Tag Archives: Dinner

For Ladies Wot Dine… At Amerigo Vespucci!

7 Nov

That time of the month came round, and October 20th saw the Ladies Wot Brunch congregate together again and brace themselves for an evening of fun, games and lots of laughter.  Our VVR host Bola or as we lovingly call her “Bosh” chose an awesome venue – Amerigo Vespucci, a beautiful Italian restaurant in Canary Wharf as our go-to spot.

Booking

As is the case with these fabulous VVR ladies, booking seems to be getting smoother and smoother (or maybe they’re just not telling me the full story!).  On confirming the number of attendees and selecting the venue, the restaurant worked collaboratively with Bosh to set the menu, send out prices and organise a private corner to accommodate us.  I should also highlight that as with many of our rendezvous, advance payment was made to ensure a smooth, cashless dining experience.  This is obviously favourable for the restaurant as well as us making it’s a win-win strategy!

Gist

OK.  So I’m getting quite a lot of feedback on this section.  Apparently you laaav it!  So I’ll continue to indulge your inquisitive minds and let you in on the hottest topics that were discussed and shouted *ahem*.  And the evening did not disappoint!

Love across the ocean… Alas, this is something that is close to my heart.  Many of the ladies in the group can identify with this subject and we heard stories about lovers having to travel every few months to see and spend time with their boos.  One lady said she’d travelled to the USA 3 times in the last 5 months!  And another shared her relationship timetable with us, which assured her and her other half saw each other at least once every quarter.  It’s a stark contrast to the ladies who have lovers in-situ, who they see almost on a daily basis.  So how does this love across the ocean thing work?  Is it realistic?  Can a relationship with someone who you can’t see or touch on a daily basis really last?  The optimistic answer is yes, but I guess only time will tell…  But in the meantime, thank God for the Ladies Wot Brunch, who happily fill the gap for each other.  And before you guys with imaginative minds start gassing(!) I’m talking about the brunch, lunch, dinner and holiday dates that we take each other on.  Yay!

Agaracha!  Darlings, you will hear this word a lot.  Meaning?  Well… technically it means promiscuous woman in igbo, a Nigerian dialect.  But we use it as a term of endearment.  So if you hear the word being bandied about, or if you are branded an agaracha(!) take it with love… 🙂

Yummy Mummies and maternity bras – Our resident yummy mummy shared some information about how to keep it hot and sexxxay during the pre-motherhood phase.  Now the perception of maternity bras isn’t very favourable at all.  They’re usually perceived as frumpy, stuffy things.  However, having seen our yummy mummy, we could not deny the fact that her maternity undersupport was doing an Ultimo Wonderbra-ful job and keeping those babies looking gooooood!  I’ve done some research and have found Hot Milk Lingerie, a company that specially designs  maternity underwear.  Even the name is attractive!  So to all you mum’s to-be and nursing mamas out there, do not be dismayed!  You can keep your sexy oooooooon!

Loveless Marriage – Many of us have read the bestselling book The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin.  Without giving the story away, one of the major themes addressed in the book is marriage without the presence of love.  So how does this work?  Is attraction and respect in isolation of physical love enough?  The general consensus among the ladies on the evening was a resounding NO!  It cannot go anywhere my friend!  Because if love is lacking, it cannot be shown.  If love is not shown, the members of the relationship are not connected.  And if there isn’t a connection, What the -eff are you doing wasting your time?!?!  It maketh no sense!  We shared stories of friendships we’d seen, dates we’d embarked and courtships we’d endured without the presence of love or even attraction which ultimately ended up being fruitless.  I personally don’t understand how people can suffer themselves and try to conjour up a feeling or successful relationship without the vital, amorous ingredient.  It is impossible!

Can you date a man over 35…?  The conclusive answer is yes.  But we didn’t get there without a vigourous debate.  On one side of the spectrum, we argued that there would be quite a significant difference in beliefs, timescales for things we wanted to achieve (older men were likely to adopt a been there, done that attitude) and how to have fun (the term fuddy duddy comes to mind!).  However, it was counterbalanced with the fact that older men know exactly what they want and thus are less likely to waste time, are more likely to be financially stable and generally know how to make a woman feel goooooooood!  The point that tipped the scale was that several of our ladies are successfully courting and married to men aged 35 and above illustrating that it can and it does work!

