Grand Square: Cafe, shawarma station and smoothie bar.....what in the world?!

If you live in Abuja or are a regular visitor to the Federal Capital, you must have heard of and probably have shopped at Grand Square. Set in the heart of Abuja's Central Business District, Grand Square has at various times in the past couple of years, trended as having some of the most sought after groceries or snacks especially in the baked goods (sliced bread and baguettes) and ice cream sections. Not many people however seem to know or patronize the less popular Grand Café which is located upstairs, or the sharwarma stand in the cold foods section. And the most recent addition, the 'smack-in-your-face' smoothie bar to the right at the entrance seems like a bold move and just beckons.

I got introduced to the salad options at Grand Café about 2 years ago. It was a brunch and +Ivie Inegbedion and I talked a couple of friends into visiting the Café. Fast forward to 2013/2014 and a couple of salad 'dos' with +Joy Olatunde , +nandak datok , +Bialalori Olakiigbe, +Ruke Ize-Iyamu as well as a couple of referrals to friends and it's time for a review.

yummy freshness

The salad options are chicken or tuna, with a fresh mix of cucumber, lettuce, beef tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and the most generous portion of diced chicken, in the chicken salad option. Sounds rather routine, bleh even, but the freshness of the veggies, the spice in the chicken and the dressing, just put the words 'bleh' and 'routine' to shame. Regular dressing is purportedly Heinz salad cream. I say 'purportedly' because my salads with the same dressing don't quite create the same 'feel like dancing on the tables' buzz. Each salad comes with baguette slices on the side and there's a sandwich option for those who want their stuff all maniacally neatly cut. Hehe.

So......, riding the crest of salad-induced ecstasy, even after numerous tries, and reeling from midday hunger, we decide to try out the sharwarma from the station downstairs.


Cabbage, mayo, onions, parsley, chili and a teeny weeny bit of beef

Now where do I begin? Its a hot day, we're hungry and it's the kind of hunger where even an army deserter's boots would probably taste good. The Grand Square beef sharwarma experience? Total 'flat-on-your-face' train wreck. I haven't felt this upset about a meal in ages. I mean, there's good food and there's great food. And you bear the lousy service that comes with either because the food makes up for it. Not so in this case. I can still taste the foulness of the miserly portion of beef in the sharwarma. The cabbage had the distinctive fading crunch of 'not-so-fresh' and the onion slices were a definite 'off' note. my friend had the 'Jumbo' which came with cheese and sausage in addition to your choice of beef or chicken and the cheese didn't taste good... It was a riotous mess which wasn't helped by the fact that it was lukewarm straight off the griddle or whatever it is that the heating contraption is called. We should have expected that from the lack of aroma, I mean, everyone knows that sharwarma joints across Abuja play table soccer with your nostrils once the wrap goes in the pan.



the cups.......the smoothie cups!!!! ish!

Then there is the smoothie joint with a great location at the entrance.

Nutty Blu...pineapple and blueberries.

The welcoming sign 'Hush' is rather apt I say. If you get there on a hot day and are not in a rush, you will definitely go really silent while sipping greedily on refreshing cold fruity goodness. The portions are great (at least the take out options are) and the prices aren't bad either. What I can't for the life of me understand is the use of a bottle rather than the regular cup with a hole in the lid and a fat straw for easy chugging. The thing I took away looked suspiciously like 'kunu' or 'fura da nono' and the regular juice straw we were given made it sound like we were drinking cement mix. That's almost a deal breaker. My friend had the 'Gov. General Exclusive', a blend of pineapple, apples and watermelon only the watermelon turned out to be watermelon juice. Fresh though, but its a betrayal of sorts. I had the 'Nutty Blu' blend of less than a handful of blueberries and a ton of pineapple. I'd have liked some more blueberries but it didn't taste bad, nonetheless.

So..I've oohed and aahed in delight over the salad, still shudder at the memory of the sharwarma and remain decidedly ambivalent towards the smoothie. It's on to the portion of this that makes me feel like Professor Moody of the Harry Potter series.
LOCATION/:8/10. Grand Square is located in Abuja's Central Area and has a decent parking lot. So choosing to eat there during rush hour isn't a bad idea. It's easy to get to from other part of the Metropolis and cabbies can easily be relied on to direct anyone there.
AMBIENCE/SCENERY: 4.5/10. I don't quite get what Grand Square owners are going for with this place. The Café upstairs isn't the cleanest place in the world. The air conditioners are nearly always filthy and the outdoor seating area looks desolate and dusty. The last time I was in, technicians were working on the A/Cs while we were being served. While that was annoying, I hope that means the whole place is being worked on.
SERVICE: 6/10. This is difficult to rate. The waiters in the Café are a polite bunch and so are the Smoothie bar even though the latter seem more eager than knowledgeable. The cashier at the cold foods section where we got the sharwarma on the other hand, was plain old nasty. In her choice of words, her body language and the whole shebang. Sadly, that's not really a rarity at Grand Square on the whole. Needs work, people.
COST: 6/10. Individually and as a whole, most of the prices work. The salads cost about N1,500 and the smoothies between N700 and N1,500. The sharwarma prices begin at N700 for a regular without sausage or cheese. This isn't bad but considering that you'd need floodlights to find the pieces of foul-tasting meat, for me it was 700 bucks too many.
TASTE etc.: 9/10 (Salad), 7/10 (Smoothie), 3/10 (sharwarma).
This Vs. Others: Would I go back there? For the salad, it was preordained from about the time that Mufasa took baby Samba up the hill to holler at the ancestors in dedication. The smoothies I'd like to give a second chance. The sharwarmas.....let's not talk about it yet. It was a wise man who said "never say never". I've a couple of salad bars lined up to try out and then I'll tell you what the verdict is. Same goes for the smoothie. Shawarmas though, I've a soft spot for the Ketchup offerings in Wuse 2 and the Chicken Capitol in Wuse Zone 3. Taste awesome and are always hot, hot, hot.

