La Mouette, Sea-point Cape Town - Crouching delight hidden potential

On a very popular website where people from all walks of life, all around the world are encouraged to jot down their experience at hotels, restaurants and things to do in different cities; is where we found this restaurant rated as one of the best in Cape Town, in Sea Point specifically.

Tucked away just one street from the beautiful beach ( what a pity not to have a sea view).

La Mouette is situated in a lovely old 1920/30’s style house with gorgeous wooden floors.

The Good: Menu. Service. Presentation. Ambiance. Price.

This is a lovely restaurant with an amazing menu, and very reasonably prices – it is clear that this is not yet aimed at tourists coming to Cape Town with Euro’s Dollar or the mighty Pound.

It was difficult to choose, as the courses and descriptions all sounded delectable.

The meal started with oven-fresh breads that melted in the mouth and awoke the appetite, with home-made butter and mushroom mousse.

I had a Pea Soup with Goat’s Cheese Croquettes and balsamic jelly to start – it look gorgeous, and tasted great, a lovely light soup. 

We also had the Cheese and Truffle croquettes, which were to die for! These little heavenly balls are extremely rich, too much for one person to devour (luckily), so we all got a taste. 

The rest of the table opted for the Crispy Pork Cheeks, and apparently it lived up to the expectation and reputation, I’m sure I heard some silent whoops going around…This proved to be the dish of the day.

Mains, where unfortunately, much less impressive than the starters. My Butternut risotto was yummy, the caramelised hazelnuts added an unexpected texture and flavour. 

The rest of the table opted for the following dishes: Bhaji spiced crispy hake – presentation was beautiful, but not a lot of crush in the crispy batter, and no detection of the Bhaji spice, no other spice or seasoning at all for that matter. Beef sirloin – this was cooked well, but the trimmings where a let-down and the star of the dish – Parmesan and Truffle sauce was almost undetectable.

Lastly the Pulled Crispy Lamb, in contrast to the pork cheeks, this was the disappointment of the day. Huge portion, the lamb formed into croquettes which in not what you expect when ordering pulled protein – it could have been anything really. If I have to give credit to this dish, it would be on the dryness, it has to be an art to get anything this dry. I have never seen someone struggle to swallow (what is supposed to be melt-in-your-mouth tender) meat as much as this day.

The Bad: Lack of sauce. Dessert.

This a classic case where the food stated out great, exceeding expectation, and then went downhill from there.

On all the main meals, sauces are served individually with each plate, graciously poured over your food by the friendly waiter. Unfortunately there is not a lot of pouring going around. It’s literally a serving spoonful of sauce, 15ml max. Now that’s just mean.

On the website mentioned earlier in this post, the Rhubarb Crumble is praised to the heavens, so this was an obvious choice. 

The Hot Chocolate description on the menu is quite an eye catcher, and a Lemon Poppy Seed cake, a classic favourite.

The results were disappointing and mediocre to say the least. And the Hot Chocolate dessert was in-fact not a dessert at all, but a cup full of shop-bought powdered drink… uhm…? What?

The Ugly: 

If you offer a dish with a sauce (especially an amazing sounding sauce) then please add the sauce to the dish. Bring it separately, that’s fine, but please bring more than a taste full.

Do not mess with classic dished such Pulled Lamb, or a gorgeous Crumble – don’t “fix” it if it ain’t broke.

 

As previously stated, the service falls under the good category, and I will point this out even more, as it was my brother’s birthday, and they made him a little tasting plate of all the desserts, even though he didn’t order any dessert. A lovely touch. (Pitty is was a tasting plate of the underwhelming dessert, and not the delicious starters).

In conclusion – this is a nice restaurant to go for a light lunch maybe – have 2 starters, 3 even. If you have mains, insist on extra sauce if you want to live, and give the desserts a miss, have a glass of bubbly instead. A charming place with lots of potential.

Happy Monday!

