Sushi & Seafood at Montego Bay Seafood Restaurant

Montego Bay Seafood Restaurant, Sushi and Oyster Bar was opened almost 20 years ago! To survive that long in the Food & Beverages industry, there has to be something special about it ... right? Well let's find out!

Located in the open area at Nelson Mandela Square, it's got a very nice, open air, cool breeze feel to it. And even in the middle of summer it still feels pretty nice.


After ordering, I look around and almost everyone is having oysters. I've never been a fan of oysters myself so I can't share in the joy - but at least I do have some multigrain bread to keep me company. It's a poor start to the meal, though - the bread is cold, which makes properly spreading the cold butter over it impossible.


In my haste & hunger I forgot to take a photo of the Salmon Roses (R 69 or $10.90 for four) with my camera, so you'll have to excuse the (poor) quality of this iPhone photo :)

Not that it matters though. As with many non-dedicated Japanese/sushi joints, the sushi is sub-par. Cold and clammy vinegared rice that has been squeezed so hard that it tastes more like ketupat than sushi rice.


The Scallop & Prawn Kebab (R 79 or $12.48), was ordered off the Chef's Recommendations section and turns out to be a disaster. I've never had prawns as tough as these. Actually, I've never even imagined that prawns could even be this tough. Chewy and rubbery, I've no idea how this starter made it to the recommendations list.


Heading on to the main course, the Peppered Tuna Steak (R 129 or $20.40) was a breath of fresh air after the starters. I'd perhaps have preferred it to be more strongly seasoned (seeing as it's described as "Peppered" but didn't have much pepper taste). I liked the flavor, though, and the accompanying mango salsa & mashed potatoes complemented the fish very well.


If you've never had a tuna steak, they typically come medium rare, so the middle 75% is basically raw. Which is a good thing, because I can't imagine being served a dry tuna steak cooked all the way through.


Overall, a disappointing start to the meal rescued by a solid tuna steak. If I ever do come back to visit, I'll definitely skip the sushi and go for the other grilled seafood items on the menu - things like lobster, langoustines, prawns and other fish. And maybe by that time I'll be an Oyster connoisseur :)

Seafood and Springbok Carpaccio at o'Galito

Back in Johannesburg for another short 2-week stay! Previous visit to o'Galito: 25 Sept 2011. We start off with the same delightful bread roll - soft, fluffy, crispy. Too bad they don't sell these buns or I'd have ordered some to take home for tomorrow's breakfast.


Since I've never eaten this animal before I just had to try the Springbok Carpaccio (54 rand). Set on a bed of salad with nuts and a light balsamic vinegar-based dressing, overall it was quite nice! The Springbok meat was sweet and tender, not unlike a cross between beef and venison.


If you're wondering what a Springbok is, it's one of South Africa's symbols (sort of a 'national animal,' if you will). Oh, and it's quite cute looking, too!


The Fish and Prawn combo (135 rand) comes with 6 prawns and 200gm of line fish. What is line fish? It's not an actual fish, but the local South African term for "fish of the day."


The seafood comes with a choice of three sauces - lemon cream, garlic, and peri peri. It's good that you can season your seafood with your sauce of choice, but I prefer my food cooked in the sauces to get more flavor infusion. Anyways the flesh of the prawns was a tad bit mushy (seemed quite fresh though as I could peel the shell off easily), and the fish was good without being fishy.


At 205 rand ($32) including a bottle of coke, the food's actually pretty good value for money, I think. Sandton is an office area so you're unlikely to come here if you're on vacation; if you do find yourself in the neighbourhood then o'Galito is a solid choice for lunch or dinner. Non-halal.

Mountain o' Ribs at o'Galito Restaurant

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"Portugese, Seafood and Sushi." Sort of an odd combination, isn't it? Almost every other restaurant I can think of serves generally only one 'type' of cuisine. You wouldn't go to a chinese restaurant expecting a medium-rare steak, for instance. In any case these are the three main 'cuisine' that o'Galita Restaurant specializes in, so I try and see whether too much variety means too many compromises!


One thing about Johannesburg is that the weather is lovely for sitting outdoors. Even at lunchtime it's only about 20degrees! Nice and sunny and yet cool at the same time = awesome. Not too cold to have a cold coke, too! (16 Rand)


The (complimentary) bun sets sky-high expectations - it's delicious! The crust is light and crispy without being tough, and the insides are tasty, and fluffy! Awesome bun, I was almost going to ask the waiter to cancel the rest of my order and just bring me another half dozen of the buns.


Onwards to the food, though! I decide to skip the traditional starter, and instead have an appetizer of sushi! One pair of salmon sushi (R42) and one pair of 'twins' sushi (R42). The sushi rice is just decent, and the salmon is a bit ... tough. The 'twins' sushi is quite interesting, though. It's sushi rice topped with tobiko (flying fish roe) and wrapped in tuna and salmon, and tastes pretty good! the tobiko provides a nice crunchy texture to the sushi.


For my main course, something catches my eye on the menu - the 1kg Portugese style Ribs (R165). It comes as literally a small mountain of heaped glorious pork ribs, with some veg and chips on the side. The taste is absolutely heavenly, and the waiters also bring along some peri-peri sauce for you to up the heat if you so wish. On the downside, though, I do think the meat was a tad bit on the dry side and perhaps slightly overcooked a little. Still tender enough to eat with your fingers, though! Didn't have to touch my knife the entire time.


Overall, for R265 (or about RM100), it isn't cheap, but food's pretty good! Sadly the mountain of ribs overwhelmed my stomach capacity so I couldn't try any of the desserts on the menu.

o'Galito is in the Benmore Gardens Mall, in the heart Johannesburg's Sandton suburb.