The golden hour is known well amongst photographers worldwide. In essence, it’s the hour just after sunrise, or the hour just before sunset, when the sky is magically lit in hues of red and gold. However, in medicine, it refers to the first hour after a traumatic injury, when emergency treatment is most likely to be successful.
Serving as the name of an Asian-inspired restaurant that brings the Tam family’s heritage to the capital, the term is taking on yet another meaning. Pretoria’s Golden Hour Asian Grill House is where you’ll find authentic Asian cuisine with a lot of heart.
Nazirite Tam, co-owner and creator of Golden Hour says that the restaurant was the first project he and his brother took on after their father, Enoch Tam, passed away. The restaurant serves as a tribute to the man who raised them and taught them everything about construction, the industry he’d worked in whilst fulfilling his role as missionary.
Golden Hour is quickly making name for itself with an interactive approach and palatable menu options. Bringing together flavours from Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, the menu is filled with cuisine inspired by their travels. Probably one of the most intriguing parts of the experience, is the grill tables. Patrons can grill their own portions of thinly sliced meat, allowing for fun conversations around the table. It might also be the first Asian restaurant to offer Korean barbeque dishes with game meat.
The premium Udon noodles served at the Faerie Glen eatery are imported from Japan. Served with grilled pork belly and baby corn, this makes for one of the most authentic and delicious dishes on the menu. Their Enoki Rolls – Enoki mushrooms wrapped in thin slices of meat – are also grilled at the table. Golden Hour thus offers a different take on the typical Pretorian’s habitual steak with mushroom sauce.
For dessert, we indulged in Golden Hour’s Matcha Cheesecake. Its stunning cream and olive-green layers were topped with pink flowers resembling the silk cherry blossoms overhead. This was undoubtedly the most Instagrammable part of our meal.
Whilst the challenge of getting a liquor license is real, Golden Hour offers a wide range of delicious mocktails and other alternatives to keep your thirst quenched. Considering the global rise of Asian-inspired cocktails, we are hoping to see some cocktails with yuzu, matcha and shiso on their drinks menu soon enough!
Following the trauma of losing their patriarch and mentor, the eatery has become the Tam family’s golden hour. As the two brothers navigate a world without their dad, they seem to have found a place where they can find his spirit not only in the sunrise, but also in the sunset.
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