Tuesday, May 23, 2017

The launch of Ntsiki Biyela's Aslina range of wines at the US Consulate General

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 Generals residence in Bishops Court
Our welcome drink on the terrace was the 2016 Aslina Chardonnay. Rich and golden, full of peaches and citrus flavours, with wood in the background with some stony minerality
Canapés of seared prawns with pineapple and red onion salsa which went well with the Chardonnay
Tiny crisp fig, gorgonzola and thyme puff pastry tartlets with a balsamic glaze
Beggar’s purses stuffed with mushroom duxelle
The students who served us are all students at the Pinotage Youth Development Academy; they were a lovely bunch. Ntsiki sits on the board of the Academy
Taking our seats for dinner
The U.S. Consul General in Cape Town Teddy Taylor opened proceedings by introducing Ntsiki. She took part in The African Woman Entrepreneurs Programme in the USA and it has changed her life, encouraging her to start her own brand. She met other International Visitor Leadership Programme Mandela Washington fellows and Fulbright scholars who mentored, supported and encouraged her. This programme is funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Ntsiki Biyela told us about her journey and the courage it took. Why did she start her own business? To work with the community. When she was in the USA on the AWE Programme her cohorts made her face an intervention. They told her to stop taking the drug! she was puzzled, she doesn't take any. Stop taking the salary they said, that is the drug. She realised it was time to do her own thing
Chef Adolphus Stuart who was visiting from Texas where Ntsiki met him. He was involved with Chef Stacy Lightfoot in producing the food for the event - which they said met in mid-Atlantic!
We had a great time chatting to him about the food, his visit and his career; he is very amusing and fun. He said Chef Stacy had taught him some new dishes and new tricks
The unusual starter of tender fried aubergine, marinated in pomegranate served with crumbed herb cheese balls, a pea and mint sauce, crisp onions, pomegranate aruls and topped off with a while wheat crisp and melt in the mouth croute. We drank the Aslina Sauvignon Blanc with this, a nose of herbs, figs, grass and a hint of honeyed grapes, full on the palate with good Sauvignon pyrazines, crisp acidity and length with a flinty minerality on the end
Chef Stacy with the main course
It was Asian braised pork belly with cranberry jus, confit dug leg, asparagus, a rich butternut and Tahini puree, garlic baby potatoes and caramelised baby beetroot. We drank the Aslina 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon with this course. Pure cassis and incense wood on the nose. A wine in waiting, gathering itself together for the future, with room to grow. Rich red berries, vanilla oak, stony minerality and some chalky tannins. It went very well with the rich main course
And so to dessert. A lovely spiced red wine poached pear stuffed with dark chocolate and dates and enrobed in toasted pistachio nuts and served with a vanilla bean custard
This was served with the UMSASANE 2015 a Bordeaux Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. See our Wine of the Week. Yes it was that good

We think these wines show Ntsiki's skill and huge potential. One day we are sure, she will have her own farm. At the moment the grapes are all sourced from very good Stellenbosch farms
Posted by MENU at 1:09 pm 0 comments

New winter menu at Kyoto Garden

Earlier this year, in February, we were invited to review the Kyoto Garden's 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 pricy, 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
The restaurant is in Lower Kloof Nek Road, at number 11
The interior with the bar and sushi station
The main restaurant
The new Winter Special Menu. 
We decided to order one of the dishes each and then share them
Our taster of Edamame beans, warm and sprinkled with flaked salt. You just open the pods and eat the beans, not the pods. We both chose to drink white wine and the wine on offer was Gabrielskloof Sauvignon Blanc, crisp, dry and full of Overberg sunshine with Sauvignon flavours of Cape gooseberry and lime
The Tuna Tartare, gently flavoured with wasabi and soy, topped with spring onion and accompanied by seaweed and grated daikon radish
A dish to recommend is the Vegetable tempura, we could eat this again and again. They really do this well. The crisp fluffy batter is perfect, but so are the vegetables inside, not hard and unyielding. The sweet potato, courgette and aubergine slices are sweet; delicious and soft inside their crisp coating. There is also crisp broccoli, carrot and green bean. Served with an intriguing, slightly sweet soy dip with rice vinegar and shreds of ginger; daikon, fresh lemon and salt.
Then the two main courses. The bowl of Udon noodles with duck comes with these special wooden ladles so you can enjoy the broth
The dish is topped with seaweed, spring onions, baby leeks and some very thin slices of duck, which is cooked in the broth. The hand cut Udon noodles are made at the restaurant. The meaty broth is a delight, so deep and flavoursome
Entitled Rice with special fish this was our favourite dish and we will be returning for more. Simple but an absolute knock out. A bowl of well-cooked flavoured rice - stock? mirin and/or rice wine vinegar? we can only guess. This is topped with slices of perfectly cooked hake, which has a seasoning that resembles umami barbecue flavours. It was super fresh and flaked beautifully. On top of that is Tatsoi, an Asian green, sliced leeks. We devoured this dish, very satisfying
Time for dessert. This is the Black sesame seed Ice Cream. It is a small portion of creamy Halva like ice cream, not too sweet and sprinkled with lots of black sesame
Then the Cherry Blossom Ice Cream with nice cherry flavour and sour cherries. Very good. It has been sprinkled with chocolate shavings
We could have had the roasted Rice tea but had to rush home to write this review, as we are off to Europe in two days. As we left, Scott the owner did give us a quick taste of a very interesting Japanese gin, which is full of Juniper and herb botanicals at first and then changes to lots of lemon lime and citrus flavours. Powerful but delicious. Kyoto Garden also serves very good cocktails and, of course, good sushi
Posted by MENU at 12:50 pm 0 comments

