Umami
The building - the clubhouse at the new Dunkirk eco-estate in Salt Rock on the
North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal - is architecturally stunning, low-slung, with
clean modern lines, stone work, funky wallpaper and earth tones everywhere.
Big glass windows fold back so that the dining area flows on to the terrace,
a long thin pool overlooking a valley filled with wetlands bush (and, unfortunately,
a few new houses).
Botha's food is as contemporary as its surrounds, run through with Eastern influences
(Umami means delicious flavour in Japanese), sitting pretty on each plate and
as good to eat as look at.
She and brother Eugene - the offspring of a local doctor - have made considerable
waves since opening Umami at the beginning of this year. Both widely travelled,
they have brought their worldly experience to the table, so to speak.
Botha, who has worked for a number of reputable establishments - including a
stint with the Getty family in St Tropez - is firmly at the head of the kitchen
brigade.
Brother Eugene runs front of house with casual charm. (Clubhouse this may be,
but the vibe is very laidback, dress code non-existent.) I've never come across
a manager or proprietor who is so able to matter-of-factly but knowledgeably
discuss each dish on the menu with no recourse to notes.
The small menus - six starters, seven mains, six desserts - are changed every
two months. Only the freshest of ingredients are used and if fresh fish or mussels
are not available, they're off the list.
Every day there are also specials and from that list we picked salmon tartare
with an apple and soy reduction dressing, subtly arresting in its oriental layers
of flavour. It was a dish I remembered with pleasure from a previous visit,
but it was knocked into fourth place by the other starters - top of which were
undoubtedly three enormous, firm prawns in crisp of tempura batter with a sweet
chilli and coriander aioli.
Keeping with the eastern theme was a transformation of beef carpaccio, here
sliced thicker than normal, and served with a vermicelli and cucumber salad
on a rice cake that gave texture.
Dishes are not always fusion-based.
Butternut ravioli with burnt sage butter were textbook perfect; aubergine ravioli
in burnt caper butter full of smoky flavour.
Options include a prawn and watermelon salad with a Vietnamese-style dressing
with chilli and fish sauce, open smoked salmon lasagne with Philadelphia cheese,
tomato salsa and Hollandaise, and creamy chicken livers on a spinach and feta
muffin.
On a previous visit, duck breast marinated with soy and ginger and stacked with
pancakes and peach and plum sauce was a hit. This time duck confit was meltingly
tender in, crisp out, but spoilt by a too-sweet reduction of orange and Cointreau,
not helped by the inherent sweetness of butternut fritters.
It was no match for delicate Norwegian salmon on crisp corn and potato cakes
with Hollandaise, loin of lamb with mash and an aubergine and tomato jam, and
- best of all - tender, medium-rare springbok loin on bright green mushy peas,
napped with a light gorgonzola sauce and topped with onion marmalade. That could
have gone badly wrong if handled less sensitively.
There are usually Thai curries on the menu and I'd imagine the risottos are
well worth investigating.
On a previous visit a lemon and passionfruit tart beguiled with admirably short
pastry and sharp filling given a brûlée crust. Served with coconut
ice cream, it's one to look out for. The crème brûlée of
the day is also exemplary, and don't miss the sorbets: one with berries and
vodka is outstanding, sharp and refreshing.
Chocoholics could do little better than a small cake with a molten chocolate
filling that spreads over the underlying base of peppermint crisp ice cream.
I'd pass on the apple tarte tatin which was blandly uninteresting, not helped
by a cinnamon ice cream curiously devoid of flavour.
For a venue this size, the wine list is comprehensive, at 33 items, and is interesting
- as it should be, having been drawn up by gurus John and Erica Platter, who
are family friends of the Bothas. Wines have been chosen to complement the food,
and each is given a potted description that cuts to the heart of it.
Whites range in price from Brampton Sauvignon Blanc (R60, "juicy, fresh,
bouncy, lots of perky flavour") to Steenberg Semillon (R210).
Among reds the most reasonably priced is Ken Forrester Petit Pinotage (R80),
with Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir ("elegant, refined, intensely silky and
fruity") the most expensive at R340.
Altogether, it's a class package.
Prices: Three-course meal, without wine, R160
By Anne Stevens
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