A tourist junk crossing Hong Kong harbour at sunset
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After
two exciting and, occasionally, restful weeks in Hong Kong and Vietnam, we are
back and firmly in the MENU
saddle again. We will publish the stories of our Eastern adventure over the
next few weeks, starting with Hong Kong and surrounds this week. Next week, we
will show you Vinexpo and there will be more about Hong Kong, Hanoi and Ha Long
Bay in subsequent weeks, all, of course, interspersed with the events, meals
and tastings currently happening.
Dinner at Myoga A few days before we left for Hong Kong, we
were invited by chef Mike Basset to come and sample his new winter menu at
Myoga at the Vineyard Hotel. They are doing a 7 course menu for R365 which, as
it includes two extra courses and bread, offers tremendous value. Just go very
hungry. We opted to do the menu with the wine pairing, which costs R650 per
person. It includes some of the top South African wines so, if you like wine,
this is for you. We didn't always agree with all the pairings, but taste is subjective.
The menu is a showcase of multiple textures, flavours, colours and surprises. It's
a tour de force of modern gourmet food. Perhaps one or two of the courses had
too many ingredients on the plate, but we really enjoyed the experience. See the food and wine.....
Cape Port Producers Awards lunch at Muratie Just before our departure, we drove out
to Muratie wine estate in Stellenbosch for the CAPPA Awards lunch. The awards
ceremony took place on Wednesday, 18th May and was a very jolly affair. There
are awards for all the different iterations of Port as well as wine made from
port varietals. We tasted the ports and drank some of the wine entries with
lunch. The people, the place, the wines and the food.....
Off to Hong Kong for VinExpo and a bit of a holiday there and in
Vietnam We were sent an invitation and media
accreditation to attend Vinexpo in Hong Kong back in April and John jokingly
sent it to Lynne, saying “shall we go?” We had been considering a trip to
Europe this May, so she went on line and checked out the airfare to Hong Kong,
never expecting to find it was cheaper to go there than to Europe. Just over
R16000 for the two of us return on Emirates. So, on the spur of the moment, we
decided to go. John had never been to the East, Lynne has great memories,
especially of Hong Kong. "Where else shall we go, having come this
far?", we wondered after planning the week in Hong Kong. We looked at
China, expensive and everywhere we wanted to go to meant another flight. So we
looked in the other directions and went to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. This week,
you will see the beginning of the odyssey which we will spread out over the
next few weeks. May and June are not the best months there, as it is hot and very
humid, but we loved our trip.
Wine Competitions
While we were away, there were several wine competition award ceremonies.
If you are interested, here are the links to who won what:
Wine of the week Château Clos des Prince, Saint-Émilion
Grand Cru 2012
Lynne tasted this wine at a blind tasting at
Vinexpo in Hong Kong. It made her remember why she loves Saint-Émilion. It is
80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Silky soft, juicy, elegant, with beautiful
fruit, full of dark cherries with minerality and toast. Ready to drink now, but
it has got the backbone to last too. I know many of us don't get opportunities
to taste wines like this but just in case you have access to some, do add this
to your list. Tim Atkin gave this vintage 91. Among the higher priced wines
from Saint-Émilion
Recipe of the week: Green Pawpaw salad from Vietnam We had dinner cooked for us in a
Vietnamese village on our trip and they got us all involved making this lovely
salad. You need a hard green unripe pawpaw
1
unripe pawpaw approx. 500g - 1 carrot - 1 T each of fresh mint, basil and
coriander, chopped - 1 T chopped roasted peanuts - some freshly chopped red
chilli - 1 T crisp roasted onions
Nuoc cham dressing 2 tbsp rice vinegar - 2 tbsp fish
sauce - 1 tbsp lime juice - 2 tbsp sugar - 1/2 cup water - 1 clove garlic,
finely chopped - a little freshly chopped red chilli
Peel
the pawpaw and then grate it into long thin strands using a mandolin or grater.
Put into a bowl. Peel and grate the carrot in the same way, but keep it aside.
Cover the pawpaw with boiling water and using a wooden spoon give it a good
stir for about a minute or two. It will probably change colour from white to
pale green. At the last minute add the carrot, mix in and then immediately
drain off all the water, as much as you can. Set aside to cool. Mix up the
dressing and stir well till all the sugar is dissolved. Add it to the pawpaw
with the herbs and stir well. Sprinkle over the peanuts, crispy onions and the
chilli. Serve and enjoy. You can add peeled prawns and or sliced roasted meat.
Events in June Chardonnay
Pinot Noir Celebration at the Vineyard this Friday from 17h00 to 20h00.
We hope to see many of you at this annual tasting of some of South Africa’s
best Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Cost: R170.00 per person – includes wine
glass and snacks. Tickets can be purchased via www.webtickets.co.za, or at any of the Wine Concepts branches or at the
door on the evening, subject to availability. There are many interesting things
to do this month. See them in our Events Calendar
9th June 2016
PS If a
word or name is in bold type and
underlined, click on it for more information
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172
/ 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point
8005
Our Adamastor & Bacchus© tailor-made
Wine, Food and Photo tours take small
groups (up to 6) to specialist wine producers who make the best of South
Africa’s wines. Have fun while you learn more about wine and how it is made!
Tours can be conducted in English, German, Norwegian and standard or
Dutch-flavoured Afrikaans.
If you like the photographs you see in our
publications, please look at our Adamastor Photo website for our rate card and samples from our
portfolio
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
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