.

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

Thursday, August 08, 2019

Korean Seoul food in Sea Point

How to get to where you are going! We made a date with friends to meet at a local Chinese restaurant last week and, when we got there, found that they close every Tuesday (Lesson for the week: Always check!). So four of us drove up Sea Point Main Road in the rain looking for something that none of us had been to before. And we were all in an Asian mood. Suddenly, we saw Seoul Korean restaurant in Regent Road and agreed that we had been meaning to go there for ages, even though none of us has any experience of Korean food, other than second hand recommendations and warnings that the food was HOT and garlicky. Well, we all like a bit of heat and love garlic, so that was no deterrent

The menu has some very familiar starters and we were hungry, so we ordered three

On a return visit, we will try some of the unknown, interesting sounding dishes

But, probably, not the spring rolls, we find those rather boring

Very good Chicken sate, nicely glazed with marinade, and succulent. It comes with a classic peanut spicy sauce

We kept it on the table to enjoy with main courses

This was not quite what we were expecting to see when the Tempura vegetables arrived

Large handfuls of mixed veg had been dipped in batter and fried, so it was a bit greasy and gluey in the middle

And the vegetables were quite hard to recognise

Carrots yes, probably onion, but not sure about the others, possibly potato and red cabbage?

10 juicy beef dumplings came with a dipping sauce which had a tiny bite of chilli, but not much

Very familiar and reminded us of Chinese dumplings

Four complimentary dishes come with the main course; clockwise from the top left

Shredded carrot, beansprout salad, kimchi and matchstick boiled potatoes

The Kimchi was very enjoyable; it's like a spicy sauerkraut and adds lots of flavour to other dishes. Not very hot either

We felt that they were being very careful with heat, even though we said we were all happy with medium heat dishes

This is the Korean style Chicken Hot Pot

Very succulent and flavourful chicken with some pickles and mild, very mild slices of green chillies

Definitely worth a revisit

Bulgogi (means fire meat). It is a shredded barbecue beef dish, recommended by our waiter

Rather grey and bland and a little disappointing, we were expecting some good fire!

From the internet, we learned that it "has a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, Asian pear (or red apple),

garlic, ginger, ground black pepper and sesame oil

This gives a slightly salty, mildly sweet and nutty savoury flavour"

Because we all love prawns, we ordered the large portion of the Sweet and Creamy Prawns - Kanpung Saeu. And large it was, with big prawns. They had been fried in a crisp batter and then drizzled with the Sweet and Creamy sauce which was a blend of mayonnaise, sugar and rice vinegar. Doesn't sound great but, actually, it works very well. Again, no heat. So we realise that we have to order those dishes on the menu that have chilli symbols next to them. Next time

Innocent, our lovely, attentive waiter, was very helpful with our menu choices, explaining everything well

We also spoke to the owner, who said that he came here from Korea 10 years ago. Shame on us for not trying this sooner

and for refreshment at the end of the meal, some orange wedges

We took Perdeberg Courageous Dry Land barrel fermented Chenin Blanc 2017 and Quando Pinot Noir 2014 wines with us and were very happy to pay corkage although, on inspection, we see that they do have quite a good wine list, with some reasonable choices

The bill

The Winter Menu at Kyoto Garden

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

Thursday, August 01, 2019

This Week’s MENU. Mount Nelson’s Lord Nelson restaurant, Caroline’s Red Wine Review, Kyoto Garden winter menu, Spanish chicken with peppers, chorizo and olives, Erika O Syrah Grenache Noir Cinsault

Looking through the door. Waterford wine estate, Stellenbosch

Our focus this week has been on wonderful food, accompanied, of course, by some superlative wines. Dinner at Cape Town’s iconic Mount Nelson Hotel and the winter menu at, arguably, this city’s best Japanese restaurant. And Caroline’s Red Wine Review showcases many of the best wines this country produces, which can hold their heads up proudly in any company. Read and enjoy…

MENU has appeared nearly every week since March 2003, initially as a free newsletter from our shop, Main Ingredient, and has been sent to our subscribers by email. Many of our subscribing readers have followed us from our earliest days and we appreciate their support

It is also published as a blog, on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram and gives our personal view of events relating to food, wine, accommodation and travel in photo stories, as well as weekly recipes and wine reviews

We have never charged a subscription fee, and MENU has never made us any money. But our expenses are putting pressure on our pensions, so we are taking a bold step and asking our readers for a voluntary subscription to help us to cover our expenses. MENU is produced, on average, 45 weeks per year. We leave it to you to decide the amount of your subscription. We suggest a voluntary annual subscription of R100 (roughly the price of a mid range bottle of wine), which is less than R2.50 per week. In International currencies R100 is approximately £5.80/€6.30/$7.10

Please click here if you’d like to send us your subscription via PayPal

It is Winter Special time at Kyoto Gardens Sushi restaurant in Kloof Neck Road so we were invited to come and sample this year’s offering. And we enjoyed it very much indeed. There is a Special menu. We think the price of R230 per person is very reasonable indeed, given the quality of food on offer…

