Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Jenny Morris launches a new restaurant in Durbanville: Yumcious

TV and Radio chef and big personality, Jenny Morris is famous for her good cooking, her ebullient nature and sense of fun. Durbanville is in for a treat; she has now opened a second branch of her restaurant Yumcious (the first is in the Cape Quarter in Cape Town) in the De Ville shopping Centre on the corner of Main and Wellington roads. We were invited to join her for lunch on Sunday with some other media and bloggers. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday having lunch. Thank you Jenny
You always get a warm welcome from Jenny
We were shown to a long table and there was another behind us having a birthday celebration
Dieter Odendaal from Creation wines in the Hemel and Aarde supplied the wines for the event - they are on the wine list too. And we were all given a bottle of their Viognier and one of their Viognier chocolates to take home
The restaurant is large and spacious and modern. We love the soft aqua colour on the walls, very restful. Its on our lounge wall too!
The three Creation wines we drank with lunch. The 2017 African Penguin Reserve Rosé made from 60% Grenache, 20% Viognier, 20%. Syrah is zesty and refreshing with strawberry cherry flavours. The 2017 Viognier is a classic food wine, full of ripe white peaches and gently creamy vanilla wood. The 2016 Syrah Grenache blend has always been one of our favourite Creation wines. Dark berries and blue plums, savouriness and peppery, it is so easy to drink and goes perfectly with rich meat dishes.
The food is a buffet, full of marvellous choices that change by the day and season. Last week they did Thai, this week it’s something different. You take a plate and help yourself; it is then charged for by weight. You can do a starter plate and a main if you like, in fact you can keep going, but you pay for what is weighed. Olives, carrots and red onions, in the background seared aubergine
Pesto, a apple and celery salad dressed with mayonnaise and nigella seeds
Potato salad, an avocado and toasted hazelnut salad with curd cheese, humus
An egg salad, next to a bocconcini, tomato and olive salad
Marvellous savoury quiches and tarts
Slow roasted sweet potatoes
The Oxtail was very popular
Slices of rare roast beef and good gravy
Amazing and irresistible crisp, oh so crisp pork crackling
The Macaroni cheese was in a rich creamy cheese sauce. Next to that were baked courgettes with green beans
Something you don’t see very often and which we love, seaweed salad. Jenny says its a firm favourite on the buffet
Aubergines and pimento red peppers with herbs and white cheese
The heritage tomato, bocconcini and olive salad is dressed with micro greens and pomegranate seeds
The spicy chicken curry was another crowd pleaser
A tomato and spinach quiche, with crisp pastry
This was Lynne's plate. Note the duck fat potatoes she could not resist either
John's plate and its weight. We assume that includes the dish weight, which is subtracted
Warm freshly baked bread from the kitchen; one was olive bread, the other cheese. Soft and slightly sweet dough with a good crisp crust
Anel Grobler and Jan Laubscher of Spit or Swallow and Winetimes.co.za
Everyone on the table enjoying their lunch and the wine and lots of industry chat
The dessert menu. We didn't have to choose, Jenny brought a selection to the table, in multiples so we shared and all got a taste of each dessert
There was also a walnut cake to enjoy
and this chocolate layered cake
The light as air Double Trouble light and dark chocolate mousse topped with ganache, nuts and a strawberry
The light Passion fruit and lemon layered cheesecake. We also really enjoyed the New York baked cheesecake topped with caramel, which was richer and sweeter
This was the favourite dessert of the day, a warm chocolate coated brownie with nuts. So delicious

Don't miss out. Head for Yumcious as fast as possible, in town or in Durbanville, to enjoy this lovely food. And you can buy a copy of Jenny’s cookbook there, also entitled Yumcious

No comments: