I recently spent a wonderful afternoon, with one of my closest friends, at the Taj Hotel Cape Town. I could think of nothing better than afternoon tea, at a luxurious hotel, in the heart of the Cape Town CBD. What a treat and some much needed girly time! [Read more…]
Food
Food tastes better when you eat it with friends and family!
Spasie Underground Restaurant
Spasie Underground Restaurant
If you love eating out but are in need of something a bit different, then Spasie Underground Restaurant is definitely the place for you! When I first saw mention of Spasie Underground Restaurant on Twitter, I was most intrigued. Which would make it was no surprise, when the invitation to dine there popped up in my inbox – I jumped at the chance.
Spasie Underground Restaurant is certainly not your run of the mill eatery! Nestled amongst the eclectic mix of bulidings in Bo-Kaap, once the HQ of Haas Coffee, Spasie is both unexpected, as well as charming, which makes the concept even more successful.
A dining experience rather than just a meal out, Spasie Underground Restaurant is the concept of Greg Zeleny, who you may know as the founder of Secret Eats. At Spasie, guests gather at a long chefs table for a more intimate evening of dining, enjoying great company, amazing food and wine.
Each week a guest chef is invited to Spasie Underground Restaurant, to create a custom 4 or 5 course menu, complete with wine pairings. Chefs are given complete creative control, giving them the opportunity to move away from their daily routine and create something truly magical and different in the Spasie kitchen!
Spasie is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for dinner and soon to be open for Sunday brunch. The “chefs table” menu is on offer on Thursday and Friday evenings, with Wednesday themed as a “speakeasy” evening, also known as #PWW or Pocket Watch Wednesdays.
Our menu was prepared by Chef, Jaco Redelinghuys from Yoco Eatery in Durbanville Cape Town. Chef Jaco is all about bringing fine eating to everyday life, he is passionate about food and fresh produce.
The art is in the eating. ~ Jaco Redelinghuys
The wines paired with our menu, for the evening, were all from Kaapzicht Wines in Stellenbosch. We started our evening with a French Onion Soup Tarlet, paired with the Kaapzicht Chenin Blanc .
Next on the menu was a beautifully presented Vegetable Mille Feuille. The vegetables were wonderfully al dente, lightly charred, with a slight smokey flavour. The mille feuille was served with creamy Goats Cheese and a delicious Parmesan Crumb, for added texture. The dish was paired with a marvelously crisp Kaapzicht Sauvignon Blanc.
As a palette cleanser Jaco served a Passion Fruit Sorbet, made from home-grown passion fruit – it was amazingly zingy.
For mains we enjoyed a perfectly cooked Fillet Mignon, served with La Pomme de Terre, Root Vegetable Puree and Green Beans. The fillet was paired with the Kaapzicht Cabernet Sauvignon, which complimented the dish beautifully!
For desert Jaco served the masterfully crafted and aptly named French Countryside in Autumn. When the dish first arrived, we were all in awe of the creative genius behind such an artfully presented creation – it really looked too beautiful to eat! The mushroom, made from meringue, was set on a bed of “chocolate” soil, edible leaves and stones, with berries dotted about to cut through the sweetness.
What a delicious meal and fabulous evening at Spasie, it is definitely something we will do again soon. Thank you to the great staff and the remarkably talented chef Jaco, from Yoco Eatery.
Booking for these exclusive evenings is essential and cost from R650/person, which includes your complete food and wine experience. To see the list of upcoming chefs and make a booking visit the Spasie Underground Restaurant website or call them on 021 422 1492.
Image Source: Jaco Redelinghuys – ST Photography
Disclosure Ranking: 4
Ryan’s Kitchen Franschhoek
As you know, I love Franschhoek! If I had my way, I would probably move there tomorrow! One of our favourite dining experiences in the area, to date, was dinner at Ryan’s Kitchen. It was a rather romantic affair, which has stuck in my memory ever since! [Read more…]
Win a Valentines Dinner from UCook
*Entries are Closed*
UCook Valentines Dinner
You all know how much I love to cook but sometimes coming up with new recipes or sourcing ingredients can be so time consuming! With UCook you can take all the hassle out of this process. UCook is an online service, which does all the hard work for you. It is as simple as registering on the UCook website, choosing a dish from the menu and at the click of a button your dinner ingredients and recipe are winging their way to you!
