Heavenly menu to spoil you
THE African Pride Irene Country Lodge in the tranquil suburb of Irene in Centurion offers a lot more than its famed high-class accommodation.
The lodge is also attractive to day visitors who seek to have meals in a relaxed and inspiring environment, to the sounds of myriad bird species. From breakfasts, lunches to dinners, clients are spoilt for choice.
My recent visit for a one-night stay was solely for the purpose of getting a taste of the a la carte menu on a Saturday evening. The five-course menu was fit for royalty, and also expertly designed to ensure my partner and I did not end up bloated from all the good food.
Kickoff is not exactly a starter but a selection of salads – with strictly vegetarian, meaty and fishy types to choose from. I love fish, so I chose salmon salad, which had baby spinach, roma tomatoes, cream cheese and poached eggs among the ingredients. My partner chose a modern caesar, a vegetarian choice. This, however, can be topped with prawns, chicken or bacon if the diner wishes for just a little bit more. However, the caesar looked appealing enough on its own without the extras.
The starter followed the salads, and here the diner needs to bat carefully lest they choose something that would be too big to accommodate their main meal.
For example, if one goes for barbeque chicken for a starter, and had eyed the springbok shank for the main, they may end up not having enough space in their tummy for the latter and that would be a missed opportunity!
The good thing is that an A4page menu is next to you as you dine, so you can plan forward as you eat, chat and listen to soothing Norah Jones-style ballads by the resident pianist.
The staff were helpful all the way, and provided useful information about the menu and method of cooking for each selection. So, because I had already eyed the springbok for an adventurous main course, though it was given hot competition by kudu wellington – loin wrapped in parma ham – I settled for a lighter starter. This was tuna served with gherkins, red onions, wasabi and egg yolk – glistened with avocado oil.
I googled wasabi just for the heck of it. It’s a green veg and a relative of cabbages and horseradish. Educational dining if you ask me.
Apart from the exotic examples above, the main course has many other mouthwatering dishes such as roast loin of lamb, and vegetarian options such as mushroom risotto.
I don’t have a sweet tooth and some people may find my choice of mere vanilla ice cream boring, but the long list of delights included goodies like malva pudding, lemon meringue and chocolate offerings.
It sounds like a marathon but when you have all of two hours to go slow on your dining, this fivecourse meal is an easy cruise. But again, as I stated earlier, you need to bat cleverly. And my red wine proved to be an inspired choice as it kept me going, keeping my appetite agreeable all the way without me feeling bloated.
At night the birds are sleeping but the post-dinner walk along the lake at the lodge rounded off a memorable dinner for two.
The Meadow Green Restaurant at the African Pride Irene Country Lodge is open from 6pm and the last seating is 10pm.
Mokone was hosted by Irene Lodge.