The Arbor Review: Nairobi Restaurant Week 2017

Yes, I know, I did just review the Arbor in December. However, I find that it's always helpful to revisit a restaurant and see how the standards are across time - and I also think that sometimes it's a good idea to review the restaurant without warning them in advance!

As the Young Women Social Entrepreneurs (Nairobi) board, we decided to grab a Saturday lunch at the Arbor. Two birds, one stone and all that. Nairobi Restaurant Week 2017's lunches went for 950 Ksh. for two courses.

Those of you who read my previous review will remember how much I loved their mulled wine. This time around, I ordered sangria (regular menu) - but not before I begged them to add mulled wine to their regular menu. Valentine's Day specials, anyone? I did like the sangria - it was fresh and fruity, but I think it could've done better with a spicier red wine. (Or maybe I was pining over the mulled wine... #notsosubtlehint)

The next time I go, I'd love to try the chilli mango juice. Doesn't it look (and sound) amazing? On another note, I feel incredibly fortunate to live in Kenya where amazing fruit is in season pretty much the whole year. I remember speaking to someone back in Sewanee who mentioned that they'd never had a real mango before. I was flabbergasted!!

For my two courses, I decided to do the crispy herbed wedges with a chicken Arbor wrap. Others around the table chose other items, like the pie tee and chicken pad thai, the Arbor salad and lamb Arbor wrap, the Arbor salad and siciliana pasta, and the Arbor salad with teriyaki pasta.

Can we take a moment to appreciate the beauty of those wedges? They were delicious!! The seasoning was perfect, they were fresh and crisp, and went perfectly with the dipping sauce they came with. Definitely something I'll order again, and it also reinforces something I learnt back in December - the Arbor is one of those rare Nairobi restaurants that actually makes potatoes exciting.

The chicken wrap was also really good - fresh, and I loved how well it went with the aioli! Personally I'd have preferred less onions, but I was able to yank them out as I wished. My friend who ordered the lamb wrap really liked it too. The lamb was soft, and the sauce, gherkins, cheese and olives complemented it well. I didn't try the side salad, but she did, and didn't like it too much.

Pie tee - nice and crunchy, and went very well with the sauces.

The Arbor salad (huge portion for an appetiser!!) with garlic bread. I gave the salad a miss but tried the garlic bread and it was to DIE for. Can they have that as a standalone item on the menu please?

Teriyaki pasta with chicken. I definitely need to order this the next time I go! It had a nice sesame ginger flavour, with soy and honey in the background.

Overall verdict: Great job by the Arbor! I'm already in love with the space, and their food is proving to be amazing every time I go, so that's a plus. Only two things to complain about this time - the service was a little bit slow (there was a significant wait between appetisers and the main meal), and when we ordered the sorbet for dessert, the raspberry was significantly less than the vanilla ice cream - not the case when I visited in December.

For those of you who haven't been to the Arbor yet - take advantage of this lovely weather and head over for a weekend lunch!!

Winding Down: A Family Vacation

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! Apologies for silence this month; but also, THANK YOU! Thank you to all of you for being such a great audience this year. My readership in 2015 has been the highest ever- especially so in December, which is crazy because I've only published one post this month so far! So thank you, for reading, and keeping up with the Kenyan Nomad, and all the wonderful feedback you've given me this year. As we count down to my favourite holiday of the year, I wanted to share some snippets from my recent family vacation. My parents and I headed to the Rift Valley from the 20th to the 24th, and I decided to completely unplug! My phone was on airplane mode most of the time, I absolutely didn't check my messages, emails or Facebook at all, and I got to spend some time actually reading! I didn't manage to fit in as much as I would've liked, but I did read 'The Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho and 'Social Intelligence'...

The Mayura: Restaurant Review

Happy new year, everyone! It's been a while, so I thought to break tradition and post on a Tuesday this time - I'm sure you're in need of new restaurant recommendations, right? Located in Kenrail towers, the Mayura is an Indian restaurant that you may not have been to yet. I'd heard about it, but never been, so when I was invited to do a review, I naturally jumped at the chance. Located in Kenrail Towers, the ambience of the Mayura has peacock-themed, warm interiors. There's a lot of space to sit down, both inside and outside. The restaurant is the brainchild of Rajiv Segal, who has a corporate background and being from Delhi, had a high standard of quality and had developed a distinctive palate, which he wanted to bring to the people in Nairobi. The menu was chosen for us by Rajiv (and boy, did we eat a lot!). For starters, we had some paneer tikka, mutton chops, fish amritsari and banu kebab (chicken). The paneer tikka was absolutely amazing! The paneer was fresh...

Return to Kenya

As predicted, 2015 has brought with it quite a few changes. In addition to three of my cousins having babies early this year, I recently moved back to Kenya! (Bam). A move was inevitable, as I'd predicted earlier this year. The last birthday I celebrated at home with my parents was my 18th, so I planned my move out in such a way that I'd be able to celebrate my 23rd here too. (Here I am, another year older (...wiser?)). It sounds like such a cliche, but I've been amazed by all the things (and people) that have changed while I've been away, while some things (and people) are exactly the same as they were 5 years ago. I plan to be in Kenya for the next few years at least, so for this period, The Kenyan Nomad will have a decidedly Kenyan lens, as I go exploring this familiar place with a fresh gaze. I've barely been here two weeks, and have already been inspired to grow my writing beyond what it once was; who wouldn't, surrounded by such beauty?

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