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Oceans 11..my seafood foray

Oceans 11.

I'm not a seafood lover, or liker (grammatically!) even. So if i have a lunch meeting, i safely steer the decision making process towards a restaurant or hangout that has chicken wings, if nothing else, on its menu. BUT, I had this meet and my friend Tiz, said Ocean's 11 and i loved the movie so.....I sha went.


ummmm, it was a mixed reactions thing.....I liked the place as soon as we drove in. it's situated in Wuse 2 and I was worried we might have had to wait for street parking on a busy route. So, finding out we could drive in at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon was great.

You can see from the pictures that it's an outdoor arrangement. Not bad. Small enough to be cosy, but not so small that you want to order take-out and seek the privacy of your ride, LOL.

artificial spring. would definitely look great at night

Oceans 11...  I quite expected something different from the name. That part of me that just has to rear her head when I'm trying to be serious actually hoped to see memorabilia from the movie, or at least a lame cutout of George Clooney or Brad Pitt. But what I'm referring to is the abscence of anything relating to the underwater. There is a little artificial spring which I'd love to see at night with the stars in the sky and the bulbs lit. I bet it would look great. Add to that, some sea creature themed salt and pepper shakers, an underwater scene setter somewhere on the premises, and a change in the layout of the menu, and the place will scream "seafood". After all, that's all the place is about, abi

place ur order, take a seat







Well, enough about the scenery and my penchant(?) tendency for nitpicking over weird details. Let's talk fooood!







 I had grilled croaker, Taiwo had grilled prawns. Each came with an option of rice, noodles, chips or boli. so, we had basmati rice.....

I wasn't knocked sideways by the taste or the presentation. the grilled croaker was nice-tasting but because it wasn't prepared in the sauce that was generously slathered on it, I would have preferred the sauce on the side. And I'm heavy on presentation, I wasn't bowled over by the look of my meal. i believe so much more could be done.




         The prawns weren't bad (Taiwo's words). If i were the owner, I'd have clients do tiny reviews on their bills so I'd know immediately what their experiences were. It's a small place so that shouldn't be too difficult. a 'not bad' review of a restaurant's key offering isn't favourable sha

grilled prawns, tomato and chilli sauce. side of Basmati rice

 

 

So, here's a summary of my Oceans 11 visit. If you find it useful, lemme know. If you dont, I'll put a seafood hex on ye. LOL:

 

 

1. Location: 7/10...great location, within a 10 minute drive of most office within Central Abuja. Parking availability is a biggie for me when deciding a midday lunch venue. Jevinik, Chopsticks, Biobak etc are places whose rush hour traffic issues are infuriating
2. Ambience/Scenery, etc: 7/10 the picket fence enclosure is like a hearty welcoming greeting. the faux grass carpet means is clean and has no discernible smell. Overall, it's clean and comfortable. It will be cold sometimes especially with the rains but it's an outdoor place so it's to be expected. It's promixity to the stand-by generator is annoying though. Not close enough that u have to yell to be heard though.
3. Service: 6/10. yes, the attendant-cum-waitress was pleasant but rush hour meals need to be a little faster, and service a little smarter. Plus any meal that takes over 15 minutes in preparation time shoud be preceded by chips, a mag, or sweets on the house
4. Cost: 6/10 @ an average of 2k per plate, it's not the most expensive meal in Abuja. For that however, I'd rather do the croaker at Calypso or the Grilled Wings at Nkoyo. Ocean's 11 should have the fish recipe tweaked a little.
5. TASTE: 5/10. Not the greatest. i liked the rice, the veggies were nicely cooked: not too tender, not too crunchy. The fish though, I really didn't 'feel'. I like my grilled fish well spiced, and this was a tad under spiced and the sauce didn't pull the meal together. I will go back soon though cos I did like the place so I'll give it a 2nd try.

That's it for now....gotta dash.

 

 

xoxo

 

nk

 

 

restaurant deets:

Plot 135 Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja 

twitter: @oceans11seafood

cell:      07057725555

 

YogurBerry.....yogurt on speed, lol

YogurBerry...well the name alone makes u extremely curious. Anyway, had a meet with a friend/biz partner and we settled for YogurBerry since I'd never been there. Hmmm, how do I start?!

