Tasty Treats – My Vegetable Salad

So the other day I decided to take a swing at this food styling thing. Thought up a salad I would wanna eat then went to the supermarket and got myself a few things to make it. This is what I came home with.

 

After a bit of slicing and dicing and test shooting, I took the salad into the late evening sun that was streaming through my balcony door and had some fun with it. First, the birds eye view shot.

I decided at that point that I didn’t like the results enough to continue shooting so I stuck a fork in it, threw a couple of slices of avocado on top and took 2 last shots before I dived in.

And that dear friends is the story of my first (failed) attempt at food styling. Gonna be doing a lot more of such in the future so you can only look forward to more failures and lots more successes 🙂

In other news, I’m taking part in the #Kenya365 project on Instagram so you should definitely check out that hashtag as well as my Instagram account (reumac) to keep abreast with my progress. I’ll try to do a weekly round up at the end of every week for all of you (blackberry users especially *flashes loser sign at them*) who can’t get on Instagram 🙂

Tasty Treats – Steve’s Chicken Bacon Wrap

Before I say anything further, imagine my surprise when I found out these big guys were being sold at 79 bob per kilo in Kiambu. I have been in OD mode since this shoot. So sad their season is almost over.

All matters tangerine aside, the one thing I like to do as a small business owner is supporting fellow small business owners. I had the chance to do that the other day when my friend Steve asked me to photograph his wraps. So I decided to document the whole  process of making the wrap as a bonus to test myself and my skills. So ladies and gentlemen, for your viewing leisure and pleasure I present to you, Steve’s chicken/bacon wrap:

First step is to make the wrap itself. A bit of rolling is required.

When that is nice and flat, he pops it under a grill for a couple of minutes so it can rise and cook.

As all this is happening, the chicken and bacon are frying on the cooker. That kitchen smelled GOOD that morning.

When the wrap is ready and is cooling, the vegetables are chopped up nicely in preperation for the wrap building process.

The chicken and bacon once ready are put aside to cool and the man gets ready to make his wraps.

They look delish eh? Next step is the beginning of the wrap building process. The wrap is put on a piece of aluminium foil and a number of condiments put on it to form the base. This was the mayo.

Next comes a layer of veges. The cabbage and lettuce are ALWAYS fresh. Since he was building this particular wrap for me, I insisted on more mayo. He doesn’t use that much mayo usually 🙂

Next bit is my favorite. The chicken and bacon bits are generously sprinkled onto the wrap. Must I say quite a number of those bits never made it onto the wrap? 😉

And since Reumac has a death wish, MORE MAYO!!!

That’s the point Steve hid the mayo bottle away from me. Next up was more veges to enhance the flavor of the wrap. I loved how they added colour to the dish. (As Steve looked away momentarily, I stole the mayo bottle and gave it a generous squeeze on top of the wrap 🙂

Time now to wrap it up…literally! The wrap is carefully rolled and ends folded in to keep it fresh and make it a little easier to eat. And then it’s delivered to you in a lil brown paper bag. Time to eat 😀 Here’s my wrap after the second bite (or third…fourth…I can’t remember exactly. It was THAT good)

So if you want a taste of Steve’s chicken bacon wrap, drop him a line on his twitter and he can have one delivered to you. They’re filling, tasty like nothing else and quite affordable. As well as being quite healthy. He uses only the freshest vegetables and meat. And not that much mayo 🙂 I would rather buy two of these than go to some hot, cramped restaurant in town for lunch. And that’s that.

I’m in the market for other small business people in the food industry who would wanna partner with me for the Tasty Treats section of this blog. So if you know a person, holla at a brother in the comments section. Dhengks 😀

Tasty Treats – Grilled Pepper Steak

Today, we shall look at a firm favorite  for meat eaters all over . Allow me to present to you Grilled Pepper Steak as presented to me at The Mvuli House.

The meat has been lovingly marinated and grilled for that extra special tenderness and lots of flavour in every bite. It’s one of those meals you can’t go wrong with 🙂  The Mvuli House is the place to be if you wanna have a taste of this for yourself. They’re located opposite Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi’s South C area.

