Food & Drinks

Swahili Delights at InterCon

tamu

A fish dish at the launch of the Lamu Tamu Menu at Intercontinental, Nairobi. PHOTO | Courtesy

Taarab music plays in the background, the room is dimly lit and the furniture is covered with lesos, the staff are all dressed in lesos, kanzus and diiras. The aroma from all sides of the restaurant whets the appetite.

I am seated at a terrace restaurant by a pool at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi. It is a ‘Lamu Tamu’ evening and the hotel has gone all out to ensure an unforgettable Swahili experience.

A welcome drink served from a wooden cart has the options of madafu or sugar cane juice and even though the weather is not as hot as the Coast, the drink is just as good.

The salad bar has various tropical fruit salads and soups like coconut bean soup or the fish soup, however I am not much of a starter person so I skip right to the main course.

All the mains are set up on jikos and then put on small sufurias for the guests to serve just like you would in your mother’s kitchen that gives it a homely feel rather than a five-star restaurant.

There is a plethora of dishes to choose from like the mchuzi wa pweza (octopus curry), calamari in coconut curry, beans in coconut curry, pilau and some vegetables. Coconut is a key ingredient here and the chefs did not fail in delivering sweet savoury dishes.

dafu

From Left, Ezra Mungai, Food & Beverages Manager, Elizabeth and Chef Simon Wanjau at Intercontinental Nairobi during the launch of the Lamu Tamu menu. PHOTO | Courtesy

There was also some ugali, which seemed odd but it is Kenya’s staple food so I suppose it had to be on the table.

To accompany the ugali, the chef prepared a live barbecue section with goat ribs, lamb and chicken. This roast section stole the show for me; the meat was moist and had that coal-grilled delicious taste.

Some foods were under a heat lamp like samaki wa kukaanga (whole tilapia marinated with herbs). They also served pan-fried plantain and bhajia (potatoes dipped in ghanthia flour).

Chapatis were prepared as we watched and was served with pan-fried vegetables. We had the option of eating this as a wrap. The chef put a generous portion of guacamole!
The dessert section did not disappoint. In keeping with the theme, the Lamu Tamu restaurant had some vitumbua, kaimati and vibibi.

Chef Simon Wanjau said they will tweak the dessert every Thursday.

“We will change the menu every week to ensure our clients get variety. Lamu restaurant will serve Indian, Portuguese, Swahili and Arab dishes,” he says.

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