Happy Friday! I hope your work week ended well and that you are all set to have a rocking weekend! Now that we’ve had that break I promised, it’s time to get back to our series. This week, I’d like to know more about buying groceries in your city. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the ‘Beverages’ Category
Be My Guide to Your East African City #7: What’s the Best Grocery/Farmers Market?
In "Be My Guide To Your East African City" Series, Beverages, Food, Shopping on March 11, 2011 at 23:42Konyagi vs. Uganda Waragi
In Beverages, Spirits, Tanzania, Uganda on December 20, 2009 at 01:02
Image Credit: SpiritsReview.com/EABL.com
Not too long ago, I met up for the first time with a reader of this blog who recently relocated to Dar es Salaam from Kampala. Although we had never met before, we found that we had a lot in common including that our parents had completed their graduate studies at the same University in the US (at the same time and knew each other) and that we shared a common friend. Our first encounter was an interesting one where we shared our life stories and spoke about things we could both relate to such as the differences and similarities between life in Uganda and Tanzania. This we discussed at length. Our discussion went as far as to include the spirits produced in each country. My new acquaintance and I were both familiar with Uganda Waragi, the Ugandan spirit, but she had never tasted Konyagi, Uganda Waragi’s Tanzanian counterpart. She asked me how I thought the two compared. That question was the inspiration for this post. Read the rest of this entry »
Thirsty for Dawa
In Bar/Restaurant/Café, Beverages, Kenya, Nairobi, Spirits on August 14, 2009 at 18:16
I’m feeling thirsty. No, not that kind of thirst – water can do nothing for me right now. I mean THIR-STY thirsty. Catch my drift? (It’s Friday, don’t think too hard! 
) So…this evening, I’m going to take inspiration from all the honey and lemon that I have been handling for my hair and make a Dawa. What? You don’t know what a Dawa is? Read the rest of this entry »
Will That Double be Gilbey’s or Gordon’s?
In Arusha, Beverages, Hotels & Accomodation, Moshi, Nairobi, Spirits on April 20, 2009 at 21:21
Yes, I know. I’ve written my share of posts about alcoholic beverages. First, there was the post on rum, then the one about wine, and more recently ones on gin and cocktails. I write these posts not because alcohol is always on my mind (disputable by some 
), but rather because I am fascinated by all the different alcoholic beverages that exist and the even greater variety of drinks that result when you mix these beverages together or with other non-alcoholic beverages. For instance, think about how different a rum and coke is from a vodka and coke, even though both look the same and vary only by the clear spirit used in making each drink. Then compare the latter to a Bloody Mary (a cocktail made of vodka and tomato juice), the difference this time being the mixer used.
Well, that’s all great and good, but today I would like to talk about a difference that is a little more subtle. Imagine making the same drink, say a gin-and-tonic (G&T), and varying the type of gin used. Do you think this difference would be noticeable to anyone other than the greatest connoisseurs of gin? Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s Talk About Cocktails
In Bar/Restaurant/Café, Beverages, Dar es Salaam, Kenya, Nairobi, On The Internet, Tanzania on April 2, 2009 at 20:40
In the comment sections of this and this post, some readers and I shared our views on the quality of cocktails served at some of Nairobi‘s most popular bars and nightclubs. In this discussion, Mercury Lounge and Casablanca were named as establishments that were thought to serve good cocktails, while Hidden Agenda and Soho’s came up as places to avoid when in search of a good cocktail. Read the rest of this entry »
Ethiopian Coffee
In Bar/Restaurant/Café, Beverages, Kenya, Nairobi on March 12, 2009 at 19:11
When I was at University, I used to drink cups and cups of coffee. I’d drink coffee during the day to get me through boring lectures (especially when I hadn’t had enough sleep the night before) and at night to keep me awake while studying. It was in those days that I developed my taste for coffee: dark and sweet, preferably with no milk. Read the rest of this entry »
Del Monte Juices
In Beverages, Product Reviews on February 20, 2009 at 18:03
When I was growing up, the breakfast table at my parents’ home always included a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice. Breakfast was never complete without this! Somehow, when they moved to Kenya, during my teen years, that habit came to an end. Instead, at breakfast, my parents chose to serve packed orange juice. Still, they tried to make sure that the juice we drank was as healthy as possible. My father was particularly attentive in making sure that the juice we bought had no added sugar. This is how I was first introduced to the Del Monte juice brand. Read the rest of this entry »
How to Make a Perfect Cup of Hot Cocoa (or The Importance of Following Instructions)
In Beverages, How-to on February 3, 2009 at 19:49
When I was in primary school, my older brother and I always looked forward to our afternoon cup of hot cocoa. We’d make it with four cubes of sugar (without our mother’s knowledge) and loved to have it with buttered baguette, which we took great pleasure in dunking into our hot drink. (CM, if you are reading this post, I particularly mention dunking the buttered baguette because you always seemed so shocked to see us do this). Read the rest of this entry »
Did I Imagine Grant’s Gin?
