Executive
Chef Jocelyn Myers-Adams is a committed sustainable fish chef and she produced
a superb lunch showing how beautifully our local fish on the SASSI Green list
can be prepared. This was served with an outstanding selection of some of South
Africa's really great wines. We were indeed indulged, cosseted and fulfilled
Yes please, I would love some Paul Cluver
Chardonnay
The bread selection, it did go a bit untouched as
we are all watching our carbs
Or you can have the La Motte Sauvignon Blanc
The exciting menu. We could taste portions of
everything on the menu. The dishes were served for us to share
The very fresh Yellowtail ceviche in a cucumber
and melon salsa with locally foraged seaweed, Yuzu pearls and a sesame soy
vinaigrette was a perfect summer starter
The other starter was Tempura Angelfish with
beautifully crisp batter on a slice of pickled apple topped with a small salad
and a fynbos aioli. Apple and fish is a good combination if the apple is tart,
which this was
Starter portion
Topping up Leah van Deventer's glass. She works at Good
Housekeeping
Wines for the next course were both outstanding.
David Nieuwoudt's refined, crisp and lean Ghost Corner Semillon and Paul Cluver's
elegant, dark and moody black cherry Seven Flags Pinot Noir; both were
outstanding accompaniments to the fish dishes
Such crisp baby calamari served with a tomato
vierge, hand cut chips (that could have been a bit more crispy) and a deep
rich Fynbos aioli was a huge favourite on the table
Grilled fillets of Angelfish in a lemon fennel bouillabaisse
with wild garlic croutons could have made a lovely summer lunch on its own and
went perfectly with the Semillon
The best piece of Yellowtail Lynne has ever had.
Not her favourite fish as it is usually overcooked and dry, but these large thick
slices really showed off the fish to perfection, it was moist, juicy and full
of flavour. Served on wild garlic rice and tomato relish with confit agave
shoots, another first for us. The skin was crisp and much favoured by some at
the table
And a final unexpected reward was the iconic Vin
de Constance from Klein Constantia to accompany dessert
which was another tour de force. An Amarula
liqueur and Coffee square cake - a different play on tiramisu
Fresh summer Berries with an MCC sabayon and small
lavender meringues
The absolute piece de resistance from their
talented pastry chef Bobby Kumar. A Passion Fruit and Pistachio torte, which was
incredible and captivated even Lynne, who is not a dessert person. Not only did
most of us enjoy a slice, but another went home with us for a treat with supper
the following day. The cake was soaked in passion fruit sorbet, sandwiched
together with lemon curd and covered in a green pistachio 'marzipan', then
topped with fruit. You should go and try this for yourself; it is so wonderful and they serve it with the Afternoon tea, R260 per person. We just wish that this
standard of baking would become normal in South Africa. Well done Chef Kumar
Executive Chef Jocelyn Myers-Adams who produced
this wonderful meal did join us for lunch. She has a huge commitment to serving
SASSI approved fish. She told us about her rooftop garden at the hotel and how
she is becoming very interested in foraging for local South African herbs and
other edibles and she is learning about them. She wants to incorporate them in
her menus. She picks the agave buds and pickles them. We had them on the
Yellowtail and they are different from anything else we have tasted before.
They come from the giant Agave sisalana that you see growing along our
coastline, the huge stems with bracket flowers , the whole plant dies once it
has flowered
©
John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
