#HelloXAsanka

A night out with Hello Joburg Magazine always promises to be a good night out. And naturally, as always, they delivered. This time at Asanka restaurant at Rivonia Junction in Johannesburg. The #HelloRecommends night out was a lovely evening with some of my favourite people.

Our menu at the Afro-Fusion restaurant included some intriguing dishes & I was pleasantly surprised to see so many vegetarian options listed.

To start the evening, some fresh bread presented in parcels with butters & fig preserve was a teaser of what was still to come. 

One thing that I love is when a restaurant knows the value of a good palate cleanser served between meals to clean out the mouth & make sure it is fresh for the next course. 

For my starter I opted for the Aniseed Poached Pear with Gorgonzola Cream, Caramelised Yoghurt & Toasted Brioche. The great thing about this dish is the great combination of the Gorgonzola & Pear. They compliment each other so well. The strong flavours of the cheese with the sweetness of the pear sure is a winner. 

Another lovely palate cleanser.

Oh. A lovely surprise. My Chocolate Box would be spoiling us with a big box of chocolates at the end of the evening & there was some incentive in it for those of us who shared it on social media using #MyMCBZATreats. Go check it out on Twitter.

My main meal, was the chermoula salmon with poached baby fennel, sofrito puree, apple & polenta. I love how the afro-fusion concept is present here with the use of the polenta. My salmon was slightly on the dry side, but still full of flavour. 

Everyone knows that I am a lover of the desserts. This dark chocolate mousse was a winner. Very sweet. But oh so yummy. The pomegranate breaks the sweetness of chocolate. 

All in all, a lovely evening out. The service was slightly on the slow side, but we were a table of almost 30 people, so it was understandable for a restaurant that's only been open for just over 5 weeks. 

I am very keen to get back there to try some more of the afro-fusion cuisine to see what else my palate would like.