The Restaurant at Waterkloof

April 22, 2016April 22, 2016 ~ WorkFoodHome ~ Leave a comment

It was hubby and my 14^th wedding anniversary this week. We don’t often go out, but on special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries, we really make an effort and go to a really special place. Living in the Cape Town surrounds we are really spoilt for choice as 8 of the top 10 restaurants featured in the yearly EatOut Mercedes Benz awards in South Africa are actually located here!

So for this years’ anniversary celebration, we decided that The Restaurant at Waterkloof would be our pick of the crop. The Waterkloof wine estate is located close to Somerset-West, on the south-facing slopes of the Schapenberg, and it offers beautiful vistas over False Bay. The views over Somerset West, towards Gordons Bay and out to sea are breath-taking and the contemporary architecture of the cellar and restaurant makes this the perfect setting to celebrate such a special occasion. Part of the restaurant’s seating area is housed in a ‘glass box’ that juts out from the concrete building and it offers uninterrupted mountain, vineyard and ocean views. We were there in the evening and the way that the twinkling lights below line the bay is truly spectacular.

So, with me being such a foodie (and a foodie in the sense of me loving to eat food!), combined with sitting down in one of South Africa’s top 10 restaurants gave me the idea to try my hand at writing a food review. The idea is not critiquing, but rather trying to convey all the flavours in a written form… so how hard can it be?

I can tell you now… it is very difficult! Naturally not all the ingredients of each dish is divulged on the menu, which means that it is up to the fantastic waiters to convey what each wonderful, delicious mouthful consists of. Once you try to commit to memory what every smear, drop and crumb contains, you end up realising that you have to place your hope on your palate as it would be impossible to recall what the waiter so effortlessly told you while you are tasting all the gorgeousness on the plate and savouring each bite!

Hubby and I opted for the three course menu and this is what went down!

Complementary amuse-bouche from the kitchen:

This lovely little appetizer consisted out of a rooibos jelly, dotted with pumpkin cream and an almond sprinkle. Blackened leek shavings completed this perfect little mouthful. The pumpkin cream was surprisingly savoury and the jelly so light. The leeks being blackened slightly really intensified the onion flavour and added a lovely smokiness to this bite sized delight!

Saute snails with fleur de sel sable, spinach and blue cheese:

image2 (2) I opted for the snails as a starter. I always like to try new things that I can’t make at home myself and this was surely one to try. I’ve only ever known the snails in the local steakhouse, smothered in garlic and mozzarella! Boy, is there so much more to snails! The beautiful green ‘wings’ is actually parsley chips and it tasted amazing… like a paper thin crispy potato chip. The snails were served with a spinach puree, garlic cream sauce on the plate but what really made it for me was the blue cheese sauce served on the side. The garlic and blue cheese combined beautifully with the soft snails, while the spinach puree had some freshness to it. The salted crumb added a wonderful texture to the dish.

Sea Bass Ceviche and Celeriac with snoek, seaweed and bottarga:

Hubby opted for the fresh seafood and of course I sneaked a little taste! The celeriac discs were folded beautifully and in my mind looked like a little sea creature in itself under which all the wonderful seafood was hiding. The flavours of the sea bass ceviche was clean, while the snoek and bottarga provided a bit of saltiness. In hubby’s words: “Not over complicated, and perfectly balanced”

Karoo braised lamb shoulder with courgette, granola and cashews:

image3 (1) Karoo lamb. The best lamb in the world, in my opinion. This was hubby’s choice and it is right up his ally. The lamb shoulder was so tender and sticky and had great flavour. Although I can’t recall the waiter saying so, I could definitely taste the smallest hint of curry – maybe a masala spice? The granola and cashews added a different spin on the normal meat and two veg!

