Orinoco

I visited this little Latin American restaurant with friends for lunch today, it's called Orinoco run by Migdalia Bellorin a Venezuelan beauty. I drive past it often and have always wanted to try it so when my friend mentioned he went to chef school with the owner, it created the perfect opportunity to sample some Latin American food for lunch on my off day.

The interior feels like you are entering Migdalia's own house, she welcomes you with her rich accent and you feel very comfortable in this colourful cafe' style restaurant.

The authentic decor also whisks you back to memories of over seas travel and makes you want to book your next trip, it seems Mexico has influenced her greatly in the menu and the knick knacks found garnishing the interior.

I started off with a fresh juice, I chose the Caribbean and I would happily go back just for this, fresh, perfectly balanced thirst quenching juice, I make my own at home and even this one impressed me. On the table to nibble on is bread, marinated olives and two chili sauces all amazing, well seasoned and you can buy some to take home.

For starters we had Empanada's a traditional dish which is basically bread wrapped around a filling of meat or cheese, they are R20 each and served with guacamole and pico de gallo (tomato and onion salsa). Definitely a new addiction for me from now on.

For mains we all went with the pulled pork burrito, I did not have cheese in mine but it was so fresh and you can tell everything is home made from the burrito wrapper made with Corn masa to the slow braised pork inside, even the salad had juicy slow roasted cherry tomatoes on top. 

There is a chalk board of daily specials and a dessert menu which we had no space for today.
They are open 10am - 6pm Tuesday and Wednesday, 10am - 10pm Thursday and Friday, 6pm - 12am on Saturdays. Total bill for three people was R375.

Orinoco
17 Bree street, corner of Prestwich and Bree street
021 - 418 45 44

Pictures and article Copyright by Tamsyn Wells

Cafe Des Arts

A good friend of mine just introduced me to a little gem in Franschhoek called Cafe des Arts, this was previously owned by renowned cook Topsi Venter who was one of our mentors at the chef school where I studied as well as throughout my career. You will still find her popping in at the cafe on a regular basis.

Cosy, welcoming and vibey, I felt very at home in this rustic cafe situated amongst all the great restaurants in Franschhoek's gourmet valley, it's very down to earth with real food you just want to tuck your teeth into as well as the friendly couple who own the place, greet you and spend time with all the guests explaining how they came to purchase this wonderful place where you can also buy the artwork on the walls.

The menu changes daily and is written on a chalk board, 3 or 4 starters, 5 or 6 mains and 3 desserts had a good mix of everything from light to rich foods and although the linefish which looked so delicious as it whizzed past was sold out on the night I was very happy with my meal.

My starter was pickled fish on crostini with salad, crispy, sweet, sour with an addictive bite. A tasty local dish done well. R65

Another starter, Tomato and basil soup was very tasty, good bread and concentrated tomato flavours. R45

My main course, a smokey cooked to perfection Kassler chop with ratatouille and mustard mash. R95

Lamb's Liver with roast potatoes, bacon, baby onions and balsamic vinegar, this is one of their recommended dishes perfect balance of richness with the balsamic vinegar R70.

Sirloin Steak, mushroom sauce, mustard mash and salad, another recommendation for the evening also cooked perfect. R125

We all enjoyed ourselves,  left with full stomach's and felt like we had made new friends with the owner's Chris and Louise, I hope to see you soon to try out the chalkboard breakfast and lunch offerings.

Cafe des Arts
021-876 2952

Pictures and article copyright by Tamsyn Wells

Haiku

 I have been wanting to go to Haiku for years now, my brother went a few years ago and he raved about the place for weeks, Finally I asked friends of mine who are regulars there to please let me join them and to make it as soon as possible.

It is situated on a small street with its entrance on Burg street which has an alley way feeling when you walk towards the door. I love the interior, the lighting is dim and the Chinese style decor is quite glam so I had this feeling of almost illegal underground entry.

The barman welcomed me with a glass of wine as I awaited my friends arrival. The bar is beautiful all dark wood but the bar stools were a bit low as I sat eye level with the bottles pictured above.

I left the choices to my friends who are all foodies and know what's really good to try, there are specials on at the moment, 2 course meal R179, 5 course meal R249 and lunch specials which are assorted platters for R119 but we went with A La Carte. We were 4 people which is a good number as most dishes come out in fours so we could each try everything except the spring rolls.

On the table they serve condiments, pickled cucumber, sesame oil bean sprouts, a chilli sauce and I think a tomato chutney of some kind. We started with BBQ duck spring rolls and hoisin sauce, delicious prawn toasts, spinach and cream cheese translucent steam dumplings ( Har Gau) and chicken potstickers which are pan fried dumplings. 

These were all absolutely divine, the food kept coming, next was a raw tuna salad which had a sesame dressing, lettuce, raw onion slices, avocado and cucumber.

Lastly were our two main courses which was a saucy stir fried calamari, crisp fresh vegetables, sticky coconut rice and another favorite of mine, Peking duck pancakes with cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce.

Everything was really tasty with perfectly balanced flavours, I heard there is a system they use to help you order using star ratings however this was not explained to us and I can't help but think its not quite the same as in it's heydays when they were on the top of all restaurant lists, the service was a bit slack but I can't fault the food. I can say that I will go back and eat plate's full of dim sum, in fact just the pictures are making me crave to go back. The mains were perfectly made however you could get these dishes at Chef pons in town and be just as satisfied.

Our meal came to R250 per person with 2 bottles of wine and a tip.

Haiku Restaurant

33 Church street, enter from Burg street

021 - 424 7000

Pictures and article is copyright by Tamsyn Wells

Goloso

Recently I was invited to a farewell dinner at a great restaurant in Sea Point, Cape Town called Goloso which my partner in crime for the evening told me it means "greedy" in Italian. Having visited Italy a few times on holiday, their food is really close to my heart and I myself have adopted their "basic" style of cooking only highlighting one or two main ingredients in each dish, unfussy but delicious.

We were a table of twelve for the evening and our table filled the entire restaurant, it's tiny but so wonderful to have the whole place to ourselves, the chef prepared us a 10 course meal for the evening but as usual I was so absorbed in the sampling process that I forgot to take pictures but as my friend suggested I will just have to go again to get more pictures for my blog followers.

So the evening begun on a great note right from the time you walk into Goloso and you are hit with the aroma of garlic, wine and herbs making your mouth water in minutes. The menu started with bread, great company and plenty flowing red wine. The first course consisted of Authentic Italian bruschetta's with three different toppings, pesto, smoked salmon and the most popular one diced tomato. Second course was an antipasti plate of pickled vegetables, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, bocconcini cheese and artichokes, third course a caprese salad of tomato and buffalo mozzarella, fourth course a fresh tuna salad with Cannellini beans, fifth course was a norwegian salmon tartare with fresh red onion, lemon and herbs, sixth course a chickpea salad, seventh course a delectable mushroom and truffle oil penne pasta, eighth course a perfect tagliatelle putannesca, just spicy, salty enough to want more and more, ninth course was chicken marsala and the grande finale a light tiramisu and coffee. Italian food heaven, I want more just thinking about it.

So I forgot to mention that most people in the party were pescatarians so the chef / owner made only 1 meat dish this evening we were there but i'm sure the menu varies to what is in season on the day you book, the restaurant is not always only 1 big table but generally a few smaller tables where you order off the menu, they are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The meal came to R250 per person with wine and a tip, well worth it.
You can find them on:
tel: 076 906 8588
90 Regent road, Sea point Cape Town

Pictures and article copyright by Tamsyn Wells