Our friends, who are visiting from Holland, had requested a trip to Franschhoek, so we had a lovely
summer’s day in the country on Monday. We started at Pasch du Plooy’s Dutch
East restaurant for some good coffee, as the Dutch like to start their day this
way. After five minutes in the shops, the girls were ready to move on. OK, it
was a little bit longer and the men had to be patient. Then it was off to JP
Colmant for a good taste of his local MCC bubblies. We did see JP briefly and
he looks rather exhausted after a very, very busy harvest. Then it was off to
show them the beautiful view from Dieu Donné. The menu looked rather tempting,
so we opted for a nice table in the shade on the terrace. We had a very
enjoyable lunch and then it was off to La Motte to taste and buy some wine there.
Next, it was Antonij Rupert’s L’Ormarins Motor museum for the men. The ladies
rested themselves on the comfortable sofas and then it was time to drive home
The tasting room at Colmant winery in
Franschhoek. We preferred to sit on the terrace outside
We were ably assisted by Schalk Basson,
who poured us small glasses of the 3 MCC bubblies. The tasting for four people
costs R180
The lunchtime special menu at Roca
restaurant on Dieu Donné farm
This restaurant has very, very special
views over the entire Franschhoek valley from its shady terrace
Very tender, slow cooked rolled belly
of pork with a crispy crackling outer and a very good rich wine jus
Prawn and lemon risotto. There were
more prawns hidden inside the risotto
Two of our party ordered the Crispy
duck
and one had the ostrich steak and
chips
John could not resist the chocolate
mousse, which came cleverly ‘wrapped’ in a chocolate space ship.
The soft white chocolate mousse, topped
with a strawberry confit, was very sweet and unctuous
Affogato – Ice cream with an espresso
coffee which is then poured over the ice cream
The large windows allow a view from inside, which makes this a
lovely place to come in cooler weather
Our next call was at La Motte, where
only the tasting room is open on a Monday
We tasted through the wines available
for tasting and admired the elegance of the tasting room
They provide very good tasting glasses
and a fresh roll to clean your palate between wines
The vaulted barrel cellar with lots of
excellent La Motte reserve reds to come
Then it was off to the L’Ormarins Motor Museum at Antonij Rupert
This is a 100 year old Model T Ford
One hall has only red cars
Another is dedicated to racing cars
There are several very rare vehicles. This is an Aston Martin DB2/4 from the mid 1950s, with Italian Superleggera coachwork, showing a lot of American influence
