Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Supper at Kapstadt Brauhaus

Last week we and members of our wine club had a great tasting of Ernie Els wines at the Cape Grace Hotel and wanted to have some supper together afterwards. We finished at 8.30 and as many of the Waterfront restaurants start to close at 9. We had to find somewhere that didn’t close early and a short walk from the Cape Grace
If you remember where the Paulaner Brewery was, you will know how to find the Kapstadt Brauhaus in the V & A Waterfront
Official Address is Shop G13 Clock Tower. The Brauhaus is on the first floor, above the Cape Town Fish Market restaurant
with a good view of the old Port Captain’s Building, by the Swing Bridge and across The Cut
Plenty of tables were available
Prices on the beer menu
and the food menu. Many of us chose starter portions; some are quite large
A popular choice was the Hauswurst Platter with a Weisswurst, a Bockwurst and a Bauernbratwurst. It comes with red cabbage, sauerkraut - underneath the wurstchen - and some senf (sweet mustard) and just a couple of pretzel chips. We ordered a plate of crisp French Fries to share and some good beer. Some just had the Hauswurst, a single Bratwurst with all the accompaniments
Good value at R65
One brave member ordered the extremely generous Eisbein, really big enough for two; much of it went home in a doggy bag
Many of us were extremely envious
Definitely a place for a fun evening with friends. There was live music as well. And huge screens showing sport

Posted by MENU at 2:40 pm 1 comments

Sushi lunch at Fortune House

About every five to six weeks, we get a longing for some Sushi and off we go to our new local in Sea Point,
which we think has excellent sushi. It’s on the seaward side of Main Road, near Hall Road
The decor leaves a little to the imagination; the premises used to house a nightclub
We are trying to persuade the owner to paint it white or pale grey to make it lighter
He makes all the sushi fresh as you order it
This time, instead of the normal special platter of 31 pieces, we were greedy
and ordered two of the smaller special platters of 21 pieces each, at R79 per platter
We enjoyed it with a bottle of the Woolworths De Morgenzon Chenin Blanc 2016, a very good match
Corkage is R40 a bottle
You can also order some good dumplings - steamed or pot stickers

All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Posted by MENU at 12:40 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

This Week’s MENU. Cousins, Cabernet Report, Sauvignon blanc, Wade Bales Wine & Whisky, Cape Wine Master graduation, Ernie Els Shiraz, Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Sheep on an Overberg farm contemplate the photographer

Sometimes too much happens at an inconvenient time. The inconvenience this time was the many public holidays we always have around the end of April and the nasty cold which is inflicting itself on so many people in the Cape right now. It has laid us both low at a time when we had some complex stories to tell and it was not possible to publish MENU last week. We hope you missed us. So we’re publishing today and flying North for some family celebrations tomorrow. Next week’s MENU should be on schedule
Several years ago we discovered a small restaurant in Loop Street which served the best Gnocchi we had ever had locally and we went several times. Sadly, because of landlord problems, they had to close. Then we heard that they had opened in Barrack Street as Cousins. We have heard great reports and have been trying for a very long time to go. Last week, we got the chance as we were going to the Fugard Theatre to see Kunene and the King and needed an early supper. The play is superb, we highly recommend it…

WineMag Prescient Cabernet Report 2019
Last week, the 8th Annual Winemag.co.za Cabernet Sauvignon Report was held, sponsored by Prescient Financial Services. Business Manager, Jacqueline (Jax) Lahoud said that from today, besides publishing the scores earned by the wines that entered, they will be awarding certificates to only the top 10 wines in this category. You can download the full report online at https://winemag.co.za/. See our story here… 

Sauvignon Blanc Media Lunch at Janse & Co
“Change is happening”, said the Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group, so we were invited to join them and taste some impressive Sauvignons Blanc with lunch to find out what those changes were. Mainly, it was their change of name to the simpler and more focussed. The event was held at Janse and Co, where chef and owner Arno Janse van Rensburg now does his magic. We remember him and his cooking from Maison Restaurant in Franschhoek where he worked for several years. A glass of Steenberg's sparkling Sauvignon Blanc was on offer as we arrived…

Wade Bales 2019 CT Wine & Malt Whisky AFFAIR
This great annual Wine and Malt Whisky tasting is always a privilege to visit; so different from the rather disappointing Whisky Live show which we attended last week, which had more gin than Whisky. The wines Wade has on display are always really good brands and it is so enjoyable chatting to the people behind the tables about the wines while we taste. The whiskies are also from distinguished labels…

Cape Wine Master Graduation Lunch at Neethlingshof
We were very grateful to be able to accept this invitation. We missed the event last year when we were travelling. It was held at Neethlingshof wine estate in Stellenbosch on a perfect, warm Autumn day… 

On the MENU this week. Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
The seasons are changing and Lynne made this soup on Polling Day as we had invited friends for lunch. Had the day been hot, we could have served this cold. It was not, so it was served heated. This soup is made almost entirely in the oven. It is suitable for vegans...

