Tuesday, June 13, 2017

MENU's Scandinavian Odyssey 2. Germany

To Hamburg and Flensburg
We left Holland at 9 am and drove across the huge Ijsselmeerdijk to Friesland and then crossed the border into Germany. Our first stop would be Hamburg. The German autobahns are legendary – well they were; it seems that all over the north they are rebuilding them and widening them. What we imagined would be a lovely day’s drive was hell. Two lanes squeezed onto the oncoming side, so tight that we really feared for the car’s sides.
We arrived in Hamburg at 3.30 and headed to the centre. It was rainy and the traffic was busy. We thought of home and how much the rain was needed there
 The first landmark we saw was the tower of St Nicolai’s Church. It is being heavily restored. It was the tallest religious edifice in the world when it was built in the 1850s and it is still in the top 10. This is the region of Hamburg that was almost flattened in the firestorm in 1943
We parked and walked towards the church, crossing the river Elbe with a view down to the harbour
Some of these buildings are old, some were reconstructed after the war in the old style
We parked and walked towards the church, over a bridge crossing the river Elbe. Some of these buildings are old, some were reconstructed after the war in the old style. Parking is a nightmare, and it costs about €3 for an hour when you do find it. The Church was closing, so we decided to come back the next day
These old buildings are called the Speicherstadt, a busy warehouse area which is now also a waterfront tourist attraction, containing among others Miniatur Wunderland - a large model railway, the Hamburg Dungeon and Deutsches Zollmuseum (no, they don’t sell cannabis ciggys – they are known as zolls in South Africa - it’s a Customs House Museum) other attractions and, for us, unaffordable
We then headed north to our AirBnB in Schnelsen. We were very grateful for our SatNav
We had a room in Bärbel’s flat for the night. It was a large and very comfortable room. She was very welcoming
The front of the apartment building which has four flats. Our room had the upstairs window in the front of the gable
The next morning, we packed the car and headed for the city centre again. We managed to find parking and walked about for ages. This is the impressive Rathaus (City Hall). Hamburg is a modern city that has kept its historic buildings in great condition. There is lots of open space to walk about and admire the city. It is the second largest city in Germany
A colonnaded vaulted ceiling inside the Rathaus
Swans in the Elbe river
being fed by this resident
Nesting coots – this probably means the river is quite clean
Lots of elegant colonnades along the river
With restaurants that have lovely views
and tempting pastries
Oh, the Godiva chocolate shop. Lynne’s favourite chocolates in the whole world, but the prices were so scary we did not indulge. Too early in our trip north to spend unwisely, maybe on the way back
There is shop selling Baltic Amber jewellery
The Meissen shop was there too with a 15cm reminder of what we left at home, our ginger cat. A snip at €765 or about R11100
One of the tourist attractions was this man and his huge bubble making apparatus These students were having a lot of fun. Sadly, in the background is graffiti; the city is covered in it. Very disappointing, but we see lots of it in other places on our trip north
River boats on the water’s edge
And a lovely water jet in front of an older bridge
Working in the city, on his laptop outside his office or the coffee shop!
St. Peter's Church is a typical tall-towered German church
We then headed back to St Nicolai church and the museum. These are two old stained glass windows that have been preserved. The museum is all about the firestorm which followed the bombing by the British and Americans in 1943. It is very balanced, it also features the bombing of Coventry, London and Warsaw and carries a message about the evil destruction caused by war
The church is undergoing a huge restoration. The museum tickets also include a trip up to the top of the tower by lift
We were 75.3 metres high and the tower is open, the wind was howling. The views were spectacular
Out over the harbour
Or looking north to this church and the crazy leaning building
Lynne took this photo of the gargoyle. You have no idea what fortitude it took to get this; she suffers from physical vertigo if she sees a drop and her body freezes, while her brain goes into flight mode and she gets dizzy and nauseous. The weird thing is that she is not frightened of heights, it’s physical. The buffeting gale did not help but she was determined to get the shot
The spring green of the city trees was intoxicating. We then left Hamburg and headed north to Flensburg, which is on the Baltic coast
A traditional style, that echoes London mansion blocks. Our next AirBnB apartment was in this building, in the Neustadt. The less said about our room and the apartment the better. It was not good. It’s actually an older area, but we were delighted to find both an Aldi and Lidl supermarket either side of us. They are very good value and we bought supper and some food for the journey
Flensburg is actually on a fjord. And in the bay we saw lots of jellyfish which had come in from the sea
We drove to one side of the Fjord and saw these beautiful dune roses used as hedges in the parking area
Lots of boats on the moorings, and another high tower church
Fishing boats at the dock
And people enjoying time on their two master
What’s for late lunch or tea? We had been recommend to come to this Fish bar on the dock and we splurged and had two rolls with smoked salmon
John had a beer and Lynne’s pretty blue bottle turned out to be a shandy
An evening walk along the wharf. It’s a popular area for walking up and down and taking the sea air
Flensburg waterfront with the impressive buildings behind it. We tried so hard to get to them, but the one way system completely defeated us. We kept ending up in parking garages. We realised that you have to park and walk up to get there. But it was time to leave for Copenhagen
A bold raven (Corvus corax) saw us on our way

Friday, June 09, 2017

MENU's Wine of the Week; Du Toitskloof Chenin Blanc 2017

in a box. Not entirely Tongue-in-Cheek


When we travel, we mitigate the high prices of wine in other countries by packing a 3 litre box of quaffable wine in each suitcase. Gentle acidity; apple and tropical fruit flavours. Perfect for a sundowner: here on the stoep of a Swedish wooden cabin in Varberg

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

This Week's MENU. Aslina wine launch, supper at Lily's, Morgenster launch, Lunch at Dynasty, Red Cabbage apple, Aslina Umsasane 2015

Autumn colours in the avenue leading to the manor house at Morgenster

This will be the last MENU in our usual format for several weeks. On Thursday 25th May, , we will be flying to Schipol in the Netherlands and embarking on a rather ambitious road trip through north Europe and Scandinavia. One of those “bucket list” things to do before we become too old and feeble! Although it will be a holiday, a photographer and his camera never find it easy to become inactive, so we’ll be posting short stories of the places we’ll visit in Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway and will be posting on Instagram as well at https://www.instagram.com/fordjohnduncan/ We look forward to showing you some interesting and beautiful places and MENU will resume its normal format in the third week of June
Ntsiki Biyela, originally from KwaZulu Natal, has been the winemaker at Stellekaya for the last 13 years. She was the first South African black woman wine maker. She trained in Viticulture & Oenology at Stellenbosch University and worked stages in Tuscany and Bordeaux. At Stellekaya she produced four star Platter wines and won awards. Her dream was always to make her own wines and this she has now done. Aslina is her tribute to her grandmother (it is her grandmother's name) who was her inspiration and guide as she grew up. She was awarded Woman Winemaker of the year in 2009. It is an exciting venture. She continues as a consultant to Stellekaya. She is involved in many wine industry competitions as a judge i.e. SAA, Diners Club Winemaker of the Year, IWSC and Nederburg Auction. We were invited to the launch of these wines, held at the American Consul General’s residence in Bishopscourt
Mouille Point beachfront has suddenly been populated by several smart looking restaurants, those that should be on Sea Point's promenade but are not (and there is a long history there). We were invited to Lily's to try out the food last week. It is on the corner of a new block that has taken the place of the old Newport Deli. Lily is the name of Paul Kovenski's young daughter. The Kove Collection also owns Pepenero next door and La Belle Bistro and Bakery in the same road, as well as the Alphen and several other Cape Town restaurants. They do not yet have a wine licence, so you do need to Bring Your Own. Phone first though, in case the licence has been granted. Or you can order wine from Pepenero, but you need to run two bills
Earlier this year, in February, we were invited to review the Kyoto Gardens Menu for Two which was obviously a success, because this week we were invited to review the new Winter Special menu. On offer are three courses and a glass of wine for R220 pp. This also includes an appetiser of Edamame beans, not counted as one of the courses. This authentic Japanese restaurant in Kloof Neck Road can be a tad pricey, but they do serve some of the best sea food in Cape Town. This menu is good value and an excellent introduction to authentic Japanese food
We were invited by the owner, Giulio Bertrand, to the unveiling on Friday of the Estate’s new Pieralisi Olive Press and to taste the new season's olive oil. And, of course, we would have the opportunity of tasting the recently released wines. The Olive Press is astounding. We have not seen an installation this big and sophisticated in South Africa. And the wine tasting was pretty special too
We know we talk a lot about Dynasty, our local Chinese restaurant in Main Road Sea Point. We do so because it is very good. Clare, John's daughter had a special birthday this weekend and, on Sunday, we took her there for a treat. John had placed a special order for a whole Peking Duck. We thought you might like to see it
If you are serving a rich meat like Confit Duck, Goose or even Belly of Pork, traditionally it is served with a relish of some sort to help cut the fat. Red Cabbage is traditional with both duck and goose and Lynne made it to go with Duck Confit and duck fat potatoes recently. It is usual to add a red wine vinegar, but she used Balsamic which adds more depth of flavour and some sweetness.  1 Tablespoon should be enough, but it depends on the strength of the Balsamic you use, so do taste and add more if you think it needs it. You do need a sour sweet taste in this cabbage dish. The sour apples help.
1 small red cabbage, cored and roughly shredded - 2 granny smith apples - 2 T butter - 3 crushed juniper berries - 1 to 2 T balsamic vinegar - 1 t sugar - water - salt - freshly ground black pepper
Peel, core and slice the apples. In a pan with a lid, melt the butter and gently fry the apples for a minute or two, then add the cabbage, the juniper berries, the sugar and the balsamic. Simmer on a gentle heat with the lid on for half an hour. Add a little water during cooking if the cabbage looks too dry. Taste and adjust the seasoning