In Beverages, Dar es Salaam, Nightclubs, Tanzania on December 15, 2008 at 19:51
Of all the drinks in the world, I must admit: I am partial to gin. There’s nothing quite like a well mixed G&T (gin and tonic – especially if the gin in question is Gordon’s Special Dry London Gin), and this my family knows well (trust me, I tell you this for a reason ).
The story of this post took place about a year ago, in Dar-es-Salaam, where I’d gone to visit my parents. My father, knowing my love for gin, often makes sure to have a bottle available for me when I first arrive to visit. It’s a little father-daughter thing that we have going.
On this particular visit, I was going home after quite a trying time in my life, and on top of visiting my parents would also be finding two of my three siblings at home (yippee!). I was really looking forward to going home, and as the day on which I traveled progressed (I was going to arrive home in the evening), I began to look forward too to the Gordon’s G&T that my father would surely have waiting for me. Read the rest of this entry »
“African Tea”
In Beverages, How-to on August 28, 2008 at 19:03
I come from a people who are truly committed to their tea drinking. On my mother’s side of the family, every time really is tea time (I am sure some of you, my readers, can relate to your mothers being like this too. ) When I say tea, I do not mean the wimpy mixture of tea and water that is served to you at most establishments, where you get to mix the water and tea in your cup as you serve the tea. By tea, I mean the potent, fierce stuff that is cooked on a stove and served in flasks that’s to be drunk at scalding hot temperatures. Do you now know what I am talking about? Sometimes, it’s more commonly referred to as “African Tea”. Read the rest of this entry »
Casablanca (on a Saturday Night)
In Bar/Restaurant/Café, Beverages, Kenya, Nairobi, Nightclubs on August 8, 2008 at 22:52
Casablanca. If you are up and about on the Nairobi social scene, then you probably already have an opinion about Casablanca. What is your opinion? Is it positive or negative? I can’t quite decide myself, which is why I resort to asking you first. In this post, I will do my best to tell you what I can about Casablanca, then you’ll have to judge for yourself.
Casablanca is a lounge bar/nightclub (do you think that is an apt description?), located in Kilimani on Chaka Road, off its intersection with Lenana Road. Located in the same complex as my favorite Italian restaurant in Nairobi, Osteria del Chianti, Casablanca was all the rage when it first opened its doors close to four years ago.
At the time, it was a member’s only (or so I was told) up-market establishment known for its great décor, swanky crowd, and interesting – though expensive – cocktails. I first heard about Casablanca from a friend who lives in that neighborhood. She was totally blown away with its beauty and all of a sudden seemed to frequent nowhere else. Read the rest of this entry »
Pasqua Pinot Nero delle Venezie 2006
In Beverages, Product Reviews, Wines on May 7, 2008 at 18:32
In Tips for Selecting a Good White Wine , I spoke about the bad luck I’ve been having with selecting wine. In the recent past, I seem to always choose wines that I do not enjoy once I begin to drink them. My luck turned a couple of months ago, if only for a night, when I discovered a well-priced, red wine that I quite enjoyed, Pasqua Pinot Nero delle Venezie 2006. Read the rest of this entry »
Tips for Selecting a Good White Wine
In How-to, Wines on October 27, 2007 at 16:54
A while back, a friend and I were being lazy about dinner. Instead of cooking, we decided we’d buy gourmet pizza (from Mediterraneo in Westlands), along with a bottle of wine from On the Run, and head back home to relax and hang out.