More Tasty Treats shall come your way next week. For now, please like my Facebook page 🙂

Tasty Treats – Vegetable Salad

This week, we’re going all healthy and things on the tasty treats segement 😀 I present to you vegetable salad as presented to me at The Mvuli House.


Fresher than tomorrow’s lettuce and so good for you 🙂 You have to try out  The Mvuli House soon. I couldn’t believe such a gem has remained so close to the CBD and the airport. And it’s affordable too 😀

More Tasty Treats for you next week. For now, did you know that I have exclusive offers running on my Facebook page? Check it out and like to keep updated. While you’re at it, check out my Tumblelog and follow 😀

Tasty Treats – Spaghetti Bolognese

Exhaustion, thy name is Reumac. The after effects of an active weekend aren’t the prettiest, that’s for sure. My sole aim still remains to keep y’all entertaines so, I present to you spaghetti bolognese as presented to me at The Mvuli House.

Looks. So. Tasty. The Mvuli House is really the place to be if you, like me, want to have some of this.

More Tasty Treats shall come your way next week. This week feels like it’s gonna be interesting, so better keep an eye out for what I have in store for you. Or you could just hit subscribe 😀

Tasty Treats – Flank Steak

Time again for me to torture you with photographs of some tasty meals. I present to you a grilled flank steak as presented to me at The Mvuli House.

Guaranteed to get your tastebuds going, I tell you. The Mvuli House is most definitely a must-visit for anyone looking to experience Nairobi from all facets. Try them out today.

More Tasty Treats shall come your way next week. We have one more Person of the Day post coming up this week, so do check back for that.

Tasty Treats – Grilled Lamb Chops

THE FOOD IS BACK!!! I know a couple of you had really been campaigning for this segment to make a come back. Well, your wishes have been granted. I present to you grilled lamb chops as presented to me at The Mvuli House.


Need I say more? Well, lemme just say that The Mvuli House is a very serene place that’s not only affordable but also your comfort is guaranteed. Try them out today 🙂

More Tasty Treats shall come your way next week. For now, have you liked my Facebook page? Have you also followed my Tumblelog? You better do so NOW if you haven’t.

White Flower

So it rained today. Then it stopped. Then it hailed. Then it stopped for real 🙂 The sun came out and I thought it would be cool to see what the hailstones had brought down from the trees. I was lucky to find this in the garden.

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I saw it as a sign that now the rain is here, there is hope that we will go back to lush green gardens and pretty flowers all over the place. Can’t wait 😀

In other non-related news, the Tasty Treats segment will be making a come back on the blog in a couple of days, so do look out for that. Here’s a ‘taste’ of what’s to come 😀

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Delectable Delights: Vegetable Rice

In this edition of the Delectable Delights segment, I present yet another tasty dish that’s on the menu at Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

 

Allow me to present to you today’s dish, Vegetable Rice. This is rice mixed with capsicum, tomatoes, onions and corn.

 

This is a perfect dish if you’re in a rush and you want a filling meal. It also works well as a desk lunch item. Since the good people at Hashmi’s do deliveries, you can definitely get it at desk if you can’t leave for lunch today 😀 You simply need to call 0733721789, 0722487000 or 0722555505.

As always, if you wanna partake in this dish, drop by Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands. Be sure to say I sent you there because you might just get yourself juice on the house 😀 It is very spacious and suitable for anything from a family dinner to a romantic surprise.

More delectable delights shall be coming to a computer screen near you really soon…

Random Close Ups of Food

What’s good people?! Thank you for the massive blog loving the whole of yesterday. I promise I will blog more if I can be getting such love every day 😀

Now to other pressing issues. Time for some honest truth. If you take a minute to ask any blogger out there, be it @bikozulu, @mutuamatheka, @wamathai or even @akellove they will tell you that at some point in time as a blogger you do run into a wall called a lack of content. For some it’s a matter of hours or days or even months before they can get back into the rhythm. I kinda ran into that wall a couple of weeks ago. In the spirit of getting my mojo back, I have to keep up with my usual schedule. So this post will be true to it’s title. Presenting, random close ups of food 😀

This is vegetable rice.

