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Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169

Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005

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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 our website and ancillary works are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are often 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

MENU’s Wine of the Week is The Vineyard Collection Malbec 2015 from Perdeberg

This wine is a real find, It bowled us over

Soy Umami at first on the nose with hints of rose and gentle spice, then cherry and chocolate with some smoke. Soft sweet cherry fruit on the palate, very well balanced and seductive with dark chocolate and a pinch of salt. The fruit remains for a long time with fine minerality and wood on the end. This is a great wine to pair with food. Rich meat dishes, rich classic sauces and definitely with good cheese. A real bargain at R85 from the cellar

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

On the MENU this Week. Italian Chicken and Artichoke bake

Another easy one pot dish, using lots of vegetables and some left over roast chicken. John loves artichokes and we buy him a large tin of artichoke hearts from an Italian supplier once a year. They do freeze but, while the tin is open, Lynne tries to use as many as she can. Fresh artichokes are in season, so you could use those as well. Or leave them out and substitute them with tender stem broccoli or even asparagus. If you leave out the chicken, and use a good vegetable stock, you have a good vegetarian meal. We used mixed grains instead of rice, which gave the dish some good texture

1 T olive oil – 1 small onion, finely chopped - 2 cloves of garlic, chopped – 2 T finely sliced red pepper – 1 t fresh thyme – 1 t oregano– ½ cup chicken stock - 3 courgettes, thinly sliced into strips - 1 cup tomato passata - ¼ cup cream - 2 cups cooked, sliced chicken – 4 tinned artichoke hearts, quartered – 2 cups cooked rice or mixed grains – salt and freshly ground black pepper – half a ball of mozzarella, cubed

Fry the onion in the oil and a little salt until transparent; add the garlic and peppers and fry for a minute or two to soften, add the herbs and pour on the chicken stock. Add the courgettes. Let this simmer for 5 or 6 minutes. Add the tomato passata, cook for another 5 minutes, then stir in the cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning. In an ovenproof casserole with a lid, add the rice and the chicken and the artichokes. Pour over the sauce and stir until all the ingredients are combined. Top with the mozzarella and cover with the lid. Heat the oven to 170°C and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the dish is heated through

Serve with a good dry Sauvignon Blanc or Viognier

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Lunch at Tintswalo Atlantic - Out of the ashes a second time

The first time we visited Tintswalo Atlantic, a small, exclusive boutique Beach Lodge in Hout Bay, Lynne did not want to leave; it was so beautiful and so calm. To get there, you go along Chapman's Peak Drive, almost to the toll booth, and then take a right turn. It is almost impossible to see it from the road. It is a place where mermaids come to enchant you. Tintswalo is down a vertiginous road, almost on the beach. Luckily, there is a good secure parking area at the top and guests are fetched by car or golf cart. It has had quite a sad history in that Tintswalo Atlantic has been destroyed three times in its short life. First, by a huge wave during a storm. They recovered and rebuilt. In March 2015, it was destroyed again by a furious and fast mountain fire which swept down and burnt Tintswalo to the ground. They recovered again. Then, last year, an electrical fault in the kitchen caused another devastating fire

But the owners have rebuilt again and it is still a place of luxury and peace, with magnificent sea views across the bay. A place for romantic getaways, weddings, honeymoons, other small celebrations and quiet contemplation in the lap of luxury. See their web site http://tintswalo.com/atlantic/ It has just been opened again to the public and we were invited to view it and join them for lunch. There are 10 beautifully styled luxury suites and one 2-bedroom suite, all of which have themes inspired by the world’s best islands. The owners have such grit and determination to continue, and such style. Tintswalo is part of a large property group, some of which are Game Lodges and there is another like this at Boulders near Simonstown

Our hostess, co-owner Lisa Goosen and her mother did the reconstruction and redecoration, starting from scratch again and they have done it very stylishly and tastefully, in very current design mode (we know, our lounge is in two shades of these pale blues!). The different blues throughout echo the different moods of the sea outside. It was a chilly day and we were given some spicy bruléed red wine (Glühwein), which we warmly welcomed. Or there were non-alcoholic Rock Shandies, which Lisa was drinking

The wrap she was wearing came with a message which must mean a lot to her

and echoes the strength they have shown in resurrecting Tintswalo Atlantic

A little mist on a wet Spring day did not spoil the view

You look out at the Sentinel and Hout Bay Harbour with the sea lapping the rocks just a few feet below

We saw a pair of dolphins enjoying the water - John caught one on camera - and you can see pods of whales passing by

Here you can see how close the water is

The dolphin passes

We were there to experience The Tintswalo Atlantic Where Else in the World Wednesday Lunch (WWW Lunch)

Wednesday is the only day on which Tintswalo is open to the public for lunch

It may be booked in advance and is subject to availability, to a limited number of guests only

Lynne chatting to PRO Janie van der Spuy of Five Star PR in the verandah dining area

The open kitchen

The vinoteque has a very good selection of wines

In summer, these doors fold right back and guests can have breakfast or lunch or dinner on the terrace,
where the roof can be retracted

We take our seats for the lunch

A well presented table setting

The menu for the day

If you wish to experience the Where else in the World Wednesday Lunch, the menu will be similar to this; you need to book

It is a chance for locals to experience Tintswalo
With a maximum of 10 guests per booking, and due to high demand, booking in advance is essential

