The Twelve Apostles Hotel at
Oudekraal now has a sushi menu and we were invited to have lunch and enjoy some
of the sushi last week. It is in the lovely, summery Café Grill restaurant on
the second floor
Chatting to an old friend, the Twelve
Apostles' Head Sommelier Greg Mutambe
The menu of Sushi by 12A
We were given a bottle of the
Blanc de Mer from Bouchard Finlayson, which always goes so well with seafood of
any sort and it is indeed an excellent match for sushi. The Tollmans, who own
the Twelve Apostles and the Carnation Hotel group, also own Bouchard Finlayson
wine estate in the Hemel and Aarde
Love the impact of the place
setting which echoes the blues of the decor
Our first course was the Chef’s
selection of Sashimi, R195, and we were not disappointed. Some yellowtail (the
white fish bottom left), two cuts of salmon; the one in the middle is the fatty
belly salmon, next to it is the darker salmon, a smaller cut dressed with
spring onion, daikon radish and some fine green chilli slices. Below it is the
tuna, just seared on the outside and at the top of the plate large pink slices
of tuna. The quality of the salmon and the tuna were superb and the sashimi is
served on ice
Sushi Chef Sarawut Sukkowplang
is from Thailand, so some of the sushi has Thai hints
You can examine the ingredients
before you order, they are all on show
Restaurant Manager Gina
Abrahams really took care of us and was very friendly and helpful
John decided we needed to try
the Tuna Tataki and Lynne dug in before he had a chance to photograph it!
Ooops. it happens to both of us. It comes finely chopped and formed into a
beautifully presented cake topped with salmon roe, daikon, radish and some
slivers of chilli. This is a Tuna Tartare mixed with wasabi and a ginger, soy,
citrus sauce
Next we ordered the Futomaki.
This is a super thick sushi roll with the nori outside, loaded with salmon,
tuna, and avocado, then dipped in Tempura batter and deep fried. The roll takes
at least three bites and puts one in danger of dripping sauce down one’s front,
but it is worth risking as long as you have a napkin close by. But it was very
good. Dressed with a sticky Teriyaki sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger. The rice
used is more Thai than Japanese in texture.
Finally, we thought we would
test their Tempura prawns and were surprised to see that they are then wrapped
in a spicy mayonnaise, wrapped in nori and then rice and served as a sushi
roll. Good sweet prawns and asparagus spears; the rice takes away the crispness
of the tempura. Served with wasabi and pickled ginger. An interesting way to serve
the prawns, we enjoyed them
An unexpected treat was brought
to us by Gina Abrahams, a small plate of petit fours. Tiny macarons, dense
chocolate ganache truffles and blocks of soft cream fudge served with fruit
purée and gels. A lovely way to end a good meal
John enjoyed a good double
espresso before we departed. Thank you so much for inviting us to the Twelve
Apostles. We may well return to sample more sushi with friends
The outside area of the
restaurant is next to the rock fountains and has lovely views of the Twelve
Apostles mountain range. It was a little windy and chilly that day or we would
have sat outside for lunch
A most beautiful mural of our
local flora made of mosaic tiles and ceramics in relief hangs on the wall
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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