Fine Bites tasting menu at Buitenverwachting

Buitenverwachting has recently updated the decor in the restaurant, making it seem much more open on the glassed in verandah

Our lunch menu

Warm and interesting bread, just out of the oven with some different butters, was delicious

An amuse of sushi

Sandy Bailey, Buitenverwachting’s PRO is a vegetarian and this was her starter of layered  pepper, Aubergine, Zucchini, tomato and creamy feta.

The sommelier, Elaine Sias, tells Melvin Minnaar what we are about to taste. In the background is Sonia Forssman, the new Front of house manager

Our starter was absolute bliss. Who in their right mind would put foie mousse between two sheets of the best Valrhona chocolate? Edgar is brilliant. It was amazing. Rich and melting, buttery, bitter and sweet. Lynne wished she could have had two helpings.  The Torched quail ballontine was moist, nutty and paté-like, while the fruits added the third dimension.

The vegetarian Fine Bites Menu

Our starter, deconstructed, so you can see the foie mousse

The Wild African garlic soup

The clear oxtail consommé was gentle, clear and refreshing with two tiny, rather doughy, dim sum dumplings and some floating Asian vegetables

Green asparagus risotto was a real taste of spring. The preserved truffle added richness but did not overpower the creamy rice or tender slivers of fresh green asparagus. We might like to return for a large helping of this

Sandy’s main course was Homemade Linguine with Pesto, avocado, courgettes and tomato. Looks delicious

The lamb was very good quality, was perfectly cooked and was a dish full of flavour. The Osso Bucco falafel was another brilliant idea, adding a Middle Eastern slant to the dish.

We are poured the excellent Buitenverwachting Cabernet franc, the second time in a week. It is so complex and layered with berries and wood and is a great food wine

The verandah with our party and paying guests

Winemaker Brad Paton and managing director Lars Maack

Journalist and wine aficionado Angela Lloyd with her husband Mark

Dessert was a Valrhona warm fondant served with a rich and creamy orange parfait, with citrus pearls and fruits, a good match for the dessert wine or the Buitenverwachting eau de vie

The spring vineyards in bud-break stage, still with their cover crop of wheat, with the mountains behind - the feature view from the restaurant

Many, many glasses - the wines we tasted during lunch

Brad tells us about the promise of the coming year and last year’s vintage

PRO Sandy Bailey

They serve a very good and rather necessary double espresso – the coffee shop has become an attraction on its own

Some of the wines we tasted with lunch

The large party table in the restaurant, great for large groups and group wine tastings

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013

Cape Winelands curry cook-off at Muratie

Welcomed with a delicious glass of Muratie’s Lady Alice MCC

poured by winemaker Francois Conradie

Their langtafel set for the Cape Malay curry cook off

Organiser and PR guru Posy Hazell with Muratie owner Rijk Melck who opened the event 

Some very funny looks  at the food? No, we are tweeting about the starter of ‘Smoor Snoek” a traditional fish dish. Norman McFarlane and Angela Lloyd add to their Ipads. Smoor means flaked, so flaked smoked snoek  cooked with potatoes and lemon, on a bed of rice – very much part of the Cape Malay culture. There were rather a lot of bones - snoek has them in abundance.

The cooks from Du Toitskloof tell us about their curry, which was served first

Sweet and sour curried lamb shanks with a pineapple sambal and a fresh coriander chutney

We drank Muratie Sauvignon Blanc and DuToitskloof Beaukett with the curries

Kim, Rjik Melck’s wife cooked their curry

More wine needs to be opened and poured

The other Muratie wine we drank was the Laurens Campher white blend of Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc, Verdelho and Viognier

Muratie’s entry – a very succulent warm lamb shank curry served with a banana and yogurt sambal and a fresh red onion chutney with a roti bread

Posy Hazell counts the votes

And Kim Melck of Muratie accepts her prize

Benny Masekwameng, Judge on SA Masterchef, gave us his spin on the curries

One of the Melcks’ lovely dogs takes up residence in the cellar, when it is occupied by his family

Preserved figs and fresh strawberries to accompany the cheese board at the end of the meal

Gooey chocolate brownies to go with coffee

A selection of cheeses

A view of the charming Muratie cellar with resident lazing hound

The road home was not at all pleasant as you can see - one of our famous Cape storms just starting to hit as we left the farm outside Stellenbosch

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013

Cape Winelands cooking challenge at Muratie

Welcomed with a delicious glass of Muratie’s Lady Alice MCC

poured by winemaker Francois Conradie

Their langtafel set for the Cape Malay curry cook off

Organiser and PR guru Posy Hazell with Muratie owner Rijk Melck who opened the event 

Some very funny looks  at the food? No, we are tweeting about the starter of ‘Smoor Snoek” a traditional fish dish. Norman McFarlane and Angela Lloyd add to their Ipads. Smoor means flaked, so flaked smoked snoek  cooked with potatoes and lemon, on a bed of rice – very much part of the Cape Malay culture. There were rather a lot of bones - snoek has them in abundance.

The cooks from Du Toitskloof tell us about their curry, which was served first

Sweet and sour curried lamb shanks with a pineapple sambal and a fresh coriander chutney

We drank Muratie Sauvignon Blanc and DuToitskloof Beaukett with the curries

Kim, Rjik Melck’s wife cooked their curry

More wine needs to be opened and poured

The other Muratie wine we drank was the Laurens Campher white blend of Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc, Verdelho and Viognier

Muratie’s entry – a very succulent warm lamb shank curry served with a banana and yogurt sambal and a fresh red onion chutney with a roti bread

Posy Hazell counts the votes

And Kim Melck of Muratie accepts her prize

Benny Masekwameng, Judge on SA Masterchef, gave us his spin on the curries

One of the Melcks’ lovely dogs takes up residence in the cellar, when it is occupied by his family

Preserved figs and fresh strawberries to accompany the cheese board at the end of the meal

Gooey chocolate brownies to go with coffee

A selection of cheeses

A view of the charming Muratie cellar with resident lazing hound

The road home was not at all pleasant as you can see - one of our famous Cape storms just starting to hit as we left the farm outside Stellenbosch

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013