Seared Mauritius Sea Bass with caramelized fennel, grapefruit beurre blanc:

I opted for a fishy main. Quite unusual for me, because, although I love seafood, I am typically sucked in by meats! However, I love fennel, so that was the first thing that caught my eye and when I saw grapefruit, my mind was made up. I just had to taste this combination! The fish was perfectly prepared with a great crisp on the skin. The grilled fennel was served with grapefruit and orange segments. I’ve had fennel and orange before in a salad, but adding the grapefruit just added a touch of bitterness which I really enjoyed. Additionally, and orange and grapefruit poached endive was served with the fennel and I could not believe how the endive actually absorbed the taste of citrus fruits. However, the star of the dish for me was the grapefruit beurre blanc. It really tied the dish together and with each bit I would lather up the sauce. Delicious!

Complementary pre-dessert from the kitchen:

image1 (2) We were served a little vanilla crema with a cinnamon tuile and cinnamon gel, topped with coconut crumbs. Definitely a combination made in heaven! I loved the intense taste of the cinnamon tuile!

Belnori Forest Phantom with pistachio brittle and truffled pear:

image3 (3) So for dessert, I decided to try something different. I was served a beautiful goats’ cheese, with a pistachio brittle and sweet slices of pear. This is an amazing alternative to a cheese course. I do love goats cheese so this was the perfect dessert for me; the sourness of the cheese with the addition of the sweet pear was a match made in heaven. The pistachio brittle was also just the right amount of sweet and savoury! I must admit, when I ordered this dessert and the waiter told me what it was just to make sure that I am comfortable with it, I did think twice. However, my gut was right – I highly recommend it.

Dulcey Cremeux with pistachio, orange, rice pudding ice cream:

For me it was between the Belnori Forest Phantom above or this Dulcey Cremeux for dessert. Well, thank goodness for hubby and that we could share! This dessert was as amazing! (Come to think of it, do it like we did – share!) It consists out of a beautiful green pistachio sponge, rice pudding ice cream, a hazelnut tuile on a base of cocoa crumbs. There was a wonderful pop of orange flavour – dare I say an orange curd? Oh, it was delicious – gooey chocolate, with the gently flavoured ice-cream. The cocoa crumbs adding a bit of bitterness and the orange curd some acidity. Out of this world!

image1 (3) And just to push you over the edge, when you receive your bill, they bring out the best ‘after dinner mints’ ever – a feather light choux pastry filled with a blueberry cream, a tangy tangerine jelly and finally a deliciously decadent bitter sweet truffle!

Chef Gregory Czarnecki is a master at work and he has a great team supporting him. The service is warm and friendly and you feel appreciated and taken care of. Great food, great wine and great service in a stunning location.

Do yourself – and your tastebuds – a favour, and when you are next in the vicinity, make a reservation! (Else you can try and use this as inspiration for a home cooked feast… let me see if I can go find some garden snails… NOT!)

La dolce vita

April 15, 2016 ~ WorkFoodHome ~ Leave a comment

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Rome was an amazing city to explore; the only thing was that a map of the city was just about useless for me. I remember standing at the corner of a street, turning the map in any which way you can think of, but I just could not make sense of it! It seemed as if every single street led to yet another piazza and I could never figure out which was the right street to take once we walked out the other side! But this was actually the best part – just walking about and ending up seeing much more than what we would have if we just went straight to the next destination. Even to this day we don’t use online ‘street view maps’ when we arrive in a new city. I see too many tourists walking with their noses pressed up against the screen of their phones, never stopping to look up and around at all they are missing out on.

It’s hard to pick a favourite from all there is to see and do; but I will start with people watching. I loved the people watching. Be it sitting on the Spanish Steps, watching locals and tourists, watching locals and tourists alike (!) or sitting in small, unknown piazzas we stumbled across, watching real Roman life go by. In one particular little square we sat down on the steps, and a local mom and her daughter came to sit next to us. The little girl had so much energy and you could tell all the mom really wanted to do was to sit and take a bit of a break. Very excited the little girl talked and gestured to her mom and off she went – running around the square, and back to her mom. Turns out mom was “timing” her little run around the piazza! She kept going for at least half an hour – and remarkably her time “improved” each time she came back to check! A very creative way to tire the little one out, if you ask me.

