Autumn colours in the avenue leading to the manor house at
Morgenster
The launch of Ntsiki Biyela's Aslina range of wines-
Something for Everyone at Lily's
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New Winter Menu at Kyoto Gardens Sushi
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Tasting the New Olive oils and wines at Morgenster
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Duck and Sushi lunch at Dynasty in Sea Point
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What is on the Menu this week. Red cabbage and apple
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Our Wine of the week. Aslina Umsasane 2015
This will be the last MENU in our usual format for
several weeks. On Thursday 25th May, , we will be flying to Schipol in the Netherlands and
embarking on a rather ambitious road trip through north Europe and Scandinavia.
One of those “bucket list” things to do before we become too old and feeble!
Although it will be a holiday, a photographer and his camera never find it easy
to become inactive, so we’ll be posting short stories of the places we’ll visit
in Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway and will be posting on Instagram
as well at https://www.instagram.com/fordjohnduncan/
We look forward to showing you some interesting and beautiful places and
MENU will resume its normal format in the third week of June
Ntsiki
Biyela, originally from KwaZulu Natal, has been the winemaker at Stellekaya for
the last 13 years. She was the first South African black woman wine maker. She trained
in Viticulture & Oenology at Stellenbosch University and worked stages in
Tuscany and Bordeaux. At Stellekaya she produced four star Platter wines and
won awards. Her dream was always to make her own wines and this she has now
done. Aslina is her tribute to her grandmother (it is her grandmother's name)
who was her inspiration and guide as she grew up. She was awarded Woman
Winemaker of the year in 2009. It is an exciting venture. She continues as a
consultant to Stellekaya. She is involved in many wine industry competitions as
a judge i.e. SAA, Diners Club Winemaker of the Year, IWSC and Nederburg
Auction. We were invited to the launch of these wines, held at the American
Consul General’s residence in Bishopscourt
Mouille Point beachfront has suddenly been
populated by several smart looking restaurants, those that should be on Sea
Point's promenade but are not (and there is a long history there). We were
invited to Lily's to try out the food last week. It is on the corner of a new
block that has taken the place of the old Newport Deli. Lily is the name of
Paul Kovenski's young daughter. The Kove Collection also owns Pepenero next
door and La Belle Bistro and Bakery in the same road, as well as the Alphen and
several other Cape Town restaurants. They do not yet have a wine licence, so
you do need to Bring Your Own. Phone first though, in case the licence has been
granted. Or you can order wine from Pepenero, but you need to run two bills
Earlier this year, in February, we were
invited to review the Kyoto Gardens Menu for Two which was obviously a success,
because this week we were invited to review the new Winter Special menu. On
offer are three courses and a glass of wine for R220 pp. This also includes an
appetiser of Edamame beans, not counted as one of the courses. This authentic
Japanese restaurant in Kloof Neck Road can be a tad pricey, but they do serve
some of the best sea food in Cape Town. This menu is good value and an
excellent introduction to authentic Japanese food
We were invited by the owner, Giulio
Bertrand, to the unveiling on Friday of the Estate’s new Pieralisi Olive Press
and to taste the new season's olive oil. And, of course, we would have the
opportunity of tasting the recently released wines. The Olive Press is
astounding. We have not seen an installation this big and sophisticated in
South Africa. And the wine tasting was pretty special too
We know we
talk a lot about Dynasty, our local Chinese restaurant in Main Road Sea Point.
We do so because it is very good. Clare, John's daughter had a special birthday
this weekend and, on Sunday, we took her there for a treat. John had placed a
special order for a whole Peking Duck. We thought you might like to see it
If you are serving a rich meat like Confit Duck,
Goose or even Belly of Pork, traditionally it is served with a relish of some
sort to help cut the fat. Red Cabbage is traditional with both duck and goose
and Lynne made it to go with Duck Confit and duck fat potatoes recently. It is
usual to add a red wine vinegar, but she used Balsamic which adds more depth of
flavour and some sweetness. 1 Tablespoon
should be enough, but it depends on the strength of the Balsamic you use, so do
taste and add more if you think it needs it. You do need a sour sweet taste in
this cabbage dish. The sour apples help.
1 small red cabbage, cored and roughly
shredded - 2 granny smith apples - 2 T butter - 3 crushed juniper berries - 1 to
2 T balsamic vinegar - 1 t sugar - water - salt - freshly ground black pepper
Peel, core and slice the apples. In a pan with a
lid, melt the butter and gently fry the apples for a minute or two, then add
the cabbage, the juniper berries, the sugar and the balsamic. Simmer on a
gentle heat with the lid on for half an hour. Add a little water during cooking
if the cabbage looks too dry. Taste and adjust the seasoning
a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and
Petit Verdot
Made by winemaker Ntsiki Biyela. This classic
Bordeaux blend reminded Lynne so much of a great Cape wine called Crescendo
from the now defunct winery Cordoba, made by Chris Keet, who now makes his own
blend called First Verse. The nose is superb: Incense wood, gunflint, stone, full
of violets and cassis. A smooth mouth feel then the berry fruit gathers itself
and goes POW on the palate. It is sophisticated with layers of fruit and gentle
wood with some necessary tight chalky tannins and on the end hints of tea and
more violets. A wine built to last 20 plus years
23rd May 2017
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
If you like the photographs you see in our publications, please look at our Adamastor Photo website for our rate card and samples from our portfolio
Recommendations of products and outside events are not solicited or charged for, and are made at the authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in these newsletters and our blogs are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please click here to send us a message and if you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please click here to send us a message.
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