This week was still intense at work, we had a data load which means stress and tension and late hours, but we hit our delivery.

Norm had his old friend Rowan come over from Belfast this week for a wedding, this was a guy Norm had coached over 20 years ago and had not really seen since then. Rowan’s wife is Cathy and we made plans to go to one of my favourite restaurants which is owned by an amazing chef. La Mouette is run by the lovely couple Mari and Henry, the food they conjure up is a treat to the taste buds.

Rowan and Cathy were lucky enough (or rich enough hahaha) to stay at the stunning Mount Nelson Hotel and we offered to collect them, so we drove through the gorgeous entrance and up the winding drive towards the big pink hotel to collect them.

We arrived at La Mouette just before the sun set and the courtyard was all ready with the tables beautifully set, the fountain tinkling in the centre, and fairy lights strung in the trees. It is such a lovely oasis in the centre of busy Seapoint, but it somehow feels as if you are off in the countryside, you are unaware of any noise or chaos nearby. As the sun went down the candles were lit and the light was from the periphery of the courtyard.

We opted for the Spring Tasting Menu which consists of 6 courses for R295, or if you opt to have the wine pairing it is R475. Instead of the wine pairing we chose to go with the Warwick Professor Black Sauvignon Blanc at R225 a bottle.

The 1st course was Roasted cauliflower soup accompanied by Gruyere cheese scones, truffle Chantilly and red onion jam.

The soup was creamy and tasty, the cheese scone was gorgeous with the truffle cream and onion jam. A lovely way to kick off the night.

Next was the course I was least looking forward to as I am not a fan of celery or celeriac. But I have now learned to not question Henry’s seemingly bizarre combinations as somehow the chemistry just elevates the food to another level.

The Celery panacotta was creamy and smooth and only lightly flavoured with celery and it came with Hazelnut crumble, Grilled asparagus, and an apple and celeriac remoulade and it was all just divine. The nuttiness of the hazelnut was a perfect balance to the other flavours. It was light and refreshing and perfect for the heat of the evening.

Next was a choice of either:
Peas, ham and eggs: Glazed pork belly, lomo, peas, parmesan cream and egg yolk emulsion.

Or
Salt and pepper squid: Roasted corn, puree, pickled cucumber and caramelized onion ketchup.

I opted for the squid. It was breaded with a light crispy coating and the combo of the corn and the other items was perfect, but then I have a slight corn fetish, I blame my Native American heritage, we invented that stuff didn’t we? 🙂

Or was it the pilgrims? Whatever the history, it was damned good.

Norm had the pork, he has a bit of a pea obsession. Not sure why, did the scots invent peas?

The next course also had 2 options:
Either the Springbok ‘pie’ Bitterballen, medallion, spring baby vegetables, smoked mash and crispy pastry,

Or the Franschhoek trout Tartare, cauliflower cous cous, quinoa, crispy calabash, pickled pumpkin seeds, spiced chicken jus.

All of us had the springbok other than Cathy who tried the trout. The springbok medallions were really tender, the bitterballen like mini schnitzel balls, crispy outside, tender and delicious inside. The mash had a delicious flavour, maybe truffle oil? Not sure but it was so creamy and flavourful. It was so delicious I wanted to lick the plate.

The trout looked very nice and Cathy polished it all off and said she enjoyed it.

The next course was Eton mess which consisted of Meringue, lemon curd, strawberries, vanilla cream, cassis gel and strawberry sorbet.
Clever Cathy called it Eton tidy as it was so delicately arranged on the plate, it was a visual treat as well as one for the taste buds.

It was tart, and very refreshing. I really enjoyed it.

Memories of sweets by the seaside was the final course, this consisted of a donut, ice cream and a mock up of a bit of rock which had a jelly type outside and a creamy filling.

For you Americans, rock is a traditional British seaside treat,and this is what we always just called hard stick candy, we used to always buy it when we went to Gatlinburg for some reason.

The evening was fabulous, it was a hot evening, the food was perfect, and I really clicked with Cathy, we had such a giggle over everything, she seemed to get my odd sense of humour and we chatted the entire night while the fellas caught up. It was just magical.

We only got to sleep at about 1am which was a killer for a Monday. It didn’t help that I had bookclub on the Tuesday and another late night, but it was good to see my girlies and catch up. We celebrated Camilla’s birthday and chatted and laughed for hours, it was lovely.

Norm and I attended the CPF (Community Policing Forum) meeting on Thursday evening and there was a new board elected, I am looking forward to the changes they will implement, they are all young and as devoted to Hout Bay as Norm and I are and we anticipate a lot of energy coming in to make a difference.

Last night after work I went for a cocktail with 2 of the lads on my team. We went to the Park Inn at the Foreshore, they have a lovely lounge on the roof, it has a pool and a DJ and cocktails with a view of the mountain. Did I mention cocktails?

As I was driving I just had 1 and made it last for 2 hours 🙂 that meant I avoided brain freeze so it’s all good.

We had a lot of laughs talking nonsense and then we all headed home.

Tonight we have 2 events to attend, so it is definitely the end of year craziness starting. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, the sun is shining and life is pretty fabulous.

http://www.lamouette-restaurant.co.za
http://www.belmond.com/mount-nelson-hotel-cape-town/
http://www.parkinn.com/hotel-capetown