Kilemakyaro: Home away from home??

It is kind of obvious that I need to invest in a high quality camera because I cannot seem to do justice to the beauty that surrounds us daily, including that of the Kilemakyaro hotel. The view at sunrise or sunset compensates the "chicken skin" forming on your body due to the cold.

Why the Kilemankyaro? Well, it was planned, accidentally, two days before... It was more a journey for reconciliation but also with the intent of adventure and learning.

The hotel is described as "the perfect base for mountain trekkers and safari makers" .... I was neither but was treated warmly!







Home away from home?

Well, the perfectly mowed lawns make you want to lie on on the grass and soak in the sun rays and sip in the fresh clean air... but as one who thrives for adventure, a tour of the hotels surroundings seemed like the necessary thing to do. Surrounded with a variety of blossoming flowers, tree and coffee plantations, I would personally recommend it as a spot for a retreat.

The rooms are spacious and beds comfortable, even the single room has a bed big enough to role yourself around without the danger of finding yourself on the floor. The water, hot... so what more can a girl ask for? because after all, deep inside, I final judgement is really based on the quality of the food!

However, compared to its environment, the food...well...

Here are some snaps..

Breakfast

 Lunch

...after that, I felt the need to eat elsewhere because my half Chagga blood was not in agreement to the meal portions and price..

To be fair, it was a fair attempt from the kitchen but we all know after fair comes good, best/excellent! Just saying....


xoxo Moshi town, experience counts too!


                                       "Let your words be few, but your exposures many"

A taste of the East

#SuperLatePost 😬

I had not particularly intended to share this particular experience.. for several reasons but hey, when the universe eventually gives you a reason to smile, you gotta smile back 😃

So, I will share some snaps, and you can guess the country.....

Belphuri : A puffed rice, kachumbari and tangy sauce mix. Mine was the spicy version! This was my favourite snack experience!! 

Meetha Paan: This was my scariest experience!! They say it is a form of palate cleanser! Never have I ever had a sweet wrapped in a leaf!!!!!!! But hey, I survived, no toilet incidences either so I guess I can tick that off my #foodiebucketlist ...like it was even there in the first place!

Well, this had to be the MOST expensive dining experience while there, and to be quite frank, it was not that extra ordinary! Just your basic tandoor lamb chops and chicken tandoor! No really, a meal at the Delhi Haat is way tastier!!!

 Shakarkandi: Sweet Potato snack..yes thats right, sweet potatoes are a #StreetFoodSnack in here too! 
 

And last but not least.... my favourite chicken meal was courtesy of Delhi Haat! Heaven in my mouth!!!

Easy guesswork huh??

Namaste!!!

Adulteration..of the fermented grapes

Hey hey hey!!

2016..wow , it's already April 2016 ladies and gentlemen! Is it too late to say happy new year??😁

So this year I promised myself to learn more about wine. Local wines first, then the rest follow.. And by learn I meant take an interest, invest in a bottle or two or three..or maybe 4 a month....

😁😁😁😁

and instead of simply indulging in the fermented grapes, I would read some fun facts too. For example,

Fact 1 

😜😎

Fact 2: Did you know that Dom Perignon was infact a Benedictine Monk of the 17th century who "accidentally invented sparkling wine" ?

Fact 3: Tanzania has 3 major wines on the International scene: Dodoma, Imagi and Overmeer

..and maybe even pair it with food..

But as I said, the attention would be on local wines first #TeamTanzania 😜💪 and then the rest would follow! But alas ladies and gents, I have not been true to my nation...why? Because having passed by the supermarket(😬) where I usually source my local products, EVERYTHING local was out of stock..well except Namaqua and Dodoma dry white and the rosé options (but really, red is more my colour, pink is for .....?)

So, as a true Pan-African, I opted for the next best thing, a South African sweet red! And yes, the problem was solved!! But come to think about it, the next best thing should be from next door!! Kenya...Leleshwa wines??have those managed to cross the border yet? If so, where can I get one?

Anyway..the food and wine pairing..well that's a topic for another day really!

For tonight, I wish that your dreams may be as sweet as this adulteration of fermented grape juice I am having!💕💕💕

#PrivilegeRants : why economy class doesn't do it for a foodie!

 Flying for me was a somewhat privilege until my undergraduate years! Infact, if my memory serves me right, before 2009, I had only been on a plane once before.  I remember hating the experience of being suspended up in the air, ears blocked and praying every other second that the bird doesn't drop mid air!






Fast forward 6 years later, having experienced the likes of South African Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Airways, Kenya Airways, Fly540, Fastjet and recently, British Airways, flying is no longer a big deal! infact, now I want more..you know, an upgrade to business class or a taste of first class for two main reasons;

1) The comfort of the chairs/beds and the leg space(because we all know economy class doesnt really cater too well for tall people);

2) The food!!! I mean, judging from the pictures on the menu list of e.g: British Airways (which was the last airline I used), who wouldn't want to move to move up the flying class ladder?                
   
  
                                 
                       

                            

                  

                                          

However, one thing I may have overlooked these past 6 years was the decline of quality and quantity of airline food, maybe due to the fact that I have never been as hungry as I was on my flight to Kenya the other day!

Smaller quantities, more cold foods.. I know am only flying Economy class, and yes, I acknowledge I eat much bigger portions than most people but as one of my own blood would ask, "kwani tunatega panya?'


