DB and myself have been keen to go to Pink Zulu for some time and finally had the chance a couple of weeks ago. Pink Zulu as the name implies is an African themed Restaurant with a strong emphasis on South African food and wine, we decided to go with the flow and ordered the;

The not so subtle LABEL

The Goatfather by Goats do Roam (HaHa I get it, *explanation below if you don’t get it, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t) a South African blend of Sangiovese 50%
- Barbera 33%
- Cabernet Sauvignon 17%. The name should have set off the warning bells and they should have reached a crescendo when the bottle arrived, just look at the photo! But we gave the restaurant and wine maker the benefit as the blend is an interesting one and maybe, just maybe these guys are genuine cutting edge quirky new school South African wine makers but alas NO! Just more spin over substance, there was distinct Sangiovese highlights on the nose and surprisingly the initial palate had a pronounced Cabernet Sauvignon feel to it with a touch of acid, the Barbera, then this all to our great surprise quickly solidified into an industrial style wine with an uninspiring palate that was short and tasted little better than a fruit cordial. DB’s comment went even further I quote “A goats head soup label that tasted like cough medicine” to prove the point his glass was never finished, a first!

This was followed by a bottle of Diemersfontein Pinotage 2010
Now this one did live up to the description on the back label, as the first Chocolate Coffee Pinotage or words to that effect (didn’t take a photo of the back label with the blab) so I can’t be critical of the wine, though it was not to my taste. Amazing is how best to describe this wine, didn’t know that these flavours of chocolate and coffee could be extracted in such great concentrations and intensity as produced here, simply amazing! Just about verging on a coffee/chocolate liqueur more so than a wine, pushes the envelope but it is still a well structured wine with fruit and tannins to help contain and control all that flavour, interesting and well done. But don’t order it with a curry!

Food wise we ordered
Kefta lamb with harissa and minted yoghurt and Zambezi crispy prawn and crocodile croquettes pink prickly ash and caper dressing.
Both beautifully presented but lacked flavour, the pink prickly ash and caper dressing was the highlight of these shared plates that could have and should have been better, we were expecting more from the Kefta Lamb as this dish can be a bit of a spice bomb, it just bombed and the prawn and crocodile croquettes you could say tasted like chicken, but that would be an insult to acepfv’s Mum’s home made croquettes.
Followed by the
Mauritian seafood curry, medley of seafood baked in a lightly spiced coconut and tomato ragu, chutney pomme damour (fresh tomato salsa), yellow rice pilaf with toasted pine nuts & currants.
The food highlight, a gentle hand on the spices allowed the fresh seafood to speak for itself while adding depth to the whole.
DB ordered the
Beef Bobotie Potjie, with apple, apricot & delicate egg topping, with buttery cous cous
Unfortunately this was bland and dry and the buttery cous cous only made the dish even more dry, maybe an attempt to induce one to drink more.

*The goatfather is a play on the Mario Puzo bestseller The Godfather, kind of obvious and the Goats do Roam is a reference to the great French wine region of Côtes du Rhône, at least their other wines are a blend of the major grapes grown in this region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Côtes_du_Rhône_AOC