CJ's: Restaurant Review

I've heard a lot of great things about CJ's Restaurant, in the CBD, but unfortunately hadn't had an opportunity to go there until very recently (who goes to the CBD for fun, right?), when I was in town for a few meetings over a few days - and managed to go a few different times for lunch!

CJ's is also that kind of place that has an amazing website - warning, their online menu has tantalising pictures! - so they'd kind of already endeared themselves to me before I went.

Two things I love about CJ's - despite being bang in the middle of Nairobi's CBD, they have a lovely, open ambience that's helped by the glass roof that lets in lots of natural light, and they have very friendly, attentive staff members.

I wouldn't call myself a regular (just yet) but I've already discovered my CJ's drink of choice - their peach iced tea. There's an option of getting this with some ginger juice (Kenyans loveeee ginger), but I prefer it without.

This peach iced tea is my new love. My bae if you will. If you ever need something from me, bring me one of these and your chances will be MUCH better!

On my first visit, I ordered chicken strips with masala chips, described as 'tender, juicy, breaded chicken strips served with honey mustard, french fries and coleslaw'. Honey, you had me at honey mustard...

True to their word, these WERE tender and juicy, and absolutely delicious! The honey mustard was a PERFECT complement. The masala chips were good, but not exceptional, so next time I get this I may opt for their regular french fries.

The next time, I got the chicken parmesan sandwich - described as 'tender chicken lightly coated in parmesan breadcrumbs, roasted green peppers, rustica sauce and melt'.

This too was - spoiler! - amazing, and definitely had a comfort food vibe to it. The chicken itself was delicious, the green peppers and rustica sauce blended with it perfectly, and the parmesan breadcrumbs were the absolute cherry on top!

In fact, I enjoyed this sandwich so much that the next time I went, and opted for the half and half (one half of your choice of sandwich, a cup of soup of the day with a small caesar salad), my sandwich of choice was the chicken parmesan.

This time, the soup was a lovely creamy Thai chicken noodle soup, which I'll definitely be returning for! The Caesar salad was fresh and crispy, and it had bacon. Who doesn't love bacon?!

Will I be returning to CJ's? Most definitely, and soon at that! In addition to their amazing food, service and vibe, their prices are also pocket friendly. Gotta run now - I find myself having this sudden, unexplainable craving for peach iced tea...

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The latest #restaurantreview is up - find out why I think @cjs254 is definitely living up to the hype! Link in bio . . . #foodie #foodiecam #foodblogger #igfood #foodporn #foodstagram #instafood #foodgasm #foodpics #kenyanblogger #kenyanfoodie #feastagram #yum #tasty #foodoftheday #treatyoself #instafoodie #thekenyannomad #buzzfeast #haveyoueatenhere #FoodieCamKE #foodpornshare #beautifulcuisines #chickentenders

A post shared by The Kenyan Nomad (@kenyannomad) on Nov 11, 2018 at 11:54pm PST

Haandi: Restaurant Review

If anyone asks me to recommend the best Indian restaurant in Nairobi, I'll definitely say Haandi. Hopefully this doesn't come as too much of a surprise to you, but if it does, or if you disagree, you're very welcome to change my mind! I'm always open to new experiences.

I don't go to the actual restaurant as often as I would like. Their ambience is lovely, but the location itself isn't too exciting.

It was a Sunday family lunch, and we were celebrating my parents' 39th anniversary (woo!), so you can imagine that we ordered quite a bit ;) In the interest of being true to what I write, I'll only cover the dishes that I personally tried out of those we ordered.

Before we begin - a huge kudos to Haandi for their service. We got great service and attention from our server as well as the manager on duty. The manager made sure to understand why we were there, gave us some lovely recommendations, and also helped us proactively adjust the portions we needed when it became clear that we had ordered (far) too much. Perhaps Haandi could think of getting wider tables? Punjabi families need all that space...

Another kudos for a website that is FUNCTIONAL and BEAUTIFUL! A personal pet peeve is going to an excellent restaurant with a crappy website - there's no reason you can't be excellent across all channels, is there?

