May I Take your Order?

Last night Ricardo & I were invited to have dinner with his boss Stefan, his girlfriend Melanie and one of the development managers of Sun International, Gordon (who is from JHB). We went to a restaurant called The Gathemann; The Gathemann Restaurant is a 4.5 star German, boutique style restaurant in the heart of Windhoek, Namibia and is within walking distance of the Kalahari Sands hotel on Independence Avenue. Along with mainly German specialities they also specialize in oysters from the coast, game, truffles and fruit from the kalahari.

Firstly we had sundowners on the balcony, which overlooks the zoo park and mountain views in Windhoek. The waitresses brought us a refreshing pineapple cocktail on the house, after that Stefan ordered a very nice red wine. The restaurant has a lot of antique German art, furniture and ornaments all over.

Then we went inside for supper. We started off with fresh oysters and champaigne, followed by starters of grilled tuna salad in beans (very nice) and tongue carpaccio (which i did not try).  For mains Melanie had lamb with potato bake, the men ordered the Namibian Beef Fillet, served with vegetables and basmati rice, I had the smoked fish platter with salad. The portions unfortunately were very small though, more for the taste, art and for the enjoyment of the eye (french cuisine) so next time ill probably go there when i want something small. 

For dessert Ricardo had the white and dark chocolate mousse (which was divine...of course i had to taste), i had the creme brulee which was very creamy and tasty, Gordon had apple struddle and Melanie and Stephan had a fruit sorbet made from the Mguni fruit. 
  

The Mguni Fruit;

Not much is known about the mguni fruit except that it comes from the North of Namibia. The Gathemann restaurant makes a divine sorbet out of the fruit. We asked the waitress to bring us one of the fruits because Melanie told me it was delicious. Ricardo and I were a bit sceptical at first because it looks gross...like raw liver or something but it was actually very nice indeed. The fruit comprises of triangular shaped pips with this chewy friut around it. I must say this was the highlight of my evening because it was something new. Ricardo on the other hand didnt enjoy it because of how it looked and the slimy texture of the fruit. I took a photo of the Mguni fruit: 

   

I experienced a wonderful al fresco dining experiece at the Gathemann along with interesting and entertaining travel stories from Gordon (he says Turkey is the place to go to). It was a great...but very different dining experience and evening all round!