As you can guess, this is vegetable salad.

This dish is called Paneer Tikka. I did a post on it a while back if you wanna find out more about it.

Now for all the carnivores out there, this is Mushikaki.

This is Fish Tikka.

And finally, Chicken Poussin.

These photos were all taken at Hashmi’s BBQ centre in Westlands and all these dishes are on the menu there so if you wanna experience them yourself, do pop on over there and enjoy 😀

Randomness over and out. Feel free to share the word.

Delectable Delights: Mutton Kebab

Time for us to savour yet another wonderful dish from Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

Mutton kebab is mutton mince spiced and roasted on charcoal. As all other foods at Hashmi’s this dish is marinated overnight and the roasting brings out flavours like you’ve never experienced before. This is definitely a must whenever I am eating there.

 

If I was you, I would head over Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands right now 😀 Please don’t forget to mention that you heard about the place from me.

More delectable delights shall be coming your way next week. Don’t miss out 😉

Delectable Delights: Lamb Chops

In this edition of the Delectable Delights segment, I present yet another tasty dish that’s on the menu at Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

Allow me to present to you today’s dish, Lamb Chops. These are spiced lamb chops roasted on charcoal and served with a side of salad.

I think the one thing that thoroughly impressed me about this dish is that since it is well marinated like all meat dishes at Hashmi’s, the flavours are so well infused into the lamb that the effect it has on your tongue makes it feel like it has sublimated from earth to straight to heaven. The chops are very tender and and absolute joy to eat.

As always, if you wanna partake in this dish, drop by Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands. Be sure to say I sent you there 😀 It is very spacious and suitable for anything from a family dinner to a romantic surprise.

More delectable delights shall be coming to a computer screen near you really soon…

Delectable Delights: Faluda

Today, I decided it’s about time I did something different for this weekly segment. The good people at  Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands do serve a lot more than just food. They also have a VERY delicious drink called Faluda (some people spell it Falooda)

I am not an expert chef so I can’t describe to quantity what exactly goes into this drink. I do know however that there’s some vermicelli that go in there (the little round things you see floating inside) as well as some rose syrup and some kulfi. Let me take a minute to talk to you about this last ingredient. The kulfi served at Hashmi’s is homemade ice cream. They have a fresh batch every day. That means that it’s tasty like nothing else as well as being fresh. You can’t get this anywhere else, I can guarantee you. That said, the Faluda at Hashmi’s is my second favorite drink after the Tangerine juice. No need to guess why I love the Tangerine juice so much ( I mean, who doesn’t :-))

 

Make a visit to Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands to get yourself a taste of this wonderful and refreshing drink. And you can also visit the wiki about Faluda here to find out more about the origins and ingredients in the drink.

More delectable delights shall be coming your way next week. Don’t miss out 😉

This is a random post about my dinner :-D

This is for the benefit all of you who aren’t on my Twitter or on my Facebook. In true @mutuamatheka-esque fashion, I decided to take pics of my “comfort food” dinner I just finished cooking. Here you go:

Ok. Now I’m done *loud burp* My sincere apologies for being so MIA this week.  I will explain everything in a blog post next week. Till then, stay cool dudes and dudettes 😀

Delectable Delights: Chicken Poussin

Better late than never they say. Well, this post is a bit delayed but I know it’s just in time for the lunch hour at Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

Chicken poussin is spring chicken deep fried and spiced with Poussin sauce. Mind you this is the ORIGINAL chicken poussin. Anyone else purporting to have the original dish is just lying.

 

If you really want to have that meal that will make your tastebuds go to heaven and back with every bite, you’d better head on over to Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands right now 😀

More delectable delights shall be coming your way next week. Don’t miss out 😉

Delectable Delights: Mushikaki

This week I have something special from the good people at Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

Mushikaki is beef cubes spiced andskewered then roasted on charcoal. This is served with a side of salad and french fries as shown above. The beef is marinated beforehand so it is tender, juicy and bursting with flavour. One of the tastiest dishes I have tasted at Hashmi’s.

