The Grate App Blog

Tuesday, 17 August 2021

Watcha gonna do

"Bad boys bad boys whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you"

Well one thing you can do when they come for you is to check your smartwatch for your heart rate, speed, location, blood saturation levels and many more

In this data-driven world smartwatches offer a third eye to look at your body from, gone are the days where you need to go to a doctor to view your heart rate and other data.

Now you can monitor your heart rate, sleep quality and blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂) all from the comfort of your wrist..

Monitor everything

You are now your body's own data subject, you are your own big brother.

Now we know what you are thinking - "They are just trying to sell us smartwatches" and you would be correct: Smartwatch sales link but at least we are upfront about it :-)

But there is more...

Our editor at large has been using a smartwatch for 3-5 years and we will just let him share his experience

My experience

I have a Huawei Band 3

Initially, I used the watch as all watches should be used - to tell the time
Over time I started using its workout modes tracking and heart rate monitoring. A few things that annoyed me about it were the short battery life, charging connector, and lack of SpO₂ monitoring. Now I'm a sports nut and love the data but I want more
Recently I tried sleeping with the watch on and I am blown away by the results. I can now view detailed sleep graphs showing when I fell asleep, deep sleep, woke up, and for what duration. Now I can correlate the ratio of sleep/deep sleep and measure it against productivity the following day. I have also set the alarm on the watch so no more loud alarm to wake my wife up as I get up at 5am to start my day.
Now I love my watch and i have turned off the heart rate monitoring as it consumes the battery life, all i need now is the SpO₂ monitoring and I will be happy.
editor at large

Based on this we have compiled a list of key smart watch features you should be on the lookout for

Screen

There are two key technologies with the screens : TFT, Amoled

Amoled is the more advanced and great for in sun screen visibility (great for when you are out for a run or marathon)

Other watches have larger displays that allow you to customize background pics and the likes

https://thegrateapp.com/product/xiaomi-mi-watch/

GPS

GPS is one of the key smartwatch features, if you ever go out running, walking or cycling and want to sync your watch to a monitoring app that will show where you were on the map then GPS is vital.

This is a key feature that separates budget watches. If you are not really into tracking your every movement on a map but still want the monitoring then a watch like the XIAOMI band 5 is a good option

Battery life

The longer the better. The end.

Okay there is a bit more to it than that and here are some of the prominent watches their battery life

Watch	Battery life	Price
XIAOMI MI SMART BAND 5	14-day extra long battery life.	R700
Huawei Band 4	6 days of usage time.	R1200
Huawei Watch FIT – Black/Pink	Up to 10-day battery life	R2600
XIAOMI MI WATCH	16 days of long battery life	R2100
XIAOMI MI WATCH LITE	9 days of battery life.	R1100
XIAOMI SMART BAND 6	Up to 14-day battery life	R899

Smart Watch Battery Comparision

Monitoring

When it comes to monitoring there are some key sensors to consider

Blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂)
Sleep monitoring : sleep duration, deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep
PPG biosensor measures your heart rate
Stress Monitor
Calories monitoring

If you are looking for a watch that monitors all these then have a look at the XIAOMI SMART BAND 6

Workouts

Most watches have certain excercise/workout modes. These may include cycling, running, free training, pool swimming and open water swimming.

All these workouts require certain seonsors to be activated. There is nothing worse then going for a 50km cycle only to find out your watch is not recording the calories burnt as it senses that your arm is stationery and does not count the calories.

The standout watches here are the Huawei watch fit which has 96 Workout Modes and the XIAOMI MI fit which has 17 professional workout modes and 100 extended workout modes and can be used for triathlons, swimming and HIIT.

Monday, 26 July 2021

Fight the power

The Grate App 00:31

Warriors assemble

Are you ready for load-shedding?

Do you have your rechargeable lights charged?

Candles insight? Matches and lighters at your fingertips?

The kettle boiled and fireplace nice and warm?

What if we told you there was a device you could get that would render all of this futile?

