Fu.shi
Fu.shi, located in the sleek cultural and culinary Lookout Center, is just a year old this December, and joins a fresh wave of culinary sophistication in the area by offering its own brand of Asian haute cuisine.
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In spite of where you’ve been in South Africa, Fu.shi is a unique eating experience, largely owed to the expertise of Executive Chef Vani Padayachee, whose inventive approach to the genre is grounded in classic French cooking techniques honed during her stints at Le Quartier Francais and Grande Provence in Franschhoek, inspirations from her travels through Asia and a deep love of the spices and exotic Indian cooking from her Durban upbringing. So while the distinctive flavours and textures of the dishes are representative of their origin, Padayachee has exercised her poetic licence to create such yummy concoctions as caviar topped sushi, Chinese stir-fried beef wrapped in roti and cumin infused fruit salad.
Her poetry extends to the menu where descriptions conjure up exotic images like “stolen moments of ecstasy”, (black tiger prawns cooked in saffron and lemongrass cream with glass noodles) or “gambolling through fields of green”(twice-pressed lamb in korma sauce) and “winged flights of fantasy” (Fu.shi’s version of Peking duck served with a lemongrass infused broth), that pique appetites and expectations. Happily the beautifully arranged presentations and satisfying flavours live up to the billing.
Selecting a starter from the tempting choices won’t be easy. Three Asian chefs are responsible for their respective specialties, sushi – indulge in the salmon roses with caviar topping; roti, made on the spot; and dim sum, “Imperial Soldiers” served with traditional sauces, so the flavours and techniques are authentic.
Worth mentioning, too, are the maddeningly addictive tempura vegetables accompanied by a light and spicy peanut sauce and, everybody’s favourite, “Enchanted Moments”: prawn cakes with Asian greens and chili sauce. Speaking of greens, Padayachee takes full advantage of Plett’s proximity to organic farms and insists that all the produce, including the herbs so integral to Asian cooking, are organic and preferably locally grown.
Desserts come under the heading of “Jo.yous Moments” and rightfully so. Only those with the fiercest sort of willpower could resist “Concubine’s Whispers” – a gooey delight of chilli chocolate fondant that serves as a dipping sauce for pistachio nut brittle.
A great deal of effort has been made to find wines that work with the dishes, not always an easy task with cuisine that is based on a meld of all four basic flavours – sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Japanese sake is also offered as well as local Bramon Cap Classique – a flinty bubbly made from Sauvignon Blanc. Mostly locals make up the staff and considerable progress has been made since the wobbly start. Servers are personable, confident and knowledgeable about the food and wine.
Fu.shi spills out onto the terrace – BoMa – where guests can cocoon in Alveo deck chairs and take in the heady views of the bay or people-watch while sipping sake with their sushi. BoMa offers lighter fare from the Fu.shi terrace menu while the snazzy bar churns out equally snazzy looking cocktails.
Average price of two courses is R130.
Address: The Upper Deck, Main Road,
Plettenberg Bay
Tel: 044 533 6497
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