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The Vanilla Moon
8 Seagrave Road
Mount Pleasant
Harare
Tel 333394/335019/0913 318614

 

Vanilla Moon - Community Café 2011
I always love to see a gap in the market being filled, and certainly Vanilla Moon is a haven for yummy mummies who want a sociable place to meet up with their friends to catch up on the gossip while the children can have some quality time playing together on wooden jungle gyms and swings. Vanilla Moon also seems to be a venue for worthwhile community events such as making Christmas crackers for charity and blood donations. On the day I visited there was a poster for a crafts day with lots of fun activities for the little ones, scrap-booking and some shopping therapy for the mums. One could also have an Indian Head Massage or a haircut from the Mastertouch Hairdressers at the same premises. 

There was a constant stream of Ladies who Lunch and various NGO types at Vanilla Moon proving that it is a very popular and well frequented restaurant.  The surroundings are soothing and relaxing, with cream wicker chairs and white roses in simple glass vases on antique pine tables.

My friend and I were a bit frazzled when we arrived after a rather frenetic morning and so we were looking forward to something to drink. There was a fascinating selection of teas like pomegranate or Echinacea, ideal for those who like to avoid the caffeine and enjoy their herbal teas.  However, at that stage of the game I needed my caffeine fix so I ordered a cappuccino.  My cappuccino had a most impressive amount of foam, and I really enjoyed voluptuously spooning it up.  The actual coffee under the foam was a tad on the cool side and I would have liked the coffee to be a little stronger with a bit of a kick.  Perhaps it was the luck of the draw, though, as later on in the day, my friend, a real Italian coffee fundi popped back to check her e-mails in one of the comfortable little nooks at Vanilla Moon.  She reported that her cappuccino was hot and strong and that it was made with her favourite Farfell coffee.

Unfortunately, my friend’s vanilla milkshake came in a beer glass which we felt detracted from the lovely atmosphere that the restaurant was obviously trying to create.  However we did appreciate the beautifully refreshing iced borehole water which made us feel that we were saving both money and the environment at the same time.

I was very pleased to see that falafel with tahini were on offer for the main course as I had thought that they would be an ideal choice for a restaurant now that chickpeas are readily available. They can be prepared in advance and cooked on top of a stove which is useful if there is a power cut.  I did not actually order them myself as I was cooking them the next day for some vegetarian friends from Denmark.  We were planning to have a picnic in Nyamaneche game park after visiting Tengenenge Sculpture garden.  Mind you, I do not normally make them as they are quite tricky, especially when made from scratch rather than using tinned chickpeas.

I opted for the Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Wrap and my friend ordered Fish and Chips.  My dish came with an outstanding lemony basil pesto which gave a real zap to the taste buds.   My friend shared my pesto as her fish was a little on the insipid side.  The waiter had kindly obliged her by bringing her mushroom sauce as she had requested rather than the advertised tartare sauce, but it was a bit on the bland and heavy side.  The local Tilapia fish is reasonably priced and very ecologically sound but surely some innovative Zimbabwean chefs could dream up some imaginative herby, salsa type sauces to enhance the flavour of this fish. 

I finished the meal with a really scrumptious German nut cake drizzled with spicy, fragrant honey and orange syrup.  I was slightly disappointed that they ‘run out’ of ice-cream to go with it, although I was glad that I did not have children with me as they invariably want ice-cream. Surely some forward planning could have averted this problem since the restaurant is literally 5 minutes away from the newly opened Bridge and also Arundel Spar?  Still, despite a few details we enjoyed the community atmosphere and friendly staff at Vanilla Moon.  According to another friend, I simply have to go back there to check out the white chocolate and ginger Chilla’s, apparently they are divine!!   
Coffee Shop
4 Plates
Expect to spend between $5 and $15
8 Seagrave Road, Mount Pleasant, Harare

 

Vanilla Moon - refreshingly different 2010
Vanilla Moon… what an evocative name.  And whilst I wasn’t expecting the Spice Islands, Asia, Mexico (or even Madagascan forests nowadays) with clambering orchids and their wonderfully fragrant pods, it was inevitable that I would eventually be drawn there.  I’ve driven up Upper East road many times and noticed the constant crowd of cars at the other end of Seagrave Road, so gathering up Petal, we went to see what the fuss was about.

Vanilla Moon is another coffee shop in a converted house, set in a large garden with outside tables, with more on the small verandah and a few more inside.  As it was only a few days after that windy August day that swept in a cold snap on its coat-tails we were happy to sit outside and even though it was lunch time and I was wearing a fleece, I happily spent 2 hours in the full sun soaking up the heat – bliss!

