not linked to Orientals in the Phoenix Plaza.
(Photos: Luke Comins)
Photo: Sandile Ndlovu, Independent Newspapers