African Cuisine and our Restaurants in London (Part 3) The 805 Restaurants Experience

I have a confession to make and its one that is so unlike me.  When I commit to something, its almost like a Lion sinking its teeth into a prey, the Lion is unlikely to let go of a prey until two things happen, one is the important sensing of the prey stop struggling because the battle is won by the Lion and the other is that taste of blood, fresh, warm and seeping into the Lions tongue.

There is a similarity to the way I approach commitment to a worthy cause and there is one that I confess today that I did not completely commit to and I am embarrassed to say I feel like I have not been able to put my heart into it the way I would normally, like a Lion, sink my teeth in, win the battle and taste the juice of success… J do I sound weird in my choice of comparison.J

OK, the real issue is that I was at 805 Restaurants last year with a few friends, including the awesomely talented and very famous Nigerian Footballer, Mathematical Segun Odegbami, Adetokunbo Adejumo and Kunle Awosusi.  We opted to have an evening discussing with Chief Segun Odegbami about his pet project, a Sports Academy, which is designed to identify and develop talents amongst African Youths.

Segun Odegbami has thrown his weight, talent, energy and money at this project and it happen to be something that resonated with my soul, so I was quite keen to not only just engage but commit to help.  That has not happened because of extraneous circumstances and I will write a blog about this some other time, so that’s my confession… phew, feeling better now that it’s off my chest… J

Well, that weighed heavily on my chest because I had a meal at 805 Restaurant on Old Kent Road and it reminded me of the previous visit with was with Chief Odegbami, Toks Adejumo and Kunle Awosusi.  I was so engrossed in the conversation and the project such that I do not have any memory of the meal we had on that occasion.

That also tells me something I feel is ominous, because when you go to a restaurant and your only memory is your conversation, inspite of the food consumed, it means the food could not have been particularly exceptional, possible even just bland.

The good news first, 805 is arguably one of the best African Restaurant in London, if not for anything else, at least I can not say anything other than positive about the ambience, the smartly dressed waiters, the feeling of being in an African Restaurant in South East London that in looks and environment will be at par pretty much any 3 to 4 Star restaurant in London.  I actually mean any, so I am not just referring to the African restaurants.

I spoke with a family of five, Daddy, Mummy, two older sons and their baby sister who must be either late teens or early twenties.  They praised 805 Restaurants and rated their experience as more than 4 stars, pretty much 5 Star, because the food was delicious, the ambience is great, the service for them was very good and the pricing was comparatively better than other restaurants that are of same standard, according to the head of this family, their Dad.

The Dad, within this family I spoke to at 805 Restaurant, said he has been to Mama Calabar, D’Eclipse and so on and the standard could not beat 805 Restaurant, yet the food pricing is less expensive.

I am hoping to visit Mama Calabar and other African restaurants being touted as really classy and very good.  But if, as you read this, you have been at similar quality restaurant, tell me your opinion.  Meanwhile, I am not sure of what to make of a single plate of Dodo with Omelette that cost £10 or single portion of marinated and spiced gizzards on the menu as Santana with a going rate of £14.  I had to chew over the thought of Moin Moin as a side dish that cost £5.50 or a single Corn on the Cob at £5.50.

My experience of 805 Restaurants this Saturday as I went in there to review it was like this.  I walked in with a friend and was asked by a smartly dressed waiter where I would like to seat.  I said anywhere, and she took me to a table that seats four but is arrange in a way that only two people can use it, which I reckon serves our purpose.

We waited exactly 10 minutes without any of the waiters paying us any attention before the lady brought the cute little menu.  There was no apologies for keeping us waiting for that long just to get the menu, but that was still meant to be better than the fact that she did not show again until I had to walk to the bar and ask for the Manager.  At this point we had been seated for 28-30minutes since walking in with no one to take orders.  I explained to the manager who apologized profusely and took the orders herself.

She did not ask which of her waiters had acted like a silly child, which means no action to be taken about that L The food came quickly and as I had been “nil by mouth” all day, I got stuck in quickly.  The Monika that I ordered was meant to be Tilapia £14, I got a Croaker £17 and it happen to be Hot rather than mild L  As I write now, the only tastes that linger is the hot pepper, because the season could not have gone into the fish, it tasted bland compared to the hot sauce coating.

