“I feel like a teenager with dad’s car – and his daughter.” That’s what Jim said as we drove along the motorway in the blazing sun on our way to The Oberoi for a two day break and a little research for a travel story on Mauritius. The Indian owned, five-star Oberoi is sprawled along the NW coast in Pointe Aux Piments, not far from the capital of Mauritius, you can actually see the lights of the city from the hotel.
Gorgeous landscaping, unsurpassed hospitality and luxury spa aside, the biggest draw to The Oberoi is the food. We dined with Jennifer, the sales manager and executive chef, Igor Bocchia. Igor is from Trentino, he trained as a chef in Venice and has cooked at some very exotic locales such as Macau and, now, Mauritius. He says he likes it here and you can tell he’s genuine. He cooks in tandem with a Mauritian and an Indian chef. The menu spans European (with an emphasis on Italian – they make pasta in-house) and Creole and Indian cuisines.
Dining with the chef himself, I asked what I should order and he suggested the fried green tomatoes for starters. We’d seen countless stands at the Quatre-Bornes farmers market selling beautiful looking tomatillos yet my family doesn’t cook this particular fruit (also known as the Mexican tomato). Igor’s dish was simple, clean yet flavorful and beautifully presented. It tasted of the Mediterranean and the tropics combined. The tomatoes, breaded and deep fried, were sitting in a smear of pesto, accompanied by mozzarella wrapped in roasted bell peppers (the peppers here are amazing and perfect for roasting) and a funny sage resembling herb which grows by the sea and tastes a little like a herb and seaweed combined. I polished off my plate. Which is why I barely had room for the follow up: braised wagyu beef cheeks. The meat, like most of the meat in Mauritius was from Australia, it was meltingly tender and came with the best version of pattypan squash (known here as “pattison”) I’ve ever had, along with seaweed wrapped veggies.
The restaurant itself is situated outdoors, overlooking the sea, with a roof overhead. The architecture at The Oberoi places a lot of influence on the outdoors. I was treated to a massage in a part of the spa that is used for couples massage sessions, though I was solo. The room was half indoors and half outdoors sans creepy, new-age spa music, just the sound of real birds and the jostling around of my small, young but fierce masseur.
Anyone who wants to dine out for a special occasion in Mauritius should head to this little-known gem of a restaurant for Igor’s brilliant cooking technique and a playful way with food. The following night we were treated to a tasting menu that really showed off the chef’s breadth and talent. More on that and the excellent cocktails later, in my article, due out in Zink magazine this summer!
Under Isaure’s suggestion, I took my big sister Devi, to Green and Blue in East Duwich. Pleased to be checking out a spot in South London (I be a Sarf London girl by my roots after all), we braved the rainy storm and hopped on the rail to our destination. Green & Blue focuses more on organic wines than it does natural. It is part retail shop, part wine bar and café. It is a cute little spot that feels more English in its charm compared to the Frenchie vibe of Terroirs and La Trouvaille.
We took the by-the-glass route but in hindsight I think we should have gone for a bottle as the mark up from retail was a bargain and the choice of wines BTG weren’t as funky and weird as I would have liked. The suggestions were hit and miss, though kudos to our server whon did initially zone in on the one wine btg that would be up my alley: Cousin Leduc’s Grolleau (imported into the US by Jenny & Francois) – a wine/producer I know and love.
The vibe at Green & Blue was lovely and the staff was super sweet, without conceit or flash. They have some excellent wines on sale by the bottle (Champagne Lassaigne for example). It ain’t no Ten Bells but it’s a good spot south of the river and is definitely aimed towards the wine novice, opposed to the pro. The best part of the night, besides my earthy Grolleau, was being with my lovely sister – we hadn’t been out on the razz in years! And I must say we were much more grown-up and sophisticated than the days of drinking hard cider at The George in our rock chick days…
As good as Terroirs was, my favorite dining and drinking out experience in London was at La Trouvaille, a French restaurant and wine bar specializing in the wines of Southern France. The space, on a narrow street corner off Carnaby Street, totally enamored me. Co-owner Guillaume Siard was so enthusiastic about the wine he sells that his joy was infectious. Once he learned about our mission, he generously opened bottles that were not available by the glass, opining that we had to try them.
I must admit that I am sometimes scared of vino from the south of France. The heat, the alcohol levels and the lush fruit can be off-putting. If you haven’t gathered by now – I like my wines light, hence my love for champers, the Loire and other cool climate regions but since drinking at Trouvalle, I have been converted by the likes of Tir a Blanc (Grenache Blanc and Macabeo) and a Vin de Table, “Soula” 2006 both made by Le Casot des Mailloles (winemaker Alain Castex), based in the Banyuls area in Roussillon, where the vines are grown on crazy steep terraces. Once we talked about how a certain Provencal wine is the reason that Jim got into wines (it was actually a Dom Tempier Bandol), our host poured the Domaine Milan AOC Les Baux de Provence 2004 produced by winemaker, Henri Milan, who practices biodynamics and adds just a teensy bit of sulphur at bottling.
Tir a Blanc had beautiful fruit, texture, mineral and acidity with a distinct chestnut taste. While the same producer’s “Soula” (100% Grenache Noir) was tight and packed a stony mineral punch. Guillhaume said it was the kind of wine that opens up after days of uncorking. Milan’s basic Baux de Provence was a lovely little wine that tasted of place, offering herbs and a little barnyard. Jim certainly got his rocks off when he tasted it.
Besides drinking like kings, we also ate well, sharing wild mushroom tartines, charcuterie and cheese. La Trouvaille totally charmed the pants off us.
Less-manipulated, low or no-SO2 wines are hitting London’s wine bar scene. The country better known for consuming conventional French claret and cheap Aussie plonk has a couple of on-premise gems serving the kind of stuff that restores my faith in the world of restaurant wine lists. The most famous of them is Terroirs, recently opened in central London, just off the Strand. Since opening, the stylish wine bar has become a darling of the press, basking in rave reviews for both its tasty French-Spanish-Italian small plates and the risk-taking wine list. After hearing the buzz, I’m pleased to announce that Terroirs delivers.
Jim and I arranged to meet Isaure, the very charming daughter of Michèle de Jessey, of Dom du Closel (in Savennières), for a drink at Terroirs. She kindly introduced us to the co-owner of Terroirs, a Frenchman who once owned a wine bar in Brittany – Vincent Wallard. We enjoyed talking to them both about the winemakers we love in the Loire and about the misconceptions surrounding natural wines, including the very irritating tendency to dump the category together with organic and/or biodynamic wines.
Later on, my favorite London pal, Isabel, and her boyfriend joined us for dinner. We polished off a bottle of Domaine le Briseau Kharactêr, a Jasnieres appellation wine made from 50 Y.O. Chenin Blanc vines. I know and love this domaine and their wines – always such easy wines to drink with purity of fruit (some of their wines, including this one, undergo semi-carbonic maceration) and a nice dose of mineral. We followed up with Domaine de Montrieux Côteaux Du Vendômois (Pineau D’Aunis). I hadn’t heard of this producer but have since learned that the winemaker is Emile Heredia and he farms organically and makes wine naturally. I am not familiar with the appellation either but I believe it gained it’s AOC status in 2001. Elias (Isabel’s BF) described the wine as “raw” – a term I must pinch because the description is spot on and raw is exactly how I like my wine.
