It’s been a busy few weeks and I’ve really missed one of my oldest friends Sarah Michel. We met at The Fire and Ice Hotel , working as opening staff cleaning fire places and rooms during construction and driving around Cape Town collecting information for the concierge desk.
Fast forward seven years and Sarah has spent four years on private yachts, fallen in love with an amazing British man, Lewis and has opened her business, Back in Town.
With her five star experiences she can truly provide any visitor to South Africa with royal treatment and give an insider’s view of what’s hot and happening in this city. So I got really tired of seeing her Facebook posts on all the incredible places she was visiting and asked if could join.
What a treat! Besides being an hour late I got to join them at Antanio Ruport for wine tasting. I was surprised that I didn’t like the reds, they were all very dry but the whites even the Sauvignon Blanc was really nice with a hint of passion fruit!
I was hungry; all I had eaten was a nutter (no honey) from Nu so we went in search of food. I was happy to find The Living Room was open.
And they do Tapas… Happiness is small plates of food!
I am glad to report it was very delicious, I enjoyed some yummy red wine recommended by the barmen.
They have a simple menu and suggest you have two to three items per person. I felt rather stuffed and enjoyed three plates; One that had bread and another dessert-This piggy went straight to bed after eating!
Sarah, the fussiest eater in the world enjoyed Tempura Beans with a soya and sesame dip, it was a little oily, but nice and fresh and a rather big portion, but I would have liked to have a mix of vegetables, but that’s just personal preference.
As well as the chicken satay with spicy peanut sauce.
Lewis went for the soup, you have got to love a man who loves his soup. Roasted Garlic and Parsnip with bread, I feel it lacked seasoning and I think it would have done well with the addition of Parmesan foam, just to add some depth of flavour, but again light and tasty.
He also enjoyed the pulled pork pancake; it is a very nice portion, really tasty! I enjoyed Mexican the night before, so was expecting some spice, but the sweet basting was a pleasant surprise.
And me:
I ordered the prawn popcorn with lime salt. It was yummy, but damn it was salty… And really needed a dipping sauce so Sarah’s soy and sesame dip came in handy.
I then enjoyed two mains; Fish cakes with a home made aioli and Farmer Angus meatballs in Romesco sauce and toasted focaccia… Yummy, yummy! I was very happy with these two dishes.
Sarah and Lewis had to run, so I ordered another glass of wine and dessert; potted pear frangipane and salted caramel ice cream. It was nice, not very sweet at all… If anything I almost wanted a bit of lemon syrup or something drizzled over the top and that means a lot coming from me who always pulls her nose up to anything too sweet. I really did not enjoy the ice -cream it tasted strange… Almost burnt/bitter, very weird, but I scooped it off and enjoyed my pear pot and that was great.
After that meal, guess who rolled back to Cape Town? Had I to get hungry later I would have been enjoying a salad at most!
A trip to the winelands is always fab idea-If you can take a half day or plan a weekend, go and do it!
Always Remember
…Food is Love…