Supper at Lily's Mouille Point

Something for Everyone
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
The inside is airy and light during the day, with pull back windows to the terrace which is also enclosed with a roll-down protection on windy or inclement days. This all opens up for fine summer days. However, the lighting at night is less than perfect, we keep re-iterating that seeing your food is half of the pleasure of eating, and If the lighting is bad and you are peering at your plate in a gloom, it is not a great experience. John's camera works very well in low light, so the pictures do not show how dark it actually was
The starter menu also has a vegetarian section. Prices are not shy. One of the reviews we read said they served the "the Best Mac and Cheese" the writer had ever had in her life." It is not something you find on a restaurant menu often. There is also a Buddha Bowl on offer (very trendy at the moment). It is easy to make a choice, many choices are very familiar
Brought to the table are toast and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip. A good way to use up bread at the end of the day? Much of the food is scattered with marigold petals, edible yes, necessary, no. We brought along a bottle of Rhebokskloof 2010 Semillon. This would be our wine of the week if any were still available; sadly they no longer make it. We bought this wine two years ago at a very reduced price on the farm and how it has grown in depth, flavour and enjoyment. Absolutely superb; it shows how well South African white wines can age
The Carpaccio! Biltong served with parmesan cheese, avocado mousse, olive oil and balsamic. John said it was not hard like biltong, but not soft like a good raw beef Carpaccio would be. There was no sign of the parmesan, was it incorporated with the avocado? More marigold petals and micro herbs
Lynne ordered the calamari, about 5 baby squid (polpetti), very tender, with a fresh tomato and feta salsa in the centre, on warm mashed potato and surrounded by a basil oil. Good flavour, but we were puzzled at the addition of mash on a starter? It does make it seem like a main course and it rather jars with the raw tomato
The Mains Menu has lots of familiar choices, nothing out of your comfort zone. This should appeal to the Sea Point market. Perhaps our sophisticated summer tourists might want something with a more local flavour? For our main course we brought along a bottle of the Laborie Shiraz, such a well matched wine for our two choices.
The Lamb Popsicles. Lynne was expecting just the lamb meat on the bone with all the fat removed, so it looks like a popsicle or lollypop. The chops came 'fully clothed' with the fat on. The lamb was very good, well seasoned and perfectly cooked, but we did pass a message to the chef that she needs to really crisp up the fat. Served with crushed new potatoes, a few crushed black olives and more of those marigold petals. The dish could do with a vegetable, or two....
John ordered the Duck confit leg served on mash, with peas and a briefly seared lettuce. And marigolds. Good flavours but this dish needs a gravy, as it is a bit dry. We passed the message to the chef and she said she thanked us. These two dishes show how times and tastes have changed and inflation has struck. Who would have thought confit duck would be substantially less expensive than three lamb chops?
The Dessert Menu
Much against our wills (OK, we let them twist our arms just slightly) we had dessert. John was persuaded to go with his predilections and order the Death by Chocolate. Lynne went against hers and ordered something with a coffee flavour because it came with something wickedly chocolate
Well you need to know, this is the biggest and best chocolate lava cake (AKA chocolate fondant) currently being served in Cape Town. Head there before they take it off the menu. It was ample enough for us both to share. Loads of rich dark lava chocolate pour out of the sponge dome which is only 1 cm thick. The Espresso coffee ice cream was enjoyed by those who like coffee flavours. It is supposed to come with a salted caramel, but no sign of any. More petals though...
The Death by Chocolate has all three levels of chocolate. The dark chocolate is in the pastry tart base and the crumb. The tart shell is filled with a white chocolate mousse, topped with caramel, then a pour of melted milk chocolate and it is topped by a white chocolate ice cream and caramel popcorn. Smaller than it looks. John was disappointed, as he prefers dark chocolate. You might not be, as it certainly has it all
The other menus. They also do breakfasts but don't take booking for breakfast at weekends. The chef is Amber Deetleef, who has worked for the Kove group for several years. Dean Parker the Manager and our gentle waitress was Karen. We had a very pleasant evening. There were two invited bloggers having a meal at the next table, Dax Villanueva and Sam Linsell
Posted by MENU at 12:29 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

