As a married couple or couple in a long term relationship, with a child/children or not, it is important to keep in touch with your relationship, to stay present and current.
it is so easy to just get comfortable in our roles; parent, spouse, daughter/ son in law. And in this comfort you can lose your sense of self and your individuality in your marriage/ relationship. That is why I believe in frequently taking time off to reassess and regain momentum. There are many ways to do this, depending on what part of your life you want to work on. And of course, having supportive relationships is paramount. For example, you can’t go away for a weekend to spend time with ‘yourself’, leaving your child behind by himself, this is where grandparents are priceless.
My husband and I enjoy taking time off and working on our relationship, I do believe that’s why we still like each other. We do overnight hotel stays, weekends away and date night, as often as we can( life usually gets in the way). We do this to keep the spark alive. It’s very difficult to revive it when it’s dead, so ensure its longevity .
Enough babbling, tonight was date night. Babysitter; sorted, restaurant; booked, killer dress and shoes; done.
Tonight the plan was fine- dining out. Restaurant: Harbour house Kalk Bay, Western Cape, this is a Mediterranean restaurant. We actually have not been here before but we’ve heard raving reviews about their food and we know and like the owner.
First Impressions: place is huge, crisp table linen with good glassware- this is very important to me. Reception was good and welcoming. Waiter very likeable and looks clued up. Top points at this stage.
Menu: looks amazing, different varieties of fish, adventurous flavour combinations. But price a little steep, even for fine dining.
Then it starts going wrong when we’re given Ciabatta bread for the table, with no butter or condiments- just dry. Disappointing but let’s carry on.
Starters- Potato and Parmesan Gnocchi, served with roasted butternut, grilled artichokes, mushrooms, sage, pine nuts, truffle Parmesan sauce. And the verdict? Too much going on, on one plate! Presentation: not fine dining. Looks thrown together on the plate, beautiful colors but no thought about plating.
Taste: amazing flavours! The butternut is more crisps than roasted. The sage leaves, also nice and crispy, mushrooms so delicious. But the actual Gnocchi is few and far between. As for artichokes and pine nuts- can’t see or taste them. As much as the individual elements of this dish are scrumptious, the whole dish is just not jelling together. This plate does not make any sense. And the sauce is not doing much to bind everything together.
Drinks: hubby sticking to draught beer- CBC( local). For starters I’m drinking my favourite white wine: Haute Cabrierre Chardonnay/ Pinot Noir blend. With mains; Haute Cabrierre Pinot Noir.
Mains:
1. Grilled fillet of beef, served with potato fondant, mushroom ragout, green beans and truffle cream sauce.The fillet is perfectly cooked and the combination with the mushrooms and the sauce, just melts in your mouth! But the fondant potato was a bit of an excuse and the green beans don’t add anything to the dish. Presentation could be better as well.
2. Rack of Karoo lamb with chives and mustard coating, served with potato, cream spinach and rosemary jus. The meat is again good quality and cooked to perfection. But the cream spinach was lumpy and rosemary jus just missing something, can’t put a finger on it. Presentation again does not spell fine dining.
Dessert: New York style baked cheese cake, with a berry compote and cinnamon ice cream. My favourite part of this was that ice cream- not too sweet and a little grainy, quite refreshing. But the actual cheese cake was thick and uneventful.
Overall, they need to work on presentation and sticking to simple ingredients, appreciate simplicity with good flavours but the service was good, the food full of flavour and the company even better. So a good night 🙂
