Hungry Expat's "Tomato-Cream Pasta Sauce"

One of my New Years resolutions this year (since I actually achieved the few I made over the last couple of years, I got cocky and set a "monthly" goal), is to perfect a dish each month that I can make for any occasion.

January's attempt was a creamy marinara sauce (I've clearly been a bit slow in writing/posting). I have, of course, cooked this many times since moving abroad since the bottled marinara sauces in Kenya and India leave much to be desired, in my opinion. They are either too sweet or too ketchup-like for my taste. 

Fantome Bar Exchange

Conveniently located at South Point Mall, just behind my home base in DLF's Phase 5, I noticed Fantome Bar Exchange a few weeks back while detouring past the mall due to the never-ending metro line construction. Just opened 1 1/2 month back, I finally dropped in a few weeks ago for some drinks with a girlfriend before heading out to an event. Once settled however, we didn't leave. The ambience was inviting and the music selection was good, but not so loud as to be off-putting where we couldn't sit and conversate. (Note to bars in Gurgaon: Knock it off; you don't all have to try to be a dance club. If you are a pub or a family restaurant your music should never be so loud that I have to shout to the person sitting across from me.)

Wanting to catch up with another friend in the vicinity, I suggested we meet at Fantome to see if it would be as charming as the first visit. I also wanted to try some of their handcrafted beers this time around. Verdict = nice ambience, good service, and pretty good pub grub.

Fat Lulu's Cafe and Bar

Ending up at Fat Lulu’s for lunch was a fluke; we fully intended to gorge ourselves at the well-known boulangerie, Di Ghent, only to be reminded it was closed on Tuesdays. Swallowing our disappointment, we dutifully checked Zomato to see what other options happened to be in the vicinity and decided to meet at Fat Lulu’s Crosspoint Mall location instead. 

Ladies who lunch

Sutra Gastropub

According to Delhiites, DLF Cyberhub is the only reason to venture over to Gurgaon and I am tempted to agree. Although Gurgaon has its fair share of decent restaurants it cannot compete with the many options scattered throughout Delhi's trendy neighborhoods. However, Cyberhub does offer Gurgaonians a place to eat out, take in some music, and barhop all in one location. While it doesn't have the feel of say a Khan Market or Hauz Khas, it's not far off from Connaught Place. Cyberhub embraces their suburbian-ness by marketing its nearly 50 restaurants, fast food, and lounge options to young professionals, middle-aged businessmen, as well as families. Furthermore, the open-air amphitheater regularly shows cricket matches on the big screen, hosts concerts, and offers the opportunity for wide-scale embarrassment for those gutsy enough to karaoke in front of the masses.

Photo credit

#SufiSutra with Indian Ocean 5 Nov 2014

First up for review is Sutra, a spacious indoor/outdoor bar on the Cyberhub’s 2^nd level pub hub. With unlimited ₹1 drinks every Monday, free drinks for ladies on Tuesdays, Wednesday Sufi nights, and live bands on Sundays, there is something going on at Sutra practically every night of the week. Most recently we visited on a Friday night and were pleasantly surprised with buy one get one happy hour specials until 8:30pm. Drink choices were limited, but still offered a wide enough selection to make everyone in our group happy.

Angelo's Restaurant

Billed as an "Afritalian cafe" on the beachfront at Shark Rock Pier there is not much Italian or African about the cuisine. It did have a few pasta dishes, some Thai platters, burgers, and several salads.  However, the ambiance is great with two patios overlooking the Indian Ocean. The restaurant is located on the "boardwalk" next to the KFC and below Barney's (a brewhouse with great live music). The food is very inexpensive, a full plate of pasta or half portion with a garden salad is only 49R. My friend commented that we only spent USD3 more per person than we did for our seafood takeaway at lunch and we had a bottle of wine in addition to our dinner. 

Unfortunately, the food is only mediocre and the service left much to be desired. The best I can say is everything was edible. The waiter swore to my friend (who did not have a lot of vegetarian options to choose from on the menu) that the tuna was fresh and absolutely did not come from a can. Hmmm, how does one flake "fresh" tuna into something that appears to have been scraped out of a can onto a salad? 

O'Poeta

So while options were limited in our neck of Kinshasa I was able to venture out a few times to O'Poeta, an Italian restaurant down the street from the hotel. With a constant bead of perspiration over my brow, the cooling patio fans and chill vibe were a nice break from the overpriced VIP airs that our hotel deemed itself worthy. Whether you are going to kick back with a beer and a couple of friends or to have a quiet dinner, O Poeta has the perfect atmosphere for both. 

Kampala Eateries

Disclaimer: If you're looking for an authentic Ugandan food experience, the restaurants listed here are not it. However, if you're in Kampala for a business trip and looking for some good eats or a fun place to hang then, by all means, read on.

When I headed to Kampala a few months ago for work, I received several recommendations of restaurants to check out. Despite my hectic work schedule, I still managed to chow down at quite a few including: Khana Kazana, one time sister restaurant to the Kigali restaurant of the same name, Lotus Mexican Cantina, Boda Boda, and Mammammia. 

