Long sleep in a giant comfortable bed was everything we had hoped for. The room was actually a little chilly outside our comforter – what a great way to wake up. We got organized and wandered downstairs to have breakfast. The system was a little different than most hotel breakfasts – of course there was a big table full of cold cuts, yogurt, fruits, cheeses, toast and rolls, a table with fresh fruit juice, coffee and tea, and a table of hot food: eggs, bacon, sausage.
But then on top of all that they gave you a menu and you could order whatever you liked – Kuniko had smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and hash browns. I had already loaded my plate with the other stuff so I didn’t partake from the menu that morning. They also had an espresso machine behind the counter and made cappuccinos for the guests. Near our table a real wood fire was burning. It was a seriously cozy environment.
Back up in our room we lined up our plans for the day. I made reservations at two restaurants for lunch and dinner, and we targeted a couple of wine bars that advertised wine tastings. Then we headed outside to walk around. The weather was cool and clear, with vibrant blue skies that contrasted nicely with the white-painted Dutch colonial buildings throughout the town. A couple of security guards were standing outside our hotel (more for guests peace of mind than anything, I’d wager) and this was a continuing theme in South Africa. Later we were glad to see them in Johannesburg.
Around us the neighborhood was waking up – the cafes were full of young people having coffees and breakfast, and shopkeepers were opening up their stores. I couldn’t help making comparisons to the Sonoma Plaza back in California – everything was geared to wine and wine tourists.
We paid a visit to a big supermarket called “Checkers” and enjoyed poking around their selection. There were cheap, high quality vegetables, cheese and meats. A lot of meats – the section was three times bigger than other markets. On the other hand I didn’t see a seafood section – it might have been just frozen items there. The snacks and souvenir aisle was also good for us to look through – we’ll be buying omiyage for Japan soon.
It was about time to do some wine tasting, but we ran into a hitch in our plans when two of the wine bars that we hoped to visit were both closed. One for a seasonal deep cleaning and the other without explanation on the outside. Instead we ended up at Simon Wine Emporium. From the outside it was unclear if they were open and I was a little worried, but once we walked in we were pleasantly surprised.
It was a big place, looking rustic with plenty of portraits of famous winemakers and an elegant high ceiling. Through a passageway we could see another big room that had a stylish bar – and it looked like it had been open since we had woken up for breakfast. Although they had wine tastings listed on the menu we found that they were by appointment only, so we ended up have two glasses of sparkling wine made by Simonsig – because they can’t call it Champagne they call it Cap Classique. One was a rosé, and both were nice, although I preferred the Blanc de Blanc.
As we sipped the bubbles the sun fell across our table and quiet environment really helped us relax and chill out. The heat and stress of working in summertime seemed a long way away.
After our bubbles we hit the road and went to get some lunch. We had picked a place called Spek & Bone. We sat outside under a big vine that was more like a tree, and the staff were super friendly in helping us choose what to eat and drink. We ordered a bottle of Ken Forrester Renegade (2013) which served us well for this meal and beyond. The food in this place was very high quality – smoked foods were done a few steps away from us. Across the menu there were a lot of Asian influences that maybe felt more exotic for the locals than for us. So what did we have? We started with some local cheese and a big pile of sliced zebra salami – first time for us to eat zebra and it was fantastic. The chef had made the salami himself just yesterday – wow! Also a smoked cauliflower dish, smoked ham hock risotto, and a plate of lamb kofta. Everything was great – really well integrated flavors and the staff made it an even better meal. We couldn’t finish the bottle of wine or the zebra salami so they gave us a bag to carry it with us.
When paying I picked a tip of about 20%, double what the local tipping culture was. It wasn’t a big deal for us but the staff had us both double check that we wanted to do that before running the card.
Next stop was the Bartinney Wine & Champagne Bar. They didn’t have tastings but they had their own wine by the glass. We tried their Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. We both really liked the Chardonnay – but the Cab would have been a lot better with food. We sat outside in the sun and watched people walk by on the streets. It was a luxurious feeling to bask in the sunlight without being roasted.
Afterwards we went to Brampton Wines, and did a tasting of their line up. They had seven wines to taste. Kuniko enjoyed their Cinsault (rare grape for us to see), but most of their wines were on the simple side. Our server was a fast-talking British (I think?) guy who reminded us of a member of the Weasley family from Harry Potter. We soaked up the wine with some chips and dip, but they weren’t all that special.
After so much wine we went back for a rest at the hotel, and then it was off to eat and drink more! Dinner was at a place called Post & Pepper. Constructed in a former post office, it was a very stylish restaurant – they were just opening when we arrived. We went with a three course menu – each course was a choice between two dishes so we ended up sharing six (small) dishes between us. We forwent the optional oyster starters and dessert – that ended up being a great decision. Here was the dinner lineup:
First course – Malay prawns with fresh herbs served with roti, Pork lollipops with a crispy and sticky doenjang glaze over a spring onion dip. We liked the prawns a lot – especially wrapped in the roti. The pork lollipops were a little over the top – and the spring onion dip didn’t quite match the intensity of the meat.
Second course – Tuna tataki served in a Szechuan dressing with spice, nuts, lime and coconut. And also fried gnocchi with a truffle mushroom cream sauce. The tataki was overwhelmed by the intensity of the flavors of the sauce so we really couldn’t get much fish flavor. We quite liked the gnocchi but there was no bread to mop up all that extra yummy sauce.
Third course – Fried kingklip fish with limoncello cream and mussels, and then lastly pork ravioli with artichoke cream. Again, lots of creamy sauces leftover – but everything was delicious.
Not the lowest calorie meal that we’ve eaten. We were pretty stuffed by the end of it, and we also had some glasses of wine with dinner. I had ordered a glass of Pinotage and got Pinot Noir instead – rather than correcting the waiter we just went with it and it was quite nice.
The day was a full-on culinary extravaganza, and we sort of staggered back to our room fully stuffed. Kuniko headed right off into bed, but since I had a half bottle of red wine and leftover zebra I stayed up a bit longer journaling before retiring myself.
