Newsday 7 June 2014

16
NewsDay saturday june 7, 2014
travel
Getting away….to Meikles!
Pictures: Dusty Miller
With Dusty Miller
FOR the past few weeks,
I’ve been telling readers
about a recent trip to the
Western Cape, courtesy
of KWV wines and spirits
of Paarl, but last week, KWV
came to Harare and their superb
wines were featured in a pairing
session at La Fontaine for the
Meikles Grapevine Club.
Coincidentally I was also invited
to overnight at Meikles in
one of their exclusive and fantastic
Presidential Suites, so travellers to
Harare can learn about what the
capital city can offer.
I was totally stunned by my top
(12th) floor suite and having paced
it out and found it measured a jawdropping
198 sq metres containing
two ginormous bedrooms, two
gleaming bathrooms and separate
toilets, a sitting/meeting/conference
room which could accommodate
major peace talks and a
separate fully equipped glittering
self-contained kitchen, could
hardly wait to gushingly contact
my daughter in the UK.
My luxury suite with magnificent
vistas over Africa Unity
Square from sun-kissed verandahs
was more than double the
size of her lovely little family home
in rural Oxfordshire; possibly the
whole of my Eastlea cottage could
be dropped in the Hollywood style
master bedroom!
Meikles’ friendly staff jokingly
called me “President Miller” as I
swiftly booked in to the US$2 000
a night suite and sure enough I am
president (apparently for life) of
Greendale Good Food & Wine Appreciation
Society and had just left
one of their functions. As we had
a veritable Bacchanalian banquet
slated for the evening,I was glad
Greendale had comprised a light
Chinese meal.
Welcoming drinks in the Can-
Can cocktail bar were elegant
flutes of “bubbly” : Laborie’s
Method Cap Classique blanc-deblanc
(2010), a complex, indulgent
wine showing clarity of fruit on
the nose; hints of lime are accompanied
by aromas of toasted bread
and hazelnut. The palate is creamy,
round and textured with explosive
acidity and lasting finish.
A month earlier I stayed at Laborie
Manor House (vineyard
owned and run by KWV) and,
candidly, I preferred their MCC
Brut, also 2010: more to my particular
palate.
First course was a tiny demitasse
of a wonderful chicken consommé
with ballontine and pastry
fleuron, paired with KWV Cape
Dry, which is what the South Africans
now call Sherry (the real
McCoy can only come from Jerez,
Spain.)
Seared mackerel was a surprisingly
blue-collar fish course
for Meikles, but its smoky rich
oiliness went well with a pickled
cucumber and beetroot dressing
and chilled KWV Cathedral Cellars
sauvignon-blanc (2013), from
which aromas again included
limes and green apples with hints
of spice and tropical fruits.
Main course was a magnificent
melt-in-the mouth tender
The major bedroom in one of Meikles Hotel’s US$2 000 a night 198 sq metre
Presidential Suites
The vista over Africa Unity Square from my 12th floor balcony
Members of the Meikles Grapevine wine-tasting club tucking into the food-and-wine pairing banquet
poached and roasted fillet of beef
with braised white onions and
carrot puree and the splendidly
robust red wine pairing was KWV
Cathedral Cellars Triptych 2011. As
the name implies, three varietals:
cabernet-sauvignon, petit verdot
and Shiraz went into this blend
and it was the traditionally peppery
Shiraz which stood out most
to me. Nowadays I don’t drink a
lot of red, but when I do it’s usually
Shiraz with roasts, stews, games
and particularly meaty curries.
Pudding was described as
chocolate mousseline with blueberries,
but, at our table, alleged
blueberries were definitely delicious
young raspberries (no train
smash!) and with this came a
KWV Classic Cape Ruby (NV), a
drink which used to be called Port
and was beloved, especially in
the bitter winters of British West
Yorkshire, by my paternal grandmother
as a warming drink and
universal panacea.
We finished with excellent
Zimbabwean filter coffee and
“raisin financiers”, a term unknown
by any of the foodies at
our table. Quite delicious, light,
fruity and still warm-to-hot, they
reminded me of mini individual
“spotted dick” steam puds without
the custard!
After much convivial conversation
and congratulating souschef
Kenneth Chikeya, who was
in charge of the grub in the absence
of development chef Rory
Lumsden, and George Thomson,
Lounge/sitting/meeting conference room in the suites
Luscious smoked salmon on the breakfast buffet; I had Scotch kippers
steamed to order with poached eggs and toast
of Cape Wines Ltd in Msasa (Zim
agents for KWV and Bols) who
provided the booze, it was back to
the 12th floor to a comfortable bed
the size of a snooker table, where
I slept as soundly as a security
guard.
One of the great advantages
of booking into a Club Room or
suite at Meikles is that it allows
you unfettered use of the exclusive
Club Restaurant on the 11th
Floor, where standards and levels
of food and service offered often
make competitors’ attempts look
like troopies’ messes!
I always look forward to
steamed or grilled Scottish kippers
there for breakfast and Saturday
morning was no exception,
with lightly poached eggs on toast
after some superb fresh fruit and
before well-made freshly brewed
strong coffee, perusing NewsDay
overlooking much of Harare from
way above the tree canopy.
If you can’t afford to go to the
Cape (and my ticket from KWV
cost them R8 250 when that
was US$825: I could have flown
to London for US$10 more and
Phuket, Thailand* for US$90 less
. . . Southern African airfares are
totally outrageous!) think about a
long weekend, night or even just a
memorably lovely meal at Meikles
Hotel!
I didn’t want to go to Phuket.
I don’t even know how to pronounce
it without making the
Vicar’s wife blush!
•dustym@zimind.co.zw