The place is kinda cold....has to be to keep the frozen and cold delights at lip-licking temperature. I can't believe I'd never been there. They have offerings like yogurt smoothies, frozen yogurt and the yogurt parfait with a nice array of toppings and tower options. 

 I had the Yogurt Parfait....this is where it gets interesting. The Yogurt Parfait (even the name sounds like a romantic whisper, hia!) begins with a sweet unflavored yogurt base. Next comes an interesting and healthy layer of cereal and fruits. I had granola, followed by Apple, pineapple and watermelon. Topping this cold tower is a large helping of pomegranate yogurt...my mouth is watering as I write this even. lol. For extra sweetness, there's a sweet wafer roll nestled nicely at the top, to the side. As u may have alresdy guessed, my meeting didn't start early. I was too busy wolfing my Yogurty surprise down and trying to keep inappropriate sounds to no more than the occasional greedy moan, or were they growls, escaping my throat. Hehe.

So did I like the place? I hear someone yelling 'trick question, trick question!'. Yes, I really did. So here's my take on YogurBerry:

 

• Ambience/atmosphere: nice setting, great lighting. soothing colors too. not particularly crazy about the cold though. 7/10

• servings: portions are great and the taste is really, well, 'tasty'. you know how th taste of really creamy ice cream is heightened by the slow slide of a spoonful down ur throat? well, my yogurt parfait was all that and more. and cold as it was, I didn't get 'brain freeze' even though I was gulping like crazy. i'd however have liked the cereal and fruits to have come in layers interspersed with the flavored yogurt cos the tastes didn't gel as much as i'd have liked until I started to spoon 'a lil of this', 'a lil of that'. 8/10

• service: neatly uniformed, disposable-gloved attendants were polite, and helpful even when Taiwo threw a mock-tantrum, as is his wont. lol. that's a plus. one was bored though and it showed. I honestly considered doing a tabletop dance to jazz her day up.

• pricing: the stuff I bough to eat in and take away all cost between 800 and 1100 per serving. that's a great offer for the mix u get. 9/10

• location. hmmm.  yogur Berry is on the same street as Jevinik in Wuse 2, nestled btw Kalamarie and Tulip Bistro (doing those soon). theoretically, its a great location cos Wue 2 is central. parking available is primarily street parking so I guess that may be an ish at some point. it wasn't that day though, the street parking attendant easily found me a spot 7/10

• other, other, other stuff: I love what Yogur berry has to offer. I however would have liked to see a hot beverage on the menu. im sure some yogurt version of the cappuccino would be a hit with customers. I also think having something to nibble on like scones, biscuits or similar may resonate with more customers than otherwise.

that's it for tonight. if u read, lemme know what u think. if u've other places u'd like a review of, lemme know. i'll swing by sometime.


e-yogurberry: www.facebook.com/YogurberryNigera and https://twitter.com/yogurberryNG


xoxo,
nkechi

the place called Nkoyo - Masala Wahala

 

 

i recently discovered Nkoyo...thanks to my on--point friend, adopted bro and all-round #runsman Emmanuel Ogar (@ianspi on twitter). Business lunches should be this much fun. it was a pleasant discovery from the ambience to the food and the service.

 

 

we were greeted by a nicely dressed pretty lady, shown to a table of our choosing (wasn't rush-hour)...the regular niceties. nothing overly special but definitely an issue when not available.

 

Nkoyo in Ceddi Plaza, houses Nkoyo: Nigerian delicacies and grills, and Masala Wahala: South India Cuisine. we did the Nkoyo part of the whole shebang.

 

The magic began when we were served lightly salted, almost wafer-thin, really crispy chips to get our taste buds ready while we placed our orders. try as i did, i couldn't place the taste. i was pleasantly surprised to hear it was cassava.. 9ce 1! For a health-conscious (i tell myself that) person, that's a great idea. i swore i'd look for it for regular midday snacks.

