My connections to royalty run fairly deep.
We once slept in the same bed as The King of Sweden. Not, admittedly, at the same time, but immediately after, at Lion Sands Ivory Lodge in Sabi Sands reserve. Although not royalty by the blue-blood variety, we also spent the night in the same bed at The Vineyard Hotel as Stephen Hawking and found his pyjamas under the pillow when we retired. But, for now anyway, I’m writing about our connection to the Belgian royals.
In 2006 I was hired by Den Anker Belgian restaurant ahead of the now King, then Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium. It was the start of a long and happy association with mussels and chips, chips and mayo, Belgian beers and the now late Denis Bouckaert and his wife Lies. I also got to know restaurant manager Rejeanne and chef Doekler too who soon after married and now run Den Anker and a new Belgian beer import business. I digress.
As I hardly eat out nowadays and then only steak or high-protein foods with a side of low-carb vegetables it had been an age since I returned to eat again at Den Anker. When you sit there, with Table Mountain looming large through the pavilion-style building and seals and dragon-boat teams entertaining you in the water, it is easy to fall in love with all the good things about the Waterfront all over again.
We started with mussels but without the chips and Doekler sent a gift of seared tuna with sesame/wasabi dressing as a fore spice. The tuna is really fabulous but I’d forgotten about how much I love the way Den Anker prepares their mussels. The broth tastes like a herby sea. While they use beer in their recipe and, as you know, I don’t drink alcohol, I’m happy to order this dish as I think the alcohol evaporates during cooking.
The pepper fillet is a real classic and doesn’t need a sauce as the meat is encrusted with pepper but as I was feeling greedy I had the cream-based pepper sauce – the combination of which left my mouth zinging for more.
On chatting to Rejeanne after dinner she tells me that the Belgian Royal Family is returning to Cape Town and to Den Anker later this month. Seems the royals and I are as closely knit as I’d like to believe.
I wonder when Kate and Will might call to invite us to tea.