Food

The food on this evening was awesome!  I had bits and bobs of almost every meal and I was so impressed!  My favourites would have to be the mussels which were prepared perfectly!  The broth and tenderness of the mussel flesh was impeccable and not too heavy.  The fact that the portion was generous enough to feed three (ladies who picked my food with me, you know yourselves!) was an added bonus.  For mains, it had to be between the sea bass and salmon pasta, which was also cooked to perfection and under specific instruction (yes our hot AND spicy request was made again!)  Melt in the mouth fish, perfectly spiced pasta, served with beautiful veggies and roast potatoes and all at the correct temperature made the meal bellissimo!  The desserts were all equally fantastic and although there was hardly anything in it, if I had to recommend one it would have to be the tiramisu.  Ironic right?  An Italian restaurant making a bad ass tiramisu – what are the chances eh?  Tee hee hee…

Service

Considering how raucous we were (what’s new?) the restaurant were superb.  We had a team of zealous waiters and waitresses (again, what’s new?) who were at our beck and call, bringing drinks and topping up wine glasses consistently.  The fact that we had a private corner in the restaurant probably enhanced our experience; it almost felt like we were in our very own Italian cove, with loved and loud ones!

Overall

I cannot fault the restaurant, and despite my original reservations about eating in one of London’s prime business arenas on the weekend, the restaurant surpassed all my expectations and was fun and lively.  It is an awesome place to eat, any day of the week but of course it’s the company that makes the difference 😉

A huge thank you goes to our darling Bosh for organising what was a fabulous evening.  We love and appreciate you mama… Mwah!  A big shout out also goes to Sope “Sopelols” who shot some of the gorgeous photos you will see in the slide show.  Watch this space, this young lady is a photography star in the making…  Fantastico!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Advertisement

Tags: , , , , ,

For Ladies Wot Celebrate!!! One Year Anniversary SPA WEEKEND!

30 Oct

Yes!  We know how to celebrate! And what better reason to relax, unwind and indulge in the good life than For Ladies Wot Brunch’s One Year Anniversary?  Nothing!

The weekend of 15-16 September saw 16 effervescent young women making their way to the Brooklands Spa & Hotel in Surrey for an afternoon of treatments, hot tub loving, race car watching followed by a private dinner party extravaganza, slumber party and breakfast activities which you’d only expect the morning after the night before…

The trip started with a bang and after a 2 hour journey (and being accused of having road rage.  Me?  Never!) we arrived in the hotel lobby.  Bags checked in, swimwear slipped into and robes worn, we made our way to the spa for our 2 treatments each.  Unfortunately, I cannot expose my ladies and therefore there will be no bikini shots for those of you eagerly scrolling to the slideshow at the bottom!  What I can divulge however, is that there were several smoking bodies on display!  The afternoon in the spa was amazing – from the body brushes, massages and manicures to the relaxation, steam and sauna rooms, it was utter bliss.

Dinner was just as amazing an experience and we were seated to a 3 course meal in our very own private dining room.  The conversations, catch up and meet ups were fantastic.  And of course the food was amazing too!

Here are some of the weekend’s highlights –

Musical Chairs!  It’s that simple!  After lots of food and even more to drink, the chairs were placed, the iPod dock was set and the game began.  The bumper to bumper dancing to ensure you weren’t knocked from your seat meant that everyone had a boogie with radical vigour and it was oodles of fun!  From 16 to 1 – the ladies were put through their strategic dancing paces and our winner was Feyi.  Please believe that she made sure we all hailed her as the Musical Chair Queen!

