VOVO TELO

On the quest for great coffee takes me to various restaurants and coffee shops around Cape Town....
Here is one of the places I have been too: 

I managed to grab a late coffee this week with my friend Janine from the blog Being Brazen. It never

V&A Waterfront - MASTER OF THE TRADE ROUTES

Its hard to imagine that just last week I boarded the SA Agulhas II (an ice breaking scientific ship) for a dinner of exquisite proportions.
Thoroughly thrilled and honoured to be a judge for the first round of the competition,  Master of the Trade Routes where 27 restaurants from the V & A Waterfront competed for place as the number 1 restaurant.

HOW IT WORKED
Being 1 of 8 judges in the first round - we each got to eat at 6 restaurants. It was great fun and interesting to try out 6 of the restaurants at the V & A Waterfront over roughly 5 weeks. And we narrowed it down to the TOP 8 Restaurants

THE TOP 8
Dash Restaurant (Queen Victoria Hotel)

Den Anker

Harbour House

Reuben's (One&Only Cape Town)
Sevruga
Signal (Cape Grace Hotel)
The Grand Beach
Willoughby & Co


The final judging took place on board the SA Agulhas II and was decided on the night. 

THE WINNER
I can happily say that I got to eat at the top 2 restaurants and that I had really hoped that my top 2 would win! AND my prediction of my top 2 restaurants came in First and Second just as I had hoped and predicted - in the exact same order!

1ST: Signal Restaurant (Cape Grace Hotel)
2ND: Dash Restaurant (Queen Victoria Hotel)


Congrats to Signal and Dash.
Thanks to the V & A Waterfront  -  It was a great competition which was exciting to be apart of.

MISS K's IN GREEN POINT

A little while back I was invited to lunch with a few bloggers and media at Miss K's. It was a small intimate lunch with the owner herself - and what a lovely lunch it was.

 Miss K herself - so friendly and warm. And an array of deliciousness that is in her eatery.

I was fortunate enough to have a generous and delicious salad all to myself as I have been avoiding meat lately and everyone else was having a seared tuna salad - which looked so good. But wanting to avoid the seafood and meat aspect I had a veggie salad. It was a show stopper of a salad!!! Filled with delicious veggies, fruit and salad ingredients. I think I will need to return for another one :) It was huge so next time I'll share some of my salad with the husband ;) as I couldn't finish the one they served me.

 The delicious salad I had / outdoor seating / painted wall mural / fresh flowers.

The vibe and layout is quite nice with an open kitchen counter where you can see the cooks and kitchen staff cooking. The outside area has tables, chairs and umbrellas for the sun and fresh air seekers. 

The event was lovely with a delicious lunch followed by very nice chocolate brownies (they were as fudgy as they were chocolatey). *note return again for brownies*

A kind thank you to Kirsten and her PR team for inviting me.

To see their menu and other details visit their website here

La Motte - Cape Winelands Cuisine Cookbook Launch

 
On Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending a cookbook launch of Cape Wineland's Cuisine at the La Motte Wine farm.
The idea behind the cookbook is to bring back some of the old family recipes our grandmothers used to cook in the Cape Winelands area ... traditional comfort food. Things like Offal Brawn, Rolpens and pickled tongue. I don't know what is comforting about Offal... I was yet to find out!


ARRIVAL SNACKS. We started in the old cellar with refreshments (rooibos tea, ginger beer with rose geranium etc.) and some snacks (Mosbeskuit, Mini ouma's loaf, oyster and marrow pies to name a few). After our snacking, drinking and chatting, the day proceeded with an interview style talk on a mini stage with the chefs and owners of the farm about how the book came to being. A very interesting discussion to say the least. Funny and informative. All was ended off with a lovely prayer  by Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg.

We then headed to lunch at Pierneef.

LOCATION. Pierneef is a beautiful building with a delightful mix of decor, chic and comfortable mixed together.
I loved how everything was mixed together from comfortable couches to beautiful chairs and hanging teapots.

FOOD. We all had detailed programs/menu's which told us what food we were going to be eating- Things like Offal, and pickled tongue and cape bokkom salad...To say I was apprehensive is an understatement! I mean eating tongue and Offal is really not my thing but I was determined to try everything.
And to my surprise - it was delicious. I really enjoyed quite a lot of the food. I had to consciously  turn off my mind and just go with the flavours I was tasting... and they were very good!

My favorite was the Sweet and Sour Pumpkin and Lamb Stew - I will be returning for this if it is on their menu. It really was so GOOD! I am still thinking about it a few days on. And of course all the food was paired with La Motte's wines. All perfectly complimented each dish and tasting.

THE FARM.  Having it been my first time to La Motte I really enjoyed finding out more about the wine farm. It has an art gallery, wine tasting cellar, restaurant, farm stall and walks on the estate.

The  Rupert-Koegelenberg family were very warm and welcoming - letting us onto their farm and sharing their beautiful food and wine with us. I felt at home and well taken care of. Thank you very much.





 *Cape Winelands Cuisine available soon in bookstores


 

HOUT BAY MANOR

On Monday night I had the pleasure of attending Hout Bay Manor's Concierge Party. It involved live music by a very entertaining entertainer, delicious snacks by Pure Restaurant and mingling by a cross section of media and travel related people, - And it was LOVELY! 

After a tour of the hotel I realised how lucky we are to have so many beautifully decorated hotels in the Cape area. As well as such interesting and different places to visit in Cape Town.
I really enjoyed the snacks/eats from PURE restaurant and will definitely try go back for some supper. The tastes were impressive!

Thanks Hout Bay Manor for a lovely evening :)