We were set on having white wine with our pizza, but weren’t familiar with any of the wines that we found at On the Run. Still, we selected a wine based on the description printed on its label and were convinced that we were walking away with a semi-sweet light wine. Boy, were we wrong! Read the rest of this entry »
Cocktails for Cold Weather
In Beverages on August 14, 2007 at 18:17
A few evenings ago, while getting some work done, I suddenly had a craving for a stiff drink. Strangely enough, I was in the mood for a drink that I rarely drink, brandy. Going with the flow and obeying my craving, I walked to the nearest alcohol vendor and purchased some. My plan was to drink the brandy mixed with juice, but as I started to pour my drink, I felt like having something more suitable to the cold weather outside. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of a warm drink cocktail whose ingredients I had in stock, so I ended up concocting a drink with brandy, warm milk, sugar, and cocoa powder – I guess one could call it a hot chocolate laced with brandy. It was good, but still, I wondered what other warm cocktails I could have made. I decided to do some research. Read the rest of this entry »
Fresh ‘n’ Juici
In Beverages, Nairobi, Product Reviews on July 23, 2007 at 21:06
How open are you to trying new products? When you walk around the supermarket, do you stop to look at product displays? Do you taste or try samples offered? Sometimes I do; sometimes I don’t. The determining factor for me is how time-barred I am while shopping. If I am shopping leisurely, I will stop and try anything that I find interesting. If I am time-barred, I pick what I need and go!
Recently, on a day when I was shopping very leisurely, I noticed something new at Nakumatt Prestige. In a corner near the fresh foods area and the butchery, I saw a stall advertising ‘Fresh ‘n’ Juici’ juices. More out of curiosity than anything else, I stopped by to taste some of the juice samples offered. I tasted mango juice, passion juice, pineapple juice, tree tomato juice, and a number of juice cocktails. Each juice I tasted was fantastic. The juices were truly fresh as though they were made from only the sweetest, ripest fruit! The choice of juices was wide and the cocktails served were well combined. The first day I tasted ‘Fresh ‘n’ Juici’ juices, I bought two flavors to take home with me – a juice cocktail containing tree tomato juice (for a friend who I was having over for dinner and who loves tree tomato juice) and a juice cocktail without tree tomato juice for myself. Since then, I have bought a number of ‘Fresh ‘n’ Juici’ juices to take home, the last being a pineapple juice that I bought to mix with vodka. Never have I been disappointed!
To tell you more about these juices, a liter of ‘Fresh ‘n’ Juici’ juice costs KSh. 179. The juices can be stored refrigerated for 2 days, at which point they must be consumed or thrown away. I am told that they can be kept in the freezer for longer, but I have never tried to do this, so I will not vouch for it. Some would say this is a downside of the product, but to me, this is simply a true mark of the freshness of the juices. After two days, or if left unrefrigerated, the juices become tangy just as freshly squeezed homemade juice would. Not to worry, if you feel you cannot or do not wish to consume a liter of fresh juice in this amount of time, ‘Fresh ‘n’ Juici’ juices also come in half-liter packaging.
If you enjoy fresh juices and somehow do not have the time to make your own, this is definitely something you ought to look out for. If you just generally like juice and always buy packet juice, how about putting something more nutritious in your body to get the full health benefits of fruit juice? I am in no way affiliated to the makers of this juice, but if they continue to make juice with the same consistency that I have experienced with them so far, these juices will definitely not let you down.
To try ‘Fresh ‘n’ Juici’ juice, make your way to Nakumatt Prestige, to the corner near the fresh foods section and the butchery. I have never seen a ‘Fresh ‘n’ Juici’ stand at any other Nakumatt, but maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. For other locations, please enquire at a Nakumatt near you.
Please let me know what you think if/when you try this product.
I wish you a great week.
Biche
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Bacardi – White, Black, Gold?
In Beverages on July 11, 2007 at 20:52
When I say ‘Bacardi Rum’, what image comes to mind? If you are like me, until very recently, I pictured a bottle of clear liquid with the words Bacardi written across it. Is that what you visualized? Well, you wouldn’t be very wrong if you also envisioned a bottle containing a dark brown liquid or one with a light gold colored liquid. What?! Read the rest of this entry »
Saint Jaume Valley, White Wine
In Beverages, Kenya, Wines on June 29, 2007 at 22:33
A few months ago, I was having dinner and drinks with a friend at Red Sea, an Ethiopian/Eritrean (I think more the latter) bar/restaurant, on Lenana road, where I often go when I want good Ethiopian food in a good social ambiance. The Red Sea, for all its good points, is generally not the kind of place in which I would ask for a glass of wine. In a place that I feel would not invest in their wine, I know that wine there can taste more like vinegar than anything else.
At the end of my meal though, I felt like having an alcoholic beverage to wash my food down. I was not in the mood for something strong, so decided not to go with my usual choice of alcoholic spirit. Instead, as I saw a cold glass of wine pass my table, I decided to order exactly that. Let me just tell you the first sound that passed my lips after tasting the wine that came to my table. It was a sigh of utter pleasure! Read the rest of this entry »