Let’s gatecrash the wedding!  From the moment we arrived at the hotel, we were surrounded by the guests attending a wedding that evening.  Now, these were not just ordinary guests – these were extremely handsome guests!  The type of guests that catch ALL eyes!  We ummm’d and ahhh’d about whether or not to gatecrash the wedding after our dinner – we were all immaculately dressed and super confident that we could and would add some extra fizz and pop to the festivities.  Wedding celebrations +anniversary celebrations = one good partayyy!  In the end, we were so consumed by our own fun and games, that we sacked the wedding off (as if we were actually invited!) and turned the after party into a slumber party.  But the side eye glances and hushed tones continued at breakfast the following day when all the guests emerged to break morning bread. It was lots of fun and despite not attending (or really knowing) the wedding party, we wish the bride and groom all the success and love in the world 🙂

High speed hot tub – I think every single one of us thoroughly appreciated the outdoor hot tub which overlooked the Mercedes Benz race and dirt tracks.  I think it must have been the combination of fast cars and fresh air and champagne which made it an exhilarating viewing experience.  The wolf whistles received from swimwear admirers below was a shameless added bonus (this may or may not be a lie). Tee hee hee!

Waiters wanna party too!  As we seem to be the life and soul of the party wherever we go, it was no surprise when we discovered that despite finishing dinner two hours earlier, waiters still kept coming into the room to “service the table”.  When we eventually cottoned on that the staff had been told about the fun-loving young ladies celebrating life and fabulousity and simply wanted to join in, we happily invited them to shake a leg with us and even got the head of waiting staff to azonto with the Ladies Wot Brunch.  Drop it low and bring it up slow ol’ boy!  Eassssy!

As I’m sure you’ve gathered, this was an absolutely fantastic weekend break.  The time spent relaxing with old friends and getting to know new ones whilst celebrating the club’s existence was icing on an already generously decorated cake.  We chatted weddings and babies because YES!  We are expecting our first Brunch Club baby!  Woohooo! A ginormous thank you goes to Tobi and Esther who not only painstakingly organised every last detail of our trip (including a surprise delicious Patisserie Valerie cake and a Prada purse for meeeeeeee!!!)  but also used their creative skills (Esther’s amazingly hilarious and engaging emails got us to do exactly what she asked) and connections with the hotel (Tobi is a celebrated Brooklands customer!  Big pimpin!) to ensure that we had the weekend of a lifetime.  We couldn’t have asked for anything more and the bar has been set for next year’s anniversary celebrations.

Brooklands Spa & Hotel: We loved it. We recommend it.  Go do it!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

My Public Love Affair avec L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon!

10 Jul

So a friend and I went to L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon on a whim a coupla weeks ago.  We needed somewhere to eat near Holborn and it was the first suggestion.  Thank God we heeded this piece of fabulous advice!

Everything was on point – from the 3 layer fois gras, port reduction and parmesan foam amuse bouche (amaaazing!) to my mini fois gras and beef Robuchon burgers (deeelicious)  I lapped up every single thing that was presented to me like a french piglette!

I must apologise to my dinner date who was not amused by the random noises I made whilst lapping EVERYTHING up; it came from a place beyond normal dinner etiquette…  The food is seriously out of this world!

Apart from the world renowned purée potatoes which had me squealing like a giddy little girl, my favourite dish of the evening was dessert – Chocolat Tendance – Creamy Manjari chocolate, bitter chocolate sorbet and Oreo cookie crumb.  I don’t think there are any non-orgasmic-related adjectives to describe the culinary delight.  So I’ll just say it.  It was orgasmic!

Without sounding like the star-crossed Joël Robuchon-obsessed diner that I quite obviously am(!), I would strongly recommend the restaurant!  From the amazing food we ordered, to the plethora of in-between-surprises such as the pre-dessert raspberry coulis, pancotta and butter crumble cup and post-dessert petit fours, the evening was a foodie’s dream. I can’t comment on the price as I was lucky enough to be treated, but whatever it costs, it would have been well worth it.  2 Michelin Stars baby!  I’ll definitely be returning…

Délicieux!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

PLEASE BEAR WITH ME!  SEVERAL POSTS TO COME SHORTLY!!!

Tags: , , , ,

For Ladies Wot Dine… At Rhodes W1

19 Jun

May 25 2012 saw the Ladies Wot Brunch switch it up for the second time, and on this evening, we became Ladies Wot Dine.  The venue chosen was W1, Gary Rhodes’ Marble Arch Brasserie located in the trendy Cumberland Hotel.  After our encounter with him at the Taste of Christmas event in December last year, I thought it would be great to pay the restaurant a visit and see just what Mr. Rhodes had up his sleeve…

Booking

Making a reservation was a bit of a kerfuffle (oh dear!)  As their online reservation system takes bookings for up to 6 people, I reverted to what I knew best and I called up.  However, after several attempts and several minutes waiting for someone to pick up, I employed plan C: email.   Hoorah!  They responded and after a brief email trail to confirm time, party and prices, the reservation was complete.

