A touch of Italy in Constantia...ciao Volaré!

I'm not one to venture out of my Mother City zone for food as I'm so spoiled for choice in the CBD. For Chef Brad Ball however, I'll do the mileage. He is the innovative uber chef that I first met at Bistro 1682 at Steenberg last year and is the one behind the deliciousness at the new Volaré Ristorante at Peddlars & Co where I enjoyed a fabulous dinner last week. (Brad was at Spasie the night I visited but his second-in command Stuart Newman did a sterling job).

My date was a little late so I passed the time Instagramming - as one does- and sipping a chilled Birkenhead craft beer on the Oak Terrace, a spacious patio under the trees that's clearly very popular. Beer always gets my appetite going so by 6:30pm I was ready to be led into Volaré for a spot of feasting. 

The food at Volaré is described as contemporary Italian, though slightly more high end so don't be expecting pizza and lasagna my dear amicos. Needless to say, it's all delish, made using the finest of fresh seasonal ingredients, locally sourced, all sustainable.

I started with the yellow fin tuna carpaccio with capers, lemon, basil emulsion and a shallot dressing. For my main I chose the pork Ragu parpadelle - braised pork belly, tomato, fennel seeds, rosemary and goats cheese fondant. This left me with absolutely no space for dessert  but I forged ahead to the final course when I spied that crumbled Valrhona chocolate torte with espresso ice cream. I mean who could resist that?
 

There are four eating venues at Peddlars & Co -  distinctly different eating experiences, in one destination. 'Choose your mood' , it's that simple.

The burrata salad with mozzarella, tapenade, micro basil, focaccia toast, tomatoes...

 Yellow fin tuna carpaccio with capers, lemon, basil emulsion and a shallot dressing...

Caledon lamb, caponata ravioli, peas, onion condito, bagna cauda & jus... (my friend's choice) 

  
The pork Ragu parpadelle...

 Craft beer on the Oak Terrace...

Volaré trades Monday to Sunday from midday to 22h. Book via 0217947747. www.peddlars.co.za

Lazy days at Laborie Wine Estate...

The beauty of Cape Town, aside from the fact that it's a gorgeous place to live, is what it offers locals and tourists alike. It has a unique proximity to blue flag beaches, magnificent mountains, botanical gardens, forests, and, those places where we all love to linger longer, wine farms, the jewels in the crown of the Cape. There's no denying it, we have the best of everything in the Mother City and our surroundings are just beyond.

Laborie Wine Estate where I recently spent a day and a night is a mere 45 minutes from town. Situated in the lush Paarl Valley it was named after the La Bri district in France. You of course always have me at the mention of France, one of my best travel destinations and the first place I ever travelled to as a 14 year old ballerina-in-training.

Lateral Paul and I stayed in the fabulous Jonkershuis with its 3 bedrooms, enormous lounge, kitchenette (fyi the fridge overflows with the best in the wine and bubbly universe) and a private patio with comfy sofas that leads onto a pool area that is shared with other guests on the property. Free wifi is available too, which is music to my ears as we all know I'm an Instagram addict.

Laborie is a great weekend escape. What's to do you might ask? Well aside from lazing poolside with a book or taking an amble through the estate grounds and vineyards, the obvious thing staring you in the face is fine wine, bubbly and, more recently, craft beer on tap. Not sure if you've noticed, but more and more women are drinking beer these days and moi is no exception, so the tasting at the new Bar di Bar went down a treat. Cloudy cider, honey blonde light beer, pilsner, lager and weiss eased us into the afternoon. I would've ordered from their enticing menu but we had another tasting date around the corner on the newly built deck at Taste, overlooking rolling vineyards. What a view! Our amazing waiter brought us four Laborie wines paired with charcuterie, salty crisps (best ever, I had 3 helpings), olives and more. My fave vino? The Lazy Days rosé, "perfectly balanced with some sweetness on the palate...aromas of strawberries, and spices..." and as delicate as its soft pink hue.

As the sun started to dip we sipped on award winning Laborie bubbly, smartly paired with strawberry, pistachio and lemon macarons, a fab touch. FYI, their MCC Brut 2010 won the Top MCC Award at last years Paarl Wine Challenge.

