Dinner with friends

Last night we had dinner with friends at a South African restaurant called Tjing Tjing Instead of ordering off the menu, we just told the chef to bring us whatever he wanted. (It helps that our friends know the chef). We started with an asparagus soup with smoked cheese and a variety of house salads , and then enjoyed an ostrich filet for our main course. After removing the plates, we got a new set of silverware, including a steak knife. I couldn't imagine a dessert that needed a steak knife, but was still surprised when ANOTHER main course was delivered. This time it was "kudu" which is like an antelope. It was also delicious but you can imagine my surprise when the chef came out and said "Are you ready for another main course? Or would you like dessert?" I know we're American, but how much did he expect us to eat? :-) We passed on a 3rd main course and had a delightful bread pudding instead.

Tonight we had dinner in the Jordaan neighborhood with a former co-worker of mine. He was in town for work and brought along 2 co-workers from the local office. We had a great time chatting and once again, I came away from the experience with more learnings about my new home. I learned:

1) It is considered down market to request tap water in a restaurant.
2) If you have leftovers, it considered down market to ask to take them home. (Though generally the portions here are much more reasonable than in the US)
3) A canal can divide a street so you have even numbers on one side of the canal while odd numbers are on the opposite side - BUT they don't synch up. ie: you can have #169 on one side of the canal, and directly across, it can be #374.
4) That I'm going to have a REALLY hard time pronouncing things correctly without sounding like I'm dealing with phlegm.