So, that's it for today's review. Drop a line letting me know what you think and where you'd like to have me review.

xoxo  

nkechi


Grand Square deets
Plot 270, Mohammadu Buhari Way, Central Area, Abuja
: +234 9 5230064, 2345030.  

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
 
 
 
 

Woks & Koi Chinese Cuisine....my take

So, it's the first review in the brand new year. Happy New Year! Here's to a year of trolling hangouts and saying just about anything that comes to mind. Yippee!!!!!!.

Woks & Koi has a restaurant in Silverbird and a little place in Wuse 2. I'd been to the former about a year ago and well, it's a nice enough place. This review however, is about my recent trip to the Wuse 2 place.

Woks & Koi Chinese Cuisine is, as the name says, a Chinese restaurant. So you have the various noodles and veggie sauces, the egg/shrimp fried rice, sweet and sour sauce.....you get the idea I'm sure.

One of the cooler points about this pace for me is its size. It's small enough that a party of 15 could easily camp out. It's cozy and the colors...primarily dark hues of brown and red give the place a nicely oriental atmosphere. The lighting and seating in the Silverbird place is a lot more oriental and muted but that's a proper restaurant and this is more like a cozy Chinese hangout.

It's great for informal meetings...I had a meeting with the ever delightful and proper Kolo Kenneth Kadiri (@kolokennethk) of the popular social media brand; AdoptATweep.
I loved it as soon as I peeked in. The size and layout with the large balcony windows were an instant welcome.

Well, enough about the this and that of the why and what. Let's hear it for the food and all that jazz.
I had a few minutes before Kolo turned up so I made a beeline for a table by the windows, ordered a frosty Coke and a starter of a portion of chicken wings and Prawns in Chili Sauce with a side of egg fried rice to go. He ordered the Chicken in oyster sauce when he arrived with a side of rice and we dove in with relish.



 

Erm......did I mention we had to change seats. The awesome tables by the window wobbled a little so we moved to one by the wall. Not a bad location especially since it was neither a romantic date nor a 'bff-and-me' chatterfest.

So, a couple of hours and one of the most illuminating first meetings ever....what, if anything would I revisit Woks & Koi for????

Location: 6/10: I usually shy away from meetings in Wuse 2 on account of the horrid traffic congestion. Deciding where to go typically means you're mentally weighing traffic congestion details to decide which is likely to be the least scary before you bravely drive out of your home of office if its a midday meal. Having said that, Adetokunbo  Ademola Crescent isn't as bad as it was before the parking meters were introduced. If you can't find parking space right in front of your destination, chances are you will be able to park a couple meters away and do a dignified walk to your destination. So be careful what you wear. There are always some snazzy looking people around Wuse 2. Don't go looking like you were forgotten in the rain overnight.

Ambience/Scenery: 6/10: I liked the interior. Nothing fancy really. Neat, cozy and inviting. I'm a sucker for earth tones and the colors were immediately inviting and calming. The wobbly window table was a disappointment though but we told the management about it and hope they work on that.


Service: 5/10: I'd have loved to give a higher score but the coldest bottle of coke they had was near tepid. Only slightly cool. Come on! A crazily chilled coke makes up for any number of diet days. There has to be a law against serving drinks whose temperature doesn't make your eyes roll back in dreamy satisfaction. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I was given one of those really soft small plastic disposable cups. I mean, who does that?!!! On the flip side, our waiter was pleasant without being obsequious. You know those waiters that practically grovel in anticipation of a generous tip? Well, he wasn't that.

Cost: 7/10: I still believe that below N3,000 for a plate of food in Abuja (not buka, not hawkers) isn't a bad deal. And when that applies to prawns and the like, it just puts you in a pleasant place. However, I'm not as eager to forgive when it comes to Chicken Wings. A portion of Woks & Koi chicken wings is priced N800. That's not a bad deal I hear someone say. But not when the wings come out all rubbery and dry like they were deep fried for a day. Funny thing, beneath the rubber it tasted good. So imagine what it would have tasted like if it had been a lil more tender.

Taste: 7/10: Kolo liked his meal. You know how you can always tell when a man likes his food. They're content. Conversation flows and all is well with the world, albeit temporarily. And that has to be best ad for any restaurant 'a man came here, he ate, he left with a smile'. My chicken wings......'nuff said. The prawns I took home and hubby's 'attention to the task at hand' was as much a compliment to the chef as Kolo's had been.




So!!!! Having said all that, would I revisit or recommend Woks & Koi to another? Yeah! With other meals tasting quite good, I'd like to revisit the wings and try other dishes too, hopefully with a really cold coke and a straw or at least a nicer cup. And if you do try them out, please drop a line here and let's compare notes. They also deliver so give them a call if you don't want to drive out and let's know how your experience was.

xoxo

Nkechi

Restaurant deets

Plot 139 Adetokunbo Ademola Cr, Wuse2

Phone: 08116732054

 

 

 

 

 

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