You don’t often get the opportunity to drive on one of the coolest roads in the world, and when you do it is important to seize it. The Chapman’s Peak Drive between Cape Town and Cape Point in South Africa is one of those roads that offer breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains. Along the way, you’ll find several restaurants where you can stop for a meal or a snack, but the one that stands out is the Chapman’s Peak Hotel, which is known for its delectable squid dish. I could go on and on about the mouth-watering food, but I’ll let the picture of the drive below do the talking.
With a perfect view of the polluted, yet beautiful turquoise waters of Hout Bay. Yet, Chapman’s Peak Hotel is more famous for a little something on its menu: calamari. If you read my blog enough, you may have noticed a distinct lack of seafood. Yeah, I dabble, but I usually prefer terrestrial meat over the aquatic variety. Nonetheless, along with my glass of South African pinotage wine, by recommendation of a certain Zimbabwean cousin of mine we ordered a calamari appetizer and it was simply fantastic.
Topped with crispy bread crumbs and seemingly pan-fried, the calamari was truly notable because of the size of the squid rings. Seriously, I don’t know if such calamari exists anywhere else, but this added so much to the dish and made me wish all calamari could be this way. Unfortunately, it cannot, and while I was never much for calamari in the past, Chapman’s Peak Hotel has spoiled me and made me realize just how much the potential of fried squid has been squandered everywhere else.