Until we eat again…

DW eleven-thirteen - gorgeous gastronomy, Dunkeld JHB

If you are a foodie and have dreamed about Heston Blumenthal kind of food - then DW is definately the place for you. Magical plates of flavours and textures to excite all your sences.

This is one of my favourite restaurants in JHB, well in South Africa actually, and has been for a couple of years. We have been lucky to dine here since they first open their doors, and have become regulars at this modern restaurant. Why have I not written down my comments about this little gem? I have been waiting for the right opportunity, and I think it is here.

The clean green and white interior with simple lines, and stand-out metal focus points is the perfect setting for the gorgeous gastronomic wonders that appear on your plate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Service is prompt, professional and friendly. Atmosphere is sophisticated and slick. Menu has a wonderfully diverse variety, and changes seasonally (or a bit more often, but always using fresh seasonal ingredients).  Yes, the prices are a bit pricey – but also keep in mind that you are not dining at your local steakhouse when at DW, you get what you pay for, and perhaps even a little bit more…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chef (Marthinus Ferreira) has succeeded in exceeding my expectation yet again.  His a master at what he does, with beautiful flavour combinations; sometimes classics, sometimes daringly different – but always exciting and spectacular.

Be assured that you’ll never find something ordinary on your plate, even if it might sound ordinary on the menu, like a tomato soup for instance, will arrive with a touch of theatre and self-engineered droplets of “caviar” topped with flavoured foam.

 

Marthinus will always come out and greet his patrons, it is evident in all he does that food is his passion, and he goes to great lengths to show this in every bite on every plate. Presentation is always amazing, and he ensures that you indulge all your senses when dining here.

As a chef he is not the biggest fan of vegetarians, but will always create a beautiful vegetable plate for you, which is done with careful precision, and bursting with flavour.

I could go on for hours about the food, flavours, combinations, textures and tastes – but I think it will be best to just show you a glimpse of the glorious plates and you can decide for yourself.

This is a world class restaurant, not to be missed.

( Oh - and do not forget to make a booking in advance!)

 

Salivating just looking at these pictures....

 

Happy Monday,

Until we eat again...

Scusi Bistro, Parkview – Delightful and Deliciously unassuming

Dear Universe I love, you know I do – but I’m rather annoyed at the fact that you kept me from this darling bistro for 2 years…

A good friend of mine has been telling me about this little bistro for more than two years now, but it seemed the universe was against me discovering this delightful eatery. At long last, I finally I got the chance to go for an early dinner directly after work a week or so ago.

Situated on the corner of Tyrone Avenue and Ennis Road, in the leafy JHB suburb, this café is elegant and vibey with a strangely soothing feeling.

Filled with black and white photographs, it pays homage to our lovely city of Gold.

The service is friendly and helpful, and the menu as a good variety, form the Grill, to Seafood and Vegetarian. The wine menu is sufficient, but could perhaps have some more wines added – my opinion.

As you might or might not know, pasta and me are not friends.  Like rice – it is a vehicle for sauce or the actual thing with flavour. So why not just have the thing with flavour, or the part f the dish with the flavour on something else with texture and flavour?

I have exactly 3 pasta dishes that I would gladly eat again, 2 of which is very unlicky to cross my path again as they are in Peru, the other in Cape Town.

Now, I have a forth to add to my short list of delicious yummy, non-useless pasta dishes. ( if this trend continues I might be converted into a pasta lover…somewhere in the far future…)

I had the butternut ravioli with a slightly creamy sundried tomamto sauce – bliss!

My friend had the fillet with mushroom and pamasan risotto, she cleaned her plate which is a good sign, and I’ll say it looked gorgeous and had a wonderful truffel mushroomy scent, one of thebest aromas in the world.

Scusi definitely do not penny-pinch, you get what you pay for. The portions are lavish.

Due to the above fact that we did not order one of the lush desserts on offer – but next time I most definitely will.

