The afternoon ride brought us back to Hermanus at the top of the bay (where we spotted a huge pack of baboons at the road side into town) and while we could not find any whales (they seem to hide when the sea gets calm), I did spot three dassies scurrying along as we promenaded along the magnificent Cliff Walk. For those of you unfamiliar, the dassie or rock hyrax(sp?) is about the size of a groundhog and is the only living relative of the elephant family. They are furry and adorable and will bite.
We changed for dinner and sat with our hostess, the hotel general manager in the elegant PAVILLION (named for the more than century old light fixtures taken from a defunct beach pavilion miles west of here). This beautiful hotel is the property of Liz McGrath, well known in the travel industry as the only woman who owns three Relais et Chateau properties. As as aside we visited The CELLARS/HOHENORT the other day as it is just minutes south of Cape Town and were treated to delightful drinks by their manager in The MARTINI, a quirky bar that serves over 150 martinis (it is apparently ranked third in the world by the number of martinis on the menu). Incidentally, I had a BASIL GRANDE with fresh basil from the garden, Grand Marnier, vodka, Cranberry juice and more...The third property we shall visit later as The Plettenberg is to the east on the Garden Route. Mrs. McGrath oversees every inch of decor and makes sure that her hotels are comfortable places, and the Pavillion exuded that feel with lots of space between tables and comfy chairs with modern, elegant, yet chic upholstery. The breads were offered and the crisp lavosh was great as was the Tomato/Olive Foccaccia; I could not eat the other three as I wanted to save my appetite.
An amuse of Pan Fried QUAIL with AVOCADO Cream over Brioche in a Red Wine Balsamic Reduction came and was a clear pointer that the chef was going to tantalize us all evening. Baby King Oyster Mushrooms were a garnish and the small leg and breast were perhaps bigger than the normal amuse, but we all polished off each bite voraciously.
Our wine was a BLANC de NOIRS which we usually think of as sparkling, but in South Africa it is a Rose style and this used 5 red grapes that were fermented without the skins. The 2007 BOCHENDAAL brings grapes from the western Coastal Region (north of Cape Town near the Atlantic) and is a huge fruity wine full of flavors and just shy of very dry. It was a perfect pairing with the balsamic from the quail and my TIAN of PRAWN and AVOCADO with Prawns Mousseline, Gazpacho and Ink Caviar. I had no clue what to expect and was thrilled when the bowl came with a small amount of gazpacho in the bottom, a tasty timbale of prawns held together with a light mousseline (it was the texture of a tuna tartare, but firmer due to the cooked shrimp). Atop were small pearls of "caviar" here made from agar, lecithin and squid ink for color that looked like caviar, but tasted more like tiny soft gelatin with a hint of fish infusion from the squid ink.
For my main, I chose the Grilled Free Range CHICKEN BREAST with Pan Fried FOIE GRAS, Boulangere Potatoes, King Oyster Mushrooms, Sauce Perigorde which also came with Carrot Puree and the sweetest little pieces of battered deep fried SWEETBREADS. The presentation was perfection and the tastes divine. The chicken was in two roulades with the foie gras atop one and the sliced almost creamy potatoes under. Every bite was a treat. I also tasted the MUSHROOM RISOTTO which was sublime, but oh so rich and raves abounded for the CAPE WHITE SALMON (which is nothing like the red Atlantic salmon we have at home) and the filet of SPRINGBOK, another type of local wild venison.
While some opted for dessert, I sipped my glass of 2007 SOUTHERN RIGHT PINOTAGE, the red wine I had with my chicken, another great varietal found only in this country that I have always had trouble figuring out, especially with the lower quality ones we get back home. This was a big red which worked beautifully with the richness of the sweetbreads and foie gras in my complex culinary treat.
We will seek out more whales this morning before leaving on the Garden Route to the east.
