Today is the 20th of the month which means our local Portuguese deli/coffee shop has the R20 ($1) specials. The deli introduced this one day special during Covid lock downs so people would still come and visit even if it meant ordering from the car park outside the deli. I am not sure how successful this was, but they have kept it going. When i popped in late this afternoon there were not many people around so I guess they have had the rush this morning because normally they are jam packed with customers.
The area I live in has a high Portuguese population which is the remnants from the Mozambique civil war fought in the late 1970's and they made the South of Johannesburg their home. This is a bonus for the likes of myself as we have a few good Portuguese delis and restaurants in the area. This is the area where Nando's came from before they flourished all around the world. The name Nando's comes from the surname Fernandez if you have ever wondered.
I am sure many of you who have eaten Portuguese food have tried their custard pastries known as Pasteis De Nata which is a filo pastry cup filled with a sweetened custard and then baked. They are addictive as one is never enough so when I saw the lady above taking them out the oven I had to get a picture. My timing was not great as she was even dancing for the camera and you will have to just believe me.
The Bachallau had just been fried as well so I could not resist as this is literally an upmarket salted cod fish cake. The specials they have on the 20th are a coffee plus a Pasteis De Nata for R20 which is literally $1. The other special is a Prego pictured below which is a marinated steak roll.
Prego's vary wherever you go and the best ones I have ever eaten were at the old Victoria Hotel in Point Road, Durban. They used to marinate the meat overnight in Vodka with chilies and they were just full of flavor. I do not think the place exists anymore as at the time it was in a dodgy area being by the docks.
The Pregos I had today were not the best i have had but then again for R20 ($1) you cannot really complain. I think the menu price has them at around R65 which is $3.25 so I could not help myself and had two.
On the way out I grabbed a box of custard pastries which is normally 12 and by the time I had swung past the office and arrived home there was only 7 left and I have not had one yet. Many years ago i treated my staff to one each and bought around 150 of these pastries. About 4 months later my foreman and another staff member approached me and asked where they could find these custard tarts as they have been looking ever since I had given them one. They are addictive and thought it was quite funny that they had been searching for them for so long without any luck.
This is the reason you have to buy 12 in order to guarantee at least 2 (no more) when you sit down in the evening and have a cup of coffee.