CHAMPAGNE BREAKFAST WITH A VIEW
What: Enjoy a lavish à la carte breakfast with Champagne at the Southern Sun Hyde Park hotel, perfectly situated on the top floor of the popular Hyde Park shopping centre with views that stretch to the Magaliesberg mountains — particularly good on a clear winter's day.
The Menu: The classics include omelettes; a full English; and plain bacon and eggs. Then there are specials like eggs benedict, delicious, with a choice of fillings to go with double-poached eggs and hollandaise sauce; and scrambled eggs with salmon served with toasted ciabatta. A nice surprise — I haven't eaten or seen them on a menu for so long — is the offer of two delectable kippers, fried in butter, and served with two poached eggs, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and hash browns. Yum. For vegetarians, there is a platter of veggie bliss which includes hummus, avocado, poached eggs, fried onions and ciabatta. Lovers of the sweet stuff aren't forgotten either, as there are fluffy crumpets, pancakes and waffles with a long list of toppings of your choice.
How: Available at the Hyde Park Island Bar from 9.30am til 11am daily for R425 per person. Book for four people and they will throw in a bottle of Moët & Chandon Nectar Impérial. Valid until March 30 2025. Book at 011-341-8080 or email sshydepark.reservations@southernsun.com.
Stay over: Rooms from R1,795 bed-and-breakfast. Check rates and specials here.
DINE AT A CHEF'S TABLE
What: Once you would need an exclusive VIP invite to dine with an executive chef in the heat of a restaurant kitchen. Now the Rosebank hotel 54 on Bath is offering guests the chance to book such an experience at its Level Four Restaurant & Terrace. Six people can share the very best table in the house, right in the middle of the bustling kitchen. Here you will enjoy a decadent nine-course menu by executive chef Donaldson Madubela, with wines to match every course as selected by sommelier Dennis Mncube.
The Menu: Sitting in the centre of the kitchen, our table gleamed with cutlery, beautiful flowers and wine glasses all set out beautifully on a starched white tablecloth. Making for a unique feast, diners can enjoy the hustle and bustle of a busy hospitality kitchen and watch as the team prepare your meal while also filling the busy restaurant and room-service orders.
Despite the hurly burly of food prep around us, it was all calm at our table as the delectable courses kept rolling: an amuse bouche of beetroot cannelloni and hummus followed by roasted quail with compressed watermelon; a lemongrass broth savoured with a glass of Ghost Corner sauvignon blanc. I loved the seafood chowder with prawns, mussels and scallop.
The vegetarian course followed: barbeque butternut with a spinach-and-bean parcel, carrots and pumpkin crumble. The highlight for the carnivores was the slow-cooked beef cheek served on caramelised mash. And if you could take another spoonful after the feast, the caramelised pineapple served with coconut mousse, macadamia crumb and lime sorbet was a fruity and sweet ending.
It was a rare treat and a wonderful idea for a special celebration with family and friends.
How: The nine-course meal costs R1,250 per person. Add the wine pairing with each course for R750 per person. Book on 011-344-8442 or email levelfour.restaurant@southernsun.com.
Stay over: Rooms from R2,600 for two, including breakfast. Check the website for daily rates and reservations.
• Biller was a guest of Southern Sun