I think I had a ginger ale or something, but my mum ordered a salty lime soda. It sounded hella weird, to be honest, but I think that's what I'll order when I go!! It had a lovely flavour and a delightful hint of mint. Plus, the salt was exotic not creepy if that makes sense?

To start off, we ordered the chilli paneer, the murg burra (boneless chicken tikka), and the lamb seekh kebabs.

To be incredibly honest - I've had better chilli paneer in Nairobi, even at Haandi itself! (Also, totally forgot to take a picture...)

The murg burra. Let's spend a moment here, shall we? Again. Without a doubt, I can say that this is the BEST boneless tikka I've had at a North Indian restaurant in Nairobi. The chicken was creamy and soft enough - think melt in your mouth. It was marinated exquisitely all the way through, and the chicken itself was great! Definitely a 10/10.

The seekh kebabs were great too - a little on the dry side, but good flavour, which sometimes restaurants completely fail to achieve when they're working with lamb.

For the mains, we ordered the malai kofta, dal bukhara, jeera chicken and rogan josh. I didn't try the malai kofta, but did manage to have a bite of all the rest.

First of all, the dal bukhara. It's been a LONG time since I've had a proper dal bukhara (black dal cooked overnight). This was amazingly done, with lovely flavours of ginger and butter too. Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to ordering ONLY this and eating it alone the next time I go! Thanks for destroying stereotypes about vegetarian food having to choose between being healthy and being tasty, dal bukhara, you the real MVP.

Can you smell it yet?

The jeera chicken was perfect too. It's a personal favourite of mine, so there may be a little bias here - but I highly doubt it! I loved that the individual flavours of this dish were so perfectly subtle that they blended together perfectly! We got this medium spicy, but I feel like this dish could hold its own without that spice if it needed to.

Finally, the rogan josh. Again, forgot to take a picture here. Good - but didn't hold a candle to the chicken or dal!

We had these with naans and rice. The naans were soft, but not something I would eat alone. However, a perfect accompaniment to the dishes above.

After all this, we definitely had to take a meanwhile before heading home for some well-deserved cake!

Have you been to Haandi? What was your experience like?

Osteria del Chianti: Restaurant Review

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Confession time... up until Saturday, the 11th of August, I'd never been to Osteria. However, my sister and I were long overdue a sisters' day out (read: a legitimate reason for a food coma), and so decided to visit Osteria. A few reasons for the choice - its reputation, the fact that she'd tried and liked it before, and its proximity to Keventers  (more on their amazing milkshakes later).

Confession number 2: I've never been to Italy. However, when I walked into Osteria, I immediately imagined myself on a cute street corner in Italy, so seems that they've gotten something right! Again, lovely to sit and while an afternoon away, to paint for a few hours, to share some laughs with family, to enjoy a dinner date. I love that they've managed to create an ambience that's so OPEN while actually not being that open... does that make any sense? Alas, I didn't take general pictures, so you'll have to take my word on this one - or go visit yourself ;)

To start off, we ordered the large (hey, it was a Saturday afternoon!) glasses of house wine. Now, this was definitely a pleasant surprise. Many (if not most restaurants) in Nairobi just add fermented grape juice that has not quality whatsoever into glasses and call it house wine. However, I actually LIKED Osteria's!

Believe me when I say this glass took me from starters all the way till AFTER I'd finished my meal!

The focaccia that they brought us to begin with was amazing, and I had to be careful not to fill myself up on this alone! It was fresh, with a hint of garlic, and some lovely rosemary. The tomatoes complemented it perfectly, as did my requisite green chillies in olive oil. Think of a light, flavourful, happy explosion in your mouth and angels singing.

For starters, we decided to split a soup - the zuppa di pollo e cocco. Fear not, dear ones - I did actually jot down the description this time! This was chicken, coconut, lemongrass and chilli. Now, reading the description, I immediately thought of Thai soup - so was unsure what to expect, but loved what I got! I think the soup and focaccia were easily my favourite parts of the meal, they were THAT good.

The soup was amazingly light, yet creamy. The chicken was great and had wonderfully absorbed the marriage of flavours the soup represented, giving a sweet and slightly tangy flavour, with finely diced onions rounding out this perfect blend. I'll DEFINITELY order this one again.

