Enjoying the flavors of Kenya

Kenyan gastronomy has grown impressively. Here is a recount of the top 3 best restaurants in which you may enjoy yourself next time adventure takes you to this spectacular African destination. 

 

Tamambo: Novels and movies in a spectacular hotel

 We will travel through time and movie memories while we enjoy a curry menu, in which you will find chicken masala, lamb and vegetable curry served with a exquisite bread created in their very own, Tamambo ovens, part of the exclusive hotel “Karen Blixen Coffee Garden” .It’s name is given in honor of the adventurous writer and creator of master pieces such as “Babettes Feast” or “Out of Africa” and who was immortalized by cinema. Merryl Streep gave life to her. Peter Englund always referred to as: The winner of the Nobel Literature prize that never was. Same she was about to obtain in 1962, however, it ended up in John Steinbeck’s hands due to her passing. 

 

 

We will travel through time because this place has been remolded to its original architecture, to look just the way it did when Baron Bror Von Blixen bought the plantation, and established a coffee company that survived until the 1930´s and the economic world downfall of that decade.  Today, made into a museum, gardens and restaurant, the venue offers a gastronomic airing, based in Hindu cuisine but grants a place to international distinctive dishes, that varry from shell fish to artisanal pizza made in a stone oven, of the place that without a doubt is among the 5 best pizzas I have tried out of Italy. The gardens offer a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere in which you may enjoy live jazz or, with previous booking, you may be participant in the special events based on the masterpieces written by Karen Blixen, play a chess match, a game of pool, or the deep rooted, cricket.

You cannot leave without trying the Pink buttered fish and the Devil crab, dishes that make Tamambo one of the most beloved favorites of this African country. 

 

 

 

 

The Carnivore: Meat and ember outside Nairobi

If it is given you are in Africa, and your gastronomic passion invites you to try exotic commodities that you wouldn’t under other cirsumstances, you must make a detour at The Carnivore, which is part of Tamarind Group. At the Nairobi suburbs it is considered an obligation to make the stop. Open since 1980, this place has already made it’s statement among several tourist guides, and is catalgued as a true feast that has conquered all meat lovers and their imminent romance with ember. Considered as one of the best 50 local establishments by “Restaurant” magazine, this place combines a rustic ambiance with the sensation of being in a mideval banquet, you can enjoy  several hunting prizes (yes, that is the word that in a gastronomic stroll in Africa, has a complete different meaning) which go from the traditional: deer, pork or chicken to the exotic delight of camel, wild boar or crocodile. All cooked over a massive charcoal grill from which all waiters take Masai sowrds and carry them to your table, in order for each diner to make it’s selection. Imagine the dynamic of the swords from your favorite  Brazilian barbecue and change the type of meat, the ceremony behind its preparation for something more in agreement with the traditions of the black continent. It is indispensable to try the drink of the house, known as “Dawa” and close your expirience with a local-grown cup of coffee. 

 

 

 

 

 

Zen Garden Restaurant- Gastronomic Serenity

Oriental cuisine has accesed an importan place in the gastronomy of this country and Zen Garden Restaurant is living proof of it.  For starters, the interior design of this place located in Nairobi’s west region, translates the expirience and emotion carried in a relaxed manner with a expression and poised emotions of traditional Japanese cookery arts, which acquire protagosim since it’s entery courses, of these, it is inevitable to order the duck rolls and Zen Ribs, these would be the first step to an adventure filled with known flavours but with a unique identity. Being the case you close your African afternoons with friends enjoying drinks over their tea room at Jade Coffee House & Teahouse overlooking the spectacular view of the gardens in the property, or decide to take advantage of the main salon with it’s dark wood and candle light touches for a romantic dinner, it is inevitable the longing of retuning in several occassions and be able to enjoy the variety of fresh products and the mastery of its cooks to create the classic dishes of Japanese and Chinese cuisine, in which you will find the cellary Lim Sum or the typical Maki salmon roll or black bamboo. You cannot miss the Black Dragon and accompany it with a cocktail of the house, which are mixed with local juices to obtain profound flavours and aromas that are not easy to repeat.