Rome has an inordinate amount of things to see. I can’t remember how many things we had on our “must-see” list, but what I do know is that we definitely did not make it to everything!

Down romantic cobbled streets and alleyways we walked into countless beautiful churches (and not even the famous ones!)

But St Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican museums were definitely a highlight. However, we warned, the Vatican museums are packed in the morning. We booked online tickets and got to skip the line (which was at least 1.5km long!) but still, once inside the entrance area, hubby had to hand in his back-pack and I had to pick up our actual tickets. We split up to do this, almost to never find each other again amongst what seemed like 10 000 people mulling about! (Top tip #1 – If you decide to split up in the entrance hall, agree on where to meet each other again. I will never forget the feeling of dread when I turned around from the ticket counter and saw a sea of people, and no hubby in sight! Top tip #2 – Visit the Vatican museums in the afternoon. We left around lunch time and the entrance hall was like a graveyard!) It was pure instinct that drew the two of us towards each other. It was such a relief to see him again! However, all the stress was worth the crowds and you’ve got to go see it for yourself.

No visit to Rome would be complete without visiting the spectacular Colosseum. We booked a tour that included access to the passages underneath and that ends up with you walking out into the arena. WOW! It was really worth booking this. I could not even begin to imagine how overwhelming it must have been walking out to a packed amphitheatre full of people screaming and shouting. It’s hard to believe that this was constructed in AD 72 – 80. The ingenuity of that time is something to behold. (We went on to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill after visiting the Colosseum. (Top tip #3 – bad idea! We were exhausted afterwards… and the 37° heat didn’t help!)

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And as much as the piazzas stood in the way of my navigation skills, I loved all of them. Sure, some are filled with touristy restaurants with waiters all but fetching you in the middle of the square to come and dine at their establishment, but the vibe is undeniable. We stayed close to piazza Navona and had the privilege of walking through it a few times a day! The Four Rivers fountain roars with water as street performers and artists rival for your attention. My favourite night time spot was probably Campo de’ Fiori. Musicians battle it out in the square for their turn to play, while people would buzz in and out of the restaurants and bars that line the piazza. We sat down at a place with an odd name: Sloppy Sam’s – and they tagline “sloppy in the back, classy in the front”! Huh? Who cares?! I loved it!

From a food perspective, Rome was the last stop on our three week Italian holiday. At this point there was not a parma ham, prosciutto or bruschetta that we didn’t know, a pasta or pizza we didn’t taste or a gelato flavour unbeknownst to us! Being from the South African Karoo, growing up in region famed for flowers and lamb, I craved meat! So for me, the best meal I had in Rome was at a little restaurant that had lamb chops on the menu! Three beautifully prepared gorgeous lamb chops… but with the requisite paste course preceding it, of course!

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We saw so much, but left behind so much more to see. So we did what needed to be done… Some say that if you throw a coin from your right hand over your left shoulder into the Trevi fountain, you will definitely return to Rome. So to make sure, we duly did the coin toss! (An interesting fact about the coins from the Trevi fountain… on a daily basis the coins are collected and it is actually used to help subsidise a special supermarket that serves the poor in Rome, with help from the Italian Red Cross.)

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So now I know without a doubt that we will walk down the streets of the Eternal City again soon; it is a city that feels like and indoor and outdoor museum, it causes you to stop in awe around every other corner as it reveals a bit more of its history and it’s a city that completely dazzled us with its soul.

