Located on the street that is slowly taking Bree Street’s crown as the ‘foodie hotspot’, the traditional South African steakhouse gets an Asian take at East City Grill and Yakiniku.
East City Grill looks at the South African grill through a broader lens. Locally raised meat and familiar flavours meet Japanese ingredients, umami and the restaurant’s love of cooking with fire. The “Feast for 4” allows those influences to come together in a way that feels relaxed, celebratory and particularly fitting coming off of Heritage Month.
This contemporary dining experience can only be credited to one man’s passion – Chef Jaycee Ferreira. “A lot of these dishes take me straight back to the food I grew up eating,” says Ferreira. “They remind me of home and of family meals, but we’ve had fun looking at them through the East City Grill lens. It’s simple, fresh and exactly what you want alongside a rich piece of beef. There’s something special about being able to put those memories onto a restaurant table and share them with other people.”
The feast starts with the familiar, the first bite setting the tone – Biltong Lamingtons with Miso Butter.
The two unlikely ideas are brought together in one deeply savoury mouthful, leaving your mouth watering in time for the next bite.
Next comes Vetkoek served with snoek pâté and pickled curried sultana jam, playing with familiar Cape flavours and that irresistible balance of salty, sweet, sour and almost chutney texture. Then, at the tail end of the starters, are deliciously juicy, layered Roast Lamb Potstickers drenched in an 11-ingredient yakiniku signature sauce.
Lastly, to give a little greenery before the main course, is a charred prawn and avocado cocktail salad served in a coupe glass, giving a refreshing interpretation to a retro favourite.
However, those who attended were not quite ready for the feast ahead, as we saw what was rolled out from the kitchen towards the table.
There lay a freshly grilled, B+ grade, full bodied prime fillet of beef wrapped in caul fat and filled with Wagyu bone marrow and fresh garden herbs, ready to be carved and indulged over with a generous drizzle of beef jus- styled gravy.
To accompany this centrepiece to an Asian twist on a South African Sunday Roast were an abundant of sides: East City Grill’s special Japanese steamed Koshihikari rice, baked potatoes, cinnamon, miso and soy Kuri Squash, grilled broccoli, and a chopped tomato, red onion with fresh mint salad that Ferreira remembers from his childhood.
It is a main course designed to take over the table. The food is passed around and spooned liberally, creating this communal style of eating that is reminiscent of family reunions, until everyone inevitably remembers there’s dessert.
With that, the designated stomach for dessert opens up for the last two dishes of the afternoon. First up, Ferreira takes the classic Peppermint Crisp Trifle apart and rebuilds it from scratch, even hand-making his own version of the familiar Tennis Biscuit. These are layered with Amasi, miso caramel and Peppermint Crisp, then finished with shards of dark chocolate to create a dessert that is immediately recognisable, but unmistakably East City Grill.
The tang of the Amasi cuts through the sweetness, while the miso gives the caramel a salty, savoury depth and the dark chocolate brings a bittersweet finish. Making it taste both nostalgic and new.
Finally, as the after-food sleepiness starts to hit, there appears smoked yuzu bonbons as the final bite – a citrus and sweet end to a proper feast.
It is the perfect menu for a quintessentially South African experience for lunch or dinner throughout the year, making it as suited to a long lunch with friends as it is to a celebratory dinner around the table.
So, if you’re looking to feast on modern takes of Mzansi staples, we suggest you give East City Grill a try – just make sure to skip breakfast beforehand.
More Info:
Location: 84 Harrington Street, District Six, Cape Town, 8001.
East City Grill and Yakiniku is open for lunch and dinner, Tuesdays – Saturdays.
Book both dining experiences online via www.eastcitygrill.co.za.
ALSO SEE: Steak kebabs with an onion, corn and sun-dried tomato salsa
Reviewed By Fezeka Mpanza
