A fantastic feast at 1Fox

25 Oct 2017

The city is a feast of purple blossom this time of year. Yes, spring has arrived in Johannesburg and so has Urbanologi's new menu. But, it's not about the fresh seasonal ingredients as much as it is the flavour combinations these bring to the table.

'Chef Jack'

“With the new spring menu, we continued with our core ethos of providing a platform for forgotten or unpopular produce, giving them a chance to revive themselves,” says chef Jack Coetzee. “We also wanted to make a more conscious step to provide our diners with an understanding about the produce we choose, and the effects of the environment that they are produced in.”

The tapas-style menu hasn’t changed altogether but introduces 10 new dishes in addition to those existing favourites amongst the raw, fried, kushiyaki, steamed, curried and frozen options.

My husband and I had dined at Urbanologi on three occasions prior to the launch of the new menu, and we concur that this is the most impressive to date.

We started with the oysters, served with fermented jalapeños, black garlic and burnt lime salsa, mimicking the classic jalapeño Tabasco, lemon juice and black pepper. So fresh, the ocean couldn’t possibly be as far away as it seems. A bit closer to home, we went for the kudu carpaccio, which was exquisite on every level – definitely our favourite savoury option on the night. Both paired wonderfully with Springfield’s Circle of Life.

Standouts among the mains we sampled were the lamb rump with rose geranium poached quince, baby spinach and apple blossom, the tender yakitori chicken with Urbanologi’s signature chimichurri and the good old faithful crispy dropped black pepper pork belly dressed in tamarind on butternut puree, with cucumber noodles and smoked peanuts.

Last, but definitely not least, the freshness of the 'candy floss' (a playful tower of a charred peach, a scoop of lemongrass and pineapple sorbet, topped with Mad Giant’s Simcoe spice-sprinkled candy floss) served as the most delightful palate cleanser. But it was the frozen banana malt mousse that left a lasting impression – with its gold-leaf wrapped 70% cocoa chocolate truffle, dulcey (caramelised white chocolate) rolled in honeycomb and salted pistachio crumb to counterbalance the sweetness and add crunch to the otherwise smooth textures.

For want of a better word, it was pretty darn fantastic!

Urbanologi is based inside the Mad Giant Brewery at the 1 Fox Precinct in Ferreirasdorp on the outskirts of Johannesburg’s CBD. Book online.