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Blue jewel… the Mediterranean

April 8, 2016April 8, 2016 ~ WorkFoodHome ~ Leave a comment

VIAJE EUROPA 2 109 — The view over the Mediterranean from Praiano

I will never forget the first time I ever laid my eyes on the Mediterranean. We arrived in Rome after a 21 hour flight from Cape Town. Exhausted we had to rush to catch a train from Rome to Naples. Two hours later (and no chance of sleep; I was petrified of missing our stop!) we arrived in Naples and had to rush to make the next train; a commuter train called Circumvesuviana that runs to Sorrento. That was a horrid journey – “commuter train” translated means that there are no seats (well, at least not in the coaches we were in) and we had to stand the whole way to Sorrento. I was so tired and exhausted that I could hardly stand on my feet and hubby had to give a lot of moral support to stop me from bursting into tears from sheer exhaustion. Arriving in Sorrento, waiting at the station for the SETA bus that would finally take us to our destination, Praiano, I caught I small glimpse of some blue water between a row of houses. So to be fair, that was probably the first glimpse of the Mediterranean. But then, as we finally got on the bus and started the last leg of our journey, the blue jewel revealed herself to us and in that instant we fell under her spell.

VIAJE EUROPA 2 004.jpg — The first picture we took of the beautiful Mediterranean – from the SETA bus!

The famous Amalfi Coast drive was everything the books tell you it is – twisty, turny, breathtakingly beautiful and quite the adrenalin rush. The speed with which the bus drivers navigate the narrow road is something to experience. At first I did not understand why the driver was hooting randomly; was he just greeting people or were people upsetting him on the road? After paying a bit of attention I figured it out; he hooted every time we approached a bend so that if there were cars approaching from the other side, they would hear the bus coming. That way they would know to stop or get out of his way! Ingenious! And testament to the fact that they slow down for nothing!

Views of the Amalfi Coast drive from the bus!

Impossible to believe how the lemon groves cling to the side of the cliffs!

Views of the Amalfi Coast drive from the bus!

So just about 24 hours after we left Cape Town we finally arrived in Praiano. Exhausted, but in love! I have previously written about my love for Praiano and its little beach La Praia. This is undoubtedly where our love for the Mediterranean comes from. I know what made this extra special for hubby was a trip that we took from Praiano to Capri. A local tour operator offered day trips to Capri and eagerly we signed up, wanting to see Capri but also the beautiful Amalfi Coast from the water. The journey by speedboat was amazing. Half way to Capri, in the middle of the ocean, our skipper stopped the boat. In his best English and with some hand gestures he indicated: “Now you swimming!” Hubby loved it! They had snorkeling equipment on the boat and he said it was the experience of a lifetime. The water was crystal clear; you could see down into the water for meters and meters and the fish….according to him it was like seeing a world that you never knew existed; swimming alongside fish that you have never seen before. With the water being so salty you did not really have to do a lot of swimming and floating was easy. To this day this is really one of his biggest highlights of any holiday. Me, being a novice swimmer, I didn’t have the courage to jump into the ocean; if my toes can’t touch the ground I get panicky!

VIAJE EUROPA 2 061 — View from the boat.

VIAJE EUROPA 2 268 — Amalfi Coast from the water…

VIAJE EUROPA 2 215 — The view from the top of Capri!

VIAJE EUROPA 2 097 — Fraglioni rocks, off Capri

And maybe that is part of the allure of the Mediterranean for me. The gentle waves. And the swishing sound it makes. The sea along our coast is much different, with waves thundering down. I’ve never known what “gentle waves lapping the shore” meant until I experienced the Mediterranean. And the best part of that is that it gives someone like me that is a bit scared of the big, rough seas the opportunity to swim in the ocean. Oh, and how I love it. The water is so quiet and clear that even I feel comfortable splashing about; even swimming a bit… provided that my toes can touch the bottom! Some of the best times on our holidays have been when we were laying next to the sea, listening to the hypnotic sound of the waves. Very few things come close.

Laia Praia harbour and beach

La Praia Beach

VIAJE EUROPA 2 308 — Sunset on our last night in Praiano

But in talking about the first place where we’ve seen this beautiful blue ocean, my mind instinctively wanders to the place we last basked on her shores.