MENU‘s Wine of the week Ernie Els Proprietors Blend Syrah 2015
We tasted this at our wine club meeting this month, which was held at the Cape Grace Hotel. We had an excellent tasting of Ernie Els wines and these wines really impressed all of us. The following day we had people for lunch and we opened a bottle we had in our cellar of the Proprietors Blend Syrah and it went so well with the main course of TexMex Chilli Con Carne. It is this week’s Wine of the Week. We think it would be a great match with any spicy or rich meat dish. Or enjoyed in front of a sunset or a fireplace, with friends… 
Posted by MENU at 3:25 pm 0 comments

MENU‘s Wine of the week Ernie Els Proprietors Blend Syrah 2015

We tasted this at our wine club meeting this month, which was held at the Cape Grace Hotel. We had an excellent tasting of Ernie Els wines and these wines really impressed all of us. The following day we had people for lunch and we opened a bottle we had in our cellar of the Proprietors Blend Syrah and it went so well with the main course of TexMex Chilli Con Carne. It is this week’s Wine of the Week. We think it would be a great match with any spicy or rich meat dish. Or enjoyed in front of a sunset or a fireplace, with friends… 

All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Posted by MENU at 2:15 pm 0 comments

On the MENU this week. Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

The seasons are changing and Lynne made this soup on Election Day as we had invited friends for lunch. Had the day been hot, we could have served this cold. It was not, so it was served heated.
This soup is made almost entirely in the oven. It is suitable for vegans.

2 or 3 large red peppers - 2 tablespoons olive oil - – 6 or 7 large Rosa tomatoes, or similar, halved - 1 head of garlic – 1 small onion, halved - 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar - Salt & Pepper - 200 ml water

 Rub a little olive oil on the outside of the peppers and put them into a roasting tray and place under the grill. Turn them regularly until their skin is blackening all over. Take them out and immediately place them in a plastic bag which you seal up. Leave them steam and then to cool. Once they are cool rub off the skin, remove and discard their stalks, core and seeds and set the peppers aside with any of the juice that has come out of them in the bottom of the pan or the plastic bag.

 Turn your oven to 200ºC. In roasting pan place the tomatoes (halved side down), garlic and onion, drizzle with olive oil and salt and put in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. The onion should be getting nicely golden brown. Peel the skins off the tomatoes. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Put the peeled tomatoes, the garlic paste, the onion and the pepper into a blender. Liquidise everything, including any juices left on the roasting trays. Put into a deep pan and add the water, sugar and seasoning to taste. How much sugar will depend on how sharp the tomatoes are – just enough to take off any edge of acid. Heat gently and serve. Serve with basil leaves on top and with crisp croutons. This can be served chilled.

 The wine we served with this dish turned out to be a perfect match for the tomatoes and peppers. Mediterraneo from Simonsig is a blend of Roussane and Marsanne with small amounts of Grenache Blanc and Verdelho. It made the soup shine but the wine was not overwhelmed by it either and also delighted. Such a success. Tomatoes are notorious for being difficult with wine. It  was our Wine of the Week in November 2018
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Posted by MENU at 2:10 pm 0 comments

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Wade Bales 2019 CT Wine & Malt Whisky AFFAIR at 15 on Orange

This great annual Wine and Malt Whisky tasting is always a privilege to visit; so different from the rather disappointing Whisky Live show which we attended last week, which had more gin than Whisky. The wines Wade has on display are always really good brands and it is so enjoyable chatting to the people behind the tables about the wines while we taste. The whiskies are also from distinguished labels
Brian Smith pouring the Bouchard Finlayson wines
Wim Braak chats with Lynne about the Cavalli range of wines
Horses are their thing!
Wow, what a super presentation box of Ernie Els wines. We had a private tasting of these with our wine club this week and were so impressed. See Our Wine of the Week this week: It’s the Ernie Els Syrah, which we also had at lunch on Polling Day, after everyone had voted
Filling out an order form
Maggie Marais, Delaire Graff Brand Ambassador
On the De Wetshof stand, we greeted Heinrich Bothman and had to sample two of our favourite Chardonnays,
the Limestone Hill and the Bateleur, so different, but both so unique and special
Constantia Glen CEO Horst Prader with marketing manager Gus Allen
Rascallion's Ross Sleet with his daughter
Alan Wickstrom of Klein Constantia
There were wine stands all around the circular bar as well
Shaun Terry on the well stocked cheese buffet
Very necessary with all this wine and whisky and many people had come from work
Everyone wanted her photo! Cheers!
Martin Smith of Paserene, whom we visited last year
Michelle Stewart and Harry on the Mulderbosch stand
Eddie Turner of Meerlust
Lynne then told John that we needed to taste some Whisky and into that special area we went. We tasted some lovely old malts, mostly from Speyside, as that is where we plan to visit later this year, and we need to make some contacts
This gentleman had very fixed ideas about what he wanted to taste and what he didn't. He was tossing lots away
We loved the Arran 18 year old!
Stuart Botha, Tokara winemaker, discusses the effect of a little water. Just one drop can make a very big difference in taste 
We are rather fond of Bunnahabhain Whisky and both of these were superb. Deanston is a new label for us
It is rather a male event in the room, but some of us women rather enjoy our Whisky
You do have to duck and dive a bit to get to the counters; it helps if you are small
Master distiller Andy Watt, explaining the different strengths and ages of Three Ships Whisky
and who should we bump into but old friend Ed Saunders, owner of Knife - Long Street, Fork - Century City
(and, at last, Spoon! which is inside Knife) restaurants and his lovely wife. Always fun
and we managed to capture Wade Bales in a group photo
Gus Allen with Wade Bales. Thanks Wade, another spectacular event
And then it was time for us to order the Uber to take us home. We never drive after an event like this
All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Posted by MENU at 11:59 pm 0 comments
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