Amala: Straight From Heaven

IYA OYO...now this is a buka that has attained cult status among #Abuja #amala lovers. From the itinerant worker to the student, from civil servants to bankers and Oil&Gas Industry workers in flashy rides; this none-too-clean buka has come to represent more than just a restaurant. The knowing smile of acknowledgement shared by colleagues and friends when 'Iya Oyo" is mentioned is quite simply bizarre. Only +Coca-Cola with Coke can trump this. Lol.

Proud Sign! Iya Oyo...Amala's Birthplace

Ok, so I exaggerated. But it's quite a wonder how popular this place is. Formerly situated in a rather seedy looking place in Utako, Iya Oyo has moved to Wuye District. And like groupies of +Miley Cyrus or +Madonna we have followed with our cars and our phones and other gadgets to spread the news of the new location.

Looks like the road to a bush market, lol

Iya Oyo...in all its dust-covered glory

Is it a great place to try out for the uninitiated? That, it is. Caveat though, it's not the foyer of Dubai's Burj Al Arab nor is there any attempt to be any more than it is....a 'come chop, pay, go' buka. Comfort is not on the menu and style is not in a hurry to visit. The road all the way to the entrance isn't tarred so you'd better have all windows wound up or your hair and nostrils will have a fine film of dust by the time you get to your destination.

And then you get there. If like me you go before rush hour which starts at about 11am and can last until around 3, you get to park almost at the entrance. For a first timer, the red dust coating the tarp which covers the buka can be a bit of  shocker. DO NOT LET THAT DETER YOU!



Bokoto, fukufuku, roundabout, shaki, etc.

On getting there, you make your way to the service station. You place your order after having picked out your 'stainless steel' bowl (or plastic take out bowl as appropriate), choose what you want and having been served by some of the surliest women in the nation (not every day though), you make your way to slight less surly cashier, pay the fare and choose a spot to seat.

 

As tasty as it is colorful

Here, my friends, is where the journey to hot, tasty, mouth watering, salivary-gland-gushing heaven starts!!! See, I've done amala in various places. In Ikeja, Falomo, Jos, Aiyetoro Gbede, and a number of places in Abuja but nothing holds a candle to this. It's regular old amala, normal ewedu, same old gbegiri.

 

And of course its the same assortment of meats; the ever delightfully soft orishirishi. These are the same as in every amala joint across Naija, right? Wrong!!! I don't know what Iya Oyo does but the amala just tastes divine and the 'roundabout' (piece of a cow's large intestine)is always just the right degree of soft.

 

 

The smile....she knows, yes she does

S.A.T.I.S.F.A.C.T.I.O.N

You have a small piece of roundabout n the corner of your mouth, you chew on it a little and take two swallows of amala before you continue to chew.....'Masterchef' dishes couldn't possibly taste this good. To crown the goodness, you take long pulls on the just-perfectly-chilled bottle of coke (the glass bottle I tell you, not the plastic whose contents taste like they were boiled). Bliss!

 

Ok, before I start to drool unto my computer, here are the official reviews:

LOCATION/: 4/10. Wuye District as far I can tell, has only one entrance and exit and that means that wherever you are in Abuja, you have to get to the Julius Berger (popularly called Berger in case you're taking a cab or hipping buses) and continue from there. There are no shorter routes. That's annoying especially considering that the previous Utako location meant you could always take a different route if one was busy.
AMBIENCE/SCENERY: 3/10. Granted, it's not meant to be an upscale restaurant but the 'German Floor' and the bare earth around means that there's constantly a dust taste and feel in the air. Plus the very, very dirty tarp and the dry farmland just across as well as the puppies yelping occasionally in the background aren't exactly soothing.
SERVICE: 4/10. Sullen, surly, scowling girls put you instinctively on the defensive. If you get to a dirty table and ask that it be cleaned, you may get half the dirt on you . The waitresses (that's laughable here) couldn't be bothered to look while swiping the dirt unto the floor.
COST: 8/10. Each amala ball costs 100 bucks, each piece of meat the same. I'd like to see any restaurant try to beat that! As McHammer used to say, 'you can't touch this'. I'd have given a 10 but not too long ago the amala balls were smaller and the pieces of beef smaller sized and perfectly fried. Not everyone likes their meals in small interesting looking portions though, so this is strictly me being me.
TASTE etc.: Really?! Do I really have to say anything else? 9/10. This is by far the best of #soulfood Abuja has in buka form. Always hot, always soft, always delicious. I just don't fancy the amount of oil I see. That's enough to line your intestines forever. But that's a teeny weeny drawback.
This Vs. Others: Would I go back? Erm, I followed Iya Oyo from Utako. Need I say more? I also absolutely love the rice and beans with real Yoruba stew. Comparng Iya Oyo against other bukas is a tad premature. I haven't been to other bukas since starting to review. There's a new amala joint my friends and I want to go try out. You'll definitely be the first to know how that stacks up against the legendary Iya Oyo. For now, this is dedicated to +Waju Xavier , +nandak datok  , +uche odunze and the Iya Oyo groupies in Abuja: +Chidimma Ibe +Enigma joe +Joy Olaye +Joy Olatunde +Ivie Inegbedion +asemota efeosa +Aondona Orti .....long may the affliction continue, LOL



buh-bye for now

 xoxo

nk


IYA OYO deets
..Wuye District. Abuja
cell: 08039662370 // 08055269557



 

Vanilla Restaurant & Cocktails..crisps, sauces and sorbet!