It was last year September (way too long ago, if you ask me!) and on the last day of our holiday on the Côte d’Azur we took the train to Menton. What drew us there were all the good things we read about its stunning beaches and with Menton also being just about the last stop on the French Riviera before you head into Italy it made me think that I might be able to have a pretty decent pizza while we were there! (It was uncanny to see road signs, showing Italy was just 10 miles away!)

When we arrived at the train station we immediately set off for the beach. It was not hard to find; we just followed a group of locals who were carrying beach chairs and umbrellas! And when we got there, we knew that we picked the perfect place to end off our holiday. The water was warm, calm and clear; I could swim and for a moment I forgot that my toes needed to touch the bottom because for once there was a view that could compete with the beauty of the Mediterranean – Menton’s old city cascading down the hill.

The Mediterranean and the old town of Menton. Bliss.

Laying on the beach was surreal. Just closing my eyes, feeling the sun on my skin and listening to the ocean. Staring out in front of me into the big blue and when I turned my head sideways, this stunning old city (and hubby) to my right. It was a perfect day! For lunch we didn’t have to go far; there was an amazing restaurant close to where we were. Hubby had an amazing seafood platter; he says the best he has ever had and me? Well, I had my pizza!

Hubby enjoying the water!

Perfection!

Me, doing some r&r!

According to Hubby: “The best seafood platter ever!”

I love pizza!

So if you crave a taste of the Mediterranean, I suggest you play this video on repeat, while preparing a bit of fish.

Cheers, until my feet touch your shores again!

Kingklip with sundried tomato marinade

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 kingklip fillets (or any firm fish that you can source locally)

Juice of half a lemon

60ml olive oil

3 tablespoons of sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 clove of garlic, crushed

4 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped finely

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees
Mix lemon juice, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, sugar, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper together
Pour over fish and marinade for 30 minutes
Transfer the fish to a baking tray and place in the oven for 15 minutes until the fish turns opaque and flakes easily when prodded with a fork
Serve with a fresh salad

Spanish flavour – Barcelona

April 1, 2016 ~ WorkFoodHome ~ Leave a comment

For me it is hard to say “Barcelona” and to not involuntarily think Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe and the 1992 summer Olympics. Barcelona is such an amazing city that its name genuinely deserves to reverberate when you say it!

We didn’t know what exactly to expect from the city, but all it took was the drive from the airport to our hotel to get us rearing to go! It was a long flight from South Africa, but not even that could stop us. An hour nap, a quick shower and we were out and about! For the next couple of days we maintained this pace – it is such a bustling city, with so much to see and do and the people never seem to sleep! Across from our hotel was a wonderful little restaurant which was constantly filled with locals and seemed to open just about all the time. I remember one evening we went to watch a Spanish guitar duo in this old church just off Portal de L’Angel and we got back to our hotel at about 11:00. Not feeling like going to bed yet, we decided to pop over to the restaurant for a drink, thinking that we’d probably have to be quick, before they closed. No ways – they were packed and people were just starting to order food! That’s definitely one of the reasons I enjoyed Barcelona so much – the people there eat so late! (Hubby and I are famous for eating late; whenever our parents visit I always feel so bad, but despite our best efforts, it seems we never manage to get food on the table at a respectable time!) That evening we drank sangrias and Spanish beer and had some fantastic tapas; white anchovies served in vinegar (I can’t find this anywhere in South Africa!), some fried calamari, gambas (prawns sauteed with some garlic), patatas bravas (diced potatoes with aioli and a spicy tomato sauce) and some toasted bread, rubbed with tomato (pan con tomate). A feast! Just the kind of snack food I love.

I found Barcelona to be a city of contrast. In a way I expected to see the Gaudi influence everywhere, and I was really surprised when everything wasn’t all strange angles and mosaics! However, when you do come across it, it is really mind-blowing. What an imagination he must have had to envision the famous La Pedrera chimneys! I loved it! Not far from there we were lured into a little side street restaurant by a waiter professing that their restaurant made the best mojito’s in Barcelona. We were not fooled but sat down in any case as site seeing is a tiring business and we could do with the rest! While the mojito was definitely not the best I’ve ever had, the meal certainly made up for it. We had a lovely starter with mussels and the main was simple, but so good – Spanish beef, cooked to perfection, served with chips. The flavour in the meat was fantastic and very different in taste to South African beef. Delicious.

