Just the 7 starters for Tim!

---

Left the lovely Rothman manor in Swellendam and headed to Franshhoek. Andreas (at Rothman manor) suggested the best route for us to drive in terms of scenery and he wasn't wrong. All the driving here has been enjoyable as the scenery really is stunning. (Should mention that when got in our car to leave we found that it has been washed! We like this level of service)

Franshhoek is in one of the wine regions of South Africa and generally regarded as one of the 'foodie' destinations. It certainly didn't disappoint and we ate some fabulous food whilst we were here. One of the great things about South Africa is that it is cheap. We can eat in great restaurants which we could never afford at home for the price of a run of the mill meal in the UK. Also everywhere is fairly relaxed so you never feel out of place and you are not under pressure to buy a expensive bottle of wine or have 3 courses etc. They do a range of wine by the glass and even in a posh restaurant a nice (and big) glass of sauvignon blanc is only 22 rand (£2)!

We arrived here yesterday and started with lunch and a general explore. Franschhoek is really just a village so it didn't take too long to wander around. It is in a stunning location and there are gorgeous views which ever way you look.

As this is the winelands we thought we best do some wine tasting! We started with Mont Rochelle which is just on the outskirts of the village and is within walking distance. The wine tasting is really well set up in South Africa and although you often pay a small fee (20 rand in this case) it is all very relaxed and you can sit and enjoy the wine and the view and you don't feel under pressure to buy vast quantities.


Today was the day of excessive eating and drinking! Franschhoek's motto is Eat, sleep, drink and we seemed to do all 3 in abundance during our weekend visit!

We started the day by visiting the Dieu Donne winery which is a few km out of town and on a hill. We decided to walk so we could enjoy the views (and burn a few calories in preparation!) On the way we passed same fabulous houses including one with a nice collection of classic sports cars in the driveway. Given all the advice we read before we came here implied we were guaranteed to be robbed at knifepoint or carjacked at some point it seems funny walking around here past cars like Bentley GTs , Audi R8 and BMW M3 just parked in the street often with the roofs down.

The view from the vineyard was amazing. The panorama at the top of my page so doesn't do it justice. We just had a soft drink here as it seemed rather too early to start drinking.

Our next stop (after collecting the car and making ourselves look a bit more glamorous - we need to blend in with the trendy & wealthy wine set!) we headed to Rickety Bridge. We had a great lunch here. All the wineyards have great restaurants attached. This one did gourmet picnics. You ate it at the restaurant overlooking the vines (no sitting on the floor here). I decided to have the accompanying white wine selection that went with it (3 small glasses of different wines that matched various dishes). The picnic contained things like marinated prawn skewers, chicken legs, salmon roulade, herbed potato salad, biltong pate, local cheeses, olives, figs and fruit skewers.

We then went to Vrede An Lust which was (surprise, surprise) a winery in a stunning location. We did some tasting here and ended up buying a few bottles. One only set us back 20 rand (less than £2) and another more expensive one we are risking bringing back in a suitcase.

We stopped in Allee Bleu on the way back for a drink in their courtyard and sat in some very cool giant chairs listening to a band.

After a rest (all this eating and drinking can be tiring) it was time to eat and drink. We had made reservations at Le Bon Vivant which was a 30 second stroll from our hotel. It was a lovely meal. They had an option of “a taste of everything” on their menu which Tim was only too happy to take on.

We ate:
Bread with Vegetable Salsa and Anchovy cream.
Laura - Terrine of goats cheese and red pepper confit, celery marshmallows, carrot and celery salad
Tim - A “taste of 7 starters” including Prawns & Chorizo, Tuna and ginger, Foie Gras and Duck, Scallops and a Red Onion soup
Both - A palate cleanser of Tuna Tartar and Curry foam
Laura - Monkfish and Pancetta, anchovy beignet, potato gaufrettes, orange butter sauce.
Tim - Duck breast, ballotine of quail and kumquats, citrus cous-cous, apple/vanilla jus.
Both (that is one each not one between) - A taste of all desserts (there were 11!) this included things ranging from summer berry souffle to basil sorbet.
Plus a bottles worth of nice Sauvingnon Blanc and 1 litre of mineral water and a tea (guess who had that!) - total bill was around £65.
Probably the best meal we've ever had, certainly the most innovative.

---