Easter lunch in Shangri-La

entering the dream

We ate Easter lunch at Mosaic, the restaurant at the Orient Boutique Hotel outside Pretoria.

No, that statement does not quite do it justice. We had one of the best dining experiences of our lives over five hours in one of the most beautiful dining rooms inside one of the most gorgeous hotels we have ever seen. On Easter Sunday in South Africa.

art nouveau detail

The design of the Orient Boutique Hotel itself and Mosaic's dining room is other-worldly. Being there is like floating through an Art Nouveau dream in a Henry James novel set in Shangri-La or Xanadu. Many people opt to dine at Mosaic as part of a whole weekend at the hotel. And it would be wise after an evening spent indulging the Grande Degustation menu accompanied by the perfectly selected South African Enthusiast or International Connoisseur wine-pairings. The hotel is 45 minutes from Joburg and it would not be a good idea to drive home at night in the dark after an evening enthusing or connoisseuring.

But our reservation was at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon. When we left to drive home, at least it was still light out. But that still didn't make me ready to leave the dream and return to reality. But unfortunately Vince had to hop on a plane later that evening for a trip to Dubai and Cairo. Dinner over. Dream over. Poof. Wake up! But first ...

Like Scheherazade, I was conjuring up the culinary genie in a bottle ...

Poof! me and Chantel

Once you get past the opulent setting, it is time to concentrate on the raison d'être. The food. The genie in the Mosaic lamp responsible for the fine dining is Chantel Dartnall. Chantel is the Eat Out Chef of the Year. Everything I have read about Chantel and her accomplishments is true. Everything. And everything about the menu was perfection. From the ingredients to the combinations to the preparation to the presentation. I couldn't take pictures of all the plates - we were there for five hours and they served plate after plate after plate! Vince has lost all patience with me on that score. But some of them were just too pretty to believe.

Like this sunflower made of carrot jelly and orange blossom cream. A thing of beauty for all the senses! 1000 words are just not enough.

Or this amazing construction.The Millionaire's Nest Egg. Inspired by weaver bird's nests,the nest was created with delicate courgette tagliatelle, upon which three miniature quail eggs, each with a different flavored liquid center, are placed. How did she do that? And sliced truffles on top!

Or the Mousse de Mer. The plate looked like a piece of art nouveau majolica! Hard to believe it was edible. Langoustines and risotto on a beach of ground dehydrated tomato skins! With a shot of rooibos tea and tomato on the side. Crazy delish!

Vince and I parted ways on the main course. I had the Bouillabaisse. Kakavia soup, fruits de mer and rouille. Vince had the Birds of a Feather. Quail, guinea fowl, capon and wholegrain mustard. (We could have used a third person with us to order the other main choice. Agneau aux Herbes de Provence. Free Range Lamb, Black Olive, Herbes de Provence.)






As expected, our wine pairings parted ways as well on the main course. We did take a copy of all the wine selections to bring with us on our next wine purchasing foray.

Mosaic even bottles its own vintage semillon / sauvignon blanc blend called First Kiss which they serve with the Rainbow Trout, Lime and Vanilla Velouté. Sommelier Germaine Lahodey gave us the secret phone number for the winemaker!

The cheese course came with a cheese plate already loaded up with some selections accompanied by a groaning side cart. This Karoo Crumble was especially noteworthy!

I had to drag the camera out for two more dessert dishes. I just had to! Have you ever seen anything as beautiful as the presentation for this Dark Valrhona Chocolate composition with house-made cherries? Well we hadn't either! Food calligraphy.

'Cept maybe this chocolate package of strawberries, rhubarb and yoghurt sorbet. There's my Easter orchid.












We will be back to dream the dream again someday. And we will stay over next time.

The Blue Train Diner

We stumbled upon a really cool diner in Sea Point after Sunday Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Good Hope down the street. The Atlantic Express Restaurant.

The Atlantic Express is housed in a carefully restored South African Railway carriage and based on the theme of a dining coach. The original coach was manufactured by the Birmingham Carriage and Wagon Company in England and was assembled in the Salt River Works of the South African Railway.

It was placed in service on the 4th of December, 1920 and was one of 10 coaches made. The carriage operated mainly on the Cape Town main line. More than 60 years to the day after it first went into service, the carriage opened its doors again, but this time to serve as a stationary diner.

