Makaron at Majeka House, Stellenbosch – Delectable and darn good-looking!

I’ve dined at most of the best and renowned restaurants in Cape Town and Stellenbosch, and have never come across this gem, never even heard of them, until September that is, and what an absolute pleasure it was!

The Good:

Everything!

The setting is beautiful and modern, the staff is friendly and service prompt without being invasive. Great location, as Makaron is situated in the Majeka House in the beautiful Stellenbosch. I was pleasantly surprised, wowed actually at the immense style this restaurant depicts from the get-go.

 

Extensive and exciting wine list, we had the Catherine Marshall Pinot-Noir which was enchanting ( the sommelier thought this very amusing and coincidental upon discovering that I am a vegetarian, as Catherine is a vegetarian, and therefore her wines are all vegetarian…) Fun fact.

The amuse-bouche was delightful and beautiful, followed by a surprise course of the chef’s play on a pink-vienna dish, which she cleverly turned into a mouse, and served in a tin. Such a fun idea to proof that her favourite child-time food ( the vienna) could be so much more, and could be served in a 5 star restaurant. I had the pleasure of sampling the Ancient Grains, delicious!!

 

We did not order starters, which I am truly haunted by to this day – having known then what I knew know, I would have ordered a full 3 courses, even if it meant having to force-feed myself like a foie-grass duck!

Mains were a winner all around, plated to perfection with delicate details. There is no doubt that this young chef does every single this with love, care and passion. I had the Roast Butternut Cannelloni, it was to die for! Definitely the best pasta and/or butternut dish to have every graced my taste buds.

 

 

Desserts were great too, and very creative – but comparing desserts to amuse-bouche/second course and mains, the first bunch comes out on top. And then, just to make you wonder again, there is a wooden chest filled with ice, and different flavoured bite-sized ice-cream sandwiches… I mean really, what more do you want? This is perfection!

 

The Bad:

Hold on to your seats – I have nothing to say here. This might be a first.

The Ugly:

And here it is for a second time – nothing, yes, absolutely nothing.

 

Tips:
Book a table here NOW. Go, on treat yourself!

Do not eat lunch before dining here, if you are going for lunch, skip breakfast. In fact, just starve yourself for a good 24 hours. The food is amazing and inspired, and you’d want to be able to eat as much of it as possible.

Now I can safely say that this is by far one of the best dining experiences I’ve had, in my life. And I can vouch for this, by letting you in on a secret: we had a gorgeous and big lunch the afternoon before our dinner here, and were stuffed (hence not ordering starters). And even with the feeling of not knowing how we would feasibly eat one more morsel of food – we devoured every single plate! Even with all the extras. Everything was just so darn delectable and good-looking that you could not possibly say no.

I’m salivating as I think back on this lovely experience.

And in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger – “I’ll be back”.

One more day ‘till weekend, you can do this.

Until we eat again…

MAP café, Cuzco – Decadent and delicious

 

This is definitely one of my highlights in all of Peru.

Set in the courtyard of the Museum of Art in Cuzco on Plaza del Nazarena,  the elegant glass box is crisp and inviting.

We have read very good reviews on TA about the MAP café, but was not expecting this kind of deliciousness.
Absolutely everything was amazing, from the Pisco Sours (best in Peru!) through to the beautiful freshly baked bread, mains and desserts.

The service is friendly, professional and invasive. So happy that we went for an early lunch, as the restaurant filled up within 30min, and had sad patrons looking through the glass, and having to book for the following day.

 

So most vegetarians eat a lot of pasta, I’m not one of them. In fact I actually really dislike any pasta dish, it’s just a vehicle for sauce… a fattening carb vehicle.

In most restaurant however the vegetarian options are limited to pasta. MAP has a couple of other vegetarian options, but they had me at truffle perfume with this cannelloni. It was divine!!  The best pasta dish I have ever eaten, and probably just one of the top 5 best things I have ever eaten.

Also I have developed a slight obsession with Quinoa, and tried ordering as much Quinoa dishes as possible.

Put Quinoa and Truffle in the same dish and I’m sold. Desperately wishing that I could have that dish in South Africa, which means I’ll just have to practise my cooking skills to get it perfect.

 

The other dishes on the table were the Pork Adobe and the Chilli Pepper stuffed Lamb. Both of these were superb, but nothing compares to the Quinoa Truffle Cannelloni’s.

It was tough not to order all the dessert on offer, but the 3 we selected were the Sacha Inchi, Goat’s Cheese and honey Maki (yes – dessert sushi!!) and the deconstructed Suspiro Lemino. Last mentions was my favourite.

 

We decided to treat ourselves to this amazing culinary glass box on our last evening in Peru as well, but unfortunately they were fully booked – and rightly so.
This chef deserves a Michelin Star, and to be at the top of the TA list in Cuzco.

 

Do not miss this lovely setting and delicious food!

Until we eat again…

The Red Chamber, Hyde Park - Tantalising authentic Chinese cusine

When you think of Chinese food, do you get an image of deep-fried balls/strips of what is supposed to be chicken, but could in fact be any form of animal protein (know as well as unknown to man), drenched in that sickly sweet pink sweet-and-sour sauce, accompanied by enough rice to feed a family of 6?
You have that picture in your mind, and feeling slightly uncomfortable and nauseated? Aha, yes – we all do, and if you don’t, you are in need of some culinary education.

Today I will tell you where to go to have anything but the above mentioned.
The Red Chamber.

Owned by a Chinese lady who has been running this authentic restaurant for almost 30 odd years, speaking a very good English but still with a heavy Chinese accent – you know you’ve hit the jackpot.

Dark wood with accents of bamboo to break the lighting on the sides of the restaurant, and proper chopsticks (well not the R0.50 wooden ones that splinter in your mouth) no silverware present on the tables – this is the real deal.

Armed with a delicious and curios array of dishes, lamb, duck, chicken, pork, seafood and of course vegetables, you’ll take a couple of moments to decide what to take and what to leave; who you can persuade to take the second dish you would like to try, doing so with the “sharing is caring” motto.

If all else fails and you still want to order food that might feed and army, ask the extremely helpful waiters or owner, who will tell you what the specials are, the most popular dishes as well as how they can change the dish you want to enhance your experience.

Big juicy spring rolls, packed with veggies and flavour, not transforming paper to translucent with oil, and a spring onion think-crust pastry is always the way to start, you  will not regret this, served with a soy, ginger, chilli dipping sauce - what an outright delight!

The portions are very generous, and ideal to share, especially if you are planning to indulge in starters and mains. However, I do not see the problem with a little take-away snack for late night nibbles.

An easy spotted favourite – or easy heard favourite is most definitely the sizzling duck, beef or kingklip with garlic and chilli. The sizzling and smokingly hot plates are delivered to tables all around with great fascination and delightful aroma. A little bit of theatre at the table.

What I love is that you order your own rice or noodles - as much or as little as you like, one portion of noodles is usually enough for 3. Waste not want not.

(I do suggest an ice-cold Chinese beer rather than wine to compliment the flavours).

This is without any doubt my favourite and most authentic Chinese restaurant in all of Africa (and other countries, perhaps maybe even China).

Tantalising tastes and wonderful flavour combinations guaranteed in this humble little place.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti

Untill we eat again…