Gist!

It had been a while since we’d had a dinner date, and so the catch up conversation was fun and varied.  Amongst the group were brides and bridesmaids to be so the wedding and dating topics were popular.  Here’s a snippet of what we gossiped about –

Let’s get hitched…  Oh wait!  I’m already married!  Sadly, this story is not as surprising or uncommon as it used to be and amongst the group there were several stories of friends and acquaintances who had met the guy of their dreams, courted, accepted proposals only to discover the so called Prince Charmings were either already married or about to become betrothed.  A particularly nasty story about a beautiful young woman who met the man of her dreams, was whisked on luxurious holidays and finally got the big fat ring was shared.  We ooh’d and ahh’d until we heard the climax – the young woman whilst preparing for her own wedding, received a wedding invitation to her said fiance’s other wedding!  She never heard from him again.  It’s a strange situation: if it seems too good to be true, does it become a nightmare?  Or as women, can we afford to believe and trust in men who propose just like that?  As a traditionalist and a woman of faith, I think it’s still safe to believe in love and the sanctity of marriage.  And if in doubt, get on your knees and pray!  Bind such devilish, lying monsters out of sight!

Three strikes and you’re out!  OK ladies, how many of you have a 3 strikes and you’re out policy with guys?  I didn’t before but I do now!    I shared a funny story from my archive: I met up with someone, who on paper seemed like the business – fit, cute and well dressed, and he took me out for some sumptuous cocktails and delicious dinner.  As the evening and conversation developed I soon became aware of the three strikes which would eventually render him out of the game! 1) Lack of ambition.  This may not be a big deal for some, but it’s mighty important to me and all the women I know.  A man who is constantly finding excuses to be distinctly average is sooooo underwhelming!  Urrrgh!  2) A certified alcoholic.  Can I just say, as a lady I never get drunk: only wavy(!)  Anyhoo, as we swapped war stories, for every PG rated experience I had, the guy had an XXX rated story to compete!  Bearing in mind that the guy was not a spring chicken, an old drunkard is just disgusting for goodness sake.  Urrrrgh!  3) Mama’s boy.  Need I say more?  *pulls hair out* Urrrgh!

We debated over which was the worst strike to try and get over: some said they could deal with a Mama’s boy (although my personal opinion is that of you accept his Mama’s boy status, you are therefore consenting to a life either in the kitchen in front of the stove or in the bedroom on your back!), whilst others said that perhaps he just needed a steer in the right direction.  Either way, when you’re out, you’re out.  NEXT!

Rastafari sex slap!   How far this is true, I don’t know (please enlighten me if you know more) but we were told about the alleged Rastafari belief that sex is a strict act for the purpose of pro-creation (OK, correct) so much so, that women are not supposed to express their enjoyment (whaaaattt?!)  Apparently, if a Rasta’s woman makes the mistake of moaning or groaning during the act, she’ll receive a resounding slap to reward her audible efforts.  Yikes!  If this is true, this is sooooo strange!  And if it’s not, well it’s still a funny fib!  Hehehe!

Food

I’ll keep this brief because for the very first time EVER, I don’t have anything very nice to say!  Overall the food was really average (with the pointer violently tilting towards sub-par).  I was really disappointed as I expected so much more from the charismatic chef’s kitchen.  My lamb thingy was just yuk – tasteless and chewy.  The papardelle and pork cheeks smelled really bad and the fish of the day was so bland it was not funny.  On the other hand, all starters – salmon, scallops and squid – were ok but nothing to right home about, and I was also informed that the pan fried salmon and chorizo sausage risotto were tasty, although the chef was given specific instructions to make it extra spicy which ultimately influenced the taste.  The ice cream trio was nice, but then again, it’s just ice cream.  Meeeh!  The overall winner for me was the Pimms cocktail, however I don’t know if the credit can be attributed to the restaurant or actually the hotel’s bar staff.

