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The Victoria Falls Hotel
2 Mallet Drive
Victoria Falls
013 44751

A great breakfast at Jungle Junction, Vic Falls Hotel 2011
After walking through the lovely old Victoria Falls Hotel and gardens on a beautiful spring morning, with the spray of the Falls gently lit by the early morning sun, we found ourselves doing the only sensible thing to do at a time like that - have breakfast.  The last time I reviewed Jungle Junction, we went for dinner, so as a change we decided to take the kids for a Sunday morning breakfast.  Certainly beats cooking at home and besides, one has to try treating the kids during the holidays. 

Jungle Junction is an open plan, thatched dining area, set slightly away from the main hotel.  It has a different feel from the old world charm of the main hotel, but the level of service and overall appearance of the dining area leaves you in no doubt that this is a quality establishment.  The staff was very efficient and seeing that we had three kids in tow, rather strategically placed us safely away from the jewel encrusted, older, guests of the hotel.

The breakfast here is a buffet setup.  The first section we attacked was the cereals and fruit. There was a great selection of different cereals, yogurts, muesli and fresh fruit.  I really liked the little shot glasses of muesli and yoghurt.  Who says shooters are bad for you!  Next we did a turn by the great selection of cold meats.  I was delighted to find smoked salmon – which actually went very nicely with a croissant.  Talking of croissants, we are very lucky in the Falls to have a small owner run bakery that specialises in these.  Called Le Croissant, they produce the most amazing variety every day, and obviously Jungle Junction is a customer.  The kids discovered the warm chocolate croissants and I must say that they are delicious.

As often happens with a buffet, you get very full long before the main event.  Sunday breakfast for me only means one thing - the Full Monty.  Why I filled myself up before with rabbit food and cold meats I will never know!  Anyway the spread for the cooked breakfast was amazing. Kippers, grilled tomatoes, chips, bacon, sausages, beans, it was all there. A huge variety of breads were on offer, but the do-it-yourself toaster machine got me completely confused.  The seasoned travellers also in the queue gave a look of incredulous amazement at the fact that a grown man was having trouble toasting a slice of bread.  Not to be put off, I stood my ground at the egg station, where the chef was deftly preparing any kind of cooked egg you would like.  My wife had an omelette and I had fried.  The only omission I would say, is a Bloody Mary station!  I have seen this at other hotels, where you can make your own, and it’s always popular.

The e-newspapers that had obviously been downloaded off the internet and printed in various languages are a nice touch and people seemed to be enjoying reading these.  The meal is $25 per head, so not a particularly cheap breakfast.  However, sitting in the spring sun, overlooking the Falls, eating a beautiful cooked breakfast, was somehow very satisfying and seemed worth the cost.  I have to confess to going back to the buffet for all the other things I didn’t have the first time.  The kids were now full and had disappeared into the hotel grounds to burn it off.  I was relaxed, reading my e-paper and finishing off my coffee.
Deluxe Family Restaurant
5 Plates
Expect to spend $25 per head
Victoria Falls Hotel

 

Jungle Junction at Vic Falls Hotel very enjoyable 2010
Any visit to the Victoria Falls Hotel is always a nice break from reality.  But at night the hotel takes on a magical quality.  To get to the Jungle Junction restaurant, one has to walk through the hotel and terrace and out towards the flagpole.  Huge msasa trees, lit from below, add a sense of grandeur to the whole place. The evening temperature was perfect as we wandered along the path and arrived at the restaurant and were warmly welcomed to our table.

The Jungle Junction restaurant is a buffet set up, so there was no menu as such.  However our waitress was very helpful in explaining the different dishes and options on offer.  The wine and drinks menu was very extensive, with a huge array of imported wines, as well as many different types of exotic sounding cocktails. My wife ordered a Gin and Tonic and I decided to try a Singapore Sling.  These took a while to arrive, as I think they have to get them from the main hotel, but were worth the wait.

I like buffets as I like to try small amounts of different dishes, and I was determined to sample as much as I could. Visually the buffet was lovely and everything looked fresh and well prepared. The starters section included little glasses of cucumber soup and gazpacho. A whole smoked salmon patiently awaited dismemberment, but the best surprise was a lovely array of fresh sushi dishes. I tried a bit of everything and it was all delicious. I am no sushi expert, but I really enjoyed the different flavors they offered. After a few gulps of our drinks we went up to see what else caught our eye.

For the main courses there was a variety of curries, with all the trimmings- poppadoms, fragrant rice and so forth.  The chef was on hand to prepare crocodile tail and fresh bream. I had a few generous slivers off the whole sirloin.  The vegetables were all lovely and fresh.

We were enjoying our mains when the traditional dancing got underway.  This was certainly not new to us , but we appreciated that the tourists love it so we prepared to grin and bear it.  How wrong we were.  Unlike other hotel dance troupes we have seen, this show was quite different!  The show featured a variety of different cultural groups, from Shangaan to Nhau.  However the most interesting was the Mkishi dancers.  Their elaborate and unworldly costumes were so unusual and quite enthralling.  We were really quite riveted. The costumes were of mythical animals and spirits, and the energetic dances all told a story of some kind. The show was not overpowering or too loud.

To avoid seeing the giant crocodile eating the fisherman, we decided to jump up and check out the salad section!  This was an extensive and well presented array of cheeses, greens, olives, dips, croutons, dressings and breads.  I particularly enjoyed a dish of mozzarella and herbs in olive oil.  We arrived back at our table just in time to see the crocodile being chased off by a dervish on stilts!

Dessert was the usual array of cakes, fruit salad, profiteroles, and ice cream.  To finish I ordered coffee, which was excellent, and delivered in a beautiful one person silver coffee pot.  The dancers had retired and we enjoyed the evening air as we finished our drinks and wished we were staying the night in one of the suites nearby.

The Jungle Junction certainly is a lovely dinner destination.  My only criticism is the waiters, although very polite and helpful, need to really understand the food they are serving and especially the drinks.  I think a dedicated bar waiter, with expert knowledge of the wines and cocktails, would complement the impressive list of drinks available.  Also at $35 per person it is not a cheap dinner, and I would have expected a little more variety of meats for example pork, warthog, ostrich, chicken, and different sausages.  The desserts were also very ordinary.

Of course the food that was on offer was excellent, the staff were very pleasant, the ambience and décor very pleasing and the dancers very entertaining.  Another plus worth mentioning is that they charge half price for kids over twelve and nothing for children under twelve!  Very thoughtful.  Well recommended, and, if you are lucky, you may get to see a crocodile eat a fisherman!
5 Plates
Expect to spend $40 per head