This Week’s MENU. Prescient Cab Report, Wade Bales Whisky and Gin Festival, South China Dim Sum Bar, Good Food and Wine Show, Fennel, Leek and Celeriac soup, Quando Pinot Noir 2014

Camps Bay beach on an early winter day

In a little more than a week, we will embark on a road trip through northern Europe, driving through the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway for about 3½ weeks. MENU will see a temporary change in format; we will post small stories about the places we visit and do our best to entertain you with them. We will also post some of the best photographs on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fordjohnduncan/ Please click on this link and follow us. We have been posting current and archival photographs for a few weeks now, so you’ll see them if you click on the link and we’d love it if you click on the heart symbol to “like” pictures that appeal to you
The Prescient Cabernet Sauvignon Report 2017 Awards were presented at The Stack, Leinster Hall in Cape Town. 
Cabernet Sauvignon is the world’s most widely planted red wine grape. In Bordeaux, its traditional home, it contributes to some of the world’s greatest wines. In South Africa, it is the third most widely planted variety and makes up 12% of the national vineyard. The Report was devised by Winemag.co.za to be take a yearly look at the wines from the top South African producers of the varietal
Wade Bales Whisky and Gin Festival      
This annual event took place at 15 on Orange Hotel in the Gardens last Friday and was a huge success. Wade organises it to help publicise the producers of these products and it certainly is popular; tickets were sold out nearly a week in advance. There were four gin producers, you could get a (rather small) glass of Mumm Champagne, and then taste some extraordinary whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, India and Japan and all for R250 a person, including a complimentary tasting glass and a cheese table
Supper at South China Dim Sum Bar      
We are confessed dim sum addicts, those tiny baskets of Chinese morsels like dumplings, steamed buns and other delights. At the drop of a hat, we will investigate any place serving good dim sum. The best Lynne has ever had was in China Town in London where it was a regular Sunday treat with friends at Lee Ho Fook behind the Swiss Centre or in one of the great places in Wardour or Gerrard Street with the trolleys which come to your table, loaded with different choices so you didn't have to wait long - such a huge choice. Lynne has introduced John to them and he loved the places we went to in Hong Kong, like Tim Ho Wan. In Cape Town there is a small choice of places and of dim sum. We really like the South China Dim Sum bar in upper Long Street and this was the obvious place to go to after the Whisky and Gin Affair before taking an Uber home
The Good Food and Wine Show     The Cape Town show will be held on the 2nd to 4th of June at the CTICC . Lynne attended the media launch this week. There was no media pack, so you will find all the details at http://www.goodfoodandwineshow.co.za/  Headline chefs are Marco Pierre White, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, J'Something and others. One change: there will be no charge for the 200 seats at the events in the Chef’s Open Theatre; it is first come first served. Unless you want to pay for a VIP ticket where you sit in front, get to meet the chefs and taste the food. Prices are R1500 for the top chefs, R800 for the others. Book soon, some of the special events are already sold out. There are good things organised for children this year
What’s on this week’s MENU. Fennel, Leek and Celeriac soup     If you are serving a rich main course, soup at this time of the year makes a very good starter when these vegetables are in season
Serves 4
1 T olive oil or palm oil - 2 leeks - 1 fennel bulb - 1 celeriac root - 1/2 t salt - 1/2 t white pepper - 1.5 litres of chicken or vegetable stock - 2 t butter - 2 T cream - salt - 1 dash of Tabasco
Slice the leeks and braise them in the oil to soften for about five minutes. Chop the fennel and the celeriac root into small cubes and add to the pot. Add some good chicken or vegetable stock (about a litre and a half), the salt and white pepper and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Liquidise till smooth. Add butter and cream to enrich. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt if necessary. Serve with croutons

Menu's Wine of the week. Quando Pinot Noir 2014     
What a bargain this wine is; it is as good as any of the pricier and prize winning Pinot Noirs on the market. We bought this a while ago (2015) and it has really come into its own. Grown on weathered Karoo shale on the banks of the Breede River in Bonnievale. Silky soft and fragrant with raspberry and red cherry notes, wood is there but only as a support. On the palate it charms with its soft fruit, length and sophistication. Fanus Bruwer is a good winemaker who doesn't get enough recognition. R120 a bottle, current vintage is 2015






16th May 2017
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Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
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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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