A device that could power your essentials and more

A device that can keep your TV and router on as you watch the Olympics

Introducing the mini-Power Station

How does this work you ask yourself? Well you plug it in the wall socket to charge when there is power and run your TV, router and other appliances when there is no power

Device No. 1 - RCT

Get the RCT MegaPower 80000mAh AC Power Bank which has 2 USB ports and AC Power Points
Features
-Portable compact AC power supply
-Universal AC output socket to power all electronics up to 200W
-USB type A & type C output to charge multiple phones & tablets
-Perfect for camping & outdoor events • Ideal for load shedding as it can
-BATTERY RATINGS: 80000mAh

Available for R4700 from the Grate Tech Store

Device No. 2 - RavPower

The Gizzu 296Wh Portable Power Station is the ideal solution for power outages. It features a 300W power output, 80000mAh lithium-ion battery, 296Wh, an LED flashlight, and a rugged, portable design for powering various small appliances and devices.

Available for R4599 from the Grate tech store

Thursday, 15 June 2017

wraps

Durban's finest

The Grate App 08:14

Some say the best thing to come out of Durban is Ink Foods, Qom and the Indian Ocean(in no specific order)

So while some of you Google what Qom is, others will be curious about the place occupying the number one spot.

Ink Foods is an amazing KwaMashu based food joint.
We discovered this special joint on #BurgerRouteZA and fell in love with the burger.
We reached out and had a chat with owner Sizwe Zulu and this is how the conversation went down

Ladies, Gentlemen and Foodies : Ink Foods

Food - check
Sunglasses - check
Phone - check
The Grate App - check

So there are always three questions we have in the back of our minds when we do a foodie-view(foodie interview) What, Where and Why?

So we started and asked What is Ink Foods, where does it come from and what does it represent. Essentially Ink foods is a company born out of the love of people and food, its aim is to fill a huge gap in the Township food industry!

Huge Gap indeed! If you run an analysis on the market size of the food industry in South Africa you will be pleasantly shocked.

The name of the restaurant came from an acronym INK – INANDA, NTUZUMA KWA MASHU
Each week thousands of consumers leave the township to eat out. On average consumers want the convenience of doing this not too far from home however the township doesn’t provide suitable sit down restaurants. Come to think of it there aren't many sit down restaurants in the townships so we think Ink foods is onto something

Just looking at the images we can already tell the burgers and wraps are the best biggest sellers and we know foodies who would fly down to Durban just for that milkshake, Outstanding!

We wonder how the food scene in Durban is compared to Jozi-burg and Cape Town, Ink Food did indicate that the food scene in Durban is slow compared to Cape town and Johannesburg. Durban has more party rockers then foodies however over the past two years they have seen a rise of a few independently owned restaurants but they still have a very long way to go!

We must say that the Ink Cups are a Grate touch! Definitely collectors items

Being foodies we asked Ink Food what are their top 5 foodie hotspots in Durban and we will post that list on our Facebook Page

We love movements and this looks like a Grate movement to support, so next time you are in Durban, Ink your journey down to Ink Foods and guess what, that burger you see below will be waiting just for you!

Follow Ink Foods on Facebook and Instagram and watch out for their awesome Gratings on the Grate App

As Beyonce famously said ""if you like then you better out a ring on it" that Grate App team says "if you like it then you better put a share on it"

Tuesday, 13 June 2017

Spier of the monent

The Grate App 11:50

Before today the term #wcw referred to woman crush Wednesday but after today we as the Grate App bequeath #wcw as wine crush Wednesday.

So who are we crushing on today? Which fine wine has earned the right to be a wine of the week?

Emerging from the coding and wine capital of the South Africa Stellenbosch we have a wine farm called Spier and today we take a proverbial sip of the fine wines that Spier produces. Enjoy.

Spier is known for their award-winning wines, their four star village style hotel, farm-to-table eatery Eight Restaurant and the Hoghouse BBQ and Bakery.

Renowned for its responsible tourism approach, Spier has been recognised by various external organisations including Fair Trade in Tourism (FTTSA) and the Wine Industry Ethical Trade Association (WIETA), and was awarded gold at the African Responsible Tourism Awards 2016 in the category of Best for Accommodation for Responsible Employment.

