There was no way I was going to travel to the other side of the world and not do my best to offer new food experiences to my Nigerian friends. Well, I can say that I tried (and perhaps failed)… I really wanted to get them to try sushi, but that will have to come with time… baby steps!
I have learned that Nigerians love their food. Even though the variety of dishes, from my perspective, is limited, they love what they know. My friend M loves his food hot – the spicier the better! Wow… I sure couldn’t handle the heat.
We went to a couple restaurants that didn’t serve Nigerian food and also tried some more American-style dishes at our hotel. Nothing, in my mind, was super impressive, but fair enough – we were in Nigeria, after all! 🙂
Soi 13 – Thai
Soi 13 is on the 2nd level of the building, with a very modern, North American vibe and trendy decor. With a funky bar and an outdoor patio, it’s the kind of restaurant that would be good for a work gathering or a dinner party with friends. Upon arrival, the Nigerian server asked if my friends had ever had Thai food before. The answer was no, and he bluntly indicated that they may not like it. He said the sweet and sour aspect of Thai food isn’t something that sits well on the Nigerian palate. Well, he may have had more experience than the rest of us, but we had to see for ourselves. At least my friends were open enough to give it a shot!
The restaurant serves up some very tasty spring rolls and satay chicken. Thankfully, the two appetizers were a hit. I was a little perplexed by the presentation of the satay chicken, just because it was practically impossible to get the satay sauce out of the bottom of the shooter glass after you’ve taken the first bite of chicken off the stick… but alas, it wasn’t the end of the world.
In order to get some variety in flavours I chose a variety of entrees: stir fried fish with Thai chilli and hot basil, fried rice with vegetables, green curry with chicken and pad Thai with seafood. I felt it important that my friends try both curry and pad thai – two traditional Thai dishes.
Well, the server was right – my Nigerian friends didn’t enjoy the sweetness of the dishes and even I found them much sweeter than what I’m used to here in Canada. The fried rice was the biggest hit, likely because it was most similar to the local ‘fried rice’, especially once covered in chilli sauce… If I lived in Lagos I’d probably only go to Soi 13 when I really got a craving for pad Thai or chicken satay… I can make green curry just as good at home and the fish was definitely too sweet.
The total bill, with only bottled water to drink, came out around $85 CAD. Good thing we had some spare change to purchase beef suya from a street vendor on the way back to the hotel. I actually felt bad that my friends didn’t enjoy the meal… 🙁
Domino’s Pizza in Nigeria!
Yes, we hit up Dominos Pizza on the way back to the hotel after dinner at highly recommend restaurant called NOK by Alara (see my post here)… Domino’s in Nigeria has many of the same ‘classic’ offerings, but also some locally influenced items, including chicken suya pizza. Suya is grilled street meat, seasoned with awesome spices adding heat and flavour (we tried beef suya from a street vendor). The chicken suya pizza was super tasty and quite spicy. I’m actually glad I got to try it.
The photo of the menu is a little blurry, but the pizza flavours included: Pepperoni & Cheese; Beef, Onions & BBQ Sauce; Onions, Green Pepper, Mushrooms & Olives; Grilled Chicken, Onions & BBQ Sauce; Chicken Suya, Onions, Green Pepper & Chilli Pepper; Pepperoni, Beef Sausage, Onion, Green Pepper & Mushrooms; Grilled Chicken, Green Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Corn & Tikka Sauce; Spiced Chicken, Sweet Corn & Green Pepper; Grilled Chicken, Pineapple, Mushroom & Chilli Pepper; Pepperoni, Beef & Beef Sausage; Grilled Chicken, Onions, Corn, Green Pepper & Cheddar Cheese; and Pepperoni, Beef Sausage, Green Pepper, Mushrooms, Beef, Onions, Olives & Extra Cheese.
Oh, and I should mention that alongside many of the Domino’s Pizza locations are also Stone Cold Creamery ice cream shops. I didn’t get any photos but we did get ourselves some awesome ice cream treats one hot, humid day 🙂
Kuramo Waters, Protea Hotel by Marriott
Most of the food we ate at the hotel was traditional Nigerian food, except at the buffet breakfast I always got an omelette made and ate it with toast and fruit. One day for lunch I decided to try the Cajun Chicken Sandwich and fries. Being Cajun flavoured I figured it should have a good kick to it. Wrong, was I… But, the fries did hit the spot. I wasn’t used to eating rice all. the. time.
So, back to the Cajun Chicken Sandwich – this was one of the most flavourless chicken sandwiches I’ve had in a long time. That being said – it wasn’t bad, just lacking in any spice or flavour or zing. My friend M decided to give it a shot one night for supper but asked for it to be seasoned extra spicy. It came out the same as my sandwich did the first time. We asked the server for chilli sauce but she was very confused about what we meant (even though she understood M perfectly well). In the end, I asked her to go to the bar and bring us a bottle of Tabasco sauce (there’s no way a bar can make Caesar’s without Tabasco, right?!)… only then was it spicy enough for M, although not at all ‘Cajun’.
In summary, ‘when in Rome’… unless you’re really craving a dish from home. But, if you do order something from home, I think you should expect to be disappointed.
Comments