We decided to go halfsies (that's a word, right?) for mains too - this time choosing the tagliatelle pesto and the proscuitto e funghi pizza.

First of all, the pesto. Now, I'm a huge fan of pesto pasta, but somehow this just didn't do it for me! The over-sauciness and bright green colour served to act as a turn off, and I couldn't finish my portion. I wouldn't order this again. However, it may have just been me as my sister did like it, and actually had my leftovers for lunch the next day.

The pizza, on the other hand, was great! Again, light and refreshing (I was left wondering how all this light and refreshing food left me in a food coma so bad...). The crust was amazing, thin, crispy in the right places and soft in others. The flavours were a lovely blend too - I'm personally a huge fan of proscuitto and mushrooms!

Alas, we didn't make it to dessert this time (but I'll happily come with you if you want to go!) as we were planning to try out Keventers' milkshakes, but I'll report back when I do.

Happy eating, nomads!

The latest #restaurantreview is up! Learn more about my latest excuse for a great food come courtesy of Osteria . . #foodie #foodiecam #foodblogger #igfood #foodporn #foodstagram #instafood #foodgasm #foodpics #kenyanblogger #kenyanfoodie #restaurantsinnairobi #feastagram #pasta #pizza #wine #kenyanfoodie #winelover #yum #tasty #foodoftheday #treatyoself #instafoodie #kenyannomad #theKenyanNomad #buzzfeast

A post shared by The Kenyan Nomad (@kenyannomad) on Aug 20, 2018 at 5:32am PDT

Urban Eatery High Tea: Restaurant Review

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What does high tea remind you of? For me, it's a very specific memory. No posh dressing up, no outdoorsy event - rather, a warm, laughter filled event as family and friends gathered to celebrate whoever's birthday it was at the time, with the smell of lovely samosas in the background and the guarantee of a mouthwatering, homemade black forest cake.

I'm rather pleased that the trend of high tea has caught on in Nairobi - obviously, a very different kind of high tea from the one I encountered in my childhood, but one I can get behind nonetheless. 

When one of my favourite joints in Nairobi, Urban Eatery, rolled out a high tea option and invited me to try the same, I definitely couldn't refuse! You need to call in advance to make sure they have everything ready for you. What I liked about Urban's high tea is that, true to their character, even their high tea consisted of a blend of different cuisines. What would I change? Add even more cuisines! Samosas, anyone? 

To start off, we were given some tea (duh!) but the weird thing is that there was no sugar on the table. Luckily, right now I'm in a no-sugar-in-my-tea stage, but not so for my friend. 

However, when the goodies came out, I soon forgot all about this because the display was absolutely AMAZING! 

The top layer had cupcakes, vanilla and chocolate eclairs, a variety of cookies, nut cake and dark chocolate cake. 

The middle later had scones with whipped cream and homemade strawberry jam.

The bottom later had somakito, Philadelphia rolls, summer rolls, salmon open sandwiches, mayo and cheese sandwiches, and egg sandwiches. 

Top layer

Let's start off with the top layer, shall we? The butterjam cookie was soft and crunchy at the same time! The cookie with icing was a perfect treat - melt in your mouth good! 

The nut cake was very light, almost Snickers-ish. I'm not a Snickers fan (I know, I know), but I actually really liked this! 

The chocolate eclair was perfect and light - however, a little on the sweeter side for me so I couldn't have the whole thing! The vanilla eclair had all the great qualities of its chocolate cousin - but was just better!

What I didn't like about this layer, however, was the dark chocolate cake. It was on the dry side, and slightly bitter - definite room for improvement here! 

Middle layer

While the scones were hard, maybe overbaked - hear me out - I actually really liked them! They were hard on the outside, but a lovely texture, soft and sweet, on the inside, and I could have definitely kept eating them. 

I feel like I need a whole other blog post to wax poetic about the homemade strawberry jam...

OH. MY. GOODNESS. This was absolutely DIVINE. Tart and sweet, heavenly and fresh, I'm sure this will inspire many a love song. Goodness. Even if the rest of the high tea hadn't been wonderful, I would definitely return just for this.

