Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Feel at Zen at the Zen garden-The Bamboo Oriental Restaurant review


Location: Lower Kabete Road, Past Hill View

Once in a while you get lucky enough to visit a restaurant that is decorated with elegance, and style, food is deliciously sinful, prices are reasonable, portions are generous and service that is fit for Kings and where writing a review is pure joy! Plus if you want to be where the trendy are at then this is the place for you; of course being treated like you are special also adds to the positive experience.

From the moment we set foot in Bamboo we felt welcomed in the elegant, trendy and sophisticated restaurant. Warmly greeted by the maitre d and our waiter our noses were treated to the fresh smell of gorgeous roses. The open plan setting decorated in modern dark wood and warm red and cream also added to the warmth and style of the restaurant.




The Bamboo restaurant offers a combination of Chinese, Thai and Japanese cuisine. So since I love Japanese food and my friend Mr. S adores Thai we were beyond excited to start ordering from the menu.

We immediately set off by ordering the spring rolls accompanied by a sweet chilli dip, spicy chicken wings and some Tom Kha soup. Usually spring rolls are just something one orders to nibble on while having ide conversation, but these springrolls made us halt in our conversation as we savoured their crispiness and enjoyed the sweet chilli dip that accompanied it. The chicken wings come wok fried in dark soy sauce and were cooked to tender perfection and drizzled with just the precise amount of soy sauce.Delicious.

But where do I begin with the Prawn Tom Kha soup? My mouth waters just thinking about it and if I am ever on death row this will be my last meal. I have had Tom Kha soup numerous times but it somehow always tastes over or under flavored, so it was a delight to savour Bamboo’s Tom Kha where the flavours balanced, complimented and flirted with each other. It was tangy with a kick to it thanks to the taste of galangal, lemongrass and ginger, the prawns were generous and not rubbery, soft and crunchy. So if you are looking for comfort food then the Tom Kha it should be coz with the mushrooms seasoned with coconut cream, chilli and lime it is the embodiment of contentment.

Since I believe that Bamboo is one of the best Dim Sum, sushi and sashimi joint in town we ordered a sushi platter of the Futomaki. The futomaki platter is a treat for the Maki lover as it has 10 pieces of salmon, tuna, avocado and cucumber wrapped in seaweed, and with a dash of wasabi and a tinge of soy palettes experience wonderful bursts of ecstatic flavor.



(black bamboo sushi)

Then came our main course. Shredded Lamb in ginger and spring onion. There is nothing better than eating tender meat that melts in your mouth. I recommend this with the Jasmine rice that comes in a cylindrical bamboo dish covered with palm leaves and tastes divine.

That is another thing I have to give Bamboo credit for. Food is served beautifully in stylish, modern cutlery with such elegance that you don’t want to eat the food on your plate because it is garnished and set in such an artful manner.

Of course Just when we thought we were done and full the wonderful owner passed by our table and convinced us we had to try the bamboo sampler. Groaning we had eaten enough for 2 days she told us we wouldn’t regret it and boy was she right. The bamboo sampler consists of a piece of heavenly praline ice cream, deliciously creamy chocolaty mousse and yummy passion fruit panacotta all served on a narrow, long plate.

Talk about bliss.

Will I go back to Bamboo? You can bet I will and I will even attempt to convince my boss to have conferences at the Zen Square Conference Rooms or just treat us at the Jade Coffee & Teahouse.

Published in The Star

Carnivore-Meat Fest anyone?



Since I was a child we have taken all our tourist friends and family to Carnivore restaurant and you should see how my family pimps and preens whenever they visit it, you’d think it was their own home.

Anyway if you love meat and are looking for a truly unique experience, where you are fed every type of meat imaginable in the open-air restaurant (closed side as well) where your nyama is roasted on traditional Maasai swords (skewers) over a huge, charcoal pit then head to Carnivore.

I love Carnivore, the atmosphere of the restaurant is rustic, rural, classy and very warm and can be enjoyed for lunches and dinners.

Before the meat is paraded around you, you are usually served a soup, which I have always enjoyed but never loved nor cared for (I want to keep my belly full for the endless supply of nyama).

After the soup, waiters come around to your table brandishing the skewers serving you an unlimited array of meats ranging from delicious ostrich, soft camel, juicy lamb (pork) chops, legs of lamb and pork, succulent ribs, crocodile (quite tasty surprisingly), beef, chicken pieces, turkey, chicken wings, haunches of venison, rumps of beef, sirloins and sausages onto your sizzling, iron plates.


(the lovely Rakhee from Spain)
A wide selection of salads, vegetable side dishes, and a variety of exotic sauces like the delicious mint and cranberry sauces escort the meat spread.

But I advice you to not fill yourself up on these as the meat is the highlight.

Dessert like cheese cakes, choc chip blondie and coffee follow this. The full meal including the soup, meat and dessert is a flat price.

Make sure you also try the Carnivore Dawa cocktail, truly delicious; however I wasn’t brave enough to try the ox balls.


(The popular dawa man-Samson)

The pigging out only stops once defeat is declared by patrons who signal they have had enough by lowering a white paper flag perched atop their sauces and salad tray and it can take a long time, so go there with 2 hours to spare, an elastic waistband and an expectation of meat sweats.

Service varies, a few times it has been exceptional and at other times we felt like forgotten children as we kept seeking waiters to serve us. I have never felt like Oliver Twist more.

But staff are always polite and with their popularity it is understandable that you get ignored but definitely not acceptable.

It will definitely be worth your while if you are a curious eater, don’t mind spending and aren’t vegetarian-though vegetarian dishes are served-they have delicious pizzas.

It truly is one of Africa’s greatest tasting experiences and is worth a visit.


(pub in The Star on September 16th 2010)

The writing bugs hits me!!

So you might have read my Showtime News blog which was created more than a year ago that's all about entertainment news.

That baby was created when I needed an outlet for entertainment dirt for my fabulous company, Radio Africa (Kiss 100, Kiss TV, East FM, X FM).

But as days turned into months, thanks to my talented sisters (Shina, Pinky and Farah) who all are writers, a fabulous journalist/writer named Javed Kana and my awesome editor at The Star-Mwangi Githahu's constant encouragement in writing (and for getting my work published in The Star)my dormant muse was woken.

I write reviews-restaurants, films, music,books- and features for The Star and since i enjoyed writing so much I decided to post a couple of them here (after public demand).

Thank you for being a part of this blog, reading it and for bearing with my Rara's (musings, or as my wonderful TV co-host says-Adatia-isms-LOL)