Service

Again, nothing much to say here apart from POOR!  I was shocked and outraged at how bad the service was.  During dinner, we received minimal attention and the staff only came over when asked to.  The food was not nice, and some of the Ladies had to send their meals back to the kitchen and settle for fat fried chips.  When the bill arrived, with a hefty £60 servce charge and the “service charge is optional” note at the bottom, I requested a new receipt without it.  The waitress, Laurie’s response was short and rude – “it is not optional,” she snapped “as we have dedicated many members of staff to your large party.”  Except, they had not.  So why was she talking crap?  She proceeded to quite openly report us to her manager, all the while pointing her finger and pursing her lips in disgust at our table.  On further inspection of the receipt, I noticed we had also been charged for the food sent back to the kitchen, and again I requested some assistance.  This time from the manager.  He wasn’t much help, and quipped “the chef says the food was alright so we cannot remove the charge”.  What a numbskull!  Of course the chef would say the food was good, but who cares what he thinks?!  He is not a paying customer.  We are!  And it was not to our taste.  We reverted to the point about the staff not attending to our party during the meal, which if they had done, they would have realised how unsatisfactory we found our meals.  Eventually, we managed to negotiate the service charge being waved, but it meant that some of the Ladies around the table ended up paying in excess of £40 for chips, a few drinks and rudeness.  Can I just add that Laurie made sure she snatched our cards to stuff into her card machine, and once complete, threw them back at us.  Seriously.  She is the epitome of everything that is wrong about the service and hospitality industry and writing this is making my blood boil all over again.  Grrrr!

Overall

Hey hey!  You’ve guessed it!  I will NOT be encouraging anyone to return to W1 – Brasserie or restaurant.  The food could have been so much better, but it’s the service which completely destroyed what would otherwise have been an ok meal.  Luckily for us, we had lots of cocktails and conversation which ensured the evening was not a complete wash out.  Gary Rhodes, if you are reading this, can I make one itty bitty request please?  Don’t worry about offering us a free meal, or even a discount for another day.  Can you please just get rid of Laurie?  She is really going to give your restaurant a bad rep!  The end.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

For Deborah Wot Dines… At Asia De Cuba!

23 May

I have been a little behind with blog posts, which is so rubbish (I know!)  So I’m attempting to do better!

A coupla weeks back my lovely friend treated me to dinner at Asia de Cuba in St. Martin’s Lane Hotel, near Leicester Square, London.  The restaurant fuses Latin American and Japanese cuisine and it’s not just the food that’s a treat.  Everything about the place is spectactular!  From the decor designed by renowed Phillipe Stark with it’s low hung lights, white wash walls and random book n’ photo frame pillars to the electric atmosphere, the venue is fun, flirty and super sexxxy!

The service was excellent and our camp Italian waiter ensured we had enough information to make informed dinner decisions and talking of the food, it was amaaazing too!  The menu comprises of sharing dishes, which arrive in generous portions.  We ordered the Calamari Salad and glazed Pork Belly for starters and Gambas Gigantes Mai Tai with a side of lobster mash for mains, all from the à la carte menu.  ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!  The salad was gorgeous and even my friend, a typical non-salad-eating male, had to commend it and it’s sumptuous orange drizzle dressing.  The Pork Belly was succulent and juicy mmmmm!  And the prawns were also HUGE and delish.  By this point, we were stuffed from our starter, but we gave both the prawns and the lobster mash a good go.  If you prefer to try a little bit of everything, there is also a set menu available.  Washed down with copious amounts of red wine, we didn’t have any room left for afters, but the dessert menu also looked emotional!

“For global travelers with a cultured palate and a love of variety, Asia de Cuba restaurant, overseen by renowned international restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow, combines elements of Asian and Cuban cuisine served sharing-style in a high energy London restaurant. Housed in a dramatically colonnaded space, Asia de Cuba’s innovative menu is matched in its surroundings by a dramatic series of soaring art columns.”