In the final analysis, I can say I have very high hope for 805 Restaurant because of the reputation, and it did meet the expectation in terms of the ambience.  The quality of the food was said to be good by their clients I spoke with, but what I had did not win me over.  The service on this occasion left much to be desired and I felt the food pricing does not deliver value for money.  I would recommend it for those who are looking for what can be described as a nice mainstream-like African restaurant, but they would need to have the money to pay for that.  Deptford High Street, here I come in my next blog J

African Cuisine and our Restaurants in London Part 2 (The Squires Restaurant Experience)

The African food is a delight and our spices, whether hot or mild are truly special. I am now on a mission to identify the best places to eat African Food in London, I love eating out and I want to let my friends know without a shadow of doubt the place to catch the best ambience, fantastic service, money well-spent food, authentic African cuisine that surely reminds one of home, clean environment you are not going to worry about food poisoning and the place you feel like its home away from home.

I have had several meals at Squires Café and African Restaurant, it’s just opposite the popular MacDonald’s in Canning Town off Barking Road in London. They serve a variety of Nigerian food and only recently started serving breakfast too. You know the Yam with Fried Eggs or Fried sauce type, the Ogi and Moin Moin with Carnation milk and all that stuff, well, they do that and more. They are most popular for what is called ABULA, that is Amala with tomato sauce (Obe Ata), diced assorted meat, ewedu and Gbegiri (made from beans).

I opted to check out Squires last weekend for the purpose of this review. As stated earlier, I have been there several times, on one occasion with a good friend of mine Yemi Shodimu, a renowned broadcaster, Actor and currently Special Adviser to Ogun State Government. Please note that on all occasions I have paid for my meal and this review is completely independent.

The location of Squires Café and African Restaurant is good in that it is truly difficult to miss because there are several landmarks around it. Their ABULA, which I thoroughly enjoy on every occasion, gives one the authentic taste of home cooked meal from the western part of Nigeria.

They did well in ensuring the quantity of ewedu and gbegiri were spot-on so you get the flavor of both and when you mix both with the “pepper sauce or tomato sauce” as some would call it, the blend and taste is obviously classic. They serve this in a big china bowl with the sauces covering the Amala completely. What you see is the mouthwatering assorted diced meat, which includes, shaki (Tripe), ese-eran (cow-leg), beef and other meaty stuff, that with every spoonful you take, a piece of meat goes with it J

I had a taste of my friend’s Tuwo in Abula style and on this occasion it tasted a wee-bit like ground rice rather than cornmeal. The Squires’ Jollof Rice has a good balance of mild and hot. If you do not have the stomach for hot pepper you may be able to handle the fairly mild power that hits the back of your palate, so you are not likely to go watery-eyed or red-faced (in the case of our Caucasian brothers/sisters).

The food that my friends and I ate were quite good, but I spoke with another client who had just finished the breakfast at Squires Café and African Restaurant. The couple said they were not happy with their meal. The gentleman said the Yam and Egg was good but not much better than what his wife would cook, makes me wonder how good or bad his wife is J

Meanwhile the wife with a grim look on her face said she came just to enjoy the Ogi (Pap) and Moin Moin, but was disappointed by the fact that the Ogi was a bit on the cold side and too thick. Infact, her words were that it was more like Eko than the usual lighter Ogi she looked forward to. She also complained that the Moin Moin was not rich, as it only had tiny piece of Sardine and a bit of egg in it. Their experience was not great, but I must balance that with the fact that I have enjoyed all meals I had at Squires.

The service is good as I recalled the staff checking I was happy with our meal a couple of times and even offered extra meat because he heard me saying the quantity of their meat seem a bit less than previous times. The meals range from about £5 to £8 depending on what you are eating and the portion size is truly African. I could not finish my Abula and I think it may be a good idea to reduce the portion and the pricing to make it greater value for money.

The environment is quite clean and the staff clean up quickly after clients to ensure they maintain the tidy look. The have sky tv on and you can request a channel to watch, but the audio is not on so you have to make do with the text on screen to know what is being said while African music is on in the background.

I would rate it as a 3 Star because of the size and ambience, though the food and service will be more like 4 star. The only others are that African Restaurants have to work on is the presentation of food and Squires Restaurant does not stand out either. The presentation is just average. My rating is based on the fact that I am a fan of nouveau cuisine and would love to see African Restaurants aspire to presentation of food and creation of restaurant ambience that will enable them compete with any eatery anywhere in the world.

OK, next port of call, I am not sure yet, but will surely write another review shortly. I will at some point soon be looking at analysis that will highlight how African Cuisine could be presented to enable international community reckon with and appreciate what we have just as they now do the Indian Curry and Chinese/Japanese Cuisine.

Please comment below and suggest restaurants in London you would recommend I visit next. To be continued, Part 3 next… 

African Cuisine and our Restaurants in London (Part 1)

African Cuisine and our Restaurants in London (Part 1)

I had a brainwave, oops a friend who is in the Social Services told me a few years ago that brainwave has been tagged as politically incorrect in the UK because it’s associated with issues of mental state, so I should have said I had a “thought-shower”… so funny…

Anyway, my “thought-shower” was to do with the fact that I was doing a self-analysis.  I know l luuurve good food, I truly delight in delicious meals and for as long as I can remember, I have always considered cooking as being very therapeutic.

