With this groaning cheeseboard, do I really need to write much more? There were only 8-10 guests in residence at La Residence, so we were simply amazed by the spread that was put out on the buffet each day of our stay.
There were several pitchers of juice, several bowls of cereal and muesli, yoghurt, guava and watermelon rind preserves, sliced fresh fruit, poached pears, croissant, muffins, smoked salmon and cold cuts. And there was a selection of hot dishes as well! The guava seemed a bit odd, until we got to some fruit orchards later the same day. They have fantastic guavas and in other parts of South Africa, mangoes as well!
At our first breakfast, I started off with a croissant, some smoked salmon, a caperberry and some cheese. I had that while they cooked up my main course…
…which was this platter with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, sautéed mushrooms, beans and a grilled tomato. I LOVE breakfast plates like this. And the sautéed mushrooms were EXCELLENT and really flavorful. Some nice toast on the side, lots of butter and several jams were also on the table.
Our daughter had some scrambled eggs on toast topped with smoked salmon and served with a tomato relish.
While on a second morning she had an over the top french toast with cheese, bananas, walnuts and syrup. Mrs. MM would have this as well but without all of the toppings… On our second morning I had the platter of bacon etc. all over again as it was that good. Now well fortified, we were off to tour wine country…
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It looks like pink guava compote flavoured with cinnamon. Something that never crossed my mind and now that I see it will definitely experiment on when guava season comes around. I shall peel and halve them, then scoop out the clump of seeds with a mellon baller. Would be a nice change of texture from the invariable guava paste which is a mainstay of breakfasts in Brazil and the rest of Latin America. In France of course, they cut them up into tiny dainty morsels, call them pâte de goyave and slapped on them a dizzying price tag.
Guava is an abundant resource that we seemed to have not exploited much outside of as panigang and jelly. It was introduced to the Philippines right at the start of colonization and spread rapidly thereafter that the compilers of Flora de Filipinas mistakenly assumed they were indigenous. Lest we forget, Bonifacio’s Cry of Balintawak actually took place in a thicket called Bayabasan.
Truly pictures that speak a thousand delicious words! You probably will need some dieting now that you are back after such scrumptious meals.
I often wonder at B&B’s with not so many guests being served a similar spread what happens to left-overs and especially that they always look freshly prepared.
You are absolutely right, Footloose. We are so far behind our food processing ( and proper marketing included) here in ‘Pins as compared to Thailand for example and so many other unexploited fruits. Although I see some artisanal products at weekend markets they are still not so popularized.
Those pink guavas! I was just looking for some guava jam last night to match with my teeny, tiny manchego cheese, but to no avail.
I just had breakfast when I saw the picture of the (almost) full English breakfast but it still made my mouth water. T_T
This is the stuff of dreams :)
SARAP!!!! I just woke up and got so hungry upon seeing this post. I guess I will have crusty bread, smoked salmon, mushroom, bacon and grilled tomatoes–I have those in my fridge :)
I would need a week there just to get over that cheese plate.
O/T Connie C, if you are going to BC this summer, David Lebovitz was there recently and mentioned a few food spots he visited. Perhaps a quick visit to his blog might yield a few good leads for you and traveling companion.
That cheese platter, a few slices of fruit, a croissant with butter, and a flute of champagne at 8am will make me one happy camper.
Funny how guava has never been truly exploited (as Footloose pointed out) – was four Seasons (the drink with pineapple, orange, guava and something else) even from here? So much supply and yet Pinoys have done nothing more with it than sinigang sa bayabas, guava jelly (the commercial ones are just gross!), and eating out of hand.
Off-topic: I made a small batch of MM’s guava “cheese” a few months back and served it at a potluck with crackers, thin slices of cheddar and pecorino, and some Palawan honey – totally wiped out! It happened so quickly I never got to snap a photo for posterity!
Our local Philippine guavas, the small pink ones, do not travel well. I brought some ripe ones in my luggage to bring and cook alimasag with, but they got mushed. They also stank. Next time I’d probably pre-grate them, freeze, then triple ziplock. The guavas available here in SG are the giant green Thai variety, which I do not like.
Mimi, at NTUC finest sometimes they have those pink beautiful guavas from Indonesia.
we have a lot of local fruits here that are seriously under-utilized and under-appreciated, really. macopa, guavas, duhat, sineguelas, bignay, mabolo, among others— granted, at least where i’m from, they’re not quite easy to find, say, in markets/grocery stores either.
(out of curiosity, though, i’ve just gotta ask; is it just about seasonality/geographical location,or is there some politics involved here?)
The cheese platter is a winner!
Argh! I’ve been craving a really good cheese platter. That breakfast spread looks *wipe drool* DELISH!