The above excerpt is from the restaurant’s website and I couldn’t agree more.  The food was fabulous, my dinner date was awesome and the diners nearby were adorable.  Can you believe that we engaged in a half hour conversation with an elderly and might I add, acutely hip n’ happening American couple?  The restaurant attracts the best of the best!  My hat goes off to executive Chef Paul Whittick, who has taken trendy dining to a new level.  It’s simply a must-visit restaurant!  You gotta go try it for yourself!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tags: , , ,

The Ultimate Dinner Party – Christmas Day!

26 Dec

Yesterday was Christmas Day!  Hoorah!  Or as I like to call it, the ultimate Dinner Party of the year!

Families and friends across the globe gathered together to stuff their faces with delicious meals, followed by a vigorous round of competitive games on the Wii OR a very savoury snooze…  You know which category you fell into(!)

As lil’ foodies, amongst the group there was a whole host of food cooked up – from traditional Nigerian dishes such as jellof and fried rice, to western roast turkey, roast lamb, sprouts and potatoes.  The more adventurous members had delicious menus comprised of tempura and  prawn balls, roast duck, crab gratin in shell and succulent marinated chicken…  YUMMY!

Here are some of the breakfast, lunch and dinner spreads we had on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.  We luuurve our food!  I guarantee your mouth will be watering by the end!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

And from all the Ladies Wot Brunch, we’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to come!

Tags: , , , , ,

For Ladies Wot Dine… At Shaka Zulu

1 Dec

So that time of the month came round again, and on Saturday 19th November, a group of fabulous ladies got together, broke bread and had a great time.  Only this time, we decided to do it a little differently.  At our last meeting, in between the drinking and gisting, the Ladies suggested it would be nice to meet up in the evening, and as a true Brunch Club facilitator-cum-hostess, I was happy to oblige…

Booking

As I had been to Shaka Zulu before, I was familiar with the booking process, and as booking processes go, it was pretty straight forward.  A telephone call was made to a seemingly friendly booking manager and Voila!  C’etait fini!

Shaka Zulu have many promotions, encouraging non adventurous diners to experience a night in “South Africa” so it’s worth mentioning any offers or discounts you may be using when making your reservation.

Gist!

Although this time we were fewer in number (ladies, you were missed!), whenever we get together, there’s always something to laugh about.  Always an update to share, a joke to tell and tears of laughter to shed.  The entertainment provided at the restaurant kept us amused in between our conversations, which were fuelled by a combination of rich rioja and rosé.

Here are some of the topics that gave us the giggles that evening:

White boys can get it!  OK, so let’s be frank – as a group of predominantly non Caucasian women, the race of the men we date and marry is a popular topic.  Amongst the group,  we have a decent amount of experience dating outside our cast.  And more recently, have shared stories about blond haired, blue eyed hotties.  There is nothing wrong with having a preference and sticking with it, but it is equally important to respect other people’s decisions.  Aside from being 21st Century women understanding that the world is constantly evolving, and with this evolution comes development of ideas, tastes and desires, we at The Brunch Club are very REALISTIC!  Whatever rocks your world and floats your boat is what you should go for.  Black, white or otherwise.  The tale shared on that particular evening recounting how a dashing young Englishman swept one of our members off her feet in a very debonair fashion, coupled with sexy specimens like Gary Barlow and Matthew McConaughey confirmed that white boys can indeed get it!

Wolves in sheep’s clothing aka Young Pastors:  *Disclaimer* Not all pastors fall into this category!  But the experiences we collectively have, makes me question what these young disciples are really focusing on nowadays.  I recently bumped into an old acquaintance, who told me that he’d answered the Lord’s call and was pastoring a congregation.  Well done!  Good for you!  I was genuinely happy to hear this and so when he asked for us to swap numbers and catch up, I didn’t think anything of it.  Weeks down the line, the calls began.  When they became overbearing, and I stopped answering, the text messages followed suit.  And when I stopped responding, the prayer points/visions/prophesies/attempts at mental manipulation took root.  This man actually believed that if he could see into my life and predict the great and marvellous things I was going to experience, then I’d be more inclined to speak with him, share my inner most fears and aspirations and eventually fall hook line and sinker, head over heels in love.  Mr Pastor Man – the man who saw into my heart(!).  Except, I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears several stories of women who fell into this same dogged trap and dated and married MONSTERS!  Pastors by day and wife beater beasts by night!  Olorun maje!  *clicks fingers over head*  GOD FORBID!  I will use the same Holy Ghost Fire to rebuke you to the pits of hell and I suggest all women out there who may find themselves in a similar predicament do the same!