Top layer

Now we get to the savoury layer - I'll admit, I wasn't sure how the transition would go, but I was pleasantly surprised! 

Containers for soy sauce weren't provided here, but this was easily rectified. 

The egg salad sandwiches' bread was a little dry - as it is, egg salad is far from my favourite, so I didn't eat much of this. However, my friend loved it, especially how creamy it was!

The summer roll was very refreshing, healthy, and perfectly complemented the sweet chilli sauce (which was great!). 

The Philadephia roll was good - not as great as the summer roll though! 

The sushi in general was amazing, I'd love this again! 

I finished this plate off with the mayo and cheese sandwich - however, I didn't see much cheese or mayo... On the other hand, the sandwich did have mango, black pepper and cucumber - and they went together really well! The bread on this was also softer.

For a grand finale, we went back to the top layer for the cupcakes. These were lovely and dainty and oh-so-good! Please oh please Urban, add these to your regular menu. 

Overall verdict? Definitely loved my experience there, and will definitely go back - who's with me? This time, I hope to see even more variety on their plate!

Absolutely loved my #hightea experience at @urbaneaterynbo 😍😍 read more in the post - link in bio . . . #foodie #foodiecam #foodblogger #igfood #foodporn #foodstagram #instafood #foodgasm #foodpics #kenyanblogger #kenyanfoodie #restaurantsinnairobi #feastagram #redcurry #wine #kenyanfoodie #winelover #yum #tasty #foodoftheday #treatyoself #instafoodie #kenyannomad #theKenyanNomad #scones #foodphotography #buzzfeast #beautifulcuisines #africanblogger

A post shared by The Kenyan Nomad (@kenyannomad) on Aug 16, 2018 at 1:24am PDT

Zen Garden Bamboo: Restaurant Review

You may or may not already know that Zen Garden (especially Bamboo) is one of my favourite restaurants in Nairobi. I definitely visit more often than I should, and I also realise that this is one of the top places I choose to visit whenever I know someone is visiting from abroad. However, I realise for a place that's in my top 5 for Nairobi, I definitely haven't done enough official reviews here - so that's where this review is coming from!

Their ambience is amazing, well suited for anything from a corporate dinner to a best friends' day out to a date.

For wine (of course), I decided to go for a bottle of Domaine de la Baume's Cabernet Sauvignon. I've never had this one before, but was pleasantly surprised. It had a hint of licorice and red berries - and mint! If you've never heard me rant about my experience with this menthol-tinged wine a few years back, please do ask me the next time you see me. Anyway, this had put me off trying ANY wine that claimed to have mint flavour, but this particular cab sav had more subtle hints of mint that weren't super aggressive. If I had to rate this wine, I'd give it about a 7.5/10.

For starters, the salt and pepper vegetables and the prawn cigars were chosen. The salt and pepper veggies were perfectly crisp and fresh - and my surprise of the day was that I actually LIKED the onions in this! I'm not a huge fan of onions that are not all the way done, but this was a definite exception - so much so that I actually saved the onions and had them with the prawn cigars too! This dish also had a lovely tinge of spice - not overwhelming, but definitely a good kick.

Also - look how lovely it looks! That's another reason Zen Garden is always a winner for me - their presentation is always effortlessly flawless.

The prawn cigars were really yummy too! The flavours in this one were definitely simpler on the palate - prawn, batter, and some chillies. This blended together to give a lovely picture that's a perfect complement for a wide variety of drinks, from wine to cocktails I'd say.

For mains, instead of my usual red or green curry, I decided to try the chicken in red chilli and crisp thai basil. EXCELLENT CHOICE! The flavours blended together PERFECTLY, and there were also varying levels of complexity - the sweet, the tangy, the spicy. The texture of this dish was also great, and I loved that the chicken itself had great flavour (disappointingly, not always the case at some restaurants). This dish was

A friend ordered the crispy pork - while the flavours were great, it was a little dry for me.

The only thing I found lacking on that day - which is actually the first time I've had this experience at Zen btw - was that the service was not as attentive as usual.

If you haven't yet been - please do go, and let me know what you think!

