Last week, Jenny (famously aka The Giggling Gourmet) invited us to join her and sample the
menu at Karibu. And sample we did with a massive 10 course tasting menu, all
paired with the correct wines. The courses just grew and grew in size. If
you have visitors to the Cape who are curious as to what traditional South
African food is like, send them to Karibu. And, no, they will not be obliged to have a
10 course menu, unless they choose to
A large restaurant with seats
outside on the front terrace and great views of the Waterfront and the
mountain. Luckily, as it was a little chilly that evening, we sat at the long
table inside
Interesting, rather Christmassy
decor (Yes, it is coming, far too quickly for us). All they need is a reindeer
- wait! no, a caribou - and a few red baubles
A welcoming "cocktail", somewhat reminiscent of melted ice cream, with a chocolate elephant head for decoration
The irrepressible Jenny Morris
with Executive Chef Jamie Rowntree, who has been with Karibu for 10 years. We were told
that Sommelier Paul would keep us moist and lubricated. And, yes he did, with
such a well chosen wine pairing of excellent top wines. Their cellar must be
good
First course, a twist of smoked
salmon on a mini potato rosti, with mayonnaise and lemon
This was served with some 2016 Fleur
du Cap unfiltered Sauvignon Blanc. If you like this beautiful wine, and we do,
buy now; it is about to disappear. We hear that Distell has cancelled all the
unfiltered wines from Fleur du Cap. Cider makes more money and Distell is the world's second largest cider producer. Who needs wine...
Next a wave of smoked rooibos,
thyme and red barrel-stave-smoked snoek paté with a garlic crouton and a twirl
of sweet mustard sauce. Served with Fairview’s Oom Pagel Semillon, which was also very wooded and a good match
Another fish course: a tiny
fish frikkadel (cake), with a tomato and raw onion salsa and our traditional
Mrs Ball’s Chutney and mayo. This went with Ken Forrester’s 2016 Old Vine
Chenin Blanc, a wine good for all occasions and super with fish
Suddenly, we had this choir doing a
Black Mambazo/Paul Simon rendition of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" and
others. Excellent, adds atmosphere. The restaurant has lots of tourists
On to the meat courses and, of course,
we had to have some game. No not caribou but an Impala, Kudu and Springbok brochette,
nicely smoke-flamed, dressed with spicy chakalaka sauce, on a bed of pap -
ground white maize known as mielie meal, the staple diet of many African
nations. This was paired with Billy Hughes' 2010 Nativo
Also on the table were bowls of
traditional Umngqusho - samp (dried white maize kernels, reconstituted) and
beans. We, personally, don't like the very popular Pap; for us it is close to
tasteless polenta and was served at boarding school for breakfast every third
day - enough already. John skipped porridge every third day, preferring the oats and Maltabella (sorghum porridge) served on the other two days. But we do love samp and beans. The soaked maize kernels
and brown borlotti or speckled sugar beans are cooked together in stock and
spices for hours, until they are soft and melting and well flavoured. Each of the
two has a different texture and they go so well together
Ah, we are watching the courses get
bigger and bigger.... Next came a duo of Karoo lamb chops, currently more
expensive than fillet steak, thickly coated in a barbecue sauce and defying the
use of cutlery - all South Africans like to pick up their chops and chow. But
we ate politely; well, almost all the time.. They were served with chips and
potato & carrot mash. Now we are getting that full feeling. What wine could
this be paired with but the Steenberg 2014 Merlot? Perfect with lamb
Oh dear, what comes next, can we
resist? Can we cope? Confit duck cuisses! served with fig jam and mash. We
tried, we enjoyed, we were failing. Another good wine, Stellenrust’s Cinsault. There
are HORDES of new and excellent Cinsaults appearing on the market. A grape
which has always been a big part of SA’s red wine portfolio but has flown under
the radar for many years...
Oh hell. Just as the trapdoor in
Lynne's innards slammed shut, they serve the most interesting Cape dish. Denningvleis
is lamb knuckles cooked in a sweet and sour tamarind, molasses and sugar sauce
with lots and lots of spices, but no chilli. Served on traditional Cape Malay
yellow turmeric rice, seeded with raisins. This dish originated in Indonesia
and has been cooked in the Cape for over three centuries by our Cape Malay
population, so it is one of our oldest recipes. It was delicious and falling
off the bone. We managed just one mouthful. And this is a full sized portion,
no more sissy tasting portions from chef. Suitably paired with the spicy 2014
Kloovenberg Shiraz
Thank heavens for the sparky
conversation around the table, or we might have been losing the will to live,
because ..... now it was time for dessert. And not one but two, both served
with ice cream. First came Malva pudding in a cardamom sauce. John tried it.
Lynne stood well back and said no more food thank you. And then another - Cape
Brandy Pudding. We have made this our recipe of the week, in case you are now
so hungry that you want to try it. The dessert wine is one we always recommend
as the wine that goes with all desserts, especially those difficult ones like
Christmas pudding, chocolate and trifle: Pierre Jourdan Ratafia from Haute Cabrière;
it is a sweet wine made more interesting with the addition of some of Pierre Jourdan’s
potstill brandy
And guess what? Next came local
cheeses with fig preserve and chutney. Some then had coffee, Lynne some mint
tea for her digestion
A bubbly Jenny Morris with one of the
invited industry guests, Iwan Jooste
Chef Jamie with another guest; actor
and broadcaster Soli Philander
The usual fun, games and giggles
with the restaurant manager
Lynne had a long chat with Chef Jamie
Time to phone our Uber. We have to
mention that the staff was absolutely superb. And, unusually, they have all been
with the restaurant from the beginning. It opened more than 10 years ago. Chef
believes in encouraging them, and promoting and training them. What an evening,
what a meal. Thank you so much Jenny and all at Karibu
Late night at the Waterfront with all
the lights on
And as we walked (OK one of us was
staggering a bit under the weight of doggie bag food) to the taxi, we spotted
this huge mast and went to investigate. She is Super yacht M5 (formerly
Mirabella V) and she was moored in the V&A Waterfront. She is a 75.2m sloop
with an 88.5 metre mast supporting 36000 sq m of sail; the largest
single-masted yacht ever built
A small (but very powerful) Carbon Cub sea plane is housed on her after deck. Is this the world's smallest aircraft carrier?
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment