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D is for Donkeys, Dhow, Dinner and……… ?

Yes that title is actually a question, what else does D stand for? Lamu was so much fun with some of the Onja bloggers. It is amazing how strangers can be brought together by a common love of something, in this case food and culture, and they just click and it becomes like you just reconnected with your long lost friends. That was us in Lamu.

We spend two nights in Lamu. On  the day of arrival we were supper excited but also mighty hungry. We arrived at our guest house Kiwandani which is one of the Moon Houses on Shela island. Beautiful place. Will tell you guys all about it soon. So we got to the guest house at around 6pm. After everyone getting a place to sleep and freshening up we were off to Lamu island by speed boat. How cool is that? We walked around looking for a place that serves seafood and local food and ended up at Bush Garden.

We were all mighty thirsty and hungry, and as soon as we got into the restaurant we all begun ordering for drinks. There was a waiter cum bariister or juice maker at the “bar”  who I ordered lime juice from. Everyone followed suit and soon he was over whelmed by 8 orders plus others from other customers. As we patiently waited the cook/ waiter came to take our order. We ordered for calamari and fish cocktail to share for starters as everyone decided what they would be having. Now this is Lamu or should I say this is the coast “Hakuna haraka” (There is no hurry) but this guys took this to a whole new level in 30 minutes we still had not gotten our juice or the starter so we decided to order for food. We got quite impatient but the two guys working there (yes TWO) who were doing everything were so pleasant you really couldn’t make noise.

When the starter came , it really was worth the wait. The cocktail sauce was really delicious. The roast calamari as well was just heaven. The combination of the two made my taste buds soooooo happy. I did not enjoy the fish cocktail as much but I am generally not a fun of fish but others seemed to love it.

For the main course we all had different dishes. There was Chicken and chips, yes I know I am not sure who goes to Mombasa to have that. Hahahah. This meal was quite average in my opinion.There was Chicken and fish biryani. Again a bit average. The flavours were not very well developed. But I love spicy food so maybe someone else would enjoy it. I had Calamari and fries. To be honest I did not enjoy my meal one bit. The calamari was overcooked and chewy. I think the cook got overwhelmed because the calamari from the starter was utter perfection. If I was to go back I would definitely give the calamari another go.

 

The Juice however was out of this world. He blended the whole fruit, yes WHOLE fruit rind included and the flavour was just amazing. Wish they could send me some weekly. The average cost of a meal at Bush garden is 650 sh with the lobster going for Ksh 1750. The service there would definitely make me go back

The second night we went to the Sea Suq at the Moon houses in Shela. Simple place nothing to fancy looking. We were served by Ummu who is Shekhe’s sister. Remember that name, Shekhe, it will interest your eyes very soon. We ordered for juice as usual fresh lime and orange juices and dinner. We then went to take a dip and a shower and waited for them to call us when dinner was ready. On our table was

 

Garlic and chilli prawns that were soooooo good and that I wished I had ordered coz they gave my eyes lust.

 

Prawn curry that was also amazing served with fries. This was also so good. The flavours were great especially after I added some lime to it. AAAAAAHHHH take me back!

After dinner off we went for some more D hahahha no, not that dinner. D is for dhow cruise remember?

 

The dhow was breath taking from the onset. Meet our assistant captain Shekhe. Isn’t he some piece of eye candy? He is so hot you have to look at him sideways hahah

 

We went for our first ever dhow cruise, well it was my first ever at sunset. I am telling you this was just the highlight of our trip.

 

It was so breath taking. There was something so calming about being in the middle of the sea. The sunset was out of this world. 

 

During the cruise we were served snacks. There was beef and fish samosas that were dive, there was also bhajia za kunde (veggies dipped in garam flour then deep fried) and Viazi karai (potatoes dipped in flour then deep fried, try my recipe here) served with the most divine Ukwaju sauce (tamarind sauce) that Gatuiri was completely obsessed with.

Going back at night was even better with nothing to light our dhow but the moonlight. It was so quiet, so serene, with nothing to light our dhow but moonlight. It was such a romantic setting. Someone (read the Mr) needs to take me back there.

The dhow cruise costs Ksh 1,000 ($10) per person for more than 5 people and Ksh 5,000 ($50) for 3 to 5 people. They offer day trips where you go out to an island have a bbq do some snorkeling, see dolphins etc. You can contact Hippo Dhow through their Facebook page.

 

The last D stands for donkey. That’s the main source of transport inside of Lamu Island. . I did not have the guts. Look at how hot Kaluhi Looks on a donkey 

 

 

I still have a few more posts for lamu for you. But in the meantime cheack out what the other Onja bloggers are up to.

Gatuiri leotunapika.com, Kaluhi kaluhiskitchen.com, Jayson (jaytakeapic.com) Kaz(kathyskitchen.com) Moha (foodsnfoodies.wordpress.com) Lyra (lyraoko.com)