I was lucky enough to be invited back to Spasie by Zomato, my favourite food app on the planet. We had such a great time the night before, I’m glad they’re not sick of my face yet šĀ I was welcomed with a glass of bubbly upon entry at the garage reception of Spasie. It really is one of the most well hidden gems of the city.
Since the Zomato team were the first to arrive, we were ushered to the single, large dining table that Spasie presents. I sat next to a physiotherapist, her brother who is also a South African chef who is working in the carribean – it was great to get his insights about food too, a couple from Denmark opposite me and the other bloggers who had been invited by Zomato.
Spasie’s concept is that there is a different chef each weekend or occasion, therefore the menu is always different. On this occasion the menu was created by chef Jaco Redelinghuys.Ā And what a small world it is. It turns out that Jaco is the chef of Yoco, the small cafe we visited at Rust-en-Vrede in Durbanville last weekend! Who knew from breakfasts eggs and toasties, he would be such a wonderful chef! Jaco welcomed us at the start of the evening to explain what would be on the menu.
Our first course was the amuse bouche which absolutely blew my mind. A mini ravioli (known as a agnolotti apparently) with a mushroom filing (or muchsroom according to the menu >.< ) and smoked olive oil dressing, it tasted like a warm mushroom pizza, including woodfired smokey base taste. WOW! I could have eaten an entire bowl of these things! This was paired with the Protea Chardonnay 2015, which was delicious.
The next course was a white truffle panna cotta with dehydrated parma ham, goats cheese, popcorn crumble and celery and herb salad. I don’t feel this dish would have been anything without the goatsmilk cheese. The soft touch of sour pulled the entire dish together and made it delicious. I’m not a truffle fan, but it was used subtly and was well balanced. The texture of the panna cotta was perfect and the caramel popcorn crumbs were an awesome addition of sweetness and crunch.
This was paired with the Protea chenin blanc, which I didn’t particular like (but I’m over dry white wines at the moment). Their rep told us they use decorative bottles so you can easily tear off the label and use it as a vase or candle stick holder.
The third course was a sorbet. Rosemary and pineapple, what a WEIRD combination! It tastes like ginger without the zing! Totally surprising. It was great, but I believe was the fault in the meal as sorbet isn’t very filling.
Our fourth course was chicken drumsticks (lollipops), potato square and cauliflower puree (if I remember correctly).
The final course was a delicious shortbread, chocolate ganache with lemongrass pops of gel and dehydrated orange peel. My picture of the menu didn’t come out so I can’t say exactly what it is š but it was very tasty! The gel drops tasted like nothing then all of a sudden, lemongrass! The tangerine (or may have been clementine) curd also cut through the sweetness beautifully.
Overall it was another delicious dinner at Spasie, however, the last time I visited Spasie we received bread at the start of the meal, two meat courses and sorbet wasn’t considered a course. I was still hungry when I left, and so were the skinny girls! SO I know it’s not just me being greedy! They were very generous with the wine though.
To wrap up the night some of the girls had a game of Twister which wrapped up the night off with happy faces and flushed cheeks.
One of the best things about Zomato meetups is that you get to meet andĀ chat to other bloggers, young women (or men) about their work and passions. It’s really interesting to learn what other millennials are doing in the Mother city and to chat about our common interests, I had a blast meeting these girls!
Thank you so much to Zomato and to Spasie for having me! *Penguins*
It was so awesome meeting you! Hopefully we’ll catch up again at another event š