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by bitsofcarey

My fave lunch spots at the mo

November 26, 2010 in Restaurants

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J and I love eating and often go out on quests to find the best brekkie place, best picnic venue, best Italian place…the list goes on..believe you me!

I thought I’d mention 3 places that come to mind, all completely different but so perfect for a lazy Saturday morning or mid afternoon.

I must be quite honest, I don’t claim to be a food or restuarant critic, I just like to point out what I like about places. The decor never really concerns me. The only thing I care about is the food, atmosphere and obviously hygiene and cleanliness. I would sit in the most dingy looking place with no qualms about it,  just as long as the food is good, I’ll be back again!

My first place is Hemelhuis. It is right in the hub of Cape Town, just under the fan walk bridge. This trendy place is for art lovers and foodies.

These guys have thought of every detail, from the butter pots to the chairs.  We are welcomed with a bowl of assorted breads – aniseed bread, biscotti, sliced ciabatta and a cute little black pot of butter.

Firstly, just look at the stunning handmade cappucino cups!! love love love! Secondly, divine coffee, smooth silky foam, wonderful aroma!

Then comes our brunch.. We both had open sarmies…

J chose Roasted rosa tomatoes, boccincini, fresh basil and rocket drizzled with balsamic reduction. Simple and delicious! Presented on beautiful wooden plates.

I had salmon gravadlax, pear and watercress with citrus creme fraiche . So seasonal and delicious. Lovely textures and marriage of flavours.

Both portions were huge!  We could’ve shared…but didn’t, oink oink!

Prices are very reasonable for the quality and portions you get. They source fresh seasonal ingredients which is clearly evident, each plate is a understated work of art.

We will definately be back here again and I cannot wait to see what dishes they come up with in Winter, because this summer menu has blown me away!

Next place is Mango Ginger in Observatory. This place is unpretentious, it is what it is and quite rustic.  I love this place purely for the food and relaxed atmosphere( I also have a soft spot for rustic places). They are very health orientated – fresh juices and smoothies(all weird and wonderful combinations), great options for the allergy sufferers- wheat free pies, biscuits, cakes etc and most of the meals are also wheat free.

J had the spinach, mushroom and feta quiche with a wicked salad on the side. They don’t do anything fried here! He thoroughly enjoyed it. They also have divine homemade salad dressings which took the salad to another level.

I had a chicken and salad wrap. This thing was HUGE! served with vegetable crisps.

Personally, I didn’t like it just plonked on the plate like that, so I had to readjust it.

The free range chicken just melted in my mouth. It had so many textures from the various salad leaves, carrot, spring onion etc.

What I loved most about this wrap was the homemade “sauce” – it was ginger infused sherry reduction. I can still taste it in my mouth. Absolute heaven.

We washed these down with freshly squeezed carrot, orange and mint juice. YUM.

It’s nice to know, you can go out for lunch and eat something healthy for a change and it still tastes amazing.

P.s Prices are reasonable too.

Lastly, if you feel like getting out of the city for a day, then Le pique nique at Boschendal wine estate is the place for you. Preorder a picnic basket and sit under the trees. This is by far the most relaxing lunch I have had in a long time.

Everything is neatly packed in individual containers.  Baquettes, cheese, preserves, cold meats, 3 salads, pates, brownies, coffee. It is around R150 per person and you don’t leave hungry! If you run out of something, they bring you more! Afterwards, you have the beautiful lush grass to lie on and undo your button! What bliss…

Anyway, just thought I’d share some of my favourite places to lunch, whatever the mood.

P.s I wrote this in super speed mode, so excuse any typos I may have :-)

That’s it from me, off to Stanford for the weekend!

Have a good one all

C x

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by bitsofcarey

Hudson Burger Kloof Street Cape Town

September 16, 2010 in Restaurants

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If you like the occasional burger with a twist, then Hudson is a must. They have a variety of burger combinations which is great. You have a choice to order extra shoestring fries, huge beer battered onion rings or salad with your burger. Nice and simple. The milkshakes are good too :-) . 

 

 We hadthe bacon chilli poppers with blue cheese dipping sauce to start with. Very more-ish, yet rich(understandably)..

 

The restuarant itself is small and cosy with trendy american vibe. There is outside seating for the smokers. They play rock ‘n roll oldies to current which is great, a tad too loud to have a proper conversation(I found myself shouting to the person next to me). Am I just turning into an old fart or does that annoy other people too? Service was friendly and helpful.

