Braai - South African Restaurant

One of the things I love about New York is that no matter how many times I dine out, I'll never run out of new things to try. A couple of weeks ago, I had dinner with Mr. G his Ms. R and Ms. F. Ms. R suggested we try Braai, a South African restaurant in midtown. I was a little late but thankfully they hadn't decided what to order yet.

The appetizer special was a good value so we decided to select three items to share. Before our food arrived, we received an amuse bouche.

Those vegetable chili bites were fire! 

Spicy combo of tomatoes, peppers and onions served with a fried little ball of vegetable goodness. Few phrases sound as good as "compliments of the chef." ::sigh:: I definitely need more chefs in my life. Our appetizers eventually arrived. It was a nice presentation but I wish there was more on the plate. The Ostrich Mini Burgers were a welcome surprise.

I thought they would be like grilled chicken but the meat was ground and then shaped into patties. They were tasty but I can't say that I would have been able to identify them as ostrich. The Samosas were amazing.

Happiness-inducing little pastries filled with potatoes and peas. Last but not least were the scrumptious Crab Cakes.

I could have eaten a plateful of these. The size and shape was definitely a little different than the crab cakes I'm used to but I loved it!  The appetizer special is a good value. Just enough food to whet your appetite, but not enough to ruin it.  As soon as I started to get hungry again, our food arrived.  The Lamb Biriyani was a popular dish at our table.

Both Mr. G and Ms. F ordered it.  Heaping portions spilling out of the bowl.  I didn't taste it but based on the comments around the table, it was well seasoned, aromatic and flavorful. It also came with a number of sauces.

Pretty cool, huh? Ms. R ordered the Chicken Bobotie.

I'm not sure how to pronounce that but I love it anyway. The malay spiced ground chicken was cooked with a baked egg and served with coconut saffron rice. One of my favorite parts of dining at Braai was the amazing aroma of everything that was brought to the table, especially my Mozambican Prawns Peri Peri.

I definitely felt like a winner. The prawns were MONSTROUS and the flavor was out of this world! I absolutely loved this dish. The peri peri sauce was not as spicy as I normally like my food but it still tasted spectacular. I will definitely order this dish again. Braai was a great dining experience. I'm always happy to try something new so thanks to Ms. R for putting me on. I look forward to returning multiple times this summer.

Hungry yet?