I will describe myself as passionate and exploratory cook that indulges in creating almost non-existent recipes, don’t be fooled though, because my recipes are based on combination of diverse cuisine and sometimes I come up with a touch of genius that enable me cook something that is divinely heavenly.  It’s not all the time though, and that is because I never remember to write down my recipe and the implication is that I more often than not do not remember how and what I did to cook up such delicacy.

I am also out and about quite a bit, so I end up eating out because meetings get boring when you just talk with no food.  How do you treat a friend that you don’t want to buy clothes or shoes for? What do you do for someone you want to pick their brains without taking them to a bar or pub as you know you do not drink anything with alcohol? These are my excuses for eating out and there are loads more. I can almost write a book on why I enjoy eating out.

However, I am not into fast-food, they just don’t sound right or taste good on my palate, not to mention the effect of junk food that I see everyday on the streets of London, especially with those who live on fast food and no exercise planned to burn the excess weight.

I am very adventurous with food so I am comfortable eating Mexican Fajita or Spanish Paella or Tortilla, I will be equally excited about eating Mediterranean seafood or salads with some of the interesting leaves.  My food does not have to be exotic so I can handle the variety of English or French, and will be fine with the sometimes bland cuisine of the Dutch as potatoes seem to be in every dish.  The frog delicacy is the one thing I am not too keen to try J

The one food that I know hits my palate and create a different kind of excitement is cooking from “Motherland”… umm umm umm… yum yum, the thought of it alone is making me hungry as I string these thoughts together, cooking up my ideas and chewing on the thoughts as they develop into words.  I luurve African Food and I am adventurous enough to taste all of them whenever I have the opportunity.

My trips to South Africa and places visited are remembered by the food and people, I can not forget the Biltong soup, Bobotie with some Chakalaka and a bit of yellow rice on the side and of course topped with sweet dumplings for dessert.  The memories’ got my face brightening up now… J

My first travel to East Africa was at the invitation of my good friend Salim Amin and I had little time to see much in Nairobi, Kenya, but in that time I can not deny the fact that the food was wonderful.  I tried the variety of Nyama Choma, had a good go at the Ugali (Cornmeal Porridge), I could never believe that plantain could be cooked in Coconut Milk, but Kenyans do it well, and inspite of the fact that I am teetotal, I still enjoyed a pint of Tusker mixed with lemonade to give me my favorite shandy… J

I am still waiting for my first opportunity to visit North of Africa so I can associate my experience of the people with their cooking in Marrakesh, Tunis, Cairo etc… That trip should come soon, hopefully sometime this year.  I missed a chance to visit Cairo and still kick myself when I realized I should have jumped instead of allowing other engagements stop me.

As a Nigerian, with the knowledge that we have 250 odd tribes with their own cuisine and recipes, we are a mini-Africa without doubt.  I have been fortunate to have traveled the length and breadth of the country.  I schooled in the North and did my NYSC there too, I grew up in the West and did some schooling there, and I am truly lucky to have been a national secretary of a student association that saw me traverse the South and East of Nigeria, visiting practically all the institutions of higher learning.

I have tasted a variety of the food around the country from Tuwo Cinkafa from the North, ate loads of Kuli Kuli and groundnuts that I used to believe gave me pimples, tried Edikaikong and while I was in Calabar, someone joked about the meat in it being 404 (I will not bother to translate that one) J, then there are other delicacies like Isi-Ewu (Goat Head), Pounded Yam with assorted meat, we even have designer rice with sauce in Lagos J

Having said all that, the African food is a delight and our spices, whether hot or mild are truly special.  I am now on a mission to identify the best places to eat African Food in London, I love eating out and I want to let my friends know without a shadow of doubt the place to catch the best ambience, fantastic service, money well-spent food, authentic African cuisine that surely reminds one of home, clean environment you are not going to worry about food poisoning and the place you feel like its home away from home.

My first restaurant to visit is Squires, it’s just opposite the popular MacDonald’s in Canning Town off Barking Road in London.  They serve a variety of Nigerian food and only recently started serving breakfast too.  You know the Yam with Fried Eggs or Fried sauce type, the Ogi and Moin Moin with Carnation milk and all that stuff, well, they do that and more.  They are most popular for what is called ABULA, that is Amala with tomato sauce, diced assorted meat, and Gbegiri (made from beans).

I am playing this like the Nollywood film so the rest of  this continues in Part 2… to be continued… J