 

It was my birthday and my childhood friends (+Kemi Barrow and +Joy Olatunde ) were treating me to a birthday lunch at a restaurant of my choosing. I'd been to Vanilla some time ago after having talked with the man behind it all (+Edoro Abebe ) over BBM. The pictures he kept putting up were like a moth to a flame. When a 'Sisters group' I was part of wanted a nice upscale restaurant or lounge to commemorate some important date, I hurriedly suggested Vanilla.

So, we got there...a motley crew of about 15 ladies, unsure of what exactly we wanted and determined to disagree. All I remember from that 'waka' is the din our warring voices created. That, and some very strikingly dressed people.

Fast forward to over 6 months later and my friends & I make our first proper Vanilla début. As with my first visit, I'm immediately struck by the driveway lined by whispering palm trees when the gates close behind you. It's a short drive but the feeling of leaving the busy world behind creates a gentle buzz inside of you.

#Friendsoflife

the Vanilla Cocktail Lounge

As soon as you cross the threshold into the anteroom (for want of a proper term), there's a deliberate elegance that welcomes you. To your right is the restaurant and to your left is the cocktail lounge whose lights and inviting chairs beckon like the sirens that lured sailors in Greek mythology. Well, the restaurant isn't half-bad either. Bold, yet calm horizontal stripes of brown and mustard set the scene. And the sunlight streaming in through the Venetian blinds is quite a trip.

next time i'm asking for more crisps

So, we're seated. Menus are flourished. We're choosing, we're choosing and the welcome bowl of salted crisps makes its way to our table. A little more salt than I'd like but went down in a rather unladylike manner. With friends, you're either on your best behavior or you leave your manners in the cars. LoL. Plus apart from two gentlemen at a table adjacent ours, we had the whole place to ourselves for a while.

My friends ordered the Kung Pao Chicken (cubes of chicken stir fried with peanuts and hot chili peppers, served in a sticky soy sauce with a side of fries), and the Coconut Chicken Curry (cubes of chicken cooked in curry paste, coconut milk, coriander and fresh seasonal vegetables with a side of sautéed potatoes). I had the 'healthy' (Chef's promise, not mine) Beef Stir-fry (lean beef strips stir fried with fresh peppers, sesame seeds, seasonal vegetables and an accompaniment of sautéed potatoes.

Permit me here to gush. Ratings come later but right now, I'm trying not to close my eyes just to reminisce. Right of the bat, I loved the sautéed potatoes. I'd expected whole potatoes but it came sliced and each bite was tasty. I was a tad disappointed when that my beef strips weren't 'stripy' and weren't as tender as I'd have liked. However, the flavor kind of made up for it. My friends each loved their meals too. I took a bite of the Kung Pao Chicken minus the nuts and it was awesome. Tender yet firm and nicely sweet yet spicy. I like pepper and even though this wasn't suya-fiery, it was a spiciness I could 'get'. But the Coconut Chicken Curry, oh boy! The curry was a-bursting with flavor. the coconut was light, more of a subtle hint really and the curry danced around in my mouth. I had to close my eyes and shut my ears to the gist. That, my friends, was an Aha!, moment. jeez!

 

 

Anyways, on to the drinks. We had the 'Lemon Cooler', water and the 'Virgin Oreo Mudslide'. I had to try the last just for the name. The water was.....yeah right, like I would gush over water when I didn't just finish a +Jillian Michaels workout. The Lemon Cooler is refreshing and tingles the taste buds where the spicy chicken just laid bare. And the Virgin Oreos Mudslide (milkshake with oreos blended in and a nicely irreverent scoop of vanilla ice cream on top)....I mean, with a name like that you just have to try it out.

 

The icing on the cake was the Lemon Sorbet. Light and slightly tart, it was a great way of gently reawakening the instincts that had been (so help me God) dulled by the good food and great ambience.

 
So, having oohed and aahed, was it all a heady, no-faults experience? Na God? LMHO!!! Here, as always are my ratings:
 
 
Location: 7/10. I'd thought of a 6 simply because I don't find driving to Maitama during the daytime traffic inviting at all but the little extra parking inside isn't bad plus in the evening there's quite a bit of space in front of the restaurant
 
Ambience/Scenery: 8/10. You get the feeling when you're inside, that time stops and just lets you be. It's large enough that a business lunch could be taking place across from a romantic party of two. There are no harsh lights or out-of-sync colors and the ever present waiters are in your line of sight but not enough for it to be an irritation (yeah, I've got issues. hehe).
 
Service: 6/10: Nice welcome, polite staff. First thing we see on getting to our table is an empty water bottle on the chair. Not a big issue , true. However this isn't Iya Basira or Iya Oyo and these little things matter. And we were done with our drinks before the dishes arrived. AND WE WEREN'T GUZZLING!!! LoL.

 
Cost: 8/10: At an average of N3000 for each of the dishes we had (seafood dishes are about N1000 more), and N1,100 per drink, it's a little more expensive than some of the Wuse 2 places. But if my narrative above doesn't make you spend that little extra to try it out yourself.....I'll say a prayer for you.
 
Taste: 9/10. Did you read what I wrote earlier about the curry and the sautéed potatoes, and the lemon sorbet? "nuff sed.

 

 
So....would I go there and try something else based on this experience? I'm cackling like an old witch even as I type this. Of course I would. The 'Horny Garlic Fish' and various breakfasts have my name written all over them.
 
That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this review. Leave your comments and click on 'join this site' so you don't miss any of my future foodie #EatAndTell.
 
xoxo

 
Nkechi
 
 
Restaurant deets
 
28 Pope John Paul II Street, Maitama
www.vanilla-abuja.com // info@vanilla-abuja.com
08104545070 // 07057351719