00:01OMG, I am about to have a four-course meal on a moving bus with wine pairings on some of
00:07Cape Town's winding coastal roads.
00:09I hope I don't get dizzy. So can I actually enjoy prawns and rosé with a panoramic view like this?
00:15Let's find out.
00:16Right behind us is the bus cuisine, one of the best and innovative dining experiences to ever hit Cape Town.
00:25I've never done this before so I am very excited and I would really love to see how the chefs
00:31and the waiters manage to pull this off.
00:33We roll out of the Protea Marriott Hotel near the waterfront and then drive along the Atlantic coast.
00:40A culinary round trip lasting around two hours which is all about the view and the atmosphere and not speed.
00:48Right now I want to go downstairs, meet the chef and see how they get things done.
00:52Woah, this is harder than I thought. I better take it easy.
00:57This looks stunning.
00:59We do a prawn springo, coriander chutney, coleslaw and then we will add some soy and ginger sauce.
01:09How many people are you serving today? This looks like a lot of plates.
01:1425 for today. The bus can take 34. Getting your plate like that to your guests, that's the biggest challenge.
01:21I promise you, even at a steady pace, walking from one section to the next feels like an obstacle course.
01:29So if I have to focus this hard just to keep my balance, how on earth do the waiters glide
01:35through this bus and still carry four plates?
01:38The bus has been running now for a while over a year, so we know how the ins and outs
01:44and the logistics of it.
01:47We'll normally have a meeting point at the first base of the stair and there's just enough room for us
01:52to pass each other.
01:54This whole concept runs on timing. Four course lunches, which is about two hours or six course dinners, which is
02:02about two and a half hours.
02:03That is long enough for you to enjoy the scenery, but short enough to keep the service tight. So the
02:09stakes are quite high.
02:10I am doing my best not to baptise my neighbour with wine while the waiters walk up and down without
02:17any balancing problems.
02:19If like the bus has a very abrupt and sudden stop, as in braking, you go with the motion and
02:25then gradually you can slow yourself down.
02:27When it comes to like pouring, I widen my base so I can have myself nice and level and relaxed
02:32and then I can hold the wine glass in one hand and then pour simultaneously.
02:35That gets me my balance.
02:39I think the most fascinating thing for me is watching you guys manage to plate all these gorgeous dishes.
02:46Yeah.
02:47Can I give you a hand?
02:48Please, please.
02:49And I just drizzle it on top.
02:51On the sheet for you.
02:52I believe you guys do this as a one man job, right?
02:55Guys, I promise you, it looks easy when they do it. It's really not. I am definitely not ready to
03:02join this kitchen. Nope.
03:03Next course is a red leaf masala seafood curry with some basmati, papadum and tzatziki.
03:11The view says postcard. My inner ear says focus.
03:15Focus is also needed to keep the service going.
03:19It's a restaurant squeezed in a bus, but engineered for motion.
03:23So everything that can fly is locked down.
03:27In terms of our glasses, they are more intact inside these drawers than to put them on the surfaces because
03:32it's really shaken.
03:34And then once we're done with all our service, the truck comes and picks up the dirty stuff.
03:38We bring in new plates, new dishes and then new food and everything.
03:41I really love the teamwork. Everyone knows what they need to do and they're trying to stick to time.
03:48Sitting in my plush booth got me thinking about the innovations that make this experience comfortable and safe.
03:56The first flex holders, the seats, the seat rests, the tables at the base, everything is bolted down, the wine
04:03stations bolted down.
04:05Then we also had ACs put in because we found that in summer, it was basically unbearable.
04:11As the Atlantic seaboard stretches past, the views speak for themselves, even though the twists in the road keep things
04:19interesting.
04:21Reaching Llandander Beach is the perfect moment to step out, take it in properly and reset before we continue.
04:28How are you guys finding the experience?
04:30I think the entree was really good. And also the pairing with the rosé wine, that was a killer.
04:38The combination of having the food while seeing the different landscapes, that's really good.
04:47Even the bus speed is really good.
04:49Because when you're going from one place to another using taxi, they usually drive fast so you don't get to
04:55see the city.
04:57Back to checking on my neighbour who's already on his main course.
05:02I am cleaning my plate. So immersed in what you're eating where you forget to look outside
05:07and you just soak in your plate and just taking in the flavours.
05:11You forget that you're in a bus. It's gorgeous.
05:14Cape Town shot off today. It is really good.
05:17We're almost at the finish line and what better way to celebrate than with dessert.
05:21Red velvet cake layered with cream cheese frosting and raspberry curry.
05:26I came for a trend and stayed for the teamwork. Chefs plating on a sway, waiters floating upstairs with full
05:35glasses.
05:36Anxiety level managed. Two and a half hours later and we're gliding back towards the V&A waterfront.
05:44Full, happy and weirdly proud that I didn't spill a drop.
05:48This is fine dining in motion with real engineering behind the romance.
05:54If you think you can't eat on a bus, maybe this will prove you wrong.
05:59We'll be right back next time.
05:59Student 3
06:02Student 7
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