Cooking good food can be stress free and most enjoyable. Simply select what you would like to cook and we will handle the rest. Compliments to the chef! ~ UCook
If cooking is your thing and you would like to woo your love this Valentines, why not let UCook take the stress out of finding the perfect recipe to impress!
UCook have menu two options available for Valentines Day: *The Vegetarian Box; which includes a starter of Tomato, Red Pepper & Camembert Bruschetta, followed by a main of Fig, Almond and Goat’s Cheese Salad, rounded off with a Marbled Raspberry Cheesecake. *The Non-vegetarian Box option boasts the same starter and desserts as the vegetarian box, but with the main course being a fragrant Sundried Tomato and Artichoke stuffed Chicken, with Herbed Potatoes. The UCook Valentines boxes above cost R545 for the vegetarian option and R595 for the meat option. These prices also include a bar of Honest Chocolate and a bottle of wine (red or white).
If cooking on the evening takes up too much time, or you have a special location planned, then a pre-cooked picnic baskets, is sure to make the evening run smoothly. There are three options are available: The Vegetarian Picnic Basket contains a selection of dips (including Tzatziki and Hummus) along with two salads (Tabouleh and Cous-cous with Pumpkin and Feta), a selection of cheeses, an Asian style “raw-slaw” wrap as well as two desserts – Banoffi and Cheesecake. The Rustic Basket is similar only with the addition of Chicken Liver Pattè and a cold meat selection to go along with the cheese selection. The vegetarian box costs R450, while the rustic box goes for R575. There is also a Premium Basket available, which costs R750, and comes with a far larger selection of cheeses and cold meats. All baskets also include a bottle of Wine (red or white) and a bar of Honest Chocolate.
With Valentines Day just around the corner we thought it would be a great idea to offer one couple a hassle free dinner, for two, for Valentine’s Day courtesy of UCook. The winner may choose either the *Vegetarian UCook Box or the *Non-vegetarian UCook Box, which also includes 1 bottle of wine and a chocolate!
To enter please follow the simple steps below:
- Like UCook and Inspired Living SA on Facebook or
- Follow UCook and Inspired Living SA on Twitter
- For an extra entry Tweet about the competition: Win Valentines Dinner with @UCOOKSA and @inspired_lifeSA enter here http://goo.gl/Xcpx1b
- Remember to leave a comment below telling me how you have entered and who you will be impressing with your culinary skills this Valentines, with the help of UCook 😉 {Please ensure you read the *Terms & Conditions below carefully, to ensure you comply with all the entry criteria.}
*Terms & Conditions:
- Entries are open from 8th February 2015 until 5pm on the 12th February 2015 the winner will be announced on the 13th February 2015!
- You must complete all the steps as stipulated above: Leave a Comment, Like and/or Share on Facebook and/0r Tweet about the competition.
- To ensure that your entry is processed correctly (please use a valid email address). Your details will only be used to validate your entry and inform you, if you are selected as a winner.
- Prizes may not be exchanged for cash.
- This competition is only open to South African residents and to readers who have not won a competition on Inspired Living SA in the past 6 months.
- The UCook service is only available in Cape Town, so the winner will need to be based in Cape Town to claim their prize. The prize entitles the winner, to a meal for two, selected from either the Vegetarian UCook Box or the Non-vegetarian UCook Box, which also includes 1 bottle of wine and a chocolate.
- By “Liking” you enter and agree that this promotion is in no way associated with, administered by, or endorsed by Facebook; and acknowledge a complete release of Facebook by your participation.
To find out more about the UCook service or view the weekly Menu selection pop over to the UCook Website.