a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot
Made by winemaker Ntsiki Biyela. This classic Bordeaux blend reminded Lynne so much of a great Cape wine called Crescendo from the now defunct winery Cordoba, made by Chris Keet, who now makes his own blend called First Verse. The nose is superb: Incense wood, gunflint, stone, full of violets and cassis. A smooth mouth feel then the berry fruit gathers itself and goes POW on the palate. It is sophisticated with layers of fruit and gentle wood with some necessary tight chalky tannins and on the end hints of tea and more violets. A wine built to last 20 plus years








23rd May 2017
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
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 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. This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please click here to send us a message and if you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please click here to send us a message.

Duck and Sushi lunch at Dynasty, Sea Point

We know we talk a lot about Dynasty, our local Chinese restaurant in Main Road Sea Point. We do so because it is very good. Clare, John's daughter had a special birthday this weekend and, on Sunday, we took her there for a treat. John had placed a special order for a whole Peking Duck. We thought you might like to see it
Clare's favourite sushi is salmon roses, so she had four
This is one of our favourites, the Tuna Hot kisses. 8 large Tuna rolls stuffed with tuna, avocado and asparagus and topped with mayo, spring onion, chilli and hot togarashi spice
Or the Prawn Lovers. 8 large rolls filled and topped with tempura prawns, mayo, sweet chilli jam and black sesame seeds. And Oh! Did we forget to mention that, at lunchtime, all the sushi is at half price?
The shredded spring onions and cucumber for the duck next to the hoi sin sauce for the pancakes
Our glistening crisp Peking duck arrives
Alex the owner is a master of cutting the duck into good slices. each with a piece of crisp skin
Lynne asked him if it was hot and burning his hand. YES was the answer. Luckily,, he is very quick
Working round the legs
And then arranging the slices on a warm plate
Ready for action, the pancakes have arrived and the Pinot Noir from Quando is ready for drinking. It was sensational. Plenty for three of us, some even went home. This is what Lynne wants as her last meal. Shirley, Alex's wife, who also runs the restaurant said "Don't make it too soon please..!" 

What is on the Menu this week. Red cabbage and apple

If you are serving a rich meat like Confit Duck, Goose or even Belly of Pork, traditionally it is served with a relish of some sort to help cut the fat. Red Cabbage is traditional with both duck and goose and Lynne made it to go with Duck Confit and duck fat potatoes recently. It is usual to add a red wine vinegar, but she used Balsamic which adds more depth of flavour and some sweetness.  1 Tablespoon should be enough, but it depends on the strength of the Balsamic you use, so do taste and add more if you think it needs it. You do need a sour sweet taste in this cabbage dish. The sour apples help

1 small red cabbage, cored and roughly shredded - 2 granny smith apples - 2 T butter - 3 crushed juniper berries -1 to 2 T balsamic vinegar - 1 t sugar - water - salt - freshly ground black pepper
Peel, core and slice the apples. In a pan with a lid, melt the butter and gently fry the apples for a minute or two, then add the cabbage, the juniper berries, the sugar and the balsamic. Simmer on a gentle heat with the lid on for half an hour. Add a little water during cooking if the cabbage looks too dry. Taste and adjust the seasoning