[Review] Crystal Towers’ Tower Restaurant.

When I joined Twitter a few years ago, hardly anyone was on in Cape Town so @CapeTown was a handle I thought of. Unfortunately it was actually taken which always left me curious as to whom was running the account. So when I was invited to join “@CapeTown” and The Entertainer for dinner at Crystal Towers’ Tower Restaurant at the start of the month, I was really excited, curious and happy.

I drove to Crystal Towers (African Pride Hotel Group) were I was ushered into the modern and funky dining area of the Towers restaurant. Naturally I greeted the kitchen staff on the way through to the private dining area. I went to boarding school! Always make friends with the cook, duh. I took a seat in the dining room and waited for others to arrive.

While I have avoided events where I reveal who I am for many years, I was feeling positive and happy to meet other bloggers and learn of their experiences in the digital landscape. They arrived moments later and all took their seat at the fun, purple, private dining table. I was very happy to have stolen a seat next to Cape Town where I could learn all about…her 🙂

We were invited to Towers Restaurant by @CapeTown and The Entertainer. Originally a 214 voucher book, it’s now a digital app that allows you to get 241 services across the greater Cape Town area. Their representative (apologies for not recalling the lady’s name) kindly told us about the origins of the app (Dubai) and how the service works. Usually 241 deals are for places that you don’t want to go but The Entertainer has wonderful restaurants and services such as massages at the Vineyard Spa (Angsana), steaks at Barristers and snacks at the Woodstock Lounge, there’s literally something in every area for every taste.

We had a wonderful server who took our order and made recommendations when I asked. For starters, I had the pork belly. Laying on a bed of lentils which were sweet and sour with bacon and fresh herbs, it was perfectly cooked (decent crackling!).

I then had the opportunity to talk to IamNotMany, the lady behind the Cape Town handle. I was fascinated to hear of her work, how she had created the CapeTown handle in order to make a connection with Capetonians, with her aim being to help those living in Cape Town, and how digital communication can result in real life changes and services for the people who share a city. Her work is most fascinating and I would love to spend more time with her learning on how we can all participate in improving our city.

After chatting, our mains arrived. I had the lamb cutlets. After seeing cutlets cooked on TV shows a million times, I was really keen to try these and they were superb. My idea of a beautiful meal is one that you think back on time and time again. I can wholeheartedly say that I have thought about these lamb chops many a day since this meal. WOW! I could eat them this second! They were cooked (and left to rest) to perfection (pink but not bloody). They were accompanied by a type of lamb cracking, if I can put it that way. Crispy pieces of lamb fat (with some meat) that just “oomphed” up the flavour. Butternut puree sat underneath a pulled lamb ravioli with fresh salad leaves (watercress)? I wasn’t a big fan of the corn just because I would have preferred another source of sweetness, however, the others commented on how much they liked it. So I guess that’s just personal taste for you 🙂

For dessert we had a trio of desserts. This was my least favourite course. I’m not sure if our diary just isn’t as rich as the UK’s but it’s not the first time that the desserts in a beautiful restaurant hasnt’ competed with their mains.  The trio had an orange cake crust, chocolate mousse and ganache top. I appreciated the chopped strawberries, more restaurants definitely need to do that. The ice cream wasn’t very rich (can’t even recall the flavour now) and the chocolate fondant was fine. By any other restaurant standard, these desserts were fine. But the first two courses at The Towers was so exceptional that I didn’t feel the desserts compared. #LambForLife hehe

The wine was paired perfectly which made the whole experience WONDERFUL. This was one of the best meals I’ve had in years and I really have to commend the kitchen for such beautiful artwork. HUGE thank you to @CapeTown and The Entertainer for having me.

WIN (Closed)

If you’d like to experience dinner at restaurants, like the Towers Restaurant, then you better get the Entertain app! To help you on your way, I’m giving away some 1 Month Subscription codes. The Entertainer runs for a year so a month voucher is perfect for you to test out and then buy the new one come January 2015

To win, simply tweet, “Make my day @BCTCBlog by giving me 241 meals with @EntertainerZA! #EntertainerChick”

OR

FACEBOOK/BLOG: Comment below with the same idea, “Make my day @BCTCBlog by giving me 241 meals with @EntertainerZA! #EntertainerChick” (Tagging me may help me find your entry.)

Competition starts on Monday 20th of October and ends on Sunday the 26th of October. Please read T’s & C’s .