I had the cranberry jelly, goats cheese and rocket burger with onion rings of course!! yum yum yum!!

Forgive me for this, but I was so mesmerized by my own burger that I forgot to photograph and ask what everyone else had? Most of the guys had a bacon, avo feta burger, I think, a few chicken options for the ladies, if I’m not mistaken…..nope complete blank!!

All washed down with a glass of Jack black. Because sometimes you just have to embrace your burger with a beer! Phewww…I’m full again just writing about it!

 

 

So if you’re in Kloof street over the weekend, give it a bash!

 

Have a good weekend all!

 

C x

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by bitsofcarey

Lunch in Paternoster and a thyme and rock salt “cake”

September 2, 2010 in bread, out and about, Restaurants

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We ended off our weekend by driving through to Paternoster for the day. And what a perfect day it was, the sun was shining and the sea breeze was so refreshing.

And of course, as a fellow blogger, how could I not go and introduce myself to Kobus(Sardines on Toast) at his lovely farm stall, Oep vir koep!(Winkel op Paternoster) What a nice guy, he made us feel so welcome from the second we walked in.

And when I saw his menu, we had to sit down in the relaxing garden and have us some lunch!

I was being a “oink oink”, so I had the mussel soup with two helpings of addictive olive ciabatta( J played part in that too!)

This soup had such a fresh flavour, almost broth like with a dash of cream. Heaven.

And then(oink oink) I had to try his dune spinach and buttermilk ricotta open ravioli with a sage butter. Now I have never tried Dune Spinach, so I did not know what to expect, but man was it was delicious! Kobus gets the spinach from his friend’s garden! The pasta was freshly made and just melted in my mouth. The subtle flavours married beautifully. The buttermilk ricotta was so light, absorbing all the other flavours. And of course, a must, a few shavings of Pecorino.  What a delight!

Here’s a close- up!

J had the vegetable lasagne with a fresh wild rocket salad on the side, of course I tasted, and it was so yum, I need the recipe please Kobus!!

We washed all this delicious food down with some deliciously cold vino!

The lighting at this place is fabulous for taking photies! I had a ball!

Had to get myself a bag of Fleur de sel too :-)

I am so glad we took a drive and spent the day there.  It really was fantastic to unwind in this fishing village and we definatley plan on visiting more often in the near future!

Thanks for your hospitality and inspirational food Kobus! Top class ;-)

So when we got home on Sunday late afternoon, we couldn’t face eating a full on meal, and I felt inspired to bake a quick bread and soak it up with the olive oil and balsamic we got from Kloovenberg, so this is what I did…

A thyme and rocksalt “cake”

I just call it a cake, because it looks like one!

It’s just a quickbread with fresh lemon thyme and rocksalt

You will need:

500 g self raising flour

+- 500 ml beer

2 pinches of rocksalt

3 sprigs of thyme, chopped

A glug of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

Mix all the ingredients together until well combined then place into a greased( I used olive oil) +- 24 cm round baking dish.

Top with sprigs of thyme and sprinkle with rocksalt.

Bake for 1 hour.

Because it looked like a cake, I serve it like a cake, quite cheeky - ha ha!!  Served with a little bowl of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Warm fresh bread, with little bursts of saltiness and thyme dunked into olive oil and balsamic, what else do you need?

Lovies

C xx

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by bitsofcarey

Day 2: Kloovenberg Wine and olives + Bar Bar Black Sheep

September 1, 2010 in out and about, Restaurants

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Our second day we woke up to the sound of birds chatting away merrily, the clouds were grey and it was drizzling a bit so we got up at our own pace, put our hoodies on and we were off for our full farm house brekkie at the guesthouse.  Now that our stomachs were nicely lined, we walked around the town looking at the cute little shops, stopped for a coffee here and there and when it was a “suitable” time(11ish) to start “tasting” wine we headed for Kloovenberg…

We walked in from the cold and were warmly invited to come in and taste their wine and olives.

Beautiful decor

They have loads of products from dukkahs, salts, chutney, jam, infused oils, soap. The extra virgin unfiltered olive oil was my absolute fave!

They had a special on their unlabelled “white to red” rose – delicious and easy drinking – so we stocked up

We spent so much time at their cellar that all the other ones were closed! Just as well, because we went a bit “bossies” there!