Anyway, here are snaps from my last airline meal courtesy of British Airways...



Tray contains: Couscous salad, Chicken with Piri-piri sauce, orange chocolate mousse, water, wine, cracker, cheese, milk for tea

                                      



                       

Rice with Piri-piri chicken

Couscous salad

P.S: I only really ate the rice with piri-piri chicken, and had the dessert (orange chocolate mousse), as for the couscous salad, cracker and cheese......

Don't get me wrong, I know they(airlines) are probably on that, a little bit of everything = alot tip, especially in the case presented above, but it is not working too well, atleast not for me!

Perhaps I need an upgrade???








#AccomplishedFoodie

It would have been a year this coming September the 21st but alas my bonding session with the UK has to come to an end soon. I have literally consumed the world in London alone, or rather London's interpretation of the world!

London's diverse offering of food culture can be attributed to the diversity of the local people living  in this ever bustling city.

From street food market offerings, to student discounts in restaurants to cooking dinner for myself and others,and being cooked for.... I have done it all ladies and gentlemen!Well not all the street food markets, or all the student discounted restaurants, or all the undiscounted ones but, I have touched on a broad base that would make any real foodie feel accomplished!

Therefore, I have every right to have a grin of satisfaction on my face when I lay in bed tonight, reminiscing on my food journey since the beginning of what has been a worthy rollercoaster of an almost year!

 

 

 

 

Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

The middle dish next to the croissants, is actually a Brazilian bread #PãoDeQueijo...AMAZIIINNGGGG!!!!

This was a dinner I cooked for some classmates. #Ugali # BiriganyaSauce #Pilipili #TakeMeBackToEastAfrica

                                               Who doesn't love some #ChickenGyoza??!!

#WagamamaPadThai

Because Sunday brunchtime was my favorite #WagamamaRamen

#ItalianSeafood

#Junkfood

More #Unhealthyfood

 

A quick #selfie before the next meal. Incase you did not know, eating is serious business thus the face :-)

Nothing like #Sausage from the Farmers Market

 

Your not #EastAfrican if you have not tasted food from #ThatchedHouse

#JollofRice mixing for a charity event

#FriedPlantain #HelpingToCookForCharity

#RamadhanThings "because we are one people"

 

I could post more pictures and we can continue drooling but my Mama always said, too much of anything is bad for you!!

 

Night night!

KFC..We need to talk...

So as all of you already know, chicken is my kryptonite so you can just imagine how excited I was to hear KFC is finally opening up in Dar es salaam!! However, I am ashamed to admit that I only got a taste of this KFC chicken just last Saturday......dissapointing i know, especially for someone who claims to have so much love for the bird.

Having tasted KFC chicken in 3 different countries (South Africa, America, Kenya) I knew what kind of taste I was expecting to have... perfectly seasoned, perfectly fried tasty chunks of chicken with that taste that you only get at KFC but alas...after waiting 8 mouth-watering minutes for my zinger chicken pieces to be prepared..and another 15 minutes drive back home...another 5 minutes to set the chicken and chips and soda right infront of the telly just so I can really savour that moment perfectly...I took the first bite...took the second bite...and first thing that comes to my mind is " Am I being punked" ?? Will Ashton Kutcher come out of the closet and give me real KFC Zinger Chicken pieces??


The chicken pieces had no salt...the chicken tasted nothing like the KFC i know...whats the deal?? Yes the chicken was crunchy, and cooked but It was missing that KFC seasoning touch...I was so dissapointed that before I shared this saddening moment of my chicken loving life with someone who I simply asked, " Have you tried KFC? and the first comment that comes out was "It doesn't taste like KFC right??? Its not that I am out to talk badly about you Dar franchise but am just saying, my relationship with you is off to a rocky start...lets put in some more effort, you perfectly season my chicken and cook it with that KFC touch..and I promise to come eat as much as I can when I can(though it will not do my poor stomach any good as I am tryna loose the flab!

Something fishy about last Sunday

Good evening good people!! Its was/is a lovely Monday afternoon here in Bongo (Dar es Salaam)!!and although am abit late to brag about my weekend, I'll still do it anyway.. Ok,it was nothing too special actually until Sunday arrived when we made our way to Bagamoyo with mama, my niece and some family friends.As you might or might not know, Bagamoyo holds quite abit of Tanzanian history, with the first Church being built there.

So we went round and round acting like tourists (just coz we could)through the narrow historic roads until we landed into Bagamoyo's fish market! At first it was not much of a big deal because I have been to fish markets here in Dar, but the price difference is what got me interested! I am a Mchagga, so any bargain I can get, I love! I really do not get that excited about fish that much to be honest but prawns and calamari is a whole new different story. So I walk round and round asking for the different prices of prawns( kamba-in kiswahili)..from 28,000Tshs until I found a vendor willing to sell me 5kilos for 20,000Tshs!!!!

But since I hadn't really budgeted to go prawn shopping, I parted with 5000Tshs and the vendor must have been feeling very generous and added on an extra half a kilo so I managed to get 1.5 kilos of prawns for 5000Tshs!!! So just for that, I decided to dedicate a post to the generous fish/prawns etc vendors of Bagamoyo!!I love a good bargain and am sure if your a real food lover like me, the more you can get at the same quality you want is always a good deal! Here are some pictures:

Fishermen at work near the ocean

Another angle