Creamy Mealie Meal Pap Mealie meal pap or porridge is a breakfast dish of milled white maize enjoyed across demographics in South Africa. By Ishay Govender (@IshayGovender). For Woolworths TASTE, September 2018, story: Things we Found in the Fire Mealie meal pap eaten simply with sugar and milk or with golden syrup and [...]
Wolfgat, a 20-seat restaurant outside Cape Town, is leading the way in a time of drought (@IshayGovender), For Saveur Magazine, Oceans Issue, 2018 In a dry place. The salty tang of fresh kelp lifts on a crisp breeze, across the cream-colored sands of Die Krans in Paternoster, once the lookout for fishermen monitoring [...]
The indigenous South African Khoi and San drank it as tea, now the world slathers it on their faces. But who will credit the primary knowledge-holders? (@IshayGovender), For Extra Crispy My Recipes, July 2018 An ode to Rooibos. Image: Shutterstock An elderly Khoi woman follows a trail of ants, watching them roll miniscule rooibos [...]
shot by Claire Gunn Mealie Pap. A South African Breakfast For All (@IshayGovender), For Extra Crispy My Recipes, April 2018 On cold mornings, I recall my mother bustling about in our suburban South African kitchen, ladling out bowls of creamy mealie meal pap or porridge. Hot from the saucepan, she’d stir in a little [...]
Gilbert's Lamb Curry Traveling across South Africa, Ishay Govender goes in search of a curry that defines the nation. Written for Fine Dining Lovers. Is there one definitive dish that South Africans love and prepare? It’s common knowledge that the country comprises a variety of cultural, ethnic and religious groups, with as [...]
Ishay Govender-Ypma dines with Slow Food founder and president Carlo Petrini in Paternoster, and holds back on the big questions. Inevitably some of the big answers reveal themselves over delectable skewers of springbok with wild rosemary. Written for Taste Magazine Springbok with wild rosemary It was a moment meant for the [...]
Zayaan Khan, image by Ishay Govender-Ypma Food activist, seed librarian and community-driven leader, Zayaan Khan is changing the foodscape from the ground up. Written for Kulula's inflight magazine, Khuluma, 21 June 2017 Food As Sustenance, Knowledge, Life “Try this,” Capetonian Zayaan Khan (32) says, a headscarf draped loosely bandana-style over her cropped [...]
Photo taken by Hein van Tonder The Test Kitchen and Quintonil, both highly ranked on the World’s 50 Best restaurant list, recently hosted a collaboration dinner series. Ishay Govender-Ypma chatted to the chefs. Quintonil and Test Kitchen Collaborate for Mail and Guardian. (@IshayGovender) “Are those the escamoles?” I ask the waitress, in a [...]
South Indian Sour Porridge in South Africa Sunlight streams in the early morning over the vessels on the wood fire outside; the drums with water heating for bathing, the pots with the day’s lunch. A version of this appears on Roads & Kingdoms, August 2016. sour porridge with spring onions Sunlight streams in [...]
The expansive inner city districts of Johannesburg, once sidestepped by tourists, are now thriving with a boost from investment and passionate locals. Ishay Govender-Ypma hits the lively streets and spends some time walking Johannesburg. For SAA Sawubona Magazine, May 2015. The Prince of Newtown Just outside the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown – hunkering and [...]
Cherae Robinson Since launching Rare Customs in 2014, which facilitated foreign investment in African SMEs in the fields of agriculture, tourism and market entry, founder Cherae Robinson (nominated a “woman to watch” by the U.N. in 2014) has continued on her upward trajectory. In December 2015 she launched her start-up mobile app Tastemakers [...]
Trust in Travel – What You Fear May be What They Fear While travelling the backroads, cities and towns of South Africa on an extended project, Ishay Govender-Ypma soon learns that the trust in travel is a two-way street. For Mail & Guardian, May 2016. road that leads to... I’m texting my brother [...]
Bree Street has, over the past five years, become the restaurant/bar/fun street in Cape Town. It's tough to pick, but these are five of my favourites. Do you have any must-visit spots on Bree? Read about the transformation on Bree Street for Business Day Chefs Warehouse & Canteen Chefs Warehouse with my friend Linda [...]
Slaying Dragons in the Drakensberg Amphitheatre - Beginner's Hiking Guide The hike to the Drakensberg Amphitheatre in northern range, declared by National Geographic to be one of the world’s best trails, is where Ishay Govender-Ypma faces her fears and discovers a new hobby. For SAA Sawubona, April 2016. Returning to my home province of Kwa-Zulu Natal [...]
GET THE GARDEN ROUTE RIGHT Based on an article for Sunday Times Travel UK Dec/Jan 2015, my guide to Best of the Garden Route The Garden Route is a crowd-pleaser. Want beaches? The road works its way along some of the creamiest swathes in the country. Prefer mountains? You’ll cruise hairpin bends atop dramatic peaks. [...]
A tough city for artists, Ishay Govender-Ypma explores the heart of the Durban’s Art Scene and creative spirit. For AFK Travel Undercover City Durban Taxi Mural Durban’s potential tends to bubble beneath the surface, not quite as bold and direct as Johannesburg or Cape Town. Durban is a laid-back city on many counts, [...]
Summer in South Africa means platters of crayfish and local oysters, and glasses of local Chenin Blanc enjoyed by the water’s edge. *Olive Magazine asked me for my top ten defining Cape Town bites....not an easy ask. Out in Dec 2015 issue* Prime Position Luke Dale-Robert’s The Pot Luck Club, headed up by rising star Wesley [...]
A Love Letter to Durban, city of my birth - South Africa Durban, my hometown - the love I have for the city that made me who I am today. Durban ("Durbs") will forever live in my heart. For AFK Travel, 15 Dec 2015. From the chilly west coast of South Africa, I find myself looking [...]
Show Me the Way to the Next Corner Store - Cape Town, South Africa The small, independently run Cape Town Corner Stores are a dying breed, and those that still exist, do so valiantly and against the odds. Ishay Govender-Ypma shares the stories of seven local old stores, institutions to their loyal customers. For High Life, [...]
I hope You are Uncomfortable *Disclaimer, I am an independent black travel, food and culture writer. This advantage allows me to write about this issue unencumbered.* Last week, I was fuming. Fizzling, sparking like a dislodged pylon in a thunderstorm, snaking haphazard on the ground with firecracker bolts of electricity. That angry. When I checked [...]
