Day 4: Nyama Mama

Lilmissbelle 12 Days of Christmas

Day 4: Nyama Mama

December 14, 2017

I doubt if there are many five-year olds in town who are as busy as my daughter Xena during this school holiday. She got home on Monday at 11:45pm from Mombasa, a trip she went along with her dad for three days. It was just the two of them and we (the nanny, her sister and myself) have been subjected to endless tales of how epic their mini holiday was. “You know my daddy bought me a new bag and new shoes?” and “In Mombasa we would wake up at 6:00am then take a walk on the beach and collect shells.” and “You know Mombasa is closed that’s why we had to come back.” If this kid had her way, she would have stayed in Mombasa with her daddy for a month and not cared about the rest of us.

As she was narrating her escapades, I tried very hard to maintain an imperturbable composure but deep down my throat was on fire. I was jealous of how much fun the two of them had and I wondered if she would have had as much fun with me.

Back to her busy schedule, much as she only slept at midnight, I had to wake her up at 8am. I had a job for her. I had mentioned to her on phone the previous night while she was at the airport that we needed to be somewhere at 10:00am the following day.

“Sleep in the plane if you have to baby because duty calls tomorrow.” I had aptly informed her.

“Okeeeyyy.” She had said, not exactly excited about the prospect of working after a grand holiday.

At 9:30am, we were all set in the car. Xia in her car seat, Xena in the back right and yours truly behind the wheel but not before tuning the radio to HBR. Side note- HBR should pay me already for the mad endorsements on this platform. Daddy had woken up early to ride his bike, a passion he’s taken into recently.

We were headed to Nyama Mama at Delta Towers in Westlands. I had called P.K. of Nyama Mama the previous week telling him how I would love to sample their Christmas menu with my kids and crew. I also mentioned that because I value my readers who come here religiously to read about my musings, I needed to reward one of them with a meal voucher from Nyama Mama. Because it would be totally unfair for me to profit from my readers’ loyal following while giving them nothing in return. Right? On that note, I hope you guys are loving the Lil’missbelle 12 days giveaway so far and if yes, please drop a comment encouraging us to soldier on. Anyway, P.K. was sold to the idea.

As I was driving, Xena went on and on about her holiday, so I had to turn the radio off. We were so engrossed in the conversation that I forgot that the Westlands roundabout was closed. I had driven towards Ring Road thinking it was a shorter route and when I came off Waiyaki Way, I had to drive all the way up almost to Safaricom HQ then turn back and drive down all the way past the non-functional Westlands roundabout then make a right turn further down. I cursed when I realised my stupid mistake which got Xena asking me “Are we lost?”

“No Xena, how would I get lost in Westlands?” I said.
“Then why are you saying “drat” many times?” She asked.
“Because your stories got me missing the route.” I said.
“So we are lost.” She said.
I couldn’t argue with her, so I drove in silence. As we approached Delta Towers finally, I asked her if she was excited.
“What’s special about where you are taking us?” She asked.
“The food and the ambience.” I said.
“Can you smell the food from here?” She asked. We were still on Waiyaki Way by the way, just about to turn left.
“No Xena, but I’ve been there before and I know their food is amazing.”
“What’s the second thing you said?” She asked.
“Ambience?” I said.
“Yea what’s that?” She asked.
“You’ll find out for yourself.” I said.

As soon as we walked out of the car, I spotted Charles our photographer and his assistant. They had arrived earlier, set up, and were now talking a video of us. Xia was excited and running towards RMA motors. I think she was hinting that we needed to aspire to own one of those Range Rovers at RMA.

Nyama Mama’s outdoorsy feel is one of the many things I love about it. With the wide windows rolled up, it feels as if you are dining outside in this colourful set up of African inspired decor but with a roof over your head. For about thirty minutes, Xena and Xia were confused over what to embrace. One minute they were lifting the colourful Ankara cushions off the seats, the next they were riding in Santa’s sleigh perched in the middle of the restaurant with a reindeer pulling it.

I think that was the easiest shoot for Charles as the kids were in their element. We all were, especially when the food came. Waffles with rosemary chicken and fried egg for the kids, a breakfast staple in their menu which you all need to try. We had some spicy calamari coated with batter and deep fried which were devoured by Xena alone! How else were we to know that she had recently landed from the land of seafood? The crispy Ugali chips were not exactly anyone’s favourite, much as they were quite tasty. For me, I didn’t want to get full before the turkey arrived. And when it finally did, brown and crispy with sweet potato pulp, I dug in. We also had the red snapper with some gravy which I declared award-winning. It was served with Nyama Mama’s rendition of Ugali which was really soft and creamy. Xena would run around (because she was done with her chicken and waffles) and come back to the table uttering only two words “Mama, Ugali!” I have never seen her eat that much! Xia sat at the table all through even after finishing her meal and carried on with our fish and the sweet potato. To think that we all (including Xena who is a troublesome eater) had space for desert is unbelievable. We shared two plates of ice cream (vanilla and chocolate), some cheese cake and some pie with custard on the side.

I don’t recall ever having such a gratifying Jamhuri day. The best part, Xena felt them same way.

“I am glad we came back from Mombasa last night.” She said. “ I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”

Our winner today gets a Ksh 5,000 voucher from Nyama Mama. Simply tell us your best memory of any holiday, whether Christmas, New Year, Easter, Diwali, Labour Day, Jamhuri Day or any other holiday. Make sure you are subscribed to this blog and following my Instagram account and Nyama Mama’s Instagram as well to qualify.

Awaiting your stories 🙂