The green ‘mosaics’ is actually broken champagne bottles!

A wide angle view of the roof at La Pedrera

And don’t forget the beautiful Parc Guell, where you can really see Gaudi’s style with different shapes and structures and building materials. The mosaic work was spectacular. I loved the morning we spent there. Standing at the edge of the main terrace you have the most amazing view over the city, right to the blue Mediterranean.

But see, that’s the contrast – when you are in the city, you can’t think that there is a beach close by and when you lie on the beach, how can you imagine that there is this massive city behind you when all you hear is the sounds of the waves gently breaking on the shore? It felt as if we were somehow cheating when we had a beach day; just lazing about in the sun. With so much on offer you feel like you should be out there, rushing to see everything at once, but now and then you just have to put your feet up and do nothing; to build up some strength for the next round… or lunch at the very least! And talking about lunch; what would a visit to Barcelona be without trying some of the world famous Spanish paella! Starving, we staggered from the beach to go and find the perfect paella. It was everything I imagined it would be… and more! Wonderful fresh seafood, great flavour to the stock, and the rice… oh, the rice. What a wonderful flavour and texture; a bit crusty at the bottom and served in a paella pan, just as it should be!

One of Barcelona’s stunning beaches

Time for some r&r

And as important it is to tick off the paella, you have to tick of Gaudi’s masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia. We went very early one morning and sunlight was streaming through the windows. It was quite surreal; it is something that I have seen on tv so many times before and to walk there with my own two feet was really special. Because we were so early it was nice and quiet and the only noise you could hear was the sound of a chisel on stone. I closed my eyes and imagined what it must have been like when the stone masons of old were chipping away at blocks, building the marvellous cathedrals of Europe. We went to top of one of the spires (worth the 10 minute wait to go up with the lifts) and the vistas across the city was breath-taking. Being so high up, seeing all the detail and the vision of all those who contributed to this magnificent structure up close was mind-blowing. I felt very fortunate to be able to see this 8^th wonder of the world in the making – it was started in 1926 and the estimated completion date is only 2026. Wow.

Sagrada Familia

The amazing roof

Capturing the morning light streaming in through the windows

Me, working hard capturing some amazing close-ups

Close-ups of the top of some of the shorter spires

After gawking at the incredible Sagrada Familia for a couple of hours, we worked up quite an appetite, but because there is so much to see and do, we decided to just grab a quick coffee and sandwich at a sidewalk café. On the menu was a “Bikini”; a toasted ham-and-cheese sandwich! No idea what inspired the name! But with a cup of coffee and my bikini in hand, we were good to go and as usual, we scoured the fresh produce markets around the city. However, this time it was the supermarket around the corner from where we stayed that impressed me most. Upon entering, it did not look all that big – until I found the escalator to the lower level. The downstairs area was entirely occupied with great fruit and veg and the most amazing array of seafood I have ever seen in any supermarket! I could not believe it! (And I’m sure the employees at the shop also thought it was unbelievable to see someone taking pictures inside a supermarket!)

Have you ever seen such a pretty egg stall!

Glorious Spanish meats!

Supermarket seafood!

Barcelona was an amazing place; both hubby and I commented about the feel of the city, the energy, the friendly people and the few things I’ve mentioned here are but a drop in the ocean of all it has on offer. Definitely worth many more posts!

But for now, I will leave you with the words of Freddie and Montserrat – Viva Barcelona!

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WorkFoodHome

And A Life In Between

Month: April 2016

The Restaurant at Waterkloof

La dolce vita

Blue jewel… the Mediterranean

Spanish flavour – Barcelona

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