Three Virtues Restaurant

It's rare to find a vegetarian restaurant that has a bigger menu than Indian vegetarian restaurants. Three Virtues Restaurant, located near the corner of Jordan and Nathan roads in Kowloon, has a traditional Chinese menu, but with only vegetarian components - usually with mushroom or tofu substitues (at least in the items we had). Most items would also pass the vegan test. We went twice, both during dinner, and the place is packed - which is always a good sign with regards to quality. The cost is very reassonable, they have English menus and is at least a very a different take on Chinese food.

Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden

Amongst the skyscrapers and hustle of Hong Kong, the Chi Lin Nunnery is a quiet oasis, easily accessible from the city centre. It has some stunning wooden architecture, with amazing attention to detail. In addition to the shrine rooms, there are a few amazing lotus pools, some very large bonsais and quite a large focus on crystal rocks.

Across the road, the Nan Lian garden, is effectively an extension of the nunnery. It includes a number of focused displays, mostly free, including a presentation of timber architecture, pottery and a rock garden, with amazing landscaping.

There is also a stunning vegetarian restaurant behind a stunning water feature (below). The food is very good, although maybe a bit on the expensive side. The restaurant has limited opening times, but highly recommended.

Macau Tarts

There are a lot of stalls selling Macau Egg Tarts; but this stall near the St Dominic's Church (on way to the steps) has it for a gat price and great service. Efficient process also - order with the lady, and pick up at the other window.

The Vegetarian Restaurant and Po Lin Monastery

The Po Lin Monastery, located next to the Big Buddha, has a fairly well known vegetarian restaurant. The menu apparently changes regularly, with two set course options of approx 5 items, comprising of soup, spring rolls and some vegetarian mains. The food is quite impressive and very decently priced (given the amount); the highlight being the pumpkin soup on today's menu - a gelatinous, noodle based soup that was very different to the usual smooth butternut/pumpkin soup from South Africa.

Fujiyama Mama

Hong Kong is full of interesting restaurants; perched in the shopping complex at The Peak, with spectacular views of the city, one could just open a normal restaurant. Instead, Fujiyama Mama is themed on Japanese Rock - complete with the memorabilia, looped playback of Japanese rock bands on the sound system and video screens; and great Japanese food. It is expensive - paying the tourist tax - but the food is excellent, and the views are spectacular - so it is worth it!

Want some chouchou with that?

Pronounced as "shoo shoo", almost very meal in Hell Bourg comes with chouchou - also known as chayote, a gourd like vegetable that is somewhat like a melon. I have had it before elsewhere, but creole cooking does seem to elevate it far more than other cooking.

Fruit Rum

The hotel in Hell Bourg, had a fairly large collection of home made rum, made from various fruits - on the left orange, the litchis, then orange,pineapple and cinnamon mix. There are a few others, and I have seen similar in another hotel in Hell Bourg (where we went for dinner) and our current hotel on the west coast - but not the variety. 

Le Bistrot de la Porte des Lilas

Despite the strong Indian heritage, vegetarian food is quite limited in Reunion. Actually, I find food to be  overly expensive - especially given the island's fertility, I would expect more food production on the island leading to cheaper prices.While food in Reunion obviously has French roots, the aim cuisine is creole - which has a lot of Indian influence.

 We found this bistro rather fortuitously today, after parking nearby while stopping over in St Denis. The main thing that drew my attention was a full blown vegan menu in addition to the standard menu. The chef was the most fluent in English, so he gave us some recommendations and the meal was superb! The menu itself was more fusion French than creole, which was in itself a pleasant change.

M had the vegan option - soya, creole goat curry style. I had the line fish - amazingly juicy and tender. 

Mosaic

I first read of Mosaic when it stormed to the top half of the annual Top 10 list of restaurants in South Africa. The restaurant is the real attraction of the Orient Hotel, and its relative remoteness means that staying over after a long dinner is preferable.

Mosaic was definitely the best fine dining experience I have had. Compared to Test Kitchen, I found the food more playful, interesting and yes, more tasty. Compared to Harrford House, the experience was warmer and more intimate. The decor keeps with the hotel's overall theme, with many intimate booths instead of tables. The service was excellent- managing the right balance of being always available to fill the glasses, and giving enough space to enjoy the experience.

The dining experience starts even before you enter the restaurant - a small tart with black truffle and a vegetarian wrap in rice paper. Deceptively simple, yet an amazing start.

Together with the freshly baked bread, the first of the appetizer courses appeared - a line of biscuits/breads with a few different mouses; and the highly memorable butternut macaroon. No really, even after the full meal, the butternut macaroon comes up as one of the highlights. This was followed by "corn on the cob" - a playful take that forever mars any future corn on the cob.

The chef, Chantell Dartnall, then personally came around to go through the menu and the highlights. To give a measure of how good the service was, not only did she remember that M is a precatarian, she also went through the rest of the menu to ensure that there were no issues with any of the other items. The current menu - Roots & Shoots - is itself a work of art, and in addition to the main menu, there are additional pages detailing individual items such as the components, the inspiration behind the menu item and and even the source of the key ingredients. There are actually two menu options on offer - the Market is approximately 6 courses while the Grande is approximately 9 courses. We had the market and it was just over 3 hours; not sure I will ever have the appetite for the Grande!

The last of the appetizers was the beautifully presented Tuna ceviche topped with salmon roe. It was the best ceviche I have had outside Peru.