Spier also supports many and varied environmental and social initiatives, which includes ways to reduce water usage. Spier recycles more than 100% of its wastewater, and more than 95% of its solid waste! Spier supports local communities through the Tree-preneur project, which encourages people in impoverished communities to grow trees in exchange for essential goods.

I’m sure as you are reading this, you’re thinking: when can I visit the winelands? I need to unwind over a long lunch!

And trust us, you do.

Chef Lorianne Heyns serves up fresh, farm-style cuisine at Spier Hotel's restaurant and wine bar as well as at Eight, Spier’s farm-to-table eating experience. “Being on the farm and seeing the seasons change, you feel more connected to nature. It has a big impact on the thinking behind the dishes you create,” says Chef Lolli. Inspired by ingredients sourced from the Spier farm or suppliers with a similar approach, Chef Lolli perfectly pairs the Spier wines to each dish.

Now comes the part all the Grate foodies have been waiting for, the wine.

Cellar Master Frans Smit is the driving force behind the wines, working to “to get the most out of each grape with as little interference as possible”. He truly believes that the quality of the wine starts in the vineyard.

Spier has three wine ranges:

· Spier Signature, their classic everyday drinking range;
· Spier Creative Block, the range of wine blends;
· 21 Gables, the top-tier range that celebrates the history of winemaking in South Africa.

Spier’s flagship wine, Frans K. Smit, was named after their Cellar Master, who has also been a member of the esteemed Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) since 2010 – an association of the top winemakers in the country.

Now if we had to choose between these amazing wines we have a feeling that the Frans K. Smit flagship wine would be the chosen one.

But wine is made to be enjoyed - whether you enjoy it with your friends at a dinner party, or have a glass by yourself while cooking, it is meant to enhance your experience. And if you can make your way to Spier, do try to fit in as many experiences as you can! From farm-to-table food, amazing wines, seasonal picnics, vineyard tours on a Segway, interacting with rehabilitated birds-of-pray at the Eagle Encounters or just relaxing next to the Eerste river.

At the Grate App, we are not just about food but food memories and from the looks of it foodies can create a myriad of memories at Spier.

Next we took a deep dive into the wine making process, what makes Spier wines unique?

All wine is made essentially in the same way:
White wines is made from white grapes (in most cases). At Spier, we hand-harvest grapes early morning, and hand sort it before crushing it to separate the juice from the grape skins. The juice is transferred into tanks to undergo fermentation under controlled temperatures.

Red wine is made from red grapes. Where white wine is made by pressing the juice from the skins early on, red wines gets its colour by extracting it from the red skins during the fermentation process.

So the different wines styles (and prices) can all be attributed to the different methods used during the crafting process, eg. whether a wine ferments in a stainless steel tank or in a French oak barrel, whether a wine ends up in barrel for further maturation, whether those barrels are new or used.

At Spier, they ferment and age wine in a variety of vessels like stainless steel tanks, wooden barrels, open top wooden fermenters and cement eggs.

That sounds like a great amount of technique, skill and experience goes into every bottle of the Spier wines and with Cellar Master Frans Smit at the helm you can expect only the best.

Now we are sure you are reading this and wondering where can you get ahold of these amazing wines we have Grate news for you, Spier wines are available nationwide, or directly from the farm at http://store.spierwines.co.za

Tuesday, 6 June 2017

smoked chicken

Restaurant of the Week : Gemelli

The Grate App 13:23

Hey Grate foodies

Before we get into it we must just state our level of excitement, we have been fans of Gemelli for ages now, we have been following the restaurant and have become real fans of their work, style and Italian flavor

Headed by the incredible Alessandro Mosupi Khojane and head chef Paulo Santo, Gemelli is a little piece of Italy right here in Bryanston.