Abokoku Babes!  People please help me!  A VERY significant part of some of the ladies’ evening was spent outside on the phone with their better halves (you know yourselves!), which lead to a conversation about how far some women are willing to go for their men.  An Abokoku (woman who will do anything to keep her man “till death do them part” in Yoruba dialect) is willing to surrender all for her partner and will happily annihilate anyone or anything that may stand in her way.  Although none of our Ladies Wot Brunch illustrate these extreme tendencies, it was pointed out that God helps those that help themselves and even the Bible says possess your possessions!  So the advice which followed detailing how a very zealous and scandalous office PA would be finished if she even tried to come near the narrator’s boyfriend was listened to attentively.  Yes, I even took notes!

Food

As well as taking you on an authentic South African lounge experience, Shaka Zulu also promises to tickle your taste buds with its Taste of Africa menu .  To be honest, we were not very focused on the food, instead diverting our attention on the live entertainment and our conversations and so we didn’t realise when we all ordered exactly the same starters and mains.  And being so caught up in the afore mentioned, I kinda failed with the pics too (sorry!)

The starter of deep fried soft shell crab with rose harissa and lime was quite nice.  It was definitely flavoursome and crunchy but I found it a little messy and wasn’t too clear on what to do with the excess shell(?!)

By the time the main of spit roasted Kariokor beef with dry rubbed spice and peri peri fries came round, we were all so spent from chatting, no one finished the meal!  The meat was thoroughly cooked (we had been assured that it had been roasted for 7 hours!), but I thought it could have been slightly more moist and not so chewy.  Trying to chew chewy meat after chatting is a chore!  Tee hee hee!  The peri peri fries on the other hand were lovely, excellently seasoned and cooked to perfection to ensure they were crispy and light.  I ate every last one!

The dessert selection was very interesting.  Between us, we opted for the Koeksisters – deep fried braided doughnuts dipped in honey sugar syrup; Melktert – baked vanilla custard tart  with roasted cinnamon and; Coconut crème caramel and passion fruit.  The Koeksisters were yummy, but very rich and after several glasses of wine, I found it difficult to finish them.  The tart and the pudding however did not pack as much of a punch on the palette, infusing their milk bases with several familiar and some not-so-familiar dessert spices.  If you like rice pudding, cheesecake or ice cream, these would be the desserts for you.

Service

 As we were running a little late *ahem* and were finally seated an hour after our booking was made for, we did not have as much time at our table as originally planned.  However, despite our party’s tardiness, our table attendant, who by the way was a tall, black and burly, cockney, dread-locked man, was very polite and paid attention to detail ensuring our beverages and food were served promptly.  We ended up having our desserts in the lounge in order for the next party to be seated, but as the whole restaurant is party central itself, this was not an issue.  The staff, who each had tailored ankara outfits, were very friendly and rendered their service with a sunny South African smile 🙂

Overall

Due to the size of the venue and the hubbub generated by the diners, clubbers, staff, DJs and live entertainment, it was quite difficult to key into the intimacy which is often desired during dinner and if you are looking for the next date restaurant, unfortunately, Shaka Zulu is not it.  However, if you are looking for a party go-go dinner, then you may well have the perfect spot in Camden.  The venue is quirky and the décor is lush.  It is reminiscent of typical western adaptations of Africa, but still maintains an authentic charm and sleek finish. We happily dined, drank and danced in the same place, which is not something you can often say you’re able to do in London.  Given the fact that Shaka Zulu is also very trendy at the moment, you’ll find that the general vibe is nice n’ spicy.  We clocked several sexxxay mamas in even sexxxier ensembles and gents dressed so immaculately, they left with their girlfriends and several admirers in tow.

It’s a young venue: both in establishment age and target audience.  But it’s also a place where you can have some good grown up fun.  We will definitely be going back, even if it’s just for a midnight boogie!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tags: , , ,

%d bloggers like this: