Heritage Day aka National Braai Day

Two saturdays ago (yes, it's that sad, I'm THAT behind), was Heritage Day in South Africa which is also known as the National Braai day.  Inevitably, (unless you're South African or has been to South Africa) you will ask, what is Braai?

A wiki search shows that the definition of "Braai" is "grilled meat.  It's what we would call a barbecue.  Unfortunately my social circle hasn't been built enough to get myself invited to a Braai on National Braai day.  As a result, I have yet to experience a real "Braai".  I am now declaring one of my goals before I leave in December to be experiencing a real South African Braai (epic-ly) So instead of going to a Braai, I decided to visit the Bryanston Organic Market which promised a Heritage day celebration.  

The Bryanston Organic Market is actually very cute (as you can see in the pictures below).  It's an outdoor market that only sells organic goods.  All the stalls are owned by local business owners (entrepreneurs) and you can find anything from organic vegetables, cheese, bread to handicrafts to clothes to super expensive wool throws.  

I got there shortly after noon and they were already double parking... I was worried that the car that I blocked would need to leave, so I had to keep going back to check every so often.

Here's the area where I decided to sit down and have lunch

There was a live band!

so cute :D

The beef bobotie I had for lunch!  I figured it must be South African since I have never heard of the name before.  I checked to make sure it was not lamb, and then ordered

It's like a type of beef quiche. It was very delicious

I was lucky that when I sat down and devoured my beef bobotie, the Alexandra Gospel Choir picked that area for their stage!  They were performing throughout the day and throughout the market.

Everyone was dressed up in their traditional clothing.  (Some zulu, some swati.. and some others)

They also sang and danced

The music was beautiful and it was sang in one of the native languages

In fact, Alexandra has been identified as another area where I was not supposed to go to (it's a poor-ish area with high crime rate).  Hence , it was great that it was brought to me =)

Next up, I have some pictures of interesting/pretty items that I found at the market.

They were selling kits to grow your own mushroom...quite interesting... I didn't stick around long enough to figure out how much they cost

These were beautifully woven wool scarves and throws with ostrich feather at the ends.  They were in the ranges of R500 to R2000 ($80 CAD to 300+).  

All kinds of wooden fruit for decoration

Bead art! It' like when I used to play with hot beads, but prettier

I wanted the bunny! but couldn't buy him

The Alexandra Gospel choir performed again elsewhere in the market

After leaving the market, I decided to swing by the Fourways area (where Kanya lives) to visit the Fruit and Veg (a grocery store) just to check it out.  I ended up finding the following pleasant surprise

Three shelves full of Asian sauces!!! Lee Kum Kay's and Kikkomans!!! :D I ended up buying only 2 though (sesame oil and garlic black bean sauce)

And here's a picture of what i bought from the market =)

A beautiful handmade hair clip with peacock feather and ostrich feather (I made the lady take it off her hair because I liked this one the best)  Her brand is African Goddess.  I wish I had dresses in mind and have an occassion to go to so that I can get her to customize and make one for me. 

A transformation perfumist made the mood perfume - it's got a beautiful and soothing blend that's supposed to destress me.  I have been using it since and I love it.  Beewax lip balm and a necklace =)