Dinner at Harvest, a Klink award winner for Great Food and Excellent Wine, was exceptional. Chef Shirene served contemporary South African cuisine full of flavour and completely delish. Portions were generous and prices excellent (at Taste as well by the way).

After a fab nights sleep buried underneath a divine puffy duvet, breakfast was served in the ye olde Manor House that dates back to 1750; the building is a true example of a Cape Dutch farm homestead- both posh and homely at the same time. Oh, and breakfast was in grand style, with fine silverware and a backdrop of Cecil Skotnes artwork.

Other than the sheer beauty of the estate, what stood out for us was how welcoming everyone was, wherever we went. Nothing beats great service and the staff at Laborie have it down to a fine art.

I'm looking forward to my next visit with a group of friends... a sleepover at Jonkershuis is in the diary! 

For all info: www.laboriewines.co.za | Twitter & Instagram: @laboriewines

 Jonkershuis, MCC on arrival...

Walk through the estate grounds...

or amble through the vineyards...

Craft beers at Bar Di Bar...

Award winning Cap Classique at Taste...

Paired with macarons...

The Manor House where breakfast is served...a fine example of Cape Dutch architecture circa 1750

Silverware and Cecil Skotnes paintings...

Yum.

Labories wines paired with chacuterie on the new deck at Taste..

Cheers, here's to your adventures at Laborie and in Cape Town - salu!

Pastry addiction in Lisbon...

I'm back home in Cape Town after 8 days in Lisbon this past December. My first post - travel craving was for pastel de nata (plural being pasteis de nata)  so I hotfooted it to one of our city's finest bakers and scooped up a box for my birthday tea two Fridays ago. Much as I respect that bakerman, I have to say it was a deflating experience, just too far removed from what I'd savoured in Portugal. I am now feeling like a pasteis connoisseur I'm not going to deny it. 

So now I'd like to expand on these spectacular little cakes I discovered and devoured by the dozen in Lisboa. 

I'm told that the monks at the 16th century Jeronynimos Monastery in Belem, Lisbon, were the first to make pasteis way long ago. They apparently used to use egg whites to starch the uniforms of nuns, and the left-over yolks went into making and baking their delish decadent baked goodies. At some point, post 1820 I believe, the Brothers started selling their coveted pasteis after the monastery was closed due to secularisation in 1834. The secret recipe was sold to a sugar refinery close by, whose owners in 1837 opened the Casa Pastéis de Belém, practically next door. The descendents of that family own the business to this day and it's on every tourists must-see list. Eating pasteis in Belém is imperative and no trip to Lisbon is complete without it.

The oldest, and some say the very best place to go for pasteis in Lisbon however, is the Confeitaria Nacional in Praca da  Figuiera. On a busy Sunday they've been known to sell 50,000 pasteis to the sweet toothed masses. 

If you're in Lisbon around Christmas time don't forget to try the traditional fried pumpkin fritters...light, round shaped cakes coated in sugar and cinnamon, known as brinhois. My late granny used to make these so eating them was a nostalgic moment.

So what's all the pasteis fuss about? Well for starters my Lisboa pastries were way creamier than what I've tasted here at home and they're served warm, with crispy, flaky pastry - I can still hear that crunch of my first nibble.  The custard was the perfect consistency, not too thick or runny, with a divine hint of vanilla and fragrant cinnamon. 

My aha moment with the pasteis was when I learnt how to eat it properly. I saw an old lady at Nata outside the main gate of Castelo St Jorge doing it like the locals do; she started by scooping out the centre with a tiny teaspoon, then she ate the 'cup' part, slowly. So clearly this is a process that mustn't be rushed. The pastel de nata is a pastry that demands you take your time to savour it. 

One pastel is seldom enough which is unfortunate for one's waistline,  but who actually cares...no-one. So go large and double your gym time when you get home. It'll be worth the pain.

PS. @lateralpaul tells me there's a Portuguese deli in Voortrekker road that sells amazing pasteis... a visit is on my list.

 My breakfast most mornings, pastel de nata with a galao (cafe latte)...

In Mouraria obvs...

Pumpkin fritters, another fave of mine - my granny used to make amazing ones...

Cafe Martinho, the oldest in Lisbon...

The pasteis at Nata... note the teaspoon...

No idea what this soft fluffy pastry is called but it was fab...

More fritters....