I have always boasted when I ate some curry and naan at our regular eatery, that I had Indian cuisine. It was not until I visited Taj Cape Town that I realised that I was way out of touch with what fine Indian cuisine really is.
But before I tell you about the food, can we just take a moment to appreciate the elegance and beauty that is the Bombay Brasserie restaurant inside Taj Cape Town.
Think fine dining, chandelier, think dim lights and candles! My partner and I have been to many romantic dates, but this one for sure tops the list. To blow your mind even more, they will be taking a little break from mid-June to end August to expand this phenomenon even further.
How on earth will it get even better?!
After being seated by the friendly hostess,executive chef David Tilly, welcomed us and proceeded to tell us the Indian journey that our taste buds would be taking.
First up was a colourful platter of assorted papadums and crisps, with vegetable crudités which were carrots and cucumber, served with a tomato chutney. We washed this down with mango and yoghurt shots. Absolutely delicious.
Then came this cute ball on a plate. A cumin spiced potato, stuffed with sweet yogurt and tamiran chutney. Not particularly my cup of tea, because of the potato and sweet yogurt combination, but my partner absolutely enjoyed the flavour combinations and differences in textures of all the various elements.
Next on our list was a seafood course. I opted for the tulsi prawns, a dish that consisted of basil marinated tiger prawns. My partner went with some fishy goodness in the form of the peri peri linefish tikka, which is a kingklip that is spice rubbed and tandoored.
I absolutely die for prawns, and the way these ones were made, my palette was doing hurdles. So big and juicy, a definite must try. My partner described the peri peri linefish as a balanced dish with the perfect amouts of sweetness, spice, crunch with a cooling element that came from the diced tomato.
To give us a bit of a breather, we were then presented with a tasting plate also known as the Chef’s special. Let me just say, the presentation was beautiful. The tasting plate came with grilled broccoli and cauliflower, chicken, prawns and lamb. Those are all my favourite foods, so I was very happy with what was right in front of me at this point in time.
By now, my tummy was hinting that it was almost full, but the night was still young and the chef was still preparing more.
All of a sudden what looked like a mini black teapot was put on table, and poof a whole lot of steam was pouring out. This was the spectacular cranberry and orange flavoured palette cleanser sorbet. A melt in your mouth wonder. If it was up to me, I would have preferred there to be a never-ending supply!
Then out came our mains!
The Jhinga Alleppey, which is a Kerala style prawn curry, with spiced coconut and green mango for me. And pot roast lamb cubes with the Dal Makhni, made up of black lentils and red beans simmered overnight, for my partner. Both these dishes came with a side of pure white fluffy bismati rice, and naan.
Needless to say these dishes were the highlight of our night, everything on those plates were in-sync. The curry, the lentils and red beans, to the rice, a 10 out of 10!
We ended our night with dessert, of course. I chose the saffron and pistachio crème brûlée and my partner the Gulab Jamun, which was a cheesecake and an almond and apricot ice cream with bitter chocolate sauce. Once again the presentation was immaculate and the taste, even better.
Another speciality of the Bombay Brasserie is their variety of wines. My partner and I are huge fans of fruity yet subtle wines, so for the night we opted for the Wild Yeast Vintage 2017 Chardonnay. What a wine. The fruitiness of the grapes, the tropical aroma, it was a definite winner.
It was a beautiful evening. Thank you to the entire team at Bombay Brasserie for the invite and for making us feel incredibly special on date night.
Directions to The Taj
Cnr Wale Street & St. Georges Mall
Cape Town
8000
021 819 2000