Look at that isn't it just stunning

As they say true beauty lies on the inside and outside so now that we have seen the outside lets have a peak inside

We had a chat with Head Chef Paulo and this is how the story goes

We first asked Paulo how he would describe Gemelli in a tweet, Paulo - "Gemelli is a contemporary Italian inspired, casual family dining restaurant"

We love the earth tones and imagery around the restaurant, it gives you a sense of fine Italian art and the restaurant just has a sense of style and casual elegance, Just look at it!

We love love love the decor and story it tells next we wondered how the restaurant’s name come about?

Paulo - "Gemelli (Italian) translates into “twins” in English. Owner Alessandro and brother Thabo Khojane (investor) looked very alike growing up, as though they were twins. The word is also an extension of our approach to family in this business. As the slogan goes: La Famiglia prima (The family first).

Family first all the time or should we say La Famiglia prima tutto il tempo.

Our slogan at the Grate App is Food first everything else last, we will not try translate that to Italian as we might break the internet but here goes - "cibo di prima tutto il resto lo scorso"

While we on the topic of food lets dig in

We asked Paulo a very tough question, what is Gemelli's signature dish? whats that one dish everyone keeps coming back for?

Paulo eluded to the fact that many of the dishes in Gemelli’s relatively short history have become firm favourites with their clients. Slightly more so than most would be our signature pasta & risotto dishes, including the Penne Alessandro (featuring smoked chicken, prawn & creamy mustard) and our Linguine di Mare (shellfish linguine pasta).

Smoked chicken, prawn and creamy mustard sounds like a Grate combination, we cant wait for foodies to come to Gemelli and Grate this dish

We then tried to take Paulo back in time and asked him what his favorite memory from Gemelli is? Was it when the restaurant opened or when they had a famous celebrity over?

"Personally, the day we opened was a blur as there was so much going on all at once. I’d say my most memorable moment was sharing a minute with Alessandro on the night of our 1^st birthday party, to pause and take stock of what we’d achieved in one short year"

Gemelli are active on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and you can follow and visit the restaurant and create Grate food memories

You can have a Quick Tour of the restaurant

Grazie from the Grate App Team

Don't forget to share, all you have to do is click on any one of the buttons below :-) do you covefe(okay we had to just throw that in)?

Thursday, 11 May 2017

Trinchado

Clay Oven

The Grate App 11:52

This weeks #GrateRestaurantOfTheWeek is the legendary Clay Oven.
Situated in Jukskei Park in Randburg, this gem is definitely awaiting to be discovered.

Clay Oven is not about mincy-fancy-pants nouvelle/nouveau/haute cuisine.
They are about real food. That’s what we are about : first and second generation Portuguese and Greek Cypriot immigrants making the food they know and grew up with.

Joe is the Chef. He works his kitchen with a determination that would take your breath away. No one can keep up with him… energiser bunny on steroids!

Anyone a fan of Real food? Lets dig in 😁

G-How would you describe your restaurant in 140 characters?

C-FAMILY “PortuGreek” fusion food; combines Portuguese/Cypriot influences… with strong SA roots. Real family food!

G-How did the restaurant’s name come about?
C-An associate offered us the name he’d had registered. We were building an oven; the concept fitted and we took it

G-What is your signature dish? The one everyone keeps coming back for?
C-That’s like asking us which one of our children is our favourite! Trinchado! Moussaka! Tempura veg! Onion rings!...

G-What is your Favourite memory from Clay Oven ? Was it when you opened, was it when you had a famous celebrity over?
C-Every KID that tells their parents to bring them HERE. No playground no games. They like us and come to us to EAT. That’s special!

G-What is your favourite social media channel and where can Grate App users follow you on social media? Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pintrest

C-We are very active on FaceBook with almost daily posts – Keeps everybody informed. Twitter too.

So there you have it #foodies Clay Oven
Pop on over and get your Grate on

You can also follow Clay Oven on their social media pages and by searching for them on the grate App

Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

#share #share #share

Thursday, 4 May 2017

wining

Foodie of the Week : Glamfoodie

The Grate App 14:18

Today's foodie of the week is the highly talented Glamfoodie AKA Charmaine Mampe Ramalope.