 

my starter of grilled pepper wings was a mouth-watering delight. the pepper/chilli was real 9ja pepper...i always get frustrated when i eat 'hot and spicy' pepper wings and i cant feel the insides of my mouth explode in sheer delight at the pepper. and it was a nice serving portion! a doz wings for N1,500. i'm still grinning inwardly at the memory. suffice to say, i had nothing else apart from the Nkoyo fruit cocktail of watermelon, pineapple and....(can't recall the third, oops!)

 

Ogar had spicy grilled fish (boneless giwan ruwa), which was served with jollof rice. ok, that fillet of fish was a good size sha. and tasted divine. again, the spicy was truly spicy..not peppersoup kinda spicy but nicely hot and soft on the inside. decent portions too.

 

i had a club sandwich to-go. that turned out nice too. nicely toasted bread, fresh tomatoes, fresh avocado, crisp bacon, lemon mayo...accompanied by a side of fries. ok. my friend had that when i got back to the office so my diet wasn't shot to hell. tasted it. i'm not partial to bacon so i never really liked club sandwiches so.....my friend liked it sha so thats a plus.

 

 

ok! before i start nibbling on my knuckles and salivating, lemme do a summary. here goes:

 

• Location: Nkoyo is at Aminu Kani Cresent, Wuse 2 and also at Ceddi Plaza (Nkoyo/Masala Wahala). that central enough and Ceddi has more parking options since the provision of the extrenal parking lot. 8/10
• Ambience; now, this is a high point scorer here. the floors are wooden tiles (teak, from Kaduna..made in Kaduna). lightly buffed, they provide a great foundation for the earth-tones ambience. strategically placed palm and other well-treated plants makes for a warmness that's instantly inviting and calming. i loved the lights, the wooden and other art pieces and the stairway in Masala Wahala...anyway, the pics attached say more. 9/10
• Food/Drink: ok, i've only had the cassava chips, crazy-cool pepper wings and a stolen helping of the spicy grilled fish. but what i had, i positively loved. i'd have liked that the drinks were slightly larger..like a medium glass of chapman but that's me being liquid-greedy sha. 8/10
• pricing: ook. for starters, a doz wings, well prepared, well served for N1500. i'm loving. 'nuff said. lol. spicy grilled fish 2950 and club sandwich 1500...in all, not bad abi? 9/10 cos if e cheap pass, i for no complain (i hear my friend yelling 'tif'!)

that's about it. been there, had fun..going back soon.

 

www.facebook.com/nkoyo

 

 

 

 

 

 

why? or why ever not? anyway here goes my first review

as always, i'm already wondering what in heaven's name i'm doing typing this. i mean, let's face it, i'm not one for going out at all. however, i guess this works for me cos while dong this, i get to identify exactly what i liked or didn't, about a particular place or it's service. only problem is, i've only been to allof, say 10 joints/hangoouts etc. in over 3 years so i've got to change even that. #coldfeet

anyway, i did visit this place a little while ago (see, its late already) and i really liked their stuff. or did until the medical report indicated i should stay clear os salt and heavily spiced meals.....hmm

its called Calypso...this place i love. restaurant-cum-joint in Wuse2. the catfish slowcooked in in a yam-cubes-and-native-spice porridge is #fingerlickinggood. its a hot and aromatic delight and makes a pleasant change from the regular roast fish and chips.

so how do i rate Calypso? here goes:

1. Location: gets a 7/10...i mean its on the road opp AP Plaza in Wuse 2...easy to describe, easier to find
2. Ambience:  5/10...and this is only cos it's more of a 'joint' than a cosy hangout so for strictly 'joint' rating, i'd give it a 7
3. Service:   6/10....the staff are cordial. not the most professional you'd ever find but clean and helpful
4. Food:     8/10....the stuff has me writing this review with a nostalgic smile on my face and mentally drooling...need i say more?
5. Price:    8/10...prices start from about N2,500 for a deep bowl which easily satisfied our party of 4. cool, abi?

thats it! i hope someone tries them out based on this. when you do, lemme know what you think.

i'll write a piece on somewhere i visited about a fortnight ago in a day or 2...let's have fun tring out new stuff.

xoxo,

nkechi