La Petite Colombe

There are no shortage of good restaurants in Cape Town. Two made it on the runners-up list of the World's 50 best restaurants (63rd and 73rd position to be exact) and not only are they the only ones from South Africa to do so, they are the only ones from the continent. One of the restaurants is La Colombe in Constantia which recently opened a sister restaurant, aptly named La Petite Colombe, in Franschheok. We celebrated a special someone's birthday with the Gourmand tasting menu and wine pairings from the neighbouring Cape vineyards.

Gourmand Menu

Poached oyster, pernod, grapefruit, verjuice, dill, apple, celery

Yellowfin tuna, aubergine, miso, kalamansi, avocado

'Cape Wagyu' beef, scallop, bone marrow, celeriac, wild garlic,
horseradish, gochujang

Ravioli of langoustine, curried hake veloute, cauliflower, coriander

"Meet the chefs"

Palate cleanser

Linefish, soubise, smoked mussel, squid, endive, chorizo, creamed leeks

Seared duck breast, turnip, Jerusalem artichoke, savoy cabbage, rhubarb and lavender

Foxenberg goat's cheese, goat's milk caramel, koign amain, guava, tarmarind

Valrhona Itakuja cremeux, pineapple, mango, macadamia, passionfruit, lemongrass

La Petite Colombe Treasures

lapetitecolombe.com

Cape Town

Our first visit to the African continent started in Cape Town, South Africa. Wanting to see the natural beauty of the area, we spent most of our time in the Cape Winelands and did a day trip to see Cape Town and the surrounding area. We then flew across the country to Kruger National Park, one of the best areas to view wildlife in Africa. 

There are numerous things to see and do in and around Cape Town. We woke up early one morning to catch sunrise near the colourful beach huts at St. James beach and then drove to see the African penguins (formerly known as Jackass penguins) at Boulders Beach. Cape Point, the most south-western point of Africa lies in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, just an hour from the city. From there, one of the world's most scenic drives runs north along the coast through Hout Bay and Camps Bay. Our last stop was on Signal Hill to take in views of Cape Town and the city's most prominent landmark, Table Mountain.

The Cape Winelands is a short drive from the city and offers world class wine and restaurants. We enjoyed tastings at some beautiful vineyards around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek and stayed at Babylonstoren, a historic Cape Dutch farm.