Kipling’s new buffet has everyone going back for more

Bloggers, bloggers, bloggers galore.

They were everywhere I looked last Sunday when foodies from across the Bay congregated at The Boardwalk Hotel’s Kipling’s Brasserie Restaurant to try out its new buffet offering.

One thing I can say about the bloggers, they are an enthusiastic bunch — both when it comes to putting their lives online as well as their appetite for good food.

And good it was! With loads of bloggers in the building, there were obviously many finely photographed dishes popping up on Instagram and the like.

And while they grabbed their phones and cameras and artfully arranged their plates, I did some sly people-watching.

One of the first things I wondered was how anyone could eat quite as much as some of those I was watching.

They were dotted all around the restaurant, plates piled high with everything from roast beef to pasta to fish, some even with a roll or two added into the mix.         

I do understand the desire to try a little bit of everything. After all, it really was a sumptuous spread, but I have a weird little food quirk.

I simply do not believe that certain foods mix well, and I cannot tolerate having them on the same plate.

Fish, pasta and pork on the same plate? Not a chance.

If you really want to enjoy a buffet, for the love of God have a couple of small plates. You do know you can go back — as many times as you like?

That’s what I was thinking as I watched the hodge-podge that adorned some people’s plates.

I instead, sedately, planned out a traditional three-course Sunday lunch. 

Starters were a delightful plate of cold meats, cheeses, tomatoes and beetroot. All very yummy and looking quite pretty in the blogger-style photo I imagined I had captured. 

For the main meal, I opted for medium-rare roast beef, cooked to perfection and topped with one of the best pepper sauces I have tasted in a long time.

I paired that with vegetables and roast potatoes. The potatoes were important as I had made a bit of a fuss about the last buffet I had attended at Kipling’s not having any.

I mean Sunday lunch with no potatoes? Madness. 

These potatoes, however, were a winner, crispy just the way I like them. 

Dessert was a veritable minefield with so much on offer, I nearly gave up. I opted for fruit salad, a tart and some sort of version of a swiss-roll. Whatever that roll was, it was delicious. 

I must also admit that although I don’t like mixing too many different types of food on one day, I took a bite or two from the options my husband had chosen and was instantly sorry I hadn’t added some of the roast pork because it was juicy and even better than the beef.

I also took a bite or two from his Mozambican chicken and  I would definitely give that a go on another occasion. 

The price of the buffet is R295 for adults, R90 for children between the ages of seven and 11, and free for those under six. 

It’s a price that may make many pause a little in the current economic climate, but when one considers that you can return many a time, it is worth it. 

If you go, make a day of it, sit around and sip a glass of wine and take your time. There is some pleasant live music as well so it really isn’t a bad way to while away a Sunday.