Hemelhuijs has once again been transformed to celebrate winter. The walls have been painted in tones of warm burnt orange and a multitude of gold-labeled brown laboratory bottles create a neatly stacked feature wall.
These bottles are filled with flavour compounds that Jacques Erasmus has developed and refers to as Flavour Intense, they are the products of his wizardry in the kitchen. That which happens when the alchemist seeks the perfect blend for a Kashmiri chai, or experiments with the exact balance for his black dukkah or when an order of sun-ripened tomatoes are dried and made into a dust flavourant to add to dishes.
Gold Collection Tableware
The menu is sophisticated and authentic. While beautifully presented on an array of handmade and precious crockery, there is no pretention, only elegant simplicity and a sincere regard and respect for food. This winter saw the launch of Erasmus’s Gold Collection Tableware. The Gold Collection uses a pure gold compound and undergoes 5 firings in a kiln. It is the most opulent of all Erasmus’s tableware collections.
The menu
There are new offerings on the menu such as breakfast beer waffles with homemade Genoa figs in syrup and crème fraîche and old familiars such as poached farm eggs with artichoke hearts and Hollandaise.
Winter salads include the sweetness of slow roasted duck with young beetroot, winter fruit and sesame nougatine as well as the saltiness of fried artichoke with creamed herring, croutons and fresh tomato. Mains are the likes of pan fried veal with lemon butter, crab, pine nuts and Parmesan or the ginger and Sechuan pepper baby calamari served with tart apple, turnip and miso mayonnaise.
For those craving the familiar, they will find it on the menu, but always thrillingly, with an appropriate ‘Erasmus’ twist. There is the signature open beef burger served with onion marmalade, mature cheddar and cognac cream as well as the farmstyle beef and cabbage ‘frikadelle’ with truffled white vegetable mash and tomato butter.
The wine list
The wine list is small and carefully selected allowing diners to try some truly special wines. And for those looking to celebrate when the clouds clear and the sun peeks out, they will be thrilled with the pink gin with ruby grapefruit and tonic on offer, or the delicate quince with prosecco.
The orange vodka with orange ice cream soda float is perfect for a warm winter’s lunch. And if it’s cold outside and you are not in the mood for your habitual coffee or some sweetly spicy chai, you will have a difficult time deciding between the tonka been white hot chocolate with whiskey, the 70% dark couverture hot chocolate or the bergamot and dulce de leche with steamed milk.
The name Hemelhuijs has come to be synonymous with indulgence. Whether it is the discovery of new flavour combination, the visual delight of the surroundings or simply the luxury of drinking something warm from a beautifully handcrafted cup.
Hemelhuij is open from 9am – 4pm from Monday to Friday and from 9am – 3pm on Saturdays.
Engage with them on Twitter @hemelhuijs.