Tjing Tjing Zuidafrikaans Restaurant

South Africa is known to Westerners through the clichés of fear, disgust and apartheid. Brutal violence, the injustice of white privilege and black suffering. All these were true but only a part of the story. When you grow up in this society, as a child you are not aware of all the regulations and take it for normal. It is only as one grows older and looks at the situation objectively from afar that one gets to realise how complex the situation is but I found this to be with most westernized cultures.

As a clue to the complexity of the South African Human Mosaic, the country has eleven official languages and local culture embraces the strong rural translations of Spirit Diviners, traditional healers as well as the high tech computerized world. A world filled with extremely rich and educated to the extremely poor and un-privileged. In short, South Africa is a place of exceptional Human and Natural Energy, despite the history, colouration or landscape.

If we look past the strife and conflicts there is a slower pace and a
Greater Appreciation of Natural Beauty and community spirit. It is this Spirit that I would like to capture at Tjing Tjing in Amsterdam. A cosy, creative atmosphere, where cultures can meet culture’s and exchange and explore their past to know where they are going. A place of variety, art and edutainment, all working towards the greater establishment and multi-cultural Rainbow Nation.

From the beginning, South Africa has been a melting pot
where East meets West and North meets South.

Here is a short introduction to a part of the South African Kitchen of which Cape Malay cooking has a considerable influence on South African Culinary Traditions.

Known as Cape Cooking and is predominantly Indonesian in origin with Indian influences and a mixture of Dutch, Malay, French, German, Portuguese and English. Baked puddings, tarts and biscuits show a strong Dutch contribution and influence to the South African Kitchen.

Fruit preserves and chutneys are mainly French Huguenot in origin. The cuisine has evolved over the last 300 years and focuses on a spicy variation of European Dishes, updated and adapted, by curing indigenous fruits, vegetables, poultry and game. In the 17th century Malayan cooks were very much in demand in the predominantly Dutch homes and soon learned to prepare solid Dutch fare such as Melk Tert but added their own embellishment of herbs and spices. In here doing changed the humble olliebol into the Koeksister.

The VOC