★ Day out with City Sightseeing South Africa and Simons at Groot Constantia! As Capetonians we are privy to the sublime natural surroundings of our city every day. The mountains are always there, towering like giants above the concrete jungle and the vast blue ocean which surrounds us and every day, commuters from the southern suburbs pass by the immense forests that cover the side of the mountain like a think green winter coat. We steal glimpses of our gorgeous city hurrying to and from work, in and out of meetings and through the windows of our homes, the gym or the office and during the summer months most of us venture out and to the beaches or on forests walks and hikes. But take it from us, the Two Boring Chicks, you ain’t seen Cape Town till you’ve experienced it from the top of the City Sightseeing Red Bus. The wind in your air, the open top bus and the story of our incredible city, being whispered in your ear, is the perfect way to spend an afternoon with friends or a romantic day with that someone special. It’s really NOT just for tourists. This hop-on-hop-off bus ride takes you from the Aquarium at the V&A, through the city centre and throughout the journey one enjoys a rhetoric of interesting, unusual facts and information that would surprise even the most knowledgeable local historical buffs and with so many vehicles throughout the country the fact that City Sightseeing is Carbon Neutral is a double plus for us. We hopped off in Long Street and changed from the ‘red tour’ to the ‘blue tour’ which took us out of the city, past UCT and Kirstenbosch (where you can get off, if you’d like to explore these botanical gardens, which I discovered is the third most popular tourist attraction, next to the Waterfront and Table Mountain). Then it’s on to the top of Constantia Neck, where, once again, we disembarked and changed tours (purple this time), en route to Groot Contantia. The Wine Tour Bus is the most recent addition to the City Sightseeing experience and well worth the detour. The journey takes you down into the very heart of Constantia wine ‘country’ – and I say country for a very good reason. This small, but vibrant suburb is bustling with horse and wine farms and the people who make this their home, do it at their own pace and with their own style. The Wine Tour stops at three of the regions finest estates: Groot Constantia, Baeu Constantia and Eagles Nest, where you can opt to just wonder around and soak up the beauty or stop in for some wine tasting or a lunch at one of the Cape Towns finest eateries. The bus arrives and departs from these stops every 20min, but be warned – do not get carried away with the wine tastings as missing the last bus back to town is a real possibility. Our stop at Groot Constantia, the oldest wine producing estate in the country, took us to Simons where the stunning views of the mountain and vineyards beg visitors to enjoy their meal, al fresco. In the event of less sunny weather, the move indoors will not disappoint. The rustic-meets-modern interior includes clues of the estates heritage with a gorgeous little lounge area which is reminiscent of the furniture that the rich and famous might have had in the 1700s as well as an upstairs area which looks out over the surrounds. The service is impeccable and the waitrons knowledgeable, with clear favourites on the menu, be it starters, mains or desert (which is where our meal got tricky as you will see). We sat outside on the terrace and were greeted with a bottle of High Constantia Cap Classique, a bottle of bubbly older than my now nearly 5 year old son. Having eaten at Jonkershuis, also at Groot Constantia, many times before, I must admit, I had already conquered up ideas of a rustic, flavour filled and traditional Cape style lunch. I was wrong. Although the menu smacks of ‘classic cape’ it has that opulent, fine dining flair, without the expense, so if you are looking for gorgeous cuisine that won’t max out your bank account, we suggest an afternoon (or evening) at Simons. For starters we enjoyed the Smoked Salmon which is served with slivers of golden brown, toasted banquettes, crème fraiche and a light, wholesome salad and Bobotie Dumplings. This entrée definitely ranks right up there with some of my very favourites. Imagine three sweet, crispy biscuit-like pockets stuffed with traditional Cape Malay bobotie, lightly coated with an icing sugary sprinkle and served with a tart, creamy yoghurt and salsa. It’s a clever spin on a classic, local favourite which can sometimes be quite heavy as part of a three course meal. Our Pork and Duck mains came beautifully presented and each dish was colourful and cooked to perfection. The Slow Braised Pork Belly was soft and dissolved in your mouth after just one bite. The Citrus Glazed Duck, was crispy on the outside with soft, smooth textured white meat hidden inside. Exactly the way it should be. Accompanying each dish: greens and starches specifically chosen to enhance the textures sand flavours of the meat and I loved the sneaky little roasted gooseberry I found perched on top of he pork, like a cherry on top of your favourite desert. Speaking of desert! We um’d and ah’d over which to have. The GM suggested the new Lemon Curd filled Meringue Cupcake (not on the menu yet), my friend wanted the Chocolate Brownie Sundae and I had my eye on the Crème Brulee. In the end we did the only thing possibly, we had all three. The Cupcake was amazing and the Sundae was decadent, chocolaty and huge, but it was the Crème Brulee that stole the show. At first I toiled with how to describe it, but as I sat there, clutching the bowl, refusing the share, it came to me! Think custard flavoured candyfloss. Not that dense sticky circus stuff you get in the bag, but the fresh spun pink gold on a stick. Now you get it, right? After complimenting the new chef we headed to the tasting room where we were treated to some of the estates best vintages. I wish I could expand on this, but all I could of was how to get another bowl of that Crème Brulee and everything was lost to me, so we suggest wine tasting first, then Crème Brulee. I love the fact that Simons is about sustainability as well and that all the herbs are picked fresh, daily from their own country garden and whenever possible, they source ingredients from local Constantia suppliers. The only thing I am disappointed about is that once the new menu is ready, it won’t include the Bobotie Dumplings. The walk back to the bus stop cleared our heads and did our tummies the world of good and yes, we nearly missed the last bus back to town. On the way up, the bus ride was quiet and everyone pretty much kept to themselves. This was not the case on the journey back to town. It was quite clear everyone had enjoyed the wine and the Wine Tour as much as we had. City Sightseeing has been nominated as wild card entrant in this year’s Klink Awards and are every bit deserving of your vote. winetourismsouthafrica.co.za/klink/ review by Sway
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 09:58:19 +0000
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