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 ‘Food’ 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 23:42Maharage or Maharagwe – As You Please!
In Food, Tanzania on August 3, 2009 at 19:17
As I mentioned in “When Did You Last Have Some Good Ol’ Baked Beans?”, my love for baked beans started way back when I was in nursery school. My feelings for beans in general, though, were not nearly as positive. In primary school, when my family had moved back to Africa from the US, I remember clearly the days when my brother and I would come home to find beans on the lunch table. Those lunchtimes invariably ended the same way: with my brother and I on our knees with our arms up in the air (my parents’ favorite punishment at the time) for as long as we stuck to our guns and refused to eat beans for lunch. Sometimes my brother and I would win but, more often than not, we would have to relent and just finish our food. Whatever the case, my parents eventually understood – my brother and I disliked beans – so eventually, beans became a rarity on our dining table.
I was happy about that and never considered rethinking my relationship with beans until, in 2002, I spent a week at my niece’s home in Dar es Salaam. My niece, quite a few years older than me, already had a home of her own, complete with a housekeeper who also served as a cook. On this week-long trip to Dar, my niece’s housekeeper often cooked beans for lunch. Being a little older and keen to be a good house guest, I ate these bean lunches with a smile. Contrary to what you may be thinking, my smile was not feigned. The beans were good! My niece’s housekeeper did a great job of cooking beans the Swahili way – with coconut. Read the rest of this entry »
First Baked Beans, Now Corned Beef
In Food on April 10, 2009 at 19:25
Excuse me, readers, but all the talk of baked beans with a recipe containing corned beef, has me thinking of yet another canned classic. This time, I’ve got corned beef on my mind. Read the rest of this entry »
When Did You Last Have Some Good Ol’ Baked Beans?
In Food on March 27, 2009 at 13:54
When I was a young girl in nursery school, my favorite lunchtimes were when I came home to find my Mom ready to make me a grilled cheese sandwich with baked beans on top. I loved grilled cheese without the baked beans too, but the beans lifted my meal to a whole new level. I can still conjure the taste now just thinking about it. Read the rest of this entry »
Absolute Juice, Yaya Centre, Nairobi
In Bar/Restaurant/Café, Food, Kenya, Nairobi on July 25, 2008 at 07:30Absolute Juice
2nd Floor
Yaya Centre
Tel: +254-20-201037
Aren’t you guys really impressed with how Yaya Centre is reinventing itself? Frankly, I am. Every time I go to Yaya, there’s something new to see and contemplate. I was recently surprised to see that Yaya Centre even has its very own Java. I am not sure how Dorman’s and Java manage to coexist so close to each other, but that’s for them to worry about while I get the pleasure of enjoying both coffee houses at a place so convenient to me. 
Although a lot of the changes that have taken place at Yaya are quite superficial, some of the changes are not superficial at all. Take, for instance, the opening of what seems to be a whole new wing on the second floor. You know the one that houses the gym, and the children’s play area? Yep, where did that come from? Is that where the Indian restaurant Minar used to be located? Well, not only does this area house a gym and a play area, this new wing also houses a great new eatery called Absolute Juice. Read the rest of this entry »
How to Eat Crab (in Public)
In Food, How-to on August 13, 2007 at 19:35
A while back, I went for dinner with a friend to Peppers Restaurant in Westlands. In the mood for something light, I ordered some crab. The menu listed two crab dishes – one where the crab meat had already been removed from its shell and another where the crab was served whole, still in its shell. I debated long and hard about which of these two dishes to order because the whole crab dish seemed more interesting. I wondered, though, if I would be able to eat whole crab elegantly enough for a formal dining environment.
Not one to be easily dissuaded, despite the waiter’s strong recommendation to order the crab-meat dish, I decided to go ahead and order the whole crab. I had eaten crab in its shell many, many years ago as a teenager (and remember it to be an extremely fun and delicious experience) but had never attempted to do so since then.
As my friend and I waited for our meal, the waiter began to prepare my setting for the dish I had ordered. First, he brought me two implements which I have since come to find out are known as a cracker and pick. Then, he brought me an apron to protect my clothing. If ever I doubted my choice of meals that night, seeing the apron almost made me change my order. Read the rest of this entry »
Ben’s Burger at The Nairobi Java House
In Food, Nairobi on July 17, 2007 at 19:56
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Today, I want to tell you about one of the tastiest foods you will ever eat in Nairobi. It’s a burger, unlike any other burger, that is sure to knock the socks off your feet! Read the rest of this entry »