Hungry yet? Well, hop on over to Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands and indulge in some mushikaki today 😀

More delectable delights shall be coming your way next week. I hope you’re looking forward to that 😉

Delectable Delights: Fish Tikka

In this latest edition of the Delectable Delights segment, I present yet another wonderful dish that’s on the menu at Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

Fish Tikka is tilapia fish spiced and roasted on charcoal. It is of course served on a bed of french fries with a side of fresh salad that, with the special sauces that are available at Hashmi’s, make up a very wonderful and filling meal. I am not a lover of fish but this dish had me rethinking why I don’t like fish…

 

Don’t believe me? Go taste this dish at Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands. Say I sent you there to prove whether the fish tikka was any good. Then thank me later 😀

That marks the end of this week’s edition of the Delectable Delights. The week still isn’t over so there’s lots more fabulous photographs coming up for you later in the week…

Delectable Delights: Barbecue Chicken Wings

It is time for us to delve once again into the wonderful creations from  Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

On today’s spotlight is Barbecue Chicken Wings. As you can guess, it’s wings roasted with spices. This is served on a bed of french fries with a side of fresh salad. Best value for money chicken wings in a 2KM radius if you ask me 😀

With that, we thank you for tuning into this week’s instalment of Delectable Delights. You can find more of these Tasty Treats here, here, here, and here.

P.S

I am really sorry I can’t do Flashback Friday. Exhaustion is my middle name right now.  Brain freeze and what not. I hope to be fully back in action next week *crosses fingers*

Delectable Delights: Fish Pilipili

In this fourth edition of the Delectable Delights segment, I present yet another wonderful dish that’s on the menu at Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

Fish pilipili is tilapia fish roasted on charcoal and spiced with Poussin sauce. It is served with a side of French Fries and salad as shown above. This is a dish for those who like something  lil’ spicy 😉 That should not scare you from giving it a try though 😀

As always, if you wanna taste this dish so drop by Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands. Be sure to say that I sent you there. And leave me a comment when you do enjoy their wonderful food and great service 😀

To view the first few installments of the Delectable Delights segment, go here here and here. More delectable delights shall be coming to your favorite blog soon…

Delectable Delights: Boneless Tikka

In this edition of the Delectable Delights segment, I present yet another tasty dish that’s on the menu at Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

Today’s dish is called Boneless Tikka. It is de-boned chicken breast spiced and roasted on charcoal. EXTREMELY delicious, believe me.

It is served with a side of french fries. You should order it with some naan and a salad, then put the tamarind sauce on the salad and thank me later.

 

 

As always, if you wanna partake in this dish, drop by Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands. Be sure to say I sent you there. If you want a good place to have an Iftar meal, I would totally recommend you head there.

To view more of the Delectable Delights segment, go here and here. More delectable delights shall be coming to a computer screen near you really soon…

Delectable Delights: Paneer Tikka

In this second edition of the Delectable Delights segment, I present yet another wonderful dish that’s on the menu at Hashmi’s Barbeque Centre in Westlands.

Paneer Tikka is cottage cheese spiced and roasted on charcoal. It is served with a side of French Fries and salad as shown above. In my honest opinion this is one of the best lacto-vegetarian dishes available in Nairobi.

As always, if you wanna taste this dish so drop by Hashmi’s BBQ centre at Ukay centre in Westlands. You will not regret it, believe me 😀

To view the first installment of the Delectable Delights segment, go here. More delectable delights shall be coming to a computer screen near you really soon…

Delectable Delights: Mkate Mayai

Yet another new segment is coming up on the blog today. Growth!! 😀

A week ago, I had the priviledge of photographing the foods on the menu at Hashmi Barbecue Centre which is at the Ukay Centre in Westlands, Nairobi. For the next few weeks, I will be posting a few of the images captured that afternoon to hopefully whet your appetite a little and send you there to sample these delights on your own.

Lemme start with one of the tastiest dishes I had from there (I ate AFTER I was done working ) I won’t wax lyrical about it’s origin or what goes into it. Lemme let you have the privilege of discovering that by visiting Hashmi and asking the waiters to clue you in as you enjoy the meal. It’s called mkate mayai.

 

Closer up, it looks even tastier

Here’s hoping I haven’t made you too hungry this early in the morning 😀