Volare at Peddlars & Co
Volare “to soar or fly”
I have always loved Italian cuisine and a recent trip to Italy reaffirmed this love. I am not talking run-of-the-mill pizza and pasta but real authentic Italian food!
Imagine my delight when Grant and I were invited to dine at Volare at Peddlars & Co, in Constantia! Peddlars, a local landmark, has become one of the most recognised and beloved destinations in Constantia.
As one of the more recent additions, Volare became part of the Peddlars & Co family in 2012. The restaurant recently underwent a complete menu revamp, at the hands of talented chef Brad Ball. Brad Ball has been a name synonomous with Bistro 1682 at Steenberg, for the past five years! He recently joined Peddlars & Co to put his stamp on this Cape Town institution and bring it up to date, with the rest of the culinary world. One of Brad’s ideas for Volare was for it to be a dining experience, rather than just another meal out. The menu is anything but ordinary and in my opinion a much-needed addition to the Constantia Valley!
As I mentioned we travelled to Italy recently and one of the main highlights for me, was eating Italian food as it was intended – fresh local produce, simply prepared, with the most heartfelt passion! {and not a Hawaiian pizza in sight!} One glance at the Volare menu and I was transported back to Tuscany.
The main thing to understand as far as Italian dining goes, it is not meant to be “fast food” but rather a feast! A feast which is meant to be enjoyed leisurely, with friends and family, accompanied by a few glasses, or in some cases, bottles of wine.
We started of our evening, sipping on a glass of wonderfully chilled Steenberg Chardonnay MCC, while perusing the mouth-watering menu! It could not really get much better than that!
For our Antipasti course I started off with the Burrata, while Grant decided on the Tuno Crudo. The Burrato was absolutely delicious – the softest Puglia mozarella, with tapenade, baby tomatoes, micro basil and wafer-thin focaccia toast.
The Tuno Crudo was as delicious – yellowfin tuna carpaccio, with capers, lemon, a heady basil emulsion and a shallot dressing.
From the outset I had my eye on the Farfalle Primavera, which I chose for my Primi course and Grant had the Pork Ragu Pappardelle. Both dishes were amazing but if I had to pick a favourite the Farfalle Primavera would win hands down, in fact I would go back to Volare just for that! The combination of peas, leeks, zucchini, parsley oil and pea shoots, in a rich creamy sauce, was definitely the best vegetarian dish I have ever eaten! The Pork Ragu Pappardelle was a flavour packed, hearty dish, of braised pork belly, tomato, fennel seeds, rosemary, topped with a goats cheese fondant.
Admittedly by this stage we were both almost full but this would not deter us from experiencing more of the new menu. My choice for our Secondi course was the Roast Porchetta, which was Oak Valley pork belly, with artichokes, sage, Parma ham crackling and brocollini.
Grant opted for the Controfiletto, a mouth-watering Chalmar sirloin, with the most delicious rosemary potatoes, roast garlic, gremolata and asparagus. The flavour combinations of both dishes were spot on, I just wish I had the space to finish it all!
We were told that we could not leave without trying a desert and it had to be the Chocolate Torta! OMW!!! Nothing short of desert heaven! I don’t have a very sweet tooth but this desert is pure perfection! The sublime combination of Valrhona chocolate, espresso ice cream and chocolate crumble was right up my alley and we scoffed the lot!
I would like to say a big thank you to Brad Ball and all the staff at Volare for a truly magical Italian dining experience! Volare is contemporary Italian cuisine at its best! We will definitely be back soon, to sample more of the amazing dishes from their wonderful new menu.
Contact Details: Opening Times: 11am – 11pm, Telephone: 021 794 7747, Email, Address: 13 Spaanschemat River Road, Constantia, 7800, Cape Town. Directions: From Cape Town, turn into Ladies Mile from the M3 freeway and turn left. Just before the first set of traffic lights, turn left onto Spaanschemat River Road, you will find Peddlars on your right.
Image Source: Images 1,2,3,6 & 9 Coutesy of Claire Gunn Photography
Disclosure Ranking: 4
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