Dinner at the Mount Nelson's Lord Nelson restaurant

An invitation from Gaby Palmer Bolton, Area Public Relations Manager, Southern Africa of The Belmond Group to the Mount Nelson Hotel to sample their winter offering. The press release said: "Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town, revives a piece of culinary history and gourmet tradition at its 120-year old Lord Nelson Restaurant; with the introduction of bold classic dishes and the mid-17th century French art of ‘guéridon’ or table side service…

Caroline's Red Wine Review 2019

It was that time of the year again for Caroline Rillema’s epic Red Wine Review, held at the Table Bay Hotel. Tasting so many excellent reds at this tasting and others recently, has been very exciting. South African wine is turning a corner, or climbing up a step; the wines we have liked are without fault and have moved into another dimension. Watch out World, we are a presence to be paid heed to, we have found our mojo and our direction. No harsh flavours, grippy mouth puckering tannins or over wooding, the wines showing beautiful fruit and elegance. Longevity yes but they are being made to be ready to drink now, which is what the market wants…

On the MENU this Week. Spanish chicken with peppers, chorizo and olives

This is a tray bake which we love doing when we are busy but hungry; easy to assemble and pop in the oven with no fuss. And it was absolutely delicious. Full of flavour from many of the ingredients, especially the garlic, thyme and tomatoes…

MENU’s Wine of the Week, 2016 Erika O, a blend of Syrah, Grenache Noir, Cinsault

1st August 2019

All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

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

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.

This email of this 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

Caroline's Red Wine Review 2019

It was that time of the year again for Caroline Rillema’s epic Red Wine Review, held at the Table Bay Hotel

Tasting so many excellent reds at this tasting and others recently, has been very exciting. South African wine is turning a corner, or climbing a step; the wines we have liked are without fault and have moved into another dimension. Watch out World, we are a presence to be paid heed to, we have found our mojo and our direction. No harsh flavours, grippy mouth puckering tannins or over wooding, the wines showing beautiful fruit and elegance. Longevity yes but they are being made to be ready to drink now, which is what the market wants

We do not taste or circulate together, so Lynne tasted some wines of which we don’t have photos. Of special mention was the Beyerskloof 2015 Faith Cape Blend. Intense bluegum on the nose, with soft juicy fruit, elegance, lovely ripe berries, dark toasted wood and chalky tannins on the end, indicating long life. Catherine Marshall had her 2016 Peter's Vision (Bordeaux blend) which is so seductive. Lots of beautiful fruit, softness and elegance 57% Cabernet Franc 43% Merlot. Peter-Allan Finlayson was showcasing his Crystallum 2018 Cuvée Cinema Pinot Noir. Perfumed, elegant nose, soft raspberry and strawberry fruit, and dark toast on the end. Lovely. David Trafford had the 2016 The Drawing Board, which is an elegant and delicious Cabernet Franc and Shiraz blend with vanilla wood. Jeremy Walker's 2009 The Grangehurst (Bordeaux Blend) shows what a wine can become with good cellaring. He holds his wine back for several years before releasing. This is very French on the nose; elegance on the nose and palate, with depth of fruit with the right balance of fruit, acid, tannin and chalk and a long delicious finish. Will cellar well too. Lanzerac 2017 Pionier Pinotage has a rich fruity nose, soft plums and chalk on the palate, very enjoyable. Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon by Christo le Riche has good wood, good cassis fruit, balanced crisp acidity and length. The apple has not fallen far from the tree in this family. A surprise was the Morgenster Reserve Bordeaux Blend 2003. It is an amazing wine, lasting this long, everything is in balance and it still has legs to go further. Plaisir de Merle's 2012 Signature Bordeaux Blend is a blockbuster, so attractive, with good fruit on the nose and palate, with layers of berries, chalk and elegance, a real crowd pleaser at the show. Johan Reyneke's 2015 Biodynamic Reserve Red shows the way. White pepper, incense wood from old French barriques, Intense fruit, it is like picking warm ripe mulberries off the tree. Dewaldt Heyns’ Saronsberg 2017 Shiraz is full of fruit and spice on the nose and delicious blackberry and blackcurrant fruit and spice on the palate. And then there was Duncan Clarke's Merlot Reserve from Thelema. Lynne's ideal style of Merlot, with layers of beautiful ripe cherry fruit, great elegance and soft wood, with not a hint of greenness or grip. She would have loved to have tasted more wines but there is a time pressure

John's first encounter was Nadia Beaumont who was pouring their 2016 Dangerfield Syrah,

a poem of ripe black cherry fruit with subtle support from a hint of black pepper and minerality

Patrick Ngamane, Hartenberg winemaker, welcomed us warmly with a taste of their 2015 The Stork Shiraz,

spicy and rich and long, full of fruit nut and raisins, a much lauded and awarded wine to savour and drink

with Christmas dinner and other celebrations, so beautifully made

Named for the late Ken Mackenzie, who bought Hartenberg in 1987, pilot, businessman, farmer and benefactor