The mid-Atlantic region where Vince and I lived in the USA is diner country and the Atlantic Express reminded me of another diner we sometimes frequented in Clinton, New Jersey. The Clinton Station Diner Restaurant. Like the Atlantic Express, the Clinton Station uses a carriage from an old railway as a dining car.

Like the Clinton Station, the Atlantic Express still had all its old brass fittings like this unused brass ashtrays.

But unlike the Clinton Station, the Atlantic Express windows had these really cool etchings of springbok.

Breakfast at the Atlantic Express was the perfect way to end our Blue Train visit to Cape Town. The kitchen car was even called The Blue Train! I mean, really.

King Tut ... again and again

The poster for Tutankahamun - His Tomb and His Treasures claimed that this was Tut's 1st time in Africa? How is this possible, you ask? Egypt is in Africa after all. 

It's because this exhibit is made up of all reproductions. More than 1,000 replicas reconstructed by master Egyptian craftsmen using traditional techniques.

No matter. I have seen the originals several times before. Beginning with The Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in the late 70's which is credited as being the first museum blockbuster exhibit. The one that started it all. Totally under the influence of Tut fever, I still have the poster and several pieces of souvenir jewelry from it!

Besides, as an archaeologist wannabe and newly minted Explorers Club member, I couldn't miss an exhibit about one of the most romantic and famous ancient treasure discoveries of the last century, could I? And one of the most influential, even inspiring the art deco design and fashion of the day. Nope.





 

light and sound show at the pyramids in Egypt; What would Howard Carter say?

Howard Carter and Lord Carnavon

One of the reasons this exhibit is so special is that the tomb and treasures of Tutankhamun have been faithfully reconstructed to scale. Not only does it give you a realistic impression of the overwhelming opulence of the offerings meant to serve the king on his magical journey into the Underworld, it is curated in such a way as to give you the sense of exactly how it must have felt to be Howard Carter as he unearthed his long-sought treasure in 1922.



 

the antechamber as Howard Carter would have first seen it

Carter first spied the treasures in the ante-chamber through a chiseled peephole in the rock wall. It was heaped high with the things Tutankhamun would have needed in the Underworld. Like his beds and thrones and chariots.

 

the outer gold coffin

The burial chamber contained a series of nesting shrines and coffins - one inside another - like a golden Matryoshka doll.  Each shrine was covered in gold leaf and reliefs featuring heiroglyphics and drawings which told the story of Tut's life and described his journey into the Underworld.

shrines, coffins and sarcophagi

the sarcophagi of Kinfg Tut

Finally, inside the center stone coffin was a series of nested sarcophagi.

Howard Carter and Tut

The most inner sarcophagus held the mummy of King Tut! Opening it up and seeing the mummy for the first time must have been amazing!

We were lucky to run into the world famous Egyptologist and star of “Chasing Mummies: The Amazing Adventures of Zahi Hawass,” a reality television series on the History Channel while we were touring the exhibit. Dr. Hawass was there being interviewed and recorded for a number of television and documentary videos in advance of his lecture series. Once again - under a relapse of my Tut fever - I had him sign one of his books which were on sale in the gift shop!

our group with Dr. Hawass

 
Tutankhamun- His Tomb and His Treasures continues its run at Silverstar Casino through March 15. Don't miss it!














 A true fan!

 

Lil' South Beach (sans the beach)

I have already professed my undying love for all things art deco so naturally we had to take a drive out to the East Rand to check out two art deco gems we had heard about, Springs in Ekurhuleni and the Rand Airport in Germiston.

Downtown Springs has been likened to South Beach in Miami or Old Hollywood because of its large number of small art deco buildings built during the mining boom days of the 30's. I get the similarity. There are a large number of low-slung art deco shops and businesses, and people in Springs do seem to prefer to live in Hollywood deco style bungalows.

And there are royal palm trees lining the streets adding to the South Beach feel. But sadly, no beach and no ocean.

But Springs does have the really cool deco Central Fire Station with its porthole windows ...

Rand Airport on the other hand really looks and feels like a Hollywood movie set from the 30's. And in fact, it has been used as the film set for a number of movies set in that era, such as The Amelia Earhart Story with Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

All the vintage aircraft flying around and sitting on the tarmac adds to the throwback feel too.

And like the Grand Central Airport in Midrand, they also have a Harvard Cafe for brunch and lunch. This motorcycle makes it look more like a scene from Top Gun.

At one point I actually saw a vintage pink plane flying up above in the azure blue sky. Now that is very South Beach!