Monday, January 11, 2016

Relaxing by the sea at Paternoster

We are normally very energetic and like holidays where we do lots of different things. But this year we were dog tired and knew we had to stop and do nothing for a while. Lynne found a lovely place in Paternoster, our very first AirBnB booking, and it was a huge success. We had our annual wine club Christmas party on Sunday the 13th and left for the West Coast the next day for our week by the sea. It's a lovely drive up, but the countryside is looking very sere and dry with the drought.
The centre crossroads of Paternoster with the illegal crayfish sellers - who no longer sell at bargain prices; legal or illegal are now R50 to R80 a cray. We stay legal and buy from registered people, as many of the crayfish sold at the lights are undersized and you don't know how long they have been out of the water. Other than tourism and a bit of fishing, there seems not much industry in the village, and it shows
Our accommodation Karibu was just one road from the beach, with plenty of parking
We had a lovely apartment with a lounge/kitchen, spacious bedroom, 
en suite bathroom and we could use the terrace. There is a second bedroom and bathroom, which we hired for friends who visited at the end of the week. Our host Gaby has the rest of the house
Gaby was very friendly, warm and welcoming. She has three lovely dogs, one marvellous cat

and a very talkative African grey named Harvey
 Definitely a place for animal lovers. We were distressed to hear that Gaby had just returned from hospital after a fairly major op, but she had not cancelled and said she would be fine. She has lots of help from her local friends. We tried to tread as lightly as possible during the week. Confession: we did a lot of sleeping, reading and just plain lazing about. And very simple cooking and eating
The popular restaurant Voorstrandt was the closest to our house. We had a look and meant to go there, but somehow didn’t make it this trip. We had eaten there on a previous visit
We look a long walk on the beach that first evening and most evenings after that. It can be windy but is very reviving ...
... and many others do the same
It's a blue and white world, very reminiscent of Greece.
The housing style and colour is regulated, making for a visually very pleasant place. Kite flying in the wind
Paddling rather than swimming, as the current comes right from the Antarctic!
Black oystercatchers and cormorants on the rocks, with three types of gulls in abundance
Another walk to the other end of the beach the next day to see if we could buy some fish
A dead crab. We have never found any worth eating, as they are very small and don't seem to contain enough 'meat', although the gulls polish them off quickly when they are washed up
Signs of a warm day coming
It’s a long stretch of beach with lots of holiday accommodation
A sign at one of the local shops, which we liked
Dinner that night at SkatKis (transl. Treasure Chest) which has a great view and good calamari and is very reasonably priced. We think this could make the best sited restaurant in Paternoster if a professional chef was employed and the place was done up a bit. The service is friendly and professional and we like it very much
We took a generous supply of good wine with us for the week and enjoyed this bottle of Glenwood's Grand Duc Chardonnay 2012 very much with our sea food
Lynne's calamari and chips
John's hake and chips. They did have a wonderful sounding seafood platter on the menu for 2, but couldn't serve it as they could not get crayfish that day - all the legal sellers had sold out
Our bill came to just over R200 with tip

We watched from the terrace as the fishing boats came in. This one looks as though he is delivering crayfish in boxes
Picking up shells
Lovely soft evening light
Getting the boats off the beach
This side of the village has the small fishermen's cottages. Many have been sold to outsiders and they have been gentrified, but many are still occupied by their original tenants
A reminder that Christmas is coming to Paternoster
We took the short walk back to our accommodation, Karibu, and viewed the nightlife at the other restaurants. We were there just before the season really gets started over Christmas and New Year, when all the visitors flood in from up country
The prevailing South-Easter gave loads of opportunity to the windsurfers
A well built sea fort resisting the incoming tide
The village pond behind Karibu has lots of birdlife. Sadly, with the drought, the water level is dropping alarmingly
There are just a few shops in the village, but there is just enough for emergency supplies. Most people drive through Vredenburg en route and stock up there. Its only about 15 minutes drive from Paternoster
The old Paternoster Hotel is popular for lunches and drinks on the terrace but it closed at 9 while we were there
The village at lunchtime
The kids like helping the boats come in, perhaps to get a small fish. There is visible poverty, the children beg and the dog population looks very thin and ill fed. Many people have lost their income from the sea due to bad and or unfair allocation of fishing permits and they struggle
You can see the midday heat coming off the sand
Friends walking on the beach, they came down to join us for our last night
Finding sea urchins! How many of us did the same at their age
And posing for the camera with lots of humour, cheek and local patois. One child spoke slang with an accent we just could not understand
We decided to walk to the fishery but it was closed
After our long walk we had to stop (a vital necessity!) for a cold beer at De See Kat
 Sadly the beers (Windhoek & Heineken) were too warm. John ordered a Darling craft beer and that was properly chilled
And dinner that night (a braai) was at Karibu. We managed to get four crayfish and one large cob. Sadly the fish had been frozen too long and was not great. The crayfish however, served with simple garlic butter and lemon, were stupendous. But expensive. This purchase cost us R410. We had salads and rather a lot of wine. The end to a very relaxing holiday
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Lunch at Oep ve Koep, Die Winkel op Paternoster

This restaurant in Paternoster has earned many kudos and we decided, before we went to Paternoster on our summer holiday, that we would treat ourselves to lunch there. It was not cheap, but it was an exciting and very different experience, as the young chef Kobus van der Merwe, the 2014 winner of the Nederburg Rising Star Award, is a true forager and innovative cook. He combs the local tidal rocks along the uninhabited coastline and grows unusual local herbs and plants in his kitchen garden at the restaurant. The menu changes with the seasons or his mood or what he finds
You do need to book and they require a deposit or your credit card details when you do as, surprisingly, they have had many group 'no shows' and this for a small restaurant can be very expensive and a huge time and food waste. He prepares everything fresh so don't expect it to be a quick lunch. Dinner is only for groups of 8 or more people, which made us feel rather excluded and lunch is in the garden when possible. Restaurant open Wednesdays to Sundays
The restaurant is on the left at the crossroads as you come into town
The shop is full of interesting local bottled produce and cooking equipment, some touristy things and freshly baked bread and cakes
Our shady table in the garden
Chef Kobus explaining the dishes to other customers
The first course blew our minds. We have often see the ice plants (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) growing on the dunes and had no idea they were edible. They need washing to get rid of the sand but are satisfyingly crunchy and nicely salty. They are served with a dip of !Nara (wild cucumber) oil flavoured with wild celery seeds, into which you dipped the leaves
This was served with a bitter Fynbos vermouth made by the chef
We took along a bottle of one of our favourite Chardonnays De Wetshof 2013 Bon Vallon and it was perfect with the innovative food. Corkage was R35
The menu for lunch that day
A smiling Chef Kobus van der Merwe
Also served with the ice plants are limpets, minced and cooked in butter and seasoned lightly with nutmeg. Absolutely delicious and the poor man's version of abalone - now try prizing them off the rocks and cleaning them yourself. With the necessary permit of course
The drinks list. Some good local wines. A new brand for us is Teubes which was sold in many Paternoster restaurants, and which we need to taste
The next course was an oyster served with a lichi granita, a squeeze of granadilla, topped with samphire - the best oyster John has ever had
We had warned them of our allergies and Lynne was served an ice plant taco of litchis, granita and samphire in an ice plant leaf. One to emulate at home!
Jars of some of the local fynbos species for you to examine
The huge bougainvillea hedge is breathtaking when in full flower with lots of different brilliant shades
Chef serving our next course of plump Saldanha Bay mussels in a Sauvignon Blanc jus, fresh Cape gooseberries (Physalis peruviana) which added a nice kick of acidity, and dune spinach. We grow lots of the gooseberries in our garden so we might also try this at home
This came with freshly baked bread and Bokkoms butter for dipping. Bokkoms are salted and air dried fish, usually harders or mullet, known also as fish biltong. Reconstituted in oil they can resemble anchovies
Baby nasturtium leaves also added for flavour
Next course was thick slivers of hot pickled kelp and crisp deep fried sea lava seaweed with watermelon rind and bitter leaves of celery or parcel. We love eating seaweed, more usually at our local Chinese restaurant, so this was enjoyed
A bowl of homemade mayonnaise and *sour fig nectar. *These also come from the Mesembryanthemum family and are a favourite of children as you find them at almost every coastal resort. They have a salty, sour and tangy fruit flavour. A tart jam can be made with them
And to accompany this dish came the sour fig leaves bearing sage smoked Angelfish made into balls and deep fried. You dipped them into the mayonnaise. Crisply delicious
Watching us while we ate, a Cape Robin chat
The next dish is quite contentious for us. One of the most well known and popular dishes of the Cape, with huge Cape Malay influence is Pickled fish. If you grew up with it, you love it. Lynne didn't and she doesn't enjoy its sour sweet pickled fish mixed with intense curry flavours. Be assured this is an excellent expression of the dish, we have no problem with it at all. We just don't enjoy it. It was ceviche style, served with sour yoghurt, Louis Leipoldt's egg sambal with coriander, a peach mebos, a peach and turmeric chutney which had lots of turmeric, and a small smoked tomato. Lots of work for the chef on one small plate which we do appreciate
Pretty coriander flowers. Lynne thinks better on the bush than on the plate. She likes the seeds but not the leaves
When we enquired about wild celery, chef brought is a plant from his garden to show us. It does indeed taste just like good celery seed and might be one for a Cape herb garden
Dessert may not have looked very big or impressive, but was Chef's expression of milk and honey revisited. A light buttermilk sorbet flavoured with honey and topped with unusual dune celery meringue - crisp and light honey flavour on the green meringue, a good end to a great lunch The set lunch costs R325 pp, not including service or wine. Thank you Chef, a very good meal
Two young ladies in conversation
The bill
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016