The house of joy....

I had heard the rumours but needed to see for my self! Hemmelhuijs just off Buitengracht! My partner in crime and long time friend, Heinke Kriel, was all set to take some photos and I was well overdue a blog entry.  The perfect combination of food and design elements, Hemmelhuijs was just want we needed to create the perfect afternoon.

Hemmelhuijs, meaning ‘the house of joy’, or it being heavenly, is the brainchild of artist/photographer/stylist/entrepreneur/ all round creative genius Jacques Erasmus.  Like the food, the design and deco of the restaurant is fresh, colourful and expertly crafted to add to the ambiance and overall feel of the dining experience. Whilst it is a devastatingly stylish spot, it doesn’t for a moment feel uptight or posh! Diners are encouraged to relax and soak in the ‘vibe

After a glance at the very excellent, short but ‘well matched to the food’ wine list we settled on two massive glasses of Springfield ‘Wild Yeast’ Chardonnay- a personal favorite of mine so already Hemmelhuijs was getting a ten out of ten in my books.

Prawn and King Crab Cocktail on Iceberg lettuce

Slow roasted shredded duck on a bed of cucumber and sultana salad

Heinke let me order both of our starters as I just couldn’t decide on what to eat. So we had two salads between us- a delicious prawn and king crab cocktail on a bed of iceberg lettuce, and slow roasted duck on a sultana and cucumber salad.
I have to credit Heinke on his incredible photos.
After finishing our starters and another equally massive glass of ‘Wild Yeast’, we selected our main courses. Again, I chose both of them!

Stone fruits, venision and homemade marzipan on a bed of watercress with a yoghurt dressing

Seared Salmon with White chocolate sauce and cranberries

I could only manage another starter salad but I instructed Heinke to order the Seared Salmon in a white chocolate sauce with cranberries! Absolutely out of this world. I highly recommend it. The flavours are very unusual together but the combination works, especially with a big, chilled glass of ‘Wild Yeast”. Hemmelhuijs is open for lunch and breakfast from 9:00am until 4:00pm everyday except Sunday and for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Booking for dinner is recommended