Nothing if not cosmopolitan, the Winelands’ restaurant scene has welcomed Japanese influence on fine dining, as Richard Holmes discovers. And, he learns, the influence isn’t just culinary …
When South Africa’s culinary star first began to shine, sometime in the early 2000s, it was largely thanks to chefs interpreting European haute cuisine in a Cape vernacular. Continental fine dining was given a contemporary spin, as cooks tweaked the classics with a healthy dose of local produce and African inspiration.
But as our palates have gone global, there’s been a steady infusion of Asian influence to restaurants across the Cape – including the Winelands – as chefs dabble with dashi and toy with the endless ways that Asian culinary traditions introduce umami onto the menu.
From FYN’s trend-setting Afro-Japanese cuisine – which took it to 60th spot on the respected World’s 50 Best Restaurants List this year – Asian cuisine, and Japanese in particular, is proving to be the most exciting dish in town.
In the heart of Stellenbosch, Genki has become a firm local favourite for its menu of sushi, ramen and Japanese tapas, while Gochu Gang brings a bold approach to Asian street food. But perhaps a better bellwether of the trend is found atop the Helshoogte Pass, where a 2023 revamp of Delaire Graff Lodges & Spa saw Indochine restaurant transformed into a contemporary Japanese dining destination
Hōseki (‘jewel’ in Japanese) was originally envisaged as an intimate Japanese eatery, but when head chef Virgil Kahn presented his first dishes to the owner, Laurence Graff, plans quickly changed.
“He loved the menu so much, he decided to switch everything around!” says Virgil with a chuckle. And so the Indochine Lounge was created, serving a menu of global small plates, and the main restaurant was transformed into Hōseki. Elements of Japanese decor were infused into the space and the menu was reimagined into a fine-dining experience that takes its cue from Japanese culinary traditions.
“I’ve always had a love for Japanese cooking and there were a lot of Japanese elements on the Indochine menu, but in opening Hōseki we really had to focus on specific ingredients and techniques and let them shine. And that was the challenge,” observes Virgil.
But he is always up for a challenge and in just two months – including a research trip to Dubai – Virgil and his chefs created a menu filled with inspired interpretations of Japanese plates, all infused with the artistry we’ve come to expect at Delaire Graff.
“Enormous attention went into the experience,” he adds. “There’s a lot of thought that goes into everything, from the crockery to the chopstick rests. Even the menus are hand-threaded.” Similar attention is paid to seasonality and sourcing, all while working within the constraints of a fine- dining restaurant.
“Wherever we can, we work with local fish, but obviously at this level we also need to focus on the luxury experience and there are certain ingredients that we simply have to offer.” So while some may clock up the food miles, yellowfin tuna is usually from local boats and the excellent wagyu – offered on the menu with a marbling scale as a guideline – is from Ken Forrester’s estate just outside Stellenbosch.
There’s a delightful array of ways to experience Hōseki too. Of course, there’s à la carte, and Virgil suggests a sushi starter – the sashimi is exceptional – followed by a selection of cold and hot plates. Lunchtime also offers a four-course set menu, or a bento box for those looking to dine and dash.
But the evening is when Hōseki comes to life, with the eight-course omakase (‘I leave it up to you’) menu that sees the chef decide which dishes to serve.
Across the menu, Virgil brings his own creative take to Japanese flavours, whether it’s the ostrich tartare with tamago or the playful Hōseki ‘pizza’ – a tortilla disc with soy glaze, layered with tuna carpaccio, ponzu and pickled shimeji mushrooms. “We’re not trying to be authentic Japanese,” he says. “We’re in South Africa, working with different produce, but we want to take those flavours and traditions and put our own spin on them.”
Restauranteur Ryan Shell takes a similar approach at Ōku, his charming Asian-inspired eatery in Franschhoek.
“Our ingredients taste different from what you’d find in Japan, so the dishes we produce immediately lose some authenticity,” he says. “Japan is also more cosmopolitan in its food style than people think.
It’s close to Korea, it’s close to China. So we incorporate those elements on our menu.”
And an impressive menu it is too, with a collection of pan-Asian small plates. The heart of the Ōku experience is the 15-course kaiseki menu, a carefully curated tasting menu that showcases the skills of the kitchen. “Kaiseki is a journey, a linear trajectory,” says Ryan. “We make sure there’s a certain flow, there’s a crescendo and a chorus. These are not just individual dishes, they’re chapters of a longer story.”
Across the menu expect a remarkable discovery of Asian cuisine, from the layered complexity of a clear prawn broth through a collection of sashimi and tataki plates to a Norwegian salmon with kombu dashi.
Ryan also subtly introduces local flavours and produce into the experience, including wild springbok and warthog in hunting season, and yellowtail tataki to tap into the best local fish.
A more concise four-course menu is also available, and patrons can select from à la carte options in the quiet winter months. Here, be sure not to miss the incredible Korean fried cauliflower that will make you see brassicas in a whole new light.
But Japanese influence in the Winelands extends beyond the dinner table. In Stellenbosch look to the university’s Botanical Garden, which is home to a remarkable collection of bonsai trees, including a Becky Lucas pine tree from 1940 that is thought to be the oldest example of bonsai in Africa.
A more contemporary expression of Japanese horticulture is found in the private garden of Anne-Marie and GT Ferreira, the owners of Tokara wine estate. The latest addition to the diverse landscaping around the homestead is a remarkable ‘moss garden’ created by South African neuroscientist and moss garden designer Gert van Tonder.
“In Japan, the garden is the most important thing,” says Gert. “Many of the most important gardens are in temples, and while the names of the monks and abbots come and go, the name of the gardener is always remembered.” Locally at least, mosses are an under- estimated and misunderstood group of plants. Most people would associate them with cool and damp environments, but the majority of the more than 750 species of moss found in South Africa grow in the Little Karoo, where they are remarkably adaptable to their environment.
“Mosses really are a cosmopolitan group of plants,” explains Gert. “Fortunately many of the most desirable species, and the staples in Japanese gardens, we also have here.”
In creating the ‘Adamastor’ garden at Tokara, Gert had to work as much with rock as with moss, chiselling and shaping the locally sourced granite that provides form and structure to the garden. With the structure in place and the moss settling in, he is about to begin the final stage of the garden: the installation of a Japanese sukiya-style house handcrafted from cedar and cypress wood. Gert himself will build it, using traditional techniques and precision joinery without the use of nails or bolts. “This is not the kind of garden where you sit on a little bench,” he adds. “You need an architectural space where you can sit properly, protected from the elements.”
And good news for garden lovers is that the
Tokara garden will be open for the public to admire this spring, with the Rare Plant Fair and Open Garden taking place on Saturday, 26 October 2024. Once you’ve wandered the garden, you certainly won’t go hungry.