You might have stumbled into one of Glamfoodie's exclusive events on social media and wished you were there.
Joburger turned Capetownian, extravagant foodie and courageous entrepreneur.

Lets dig deeper and get to know the Glam that forms apart of this gorgeous artsy IT foodie

GR: What is your most memorable food memory?

GF: Growing up I remember my grandmother used to collect cookbooks and recipes, she used to try out different cuisines and most times improvised because we didn't have much. Her ability to turn simple ingredients into delicious meals always stand out. Thanks to her, I had the best school lunches. Her homemade pies were the best!

GR : Who is Charmaine, how would you describe Charmaine in 3 words, what do each of those words represent?

GF : Charmaine Mampe Ramalope is a PASSIONATE foodie. I'm infatuated with food. Cooking is my creative outlet.

TENACIOUS - determined and unwavering. Whatever I set out to do I make sure I get it done.

RESILIENT - Being an entrepreneur has its challenges and despite the setbacks I've encountered along my journey I've been able to always get up and start over.

GR : What is the one thing no one knows about you? Well I guess they will after reading this, so nothing to incriminating

GF : Not a lot of people don't know that I actually studied Fine Arts and Information Technology. I'm bit of an artsy geek, shy and reserved.

GR: How did the Glamfoodie name come about?

GF: When I started GlamFoodie in 2015, Foodies were either hobbyists or bloggers, no one was offering a compelling and comprehensive service; the category lacked professionalism. I felt that I could exploit the gap and provide a complete foodie package. I wanted to also showcase what the South African fine food & luxury wine culture was all about.

GR: We love the can do attitude. When you spot an opportunity, take it :-), we wonder what Charmaine's favorite wine is...

GR: Glamfoodie hosts allot of exclusive glamorous events, which is your most memorable?

GF: Yes, I collaborate with talented chefs and bespoke wine brands to create upscale food and wine pairing events. My first event was by far the most memorable, it was a 5-course food and wine pairing dinner which I collaborated with SA's first Masterchef winner Deena Naidoo and showcased award-winning wines from the Glen Carlou wine estate.

GR: Talk about setting the bar high, 5-course food and wine pairing event with Deena Naidoo on a wine estate as a first event. All we can say is levels

GR: Does Glamfoodie host its own events only or does it host for external parties too?

GF: I do cater for external parties too.

GR: We are sold, next Grate event you definitely have our business :-)

GR : The move to Cape-Town, what brought it about

GF : The move to Cape Town came about because I'm constantly seeking career growth and grow my business as well. Cape Town is the South African food capital so naturally as a foodie and wine enthusiast it was a no-brainer. I'm looking to learn as much as I can about the food & wine industry

GR: How would you describe the food scenes in Jozi and Cape Town? Do you have a favourite spot in Cape Town?

GF :The food scene in Cape Town is much different from Joburg, culinary trends start in Cape Town and there's an abundance of world class restaurants which we don't have as many in JHB. I absolutely love that the Cape Winelands are easily accessible. My number one spot at the moment is Faber Restaurant which is situated at the Avondale Wine estate in Paarl -it's a stunning country style restaurant that focuses on refined dining. Chef-owner Eric Bullpit spent time in Europe working in some Michelin starred kitchens, he's brought back a wealth of culinary expertise which is evident in the dishes they create - it's an absolute delight dining there!

What a wow!

Such culinary prowess

Follow Glamfoodie on Instagram, Facebook , Twitter and also look out for her Gratings on the Grate App

Foodies you Know what to do now right? Share Share Share

Tuesday, 17 August 2021

Watcha gonna do

My experience

Screen

GPS

Battery life

Monitoring

Workouts

Monday, 26 July 2021

Fight the power

Warriors assemble

Introducing the mini-Power Station

Device No. 1 - RCT

Device No. 2 - RavPower

Thursday, 15 June 2017

Durban's finest

Tuesday, 13 June 2017

Spier of the monent

Tuesday, 6 June 2017

Restaurant of the Week : Gemelli

Thursday, 11 May 2017

Clay Oven

Thursday, 4 May 2017

Foodie of the Week : Glamfoodie

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