Head Chef Thando Jaxa explains the menu to us

The canapés would be served first, then we could choose our starter and main course. Dessert would follow

All the courses were very expertly paired with wine chosen by the Maître d', Jabu

The welcoming drink was Klasiek Cap Classique from Hout Bay Vineyards

Good glasses. The Cap Classique was paired with the Canapés, served at the dining table

Then the three canapés

Briefly fired Courgette and Haloumi cheese kebab, a lamb Satay stick with Tzatziki and long cooked mussels,

rather hard to get out of their shells, in a truly spectacular seafood bisque, made with fennel -
this needs trade marking and bottling

The crostini soaked up all the magnificent flavours

Many of us ordered the just seared, so fresh, so local tuna, now in season, dressed with an Asian inspired honey and soy glaze

and accompanied by a sweetcorn & mange tout salsa spiced with a little red and green chilli, deemed delicious by all

The wine with it was the Arendsig Blok A15 Chardonnay 2014, an inspired pairing

The other starter, Chicken thigh, on a brown lentil cassoulet, with grilled oyster mushrooms, and a mustard jus

The wine for this course was the Groote Post Pinot Noir; silky, juicy and full of forest floor notes with ripe red cherries

We asked to taste, even though we had the tuna, and Jabu was happy to oblige

This was the herb polenta served with glazed beetroot, a parsnip and parsley mousse and buttered peas

A vegetarian at our table said that it was excellent

Paired with another of our favourite wines, the Avondale Camissa, a blend of Grenache, Muscat de Frontignan and Mourvèdre

Who could not resist the Parmesan and thyme crusted Fillet of beef, served with a crisp potato fondant,

seared baby onions, in season fresh asparagus and a rich coffee jus

The wine was Springfield Work of Time Bordeaux style blend of Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot

A classic; smoky and full fruited, so well crafted and so good with meat dishes and possibly others.....

Lynne had the Atlantic Yellowtail, well seared and moist in the centre, with a creamy carrot and ginger purée,

chimichurri gnocchi, fresh peas and sautéed fennel

This was paired with the very popular Haute Cabrière Chardonnay Pinot Noir

Lynne asked for a small glass of that and one of the Work of Time and honestly cannot say which went better with the fish;

they made equally good pairings

Yes, we did have room for dessert and it was a very well made Malva pudding

Often not on our list of favourites, because it is often served too dry, but this was perfectly moist and dripping with syrup

Topped with real vanilla ice cream, it made a very good end to a great lunch

Of course we had a dessert wine with it, the Donkiesbaai Hooiwijn, an intense and complex sweet straw wine

from the Piekenierskloof area, made from Chenin Blanc (Residual sugar, 205 gm/l)

Then when we thought we could do no more, some friandise, miniature Banoffee pies

and rich, cocoa covered dark chocolate truffles

and a good double espresso

Tempting as it was to sink into these comfy chairs or even the bed in one of the suites, we had to pass

This is the Zanzibar suite. The bed had a fabulous view of the sea and the bay

So does its en suite bathroom, but it was time to go home

The ladies who lunched, with one of the two gentlemen

L to R PRO Janie van der Spuy, Lynne, our hostess Lisa Goosen, Barbara Lenhard, Kendi (she is a Kenyan model in Cape Town),

George, who is a Franco German photographer and Tamsin Snyman

They have a departure ceremony. You take a wishing stone ...

... stand by the deck rail and throw the stone over your left shoulder into the sea while making your wish

They asked us please to make sure that we took our wishes with us, which we were happy to do

But we also wish them a peaceful prosperous future; no more dramas or disasters

And we thank them all for a lovely event. Get your booking in soon

Chinese supper at He Sheng, Sea Point

We are not the only ones in our family who like Asian food so, when John's brother visited us last week,

we went to our local authentic Chinese, He Sheng on Main Road, Three Anchor Bay

How can you tell if a restaurant is authentic?

When more than half of the customers are Chinese and you can see Mama cooking in the kitchen, banging her pots and pans

We have to confess that we ordered far too much food, thinking we would get small helpings as you do in most places

This is the Seaweed Salad, very fresh and dressed in vinegar and garlic

Pot Sticker dumplings were a given and we ordered the Beef version. It is a generous portion, not the usual plate of three

They don’t do Shar su Bao, so we ordered the Fried Stuffed Bun and, when we asked how many, she said “enough”

Well, 8 arrived and we wondered how we were going to manage. They do have pork inside and are similar to Shar su Bao

Their Eggplant (aubergine) dish is one of our favourites. They have two versions; this is the one in brown sauce, not at all hot

The other, with chilli, is very hot and spicy

We ordered some Mixed Meat Noodles as a starch and they, sadly, were a bit of a disappointment

The noodles were egg noodles and rather soggy

We also ordered the Spicy Szechuan beef and it was a very large portion indeed

Tender slivers of beef in a roaringly hot Szechuan pepper sauce

We also ordered one portion of steamed rice, which helped soften the fiery, but so enjoyable, Szechuan beef

No chilli wimps in our family

We did our best, but the copious leftovers came home with us for another meal the next night

Memo to self: Don’t over order at He Sheng unless you are ravenous. Good value

We drank a Saronsberg Viognier, always a great match for spicy food