The latest #restaurantreview is up! Link in bio - read more to find out why I think @zengardenkenya may be perfect . . . #foodie #foodiecam #foodblogger #igfood #foodporn #foodstagram #instafood #foodgasm #foodpics #kenyanblogger #kenyanfoodie #restaurantsinnairobi #feastagram #redcurry #wine #kenyanfoodie #winelover #yum #tasty #foodoftheday #treatyoself #instafoodie #kenyannomad #theKenyanNomad #asianfood #thaifood

A post shared by The Kenyan Nomad (@kenyannomad) on Aug 13, 2018 at 5:39am PDT

Fonda Nairobi: Restaurant Review

You may remember a series of posts I did last year about the top dishes, drinks and desserts one must try in Nairobi - well, I'd mentioned a Mexican restaurant, Fonda, and decided it was finally time to go do a full tasting! I'm incredibly nostalgic about Mexican food (#MiCasa #YSR), and so any experience that gives me a chance to recreate those memories is welcome.

I'd been in touch with the managing director, so I grabbed a good friend, told them we were coming, and off we went!

(In retrospect, maybe we should have gone unannounced - we got to try the tasting menu and couldn't move once we finished!) 

I honestly have to say that this may be the best Mexican I've had in a LONG time. Fonda has definitely moved up into my top 10 restaurants in Nairobi. We had an AMAZING time. Great company + great food + great ambience + great location = always a win, right?

Fonda is located in the Rosslyn Riviera mall - a little removed from my usual Westlands haunts, but I liked where it was - and I don't think there was any construction in sight! 

To start off, we got a salsa platter (with 6 different signature salsas!), guacamole, and tortilla chips. The salsas all had varying levels of spice - and let me tell you, they varied from good-for-a-5-year-old to make-you-cry-like-a-maniac! Salsa has been around for thousands of years, being used as a condiment to give different foods more flavour. You can find out more about the history of salsa here.

I apologise in advance for forgetting the names, but I'm sure if you take this picture to anyone who works there, they'll tell you which salsa is which! My favourites would have to be the two darker red ones - but don't let my tastes influence yours! The thing I loved about these salsas - apart from the fact that they're made with ingredients grown by the restaurant! - was that there was such complexity of flavour and multidimensionality! Try the roasted pineapple habanero, and try tell me that you're not in love. I can easily see a world where I go to Fonda for an evening of margaritas, tortilla chips and these salsas.

The guacamole was good, too, but as you can tell, I was so excited about the salsa that I forgot to have as much of this!

From Fonda:

Guacamole was originally made by the Aztecs as early as 15th century. Traditionally, it was prepared by mashing ripe avocados with the use of a molcajete, sprinkled with salt and some hot peppers for finishing touches. This ancient avocado-based dip was a prized delicacy not just of the commoners in the Aztec empire, but reportedly a favourite of Emperor Montezuma.

The Aztecs originally called the now famous Guacamole “ahuacamolli” or “ahuaca-mulli”, which literally means avocado sauce. The name was a combination of two Nahuatl words, āhuacatl which means avocado and molli, which means sauce.

When the Spaniards came to Mexico, they too fell in love with this beautiful dip and brought it back to Spain modifying the the original recipe by introducing onions, cilantro and lime juice and calling it Guacamole.

Speaking of margaritas - over the course of the evening, we tried five different ones, and I loved them all! These were the margarita clasico (original), tamarindo (tamarind paste - not something that I would have thought would go in a margarita, but it was a perfect marriage), maracuya (passion fruit variation of the original), hibiscus, and mango y habanero (yes, it was spicy). It'd be hard to choose a favourite, as they were all amazing! Maybe these could come in a 'tasting' size too? ;)

Fun fact - no one really knows who invented the Margarita, and whether it truly is Mexican or not! There are multiple stories about its origin, with the most common claiming that it was a "happy accident" resulting from a Tijuana bartender named Henry Madden grabbing the tequila instead of gin to make a "Daisy" which coincidentally is Margarita in Spanish.

Margarita Maracuya

Tell me these don't tempt you?!

