My friend Retha and I normally attend the Cape Town Girl Geek Dinners but this month we decided to give it a miss and instead go for cocktails and dim sum at Kitima which is a fab venue. We booked seats in the bar and proceeded to sample the cocktail menu.

we ordered the starter platter and the prawn and mozzarella balls to share.

The chicken satay was tender, the sushi fresh and firm, the spring rolls crisp. I love that you get a variety of sauces. The prawn balls were on a bed of wasabi mousse and sweet chili sauce. They were little balls of heaven. Really divine and my fave of the items ordered.

I stuck with my fave of their cocktails, kiwi and passion fruit over ice with vodka. Really refreshing. Retha had a chili margarita and a chili chocolate one as well.

For dessert we both had the chocolate fondant with pineapple sorbet.

The chocolate fondant was perfect, oozing chocolate. Rich and moist. The pineapple sorbet tasted stale. I didn’t enjoy it at all, but luckily it it wasn’t needed in order to enjoy the fondant.

It is a beautiful venue with very attentive service. It is an old listed historic building lovingly renovated. I love the contrast of old Cape Dutch architecture and modern interior.

The legend is that there was a young Afrikaans girl who lived there many years ago and she fell in love with an English soldier and their love was thwarted by her father. I can’t remember how she died but the heartbroken young soldier hung himself from the tree across the road, over by what is now the football grounds. The restaurant owner lays a table for the young lovers every night.

The rest of the week limped along, the weather finally turning to summer and it feeling very hot. I did discover a new lunch venue. A little Mexican take away called Tortilla Modern Mexican, you choose a meal of burrito or taco etc, then choose a filling of chicken, meat, veg etc and the toppings. I had tacos and they really were exceptional. If you want a quick bite in Cape Town it is definitely to be recommended.

Saturday I had another expensive torture session at the lazer clinic. My body is getting so smooth! It’s painful and expensive but so worth it.

We popped into Gabriella’s for a quick bite as I was meeting Retha for a debrief of my Enneagram test which I had done. It assesses your personality and recommends ways to become a more balanced person.

The eggs Benedict were perfect and the chips we shared were homemade, handcut and really gorgeous. I’m a bit of a chip connoisseur.

We did the debrief at Riverside Estates which is such a stunning venue. I had my 50th birthday party there.

They do weddings and all manner of things. It’s very peaceful feeling there.
We spent hours talking and I was given a report to read which has life coach type suggestions about becoming a more rounded person.

Last night we decided to go somewhere different and headed up toward Constantia. We saw a vibe at Greens and stopped there, but when we got out of the car we heard a guy singing live. It drew us over towards him, we decided to stay for dinner at Pastis. The singer was down in the lower courtyard and we chose the upper courtyard where we could hear the music but also hear each other. We were all alone in the section, surrounded by greenery and with heaters to keep the chill off.

We had the deep fried Camembert to share as a starter. It was cut into 5 wedges each with batter right round the wedge, so with more breading than when fried as a whole cheese. The cheese wasn’t fried long enough unfortunately so instead of cutting into a melting, oozing center it was more like you had simply left your picnic basket in the sun. The small bowl of sauce was nice and sweetly tart but in all it would be better with Melba toast and the cheese to be fried for several more minutes.

For my main I had a pork fillet stuffed with mozzarella and ham and Norm had the fillet steak.

The chips were below average, quite greasy. The green beans were al dente the way I prefer them. The pork was ok, I had expected a rolled fillet, not a flattened schnitzel like dish. But if I think of it as a schnitzel it was nice and crispy and the coating stayed put. Norm said his steak was amazing. Tender and perfectly cooked.

For dessert I had the creme brûlée and Norm had the chocolate mousse. I tasted his mousse, it was dark chocolate layered with white chocolate. Nice and creamy with a lovely rich texture, Norm really enjoyed it. My brûlée was the perfect consistency, nicely set and with a thin solid sugar glaze topping.

We really enjoyed the singer, he sounded a bit like Neal Young. Or David Crosby. One of those dudes anyway. He was good entertainment, with a rough and gravelly voice and his unplugged unobtrusive guitar accompanying him. We sat out in the night air surrounded by the vineyards, music wafting over the hot summer air, our 1st night this year to eat outside in the evening without blankets. We shared a lovely bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and enjoyed a night out on our own.

It was a fabulous evening. We will give Pasti’s another go, especially if the same guy is playing.

Today it was incredibly hot. I spent the day by the pool, sitting in the shade.

Norm popped to the shop and then cooked some sausages and kebabs on the braai and I made salads for us and the girls.

All in all it has been a busy weekend but I’ve enjoyed it. It’s wonderful that it is warming up a bit, summer is here to stay I hope!