 

The only negitave I can comment on for now, is that they are only open from Monday- Friday, which saddens me, as this is a perfect spot to induldge and relax under the leavy trees on a Saturday or for Sunday Breakfast…

 

I’ll definitely be back within the next week or 2.
Don’t miss out.

 

Until we eat again…

Hard Rock Café, JHB – what is in a name?

Since learning of the opening of Hard Rock Café in Sandton , the entire JHB has been in a frenzy to visit this iconic restaurant.

Located on the popular Nelson Mandela Square, but tucked away in the corner, this is sure to be a huge success. And indeed it is.
This restaurant/bar is overflowing with customers practically every day of the week.

 

Home of the burger – this is a burger lover’s dream, I think. If you prefer an old-school type “real” burger patty, and not the more recent gourmet burgers that you can find at Dukes and The Wolfpack. I’ve never been a fan of the burger, so I to me this is more of the same. A veggie burger would be nice to see on the menu though. Or a meat-free salad as well…
I opted for the Chicken Quesadilla – without the chicken and added mushrooms instead.

I can comment that the portions are plentiful, very generous, and everyone seemed to enjoy the food a lot – whether this was because it was so darn delectable, or due to the fact that we’ve been having a couple of bottles of wine, and only ordered at around 9:30pm, I’ll leave open for debate…

 

The service was great, we had an amazing waitress and two managers who checked in regularly, without being overbearing.
All in all, I’d definitely go back for a drink or two, not so much for the food. Meat/burger lovers might disagree. It promises to be a fun night out.
For now though I do think the hype is all about the name, we’ll see how this plays out over the next 6month or so.

 

 

Opt for a seat on the patio, the music inside grows louder as the evening sky grows darker, until your ears almost start to zing.

 

Until we eat again...

India Palace, Weltevreden Park - Warm and inviting

On this cold and drizzly summers day (??) I would like to do 2 things – 1) Be dressed much more appropriately for winter, whilst cuddling under a huge fluffy duvet and watch movies, Masterchef Aus marathon, or an entire season of Grey’s…

2). Indulge in wonderfully warm feel good food, that makes you want more. I’m think along the lines of proper Indian.

 My favourite is Karma in Greenside, but recently I have been introduced to a charming slice of India, in a nook at the Palms Centre in Weltevreden Park. Yes – the centre is slightly suspect, but most things in Weltevreden Park are, but once inside India Palace you’ll not even notice the fake palm tree trying to disguise a signal pole or the KFC drive-through.

A lovely little restaurant with a warm interior and extremely friendly authentic Indian staff who make you feel right at home.

Whenever I dine at a restaurant of a different culture, my key is took look at the owner, chef and people who work there – if they are authentic, chances are the food will be too, which means you’ve got gold!

 A fair selection of wine, at a very reasonable price, and delightful warming dishes for all meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. What makes any Indian dish even better? Naan!! India Palace has a nice variety of naan breads and roti’s to select, to enhance the indulgence of your meal.

Crispy, non-oil dripping vegetable Pakoras and onion Bhaji with a spicy minty sauce is the perfect way to wake those taste buds for the love that is to come. The portions are very generous, definitely to share, and all appetisers for under R20.00!

Most people order Dahl as a side dish – but here, I had the black Dahl as my meal, and cleaned the little brass pot with naan to get every last bit of flavour.

The Korma is packed with flavour and ingredients, loads of different veggies, or juicy bite sized chunks of meat. At a glance and a smell the butter chicken look rich creamy sauce without the luminescent guava pink colour to it ( in my eyes, that is a bonus) which means only one thing – the colour comes from the proper ingredients used, and not from a little Moir’s bottle.

What I don’t like – the mountains of basmati rice that come standard with any order…rather give me Naan, or a choice of rice or naan. The massas of rice just goes to waste.

" I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2000 of something."

                                                                                                                   - Mitch Hedberg

I think I might need a take away to calm my nerves after the storm that is to come. Keep warm, and your cars covered!

 

Happy Friday! Until we eat again…