Every Saturday there are a variety of markets happening throughout the Western Cape; selling everything from handmade soaps shaped like unicorns to vegan cheesecake. Every market is set up a little different and has its own vibe. We have been to three of them and have loved our experiences at each of them. Rob and I love to eat, so when we go to these Saturday markets we naturally gravitate to the food stalls. They have so many delicious foods to choose from it is AWESOME! It’s food lover heaven!
Most recently we ventured out to Bay Harbour – The Market in Hout Bay. This market, unlike the others, runs Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday during the day. We arrived late Saturday afternoon with a few hours to explore. The market is held inside of an old authentic fish market, which creates an intimate and environment. The whole place was bustling with people and was full of energy. Every shop had its own originality and charm. I loved the feel of this market! The local artisans display beautiful pieces of art in every medium. We saw metalwork, wood carvings, paintings, block art made with small wood blocks that have been painted or layered with different colors and textures to create animals, shapes and symbols; vintage jewelry, old book covers stamped with quotes and inserted with recycled paper and converted into journals, clothing, candles, chalk boards, etc. We found me a beautiful sterling silver necklace that I am in love with!
The first market we visited in Cape Town is the Neighbourgoods Market out in Woodstock. We liked it so much, we have ventured out there twice in our 2 1/2 month stay in the Cape! We kinda like this place. 🙂 This market is set in the historic warehouse of the Old Biscuit Mill. My hubby had done some reading and found a local bakery that only sells their bread at this market and to select grocers. They make 800 loaves of fresh wood-fired bread daily! Rob really wanted to try it so we bought a loaf of ciabatta and a loaf of sourdough to take home. The bread was delicious! Really reasonable prices too. We both loved the ciabatta. I am not a sourdough fan, but it wasn’t very strong so I didn’t mind it. Rob didn’t think the sourdough was quite strong enough, but he didn’t have too much trouble polishing off most of the loaf. 😉 If you want to find out more details about the Woodstock Bakery you can check out their website here.
Our very favorite part of our experience at the Neighborgoods Market in Woodstock was on our second trip. We made some friends who recommended a local chocolate company to us, and it just so happens that this chocolate company’s shop is housed in this market! We were thrilled to visit the shop and when we found out they offer tours of the factory we about lost our minds! The first thing we did when we got to the market was sign up for a tour. We were not messing around! On the tour they let us try the raw cacao. My first time ever trying raw cacao! It was so bitter. Not good at all. Then they let us try the cacao after it had been roasted. That was a little better, not quite so bitter, but not great. The roasted cacao was then put into a machine that cracked the shell and separated the shell from the cacao nibs. We tasted the nibs and they were not sweet, but not bad at all. WAY better than the raw cacao! Towards the end of the tour our guide showed us to a table where they had little samples of every flavor of chocolate they make and he let us loose to try as many as we wanted to, no judgements. All the free chocolate we can eat – SERIOUS???I felt like we won the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory! I thought limitless chocolate policies ranked right up there with geese laying golden eggs and only happened in a fantasy world, but it was real life! We tried everything from 100% dark to white chocolate. The 100% was not good at all. It had no sweetness to it, just like the raw cacao. The 95% wasn’t much better. The 85% was alright, but not a top choice for us. Rob and I both enjoyed the dark chocolates in the 56-72% range. I also really enjoyed the flavor of the milk and dark chocolates with mint, and the sea salt chocolates. We were truly like kids in a candy shop. 🙂 At the very end of the tour our guide gave each of us a cup overflowing with their handmade chocolate ice cream floating in a pool of rich hot chocolate. I took one bite of that chocolatey goodness and OH MY YUM! This is the stuff dreams are made of!