Preserved figs, green olives in lime juice, smoked olives, dried parisian figs, +-18 bottles of assorted vino( we couldn’t choose!).

Farmer’s Arms is an authentic pub to check out, had a drink there with the fireplace going…good times.

Oh, what was quite nice, is that although Riebeek Cellars farm was closed, they have a little tasting shop in the town open till 4pm, so on our way home we got some of their lovely brut, chenin blanc and some port.

So we are rather stocked up now – for a weekend or two! ha ha!

For din dins we decided to book a cosy table at Bar Bar black sheep, and a cosy table it was, right next to the fire…

I love the rustic, uncomplicated decor, we just felt right at home…

Our waiter was so enthusiastic and gave lovely suggestions and Maynard, the chef brings the food to the tables himself and is very happy to talk about the origin and inspiration behind his dishes – Top class guy.  For starters J had french onion soup with gorgonzola toast(Oh my goodness gracious – magnificent!) and I had a Roasted butternut salad with loads of seeds, pinenuts and pomegranite served with a burnt aubergine yoghurt dip and a sweet pomegranite dressing(fresh, flavourful and stunning combinations – fab presentation)

For mains, J had a tender T bone steak, rare, with Parmesan sauce served with monster chips! yum! I had a delicious tomato based seafood stew topped with crusty bread, comfort food at it’s best. Slight critism: I found it a tad salty, but over and above that the seafood was fresh and tasted like the ocean.

And….for desserts we shared a white chocolate cheesecake (which really was to die for) and a strawberry and cherry “split” – fresh strawberries with creamy vanilla icecream with a cherry sauce….So simple yet, so so delicious!

So if you are looking for good honest Bistro food, look no further!

2 days down, 1 to go!

Next post is Paternoster

Happy Mid week all!

Over and out from chilly Cape Town

C x

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by bitsofcarey

Our “west coast” weekend

August 30, 2010 in out and about, Restaurants

10 Comments »

First of all, I need to admit that I am geographically challenged! J and always book on the last minute when we decide to go away. So we had Paternoster in mind, we attempted getting accomodation there, but all the places we called were fully booked! The next plan, was Riebeek’s Kasteel, “it’s just around the corner from Paternoster!”, umm…no! When we arrived at Traveller’s rest Guesthouse in Riebeek’s Kasteel, we were told Paternoster was about 100 k’s away! oops! I thought it looked too green and luscious and no coast in sight! Oh well, no harm done, we enjoyed our weekend in the quaint little town of Riekbeek’s Kasteel.

As we were taken through the lush garden and shown to our room, and all the stress of the week just wilted away as we absorbed all the beauty around us…

After we settled in, we went to the Traveller’s Rest Restuarant – just a few steps away.

Very warm and cosy, has a English pub/morrocan feel, if that makes any sense at all.

Our waitress, Alta, was lovely and helpful and we chose her recommendations…

A tomato and celery soup

Although they stated celery, it was not evident, which is good in my case. It was well balanced, perfectly seasoned thick creamy tomato soup with a few shreds of basil. Yum Yum YUM!

My main: I know it looks boring, but they said their steaks are the best, so I tried the rump steak with veggies on the side ( I’m trying to cut down on the fried carby foods for a while).

I had mine medium, cooked to perfection. Lovely pepper sauce and crispy steamed veg.

J had the fillet with sob sob…fried chips

Sorry, not good photie. The fillet melted in your mouth, served with beautiful mushroom sauce on the side and the most divine…aah hum..looking chips ever, thinly sliced and fried until crispy!

For dessert J had the creme Brulee

A picture speaks a thousand words…a winner…soft creamy and velvety custard covered with beautiful hard brittle( I had to sneak a spoonful :-) )

And I had a cuppucino, and it was a lovely one I might add.

So all in all, we had a delicious meal and enjoyed it with a bottle of Riebeek Cellar’s Brut.

If you come here, don’t come with expectations, just enjoy what they have to offer and you will be pleasantly surprised.

And that was our first night, full tummies and relaxed…with another 2 days of eating and drinking ahead of us!

My next post entails our day out wine and olive tasting at Kloovenberg and our dinner at Bar Bar Black Sheep.

We did manage to get to Paternoster on Sunday – which was fantastic, but that will be my following post.

Have a good week all

C x

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