For a coffee shop, I thought the menu was rather good.  Unlike the last coffee shop I went to there was an eclectic choice, all sorts of coffees and hot drinks (sorry, I can’t remember them all…).  The chillas were inspiring with Brazilian hazelnut and white chocolate, Swiss chocolate, choc mint, chai, toffee caramel, cappuccino and French vanilla – with real vanilla I hope?  There were plenty of speciality teas, all the usual fruit infusions including some interesting variations such as green rooibos, lemongrass with green rooibos and citrus, ginger, Earl Grey, etc., etc.  Apart from the usual fizzy drinks, which I prefer to avoid, there were freshly extracted vegetable/fruit juices – now that’s a refreshing difference!  Our waiter did warn that it would take a little longer as they were done to order.  The carrot juice was well worth the wait and even doubting-Petal had to recant her reservations, it was delicious and with a faint hint of fresh root ginger.

For those coming for breakfast the savoury pancake stuffed with scrambled egg, ham, cheese and a tomato salsa, with toast and butter, sounded good.  I like the health breakfast which has layers of honey and fresh seasonal fruit, vanilla yoghurt and home-made muesli.  On the lighter meal side there is also a sandwich menu and many of these were enticing: BLT toasted with bacon, sun-dried tomato pesto, garlic mustard and mayonnaise, or the Monte Cristo made with roasted garlic and parsley in cream cheese, layered with ham and cheddar cheese and lightly fried in butter and served with a salad and waffle chips.

But we were here for lunch and apart from the specials, one of which was a salmon dish, there were some tempting offers on the menu.  I was attracted to the glazed chicken wrap – honey and sesame glazed chicken pieces and vegetable strips in a soft brown-flour pancake, served on salad leaves and ranch dressing – and also the open steak pie – a fillet on a puff pastry base with a mushroom sauce – and also the Mediterranean vegetable wrap… there was a roast vegetable salad and the Vanilla Moon burger, both sounding delectable. 

Well, Petal decided on the steak pie (damn!) so I thought I’d try the Mediterranean vegetable wrap.  Both were excellent choices.  The pie was pronounced the best meal in ages and the mushroom sauce divine.  She also said this was the first time in years that she had finished everything on the plate – I noticed because I was hoping to polish off any leftover pastry base!  My vegetable wrap was also a hit and I suppose the ‘roasted’ part was one of the main attractions for this dish; I think roasted is just the best way to bring out the flavour of vegetables.  It also had mushrooms, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta and came with a basil pesto and a bed of mixed salad leaves.  The flavours were as wonderful as anticipated and, aah, the fantastic intense hit of sun-dried tomatoes – could have done with more of those!

This I followed with a slice of chocolate cake from the coffee/tea accompaniments, as it were, and unfortunately it was rather dry and disappointing.  But I couldn’t fault the size of the slice, a true monster that had Petal aghast.  Yes, it was a meal in itself and following on from the lunch couldn’t have been tackled by any mere mortal.  There was a fair selection on this part of the menu, including millionaire’s shortbread, lemon meringue cheesecake, muffins, carrot cake and German nut cake, banofee pie and pasties as well as the usual suspects.

And I suppose I must mention the service, not that we had any complaint with our waiter who was great, but generally everything was a little slow.  No surprise really, since every table was taken.  I had ordered a hot chilli-ginger chocolate earlier on and our waiter did say it would take 5 minutes as the chocolate had to be melted, but in the end it must have taken a good fifteen minutes and arrived after the main meal, with apologies and a comment on how busy they were, to assist in the consumption of the cake.  Consequently we didn’t have the opportunity to try the coffee!  That aside (I wasn’t in any hurry anyway) the drink was absolutely delicious, silky and seductive with real chocolate and the fresh ginger makes it that much better than a normal chilli chocolate, so you simply have to try it!

All-in-all I can only recommend Vanilla Moon; to my mind it’s one of the better coffee shops.  The menu is great and the presentation of dishes good.  It is children-friendly and there is plenty of room for kids to play with swings at one side and oops, nearly forgot, you can also have your hair done, or a manicure/pedicure and/or massage and all those sorts of things too…  Just work on a really successful moist chocolate cake for me and it’s a winner!
Coffee Shop
5 Plates
Expect to spend between $5 and $20 per head depending on whether light snack or full meal