Margarita Tamarindo

Next up, we had the uchepo (tamale), which was served with two salsas (salsa verde and salsa rojo). I really enjoyed this, as it had a comfort food feel - and the salsa verde would have to be a winner for me! Uchepos are a regional tamale from Michoacan made with fresh, rather than dried, corn and served bathed with cream or as an accompaniment to stews. At Fonda, these classics are served with red/green salsa and crema. But the history of tamales is a long one and actually related to war - read more about it here.

We also had a tostada pescado, with fresh shrimp marinated in chillies and lime, served with tomatoes, onions, capsicum, coriander and avocado salsa. I loved the flavour in this! The different ingredients blended together really well, and I may have to declare this my favourite dish of the night. From Fonda, about the birth of the dish:

Almost 2000 years ago, somewhere in Mexico, someone decided that they needed to extend the shelf-life of a tortilla. And so was born the "Tostada". Tostada literally means toasted in Spanish - and is generally a day old tortilla fried to crispy brown. You can sometimes get baked or roasted options, but mostly these fried tortillas are then loaded with a bean puree and other meat or vegetable toppings.

One thing I really love about Mexican food - if you're expecting to make do with a fork and knife, you may have to adjust your expectations a little bit! It really does engage ALL your senses, and having to use your hands only makes the experience better. 

The queso fundido was essentially a plate of melted cheese (my mouth is watering again...) topped with sauteed mushrooms, onions and coriander, served with tortillas and a salsa (the salsa de morito). Another amazing attention to detail here - the cheeses are created specially for Fonda at Brown's cheese in Tigoni (another must visit if you haven't yet been!) Who doesn't love cheese?!

By this point, we were starting to get full, but bravely soldiered through. Next up, we had a plate of three tacos, all with different fillings - one with pescado a la baja (beer battered fish served on  a bed of radish-lettuce salad with chipotle mayonnaise), hongos y quelites (wild earthy mushrooms sauteed with fresh leafy greens topped with queso fresco) and the conchinita pibil (shredded pork marinated in oranges, annatto paste and spices). 

While I liked all three, the hongos y quelites was a definite favourite, followed by the pescado a la baja. The next time I try this one, I may try another filling instead of the pork. The hongos y queltes was a perfectly earthy blend - the leafy greens really brought out the flavours of the mushrooms, and the queso was a delightful complement to the whole thing! 

Can you tell that by this point, even my picture taking was affected?? For the main course (yes, we hadn't even made it there yet...), we had the mole poblano (also known as Mexico's national food dish) with chicken. This is an extremely complex dish, made with more than 30 ingredients, and it was served with rice, beans and tortillas. More about its history here. Did you know that one version of the legend about its origin says that it was inspired by an angel?

To be absolutely honest, this dish wasn't my favourite, and I may not give it another try. I feel that it lacked multidimensionality, and the complexity didn't come through very well. 

Now, it was FINALLY time for dessert! We did ask for a meanwhile in between, which thankfully was taken into consideration. Dessert for us that day included the pastel de tres leches - the traditional tres leches cake, but with a chocolate twist - and the coffee flan. Tres leches has a fascinating history - read more here! 

I think these two were the perfect ending to a great evening, with the tres leches being my personal favourite. 

To finish off, we got these delicious tamarind sweets - if you love sweet and sour (emphasis) on the sour, you need to try these! But do NOT eat them in one bite. You'll have goosebumps on your scalp!

If you haven't checked out Fonda yet, I have NO idea what you're waiting for! Aside from superb food and amazing service, their ambience is great and well thought out, with amazing attention to detail, and most things being locally made or sourced. Stepping into Fonda, it may be easy to forget that you're in Kenya (or even Africa), as the decor has been thoughtfully done to make one feel as though they could be in a marketplace, a veranda, or a cultural centre somewhere in Mexico. 

Every piece has a story, every space has a feeling, and every nook and corner has a touch of a cultural experience that you'll be sure to enjoy. The ambience has a strange way of making you feel like you've come home after a while - not sure I can do the feeling justice in words, so I'll let the pictures do the talking here!

Liked this post? Do make sure to let us know - and if you visit Fonda, I'd love to hear about your experience!

Special thanks to Fonda for some of the pics and the history behind the dishes, and to my co-reviewer for the night!