Bizerca - Foreshore, Cape Town 30 Oct 2009

2004 Donier Merlot, R135 Not bad after a little breathing.

2007 Fantail by Morgenhof Pinotage, R90 Excellent value

Starter: Kudu Carpaccio R60 With oil and parmesan. Red onion on the side. Decent portion.

Main: Fillet of Beef with 8 cubic centimetres of sauteed potatoes and a mushroom flan R145 Brilliantly cooked, couldn't have done better myself.

CK Lamb Main: R125 Awesome, with a touch of lamb curry flavour without any heat.

Restaurant is nice and spacious but therefore a little sparse. The atmosphere wasn't exactly buzzing. I felt more buzz at Mexican Kitchen.

Pepenero - Mouille Point, Cape Town 26 Oct 2009

Went to Pepenero in Mouille Point for our anniversary. Checked all the pics online and it all looked very airy and light. Since it was raining and cold, I was little concerned. I had picked Pigalle initially, which I think is in the same stable of restaurants, but they had a wedding.

Anyway, got there, parking was no problem, even though the place was pretty full, and I have to say, it was pretty cosy. Might have been the very low lighting, or that I got sat at a two seater which was right next to the step, so I had a row of nice rather large asses at eye-level, but warm and cosy none the less.

The waitress was very friendly, quite knowledgable and attentive. The drinks menu is comprehensive. Its not a matter of red or white wine, just deciding 'wine' is an achievement. They have beers, cocktails, whisky, cognac and more. The R4000 a tot Hennessy caught my eye, but I figured I wouldn't be able to stretch 25ml between CK and I for a whole meal. So wine it was, and after a brief chat with the manager, we settled on Rupert and Rothschild Classique at R180.

We enjoyed it, and we were told it complimented the steak nicely.

The menu was quite a variety, with their signature dish being steak on a bed of avo. CK and I shared the mussels for a starter. Now we had last had mussels in Paris, so it was gonna be tough to beat. They came very close, with I think about 8 mussels. They were pleasant, but not amazing. Since the signature dish is not my cup of tea, (I have a reputation for being anti-avo, anti-avometic is the technical term) so I went for the pepper encrusted fillet. Mine was R130 and CK went for the signature dish at R150.

Now I like hot stuff, and the pepper fillet was hot. I don't think I have had heat from pepper like that before, usually chili or wasabi or curry. Anyway, I thought it was amazing. I did eat all the edges and send it to be done a touch more, just for the centre since it was quite a block of meat, but I really enjoyed it. CK had the signature and also enjoyed it immensely.

We skipped desert, and were out of there in about 2 and a half hours, but I think I would go back, not necessarily cos anything drew me in particular, but I wouldn't mind trying the rest of the menu. We got our away with R600 including tip.