The first course was a beetroot course in approximately 5 different preparations. M absolutely raves about this course - and the beetroot mouse was amazing. The salt crusted beetroot, which was sliced tableside, was equally impressive - and was the first of a few playful menu elements.

The second course was my favorite - not only for the amazing presentation but also for its incredible taste. Fava beans, courgette and peas have just never tasted better.

The next course featured an amazing contraption. A repurposed coffee percolator, with some fresh vegetables was used to heat up and infuse a seafood broth which would eventually go over a scallop dish. The hot broth made some of the drier ingredients on the scallop dish perk up, bringing the dish to life. The broth was amazing - the preparation even more so.

Apparently the scallop dish was not suitable for precatarians, so M had a langoustine with tomato dish. 

Next was a palette cleanser, of a carrot sorbet and candied carrots. M loves carrots, so this shot up to the top of her favorite courses for the evening.

For the main course, I had the roast goose breast and goose liver, while M had the butter poached halibut. This was my least favorite course - it was not bad, just not as memorable as the other courses.

The desert course had two options and featured a spork. The first option was a chocolate course with a cake, ice cream and other chocolate pieces. It was a good desert, but not as spectacular as the "Recipe for Desert" - a deconstructed almond cake, together with a side of mango and passion fruit jelly (in the eggshell), almond milk (in the bottle) and rose essence (the love potion). Put it all together and eat - absolutely spectacular!

There was offcourse petit fours and coffee to end off the spectacular meal.

Mosaic was an amazing experience, and a great meal. To paraphrase the words of the sommelier, "anyone can make amazing food with great ingredients, true skill lies in making amazing food with humble ingredients". Mosaic was an experience that I want to repeat- again and again.

The Orient Hotel

Building a boutique hotel outside Attridgeville would not make much sense in most times - but the Orient Hotel is more of a destination on its own; not just a hotel. Set inside a private reserve, the hotel provides a peaceful gateway, a short distance from Johannesburg. The hotel is offcourse best known for its restaurant Mosaic, but while you are there, visiting the Tienie Pritchard Museum is definitely worth while, and you can take walks in the reserve also.

The hotel is set in an oriental theme, but not in a tacky fashion (ala Monte Casino). Underlying the theme, it is clear that it is the 21st century. Each room is decorated to a theme of a current or fabled oriental region. I had initially booked "Nineveh", but was upgraded to "Samarkand". It's 5 star luxury complete with absolutely fabulous service.

Room rates include a great breakfast in the morning. It starts off with freshly baked pastry and a fruit smoothie.

This is followed by a course of four small dishes - fruits, oats, smoked salmon and a berry panna cotta. 

The main course was French toast with ham and basil pesto for me, and a mushroom egg bennedict for M.

Yes, it's an expensive getaway but Mosaic is definitely worth staying over for.

Art of Food

Having "gourmet" as part of your name usually implies trying very hard to be posh, but not quite getting there. Art of Food in Dullstroom lives up to this stereotype- it's more Tashas than Test Kitchen. The food is very good, and very well priced; but portions are quite large and so is not very conducive to a multi course meal. Of the three dinners we had in Dullstroom, this was the best - so if you are staying over in Dullstroom- make a reservation.

The Test Kitchen

The Test Kitchen has been the No 1 ranked restaurant in South Africa for a few years now (and also has significant global attention). Located at The Old Biscuit Mill in Cape Town, the restaurant itself is rather relaxed; with an open kitchen where the patrons can see the chefs working their magic. The restaurant has a long waiting list - I booked in March for an August date - and it was definitely worth the wait.

We had the tasting menu, lasting approximately 3 hours. The food was perhaps a bit too slow paced - but otherwise the service was excellent. However, I would not say that it was my best fine dining experience. A corporate dinner at the 2-Michellin starred Dolder Grand in Zurich was amazing in its oppulence, setting and off course its food and I would rate Hartford House as the best fine dining experience (despite its colonial setting). That said, the Springbok Rose (main course at Test Kitchen on Saturday) is probably the best dish I have had.

Overall, the Test Kitchen is definitely worth getting a reservation for. The prices are fairly reasonable (although the waiting time should definitely be used to save up). However, I don't know if I would specifically plan another trip around going to the Test Kitchen (although the past weekend was a long weekend, hence I targeted this specific date). It's a great experience - but not necessarily a repeat one.

The bread was fresh out of the oven - with an interesting variety. The pie like one was definitely the most praised.

The first appetiser

The second appetiser - Tuna and Cabbage 3 ways - maybe the best cabbage dish I have ever had?

The pickled fish starter was amazing - my second favourite of the day. Layered with a variety of fish, it was somewhat like a sashimi course.

My second course was guinea fowl and foie gras. I wasn't as enthusiastic as the rest of the table; who raved about the scallop and mirin tea (below).

The third course was the choice between the line fish and the pork belly. The pork belly was amazing.

There was a variety in the main courses. The Springbok Rose (above), was by far my best dish of the day - in terms of both food and presentation. M raved about the parsnips in the vegetarian mains although the lamb (below) didn't get too many wild adulations.

The meal concluded with two deserts - Tropical (above) had a fruity theme, while the Milk Stout Sponge was more cake and pastry. They were both great tasting deserts - but I found both to be quite disjointed, especially the Milk Stout Sponge.