Stork was his nickname in the Second World War, when he was a Spitfire pilot - he was tall with long thin legs

Shiraz was his favourite red wine. His daughters now run the farm

De Grendel’s Shiraz was made by Morgan Steyn, a Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé winemaker

Christiaan Coetzee, winemaker and Lara Shargey, Marketing Manager at Uva Mira with The Mira Cabernet Sauvignon 2016,

a complex and deep classic

Kleine Zalze showed their Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, made by talented RJ Botha

Alastair Rimmer, Cellarmaster, Kleine Zalze

A smiling Ken Forrester. They were showcasing The Gypsy 2014, a blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre,

full of rich plums and spice and good wood from their Icon range

The big and the small! Mr Chenin also has excellent red wines

Ken Forrester Cellar controller Shawn Mathyse and Brand Ambassador Bianca Brand

Winemaker Alex Starey and owner Mark Wraith of Keermont with their Steepside Syrah,

rich and dark fruit, well-balanced with supple tannin

Danie Steytler was showing their 2017 Steytler Pinotage, a classic of its genre, a wine to last

The 2017 Twyfeling Cinsault impressed us so much that we made it our Wine of the Week in last week's MENU. Made by winemaker Natasha Williams. It was a revelation. Cinsault is coming of age in South Africa. No longer the disliked harsh and metallic wines mostly used for blending in the past, but wines with such fruity freshness and style that they just beg to be drunk with good food. They are not pretentious wines, just ones you want to enjoy often. This lovely wine is from a single block of bush vines on the Wellington farm. There is a smoke hint on the nose and then so much fruit delights the palate. It is so modern and enticing, with ripe plums and mulberries, then soft chalky tannins on the end. Only 20% is in new oak, the rest is matured in older barrels. It will certainly cope with Mediterranean food, tomato dishes and dishes with black olives

Andrew Gunn of Iona and Caroline Rillema Kilian

Kayleigh Hattingh & Danie Steytler Jr at the Kaapzicht table

Erika Obermeyer pouring her wine for Survivor winemaker Ben Snyman

This wine is the 2016 Erika O, a blend of Syrah, Grenache Noir, Cinsault from talented winemaker Erika Obermeyer, whom Platter voted their 2019 Newcomer of the Year and it is MENU's Wine of the Week. She has had a long and varied career working at Kleine Zalze and Graham Beck and has now gone independent, with considerable success. The wine shone brightly above many, many excellent wines tasted that evening. With hints of pine nuts on the nose with incense wood and dark red berry fruit, it was different and delicious with layers of fruit and flavour, some soft chalky tannins and ending with a continuing flavour of ripe cherries. We scored it 19.5 out of 20 points

Pieter Badenhorst, Fleur du Cap Cellarmaster. They had their Series Privée Cabernet Sauvignon on show

Zinaschke Steyn, Nederburg Assistant Winemaker,

whom we met when she was at Glenwood in Franschhoek; she moved to Distell at the end of 2018

Thea van der Merwe & winemaker Sjaak Nelson, of Jordan with Sophia, a Bordeaux blend with sandalwood on the still shy nose,

but showing such potential with great fruit and backbone

Christopher Keet and his daughter Robyn

Chris's 2016 First Verse Bordeaux Blend is sheer poetry; very much in the style of what he's done before; he knows how to do this

Full fruit on the nose with layered berry fruit and chalky tannins; this wine is great now but will go many years

He has released it before the 2015, which he says is still in waiting

Chris Keet pouring for winemaker Ronel Wiid of Bartinney

The gospel according to Keet

Justin van Wyk of Constantia Glen pouring his Bordeaux Blend FIVE. So impressive, so delicious and so popular

Bruwer Raats' daughter pouring his Raats Family 2016 Cabernet Franc, one of the Cape's best

Spice, pepper and nutmeg on the nose then fresh berry fruit in layers, calling for food

& his son - it is a Family affair

Sophia Hawkins of Vilafonté with the 2016 Series M Bordeaux Blend

Winemakers in discussion: Bruwer Raats with Alastair Rimmer and Warren Ellis

Heidi Kritzinger pouring Kanonkop Paul Sauer for Gareth Robertson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Anthonij Rupert Wines

We will taste the very special Kanonkop wines on the farm again soon and look forward to writing about them

Visitors…

…having fun and spotting the Paparazzi

Niels Verburg of Luddite was showcasing his 2014 Shiraz,

pouring it here for Groot Constantia winemaker Louise van der Westhuizen

It has perfume on the nose, licorice drop and black cherry fruit with long flavours, This keeps on delivering and was very popular

Discussing wines is what happens while we taste; people are interested in the wine and the winemakers

Stuart and James Downes of Shannon with Kerry Sutherland of Saxenburg

Shannon had their epic Mount Bullet Merlot, which is acknowledged as one of the best in the country

and Saxenburg showed a pure cassis-fruited Shiraz with lots of spice on the end