Waterfront Bar and Restaurant

My colleague and I went to Dar es Salaam for a weekend of civilization away from the small Tanzanian village where we were staying. On our last night there we tried to go to dinner at a local nyama choma joint which we discovered was closed on Mondays so we went to the only other restaurant we knew in the area that had been recommended by her friend; Waterfront. 

Location: It's located in Slipway shopping center next to the Double Tree Hilton hotel in Masaki on the peninsula.
Price: Entrees seemed to range anywhere from 8000-25,000 TZS.  Drinks were a bit pricey for what I've seen reflected in other establishments throughout Tanzania; they were more indicative of Nairobi prices with house wine costing 5,000 TZS. 
Atmosphere: The shopping center is Village Market-esque with upscale stores overlooking the ocean. There are several restaurants inside; Waterfront is located in the back directly over the water.

La Salumeria

Fellow foodie, frequent dining companion, and drinking buddy, Cocktail Contessa, writes about one of our favorite (and conveniently located) Italian joints in Nairobi: 

One of my favorite culinary discoveries since first arriving in Nairobi two months ago has been a little Italian joint by the name of Salumeria, located dangerously close to my flat on Gitanga Rd. It's dim candlelit atmosphere and inside/outside seating options offers the perfect environment for both casual indulgence and/or emotional overeating, depending on your state of mind. Start off with a litre/half litre carafe of the house red (again, depending on your emotional state of mind) while gorging yourself on the bread basket, which comes with an assortment of slightly undercooked and slightly overcooked options. According to our Nairobi Nightlife Guru, Micah, "The squishy bread is the best, the hard bread sucks. It's like a rock." I have to agree, although I was forced to consume large quantities of the hard stuff due to Micah's aggressive nature when it comes to bread baskets. Drowning it in oil helps.

Indoitaliano: Updated

To combat the boredom of cooking dinner sans electricity in our new rural locale about 45 minutes outside of Moshi, my work colleague and I stayed in town after work one evening to grab a bite to eat and a drink. We hadn't been in Tanzania long so we just kind of wandered down one of the main roads and asked around for this restaurant since one of her friends had recommended we try it. We finally found it just off a side street near the backpackers hotel.

Location: Corner of New Street and School Street near the Buffalo Hotel
Price: approximately 800-1000 TZS per main dish; 2500 TZS for local beer
Atmosphere: very expat-y: when we arrived there was one large table of expats with a few tables of locals, but by the time we left around 7:30 it was expat central up in there. Randomly, it is also one of the only places I have ever seen a mzungu waitress.

Osteria del Chianti: Updated

Osteria is the purveyor of delicious Italian food throughout Nairobi. I have dined at both the Hurlingham and Village Market locations and just discovered that there is yet another location in Karen. I have yet to go there but I think I prefer the Kilimani restaurant as there is also a building selling ice cream out behind back. The chocolate was a bit strong but the chocolate chip was delicious.

Rolf's Place

A group of about 15 friends and I spent Easter weekend just outside of Nairobi near the Nairobi National Park. We started our Saturday by stopping at Rolf's Place for a leisurely lunch on our way to Masai Lodge, located just down the road.  

Location: About 1 1/2 km from the Masai Gate of Nairobi National Park; you take Magadi Road past the Mbagathi Gate and keep right where the road splits and head towards Rongai. Take the next left onto Masai Lodge Road and head towards Kitengela Glass Factory.  

Price: Entrées are from KES 800 to around KES 2000 (approximately $10-25)

Atmosphere: The medieval style restaurant and lodge is built on a cliff face overlooking the Nairobi National Park and Nairobi skyline. They also boosts views of Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and the Ngong Hills. As the namesake restaurant slash lodge slash entertainment venue of the successful chef/restauranteur they pay an inordinate amount of attention to detail down to the very silverware. Everything from the glass panes overlooking the river to the chairs and the silverware were embossed with the owner's name or initials.   

Mediterraneo: Updated

Location: Ngong Road in Junction Shopping Center next to Java House, Westlands in Pamstech House on Woodvale Grove between Lower Kabete and Mpaka (now closed), Westlands at NineWest; Runda near the UN
Price: Entrees 800-1400 KSH (approx. $10-17.50)
Atmosphere: The Westlands location has a smaller, more intimate atmosphere, but the balcony and patio seating at Junction is nice as well. It's nicer to go later in the evening to the Junction location as the patio is directly next to Java House and it gets quite busy and noisy there during mall hours. 

Que Pasa Bar and Bistro

I had been hearing about Que Pasa since I returned to Nairobi and since I was in the neighborhood one Sunday for church I took the opportunity to grab a bite to eat there. The place was extremely quiet at the time with few other patrons but the service was attentive and the food came out promptly.

Photo credit: www.kenyabuzz.com

Location: Karen Shopping Center
Price: reasonable
Atmosphere: The ambiance is lovely; I loved the tile floors and stone walls.