Sushi is thought to be an acquired taste and might not be for everyone, but the chef at Bonsai restaurant in VI prepares wonderful sushi that changes minds..
Sushi is just the beginning, as the original menu at Bonsai rivals the beauty of its setting. The chef at Bonsai took the Japanese menu and put his own twist on it in a way that will bring satisfaction to any and all taste buds. I will say I am not only a novice when it comes to sushi, but it would not be my first choice when it comes to dining. In amazing fashion, the Bonsai chef changed my mind. Not only did he provide two dishes that passed the taste test, but they were so tantalizing they have made me a fan of sushi—at least at Bonsai. The softshell crab was the best I have ever tried. I would say the ginger added a nice flavor, but what really set this dish apart was the crunchy texture of the tempura; it was a delightful extra touch. The second sushi dish that grabbed my taste buds was the poppin’ spicy crab. Mosttimes I can tell if a dish is original, and well it might not be all that original; but assuredly, this one is. The secret ingredient is pop rocks. I could hear the sushi popping when it was served, and I could feel the popping as I aet it. This dish does a wonderful job of walking me through the layers of flavour. The first sensation is, of course, the popping, which started me off with a sweetness and just a hint of crunchy texture. Next I received the crab, well-blended with just a slight flavoring from cucumber and asparagus; finally, just as I was about to finish, I was given that final kick of spice that finished it off in very nice fashion: not too hot, but just a nice, subtle transition, the same as the other flavours.
Ofcourse, Bonsai does not forget someone like me who is looking for a main course dinner to satisfy my hunger. The chef has put together a few Kobe beef-based items that are all outstanding. But if I had to pick just one, the Kobe beef short ribs are a choice I can’t go wrong with. The ribs are boneless and prepared so tenderly that I wondered how they stayed together on my plate, as at the first sign of my fork they began to fall apart.
This would not be a Japanese restaurant without some sake, and when I say some sake, I mean sake like has never been seen sake before. Bonsai has a vast assortment of sake, for me, I didn't have to worry because they also offer plenty of other more reasonable and tasty sake thatkept me satisfied. Because it was sought of my first time giving sake a try, I went with sake tasting to let myself experience a variety of flavours. Of course sake is not for everyone, and there are a number of great drinks that are special to Bonsai. My favorite is the Infusion martini. Not overly sweet, this libation is mixed with kai lychee blueberry-infused vodka and a hint of citrus, a great way to start the evening.
Not that I needed an excuse other than the food to visit Bonsai, but the fact that I heard Bonsaia has a good setting is not a bad bonus. Bonsai is a lovely place for a romantic evening.
The most surprising thing about Bonsai, other than the pop rocks, is the cost. For a restaurant in Victoria Island with such a stunning view, I found it is one of the more reasonable restaurants on the strip. The other noteworthy part of Bonsai is the service: not only was the entire staff friendly and always on top of things, but my waiter, knew the menu up and down and every recommendation he made was stellar.
Showing posts with label Victoria Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victoria Island. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
No Bite-Size Pieces at Marco Polo
Severally, I passed through Marco Polo Restaurant on Karim Kotun Street, Victoria Island, but the first time I stepped into the building was for a business meeting. I wasn’t that impressed, because it appeared like just another of its type, well, after my experience I could not pick any special thing or feeling from it all.
Although Marco Polo is aware of the sensitive nature of the restaurant, business, catering and food service in general, I think the restaurant pays too much attention to customizing everything they own. From the uniforms, badges, menu cards, table covers, crockery and cutlery. I wonder why they all kept shouting “Marco Polo!”
Customer service is on the average at Marco Polo as the waiters are considerably on call, although it seems you have to repeat the order to the waiter, at first I thought it was the particular one that attended to us. But not until I noticed the voice from the next table repeating for the second time, “How many times do I have to say that exactly?”
On the other hand, cleanliness is a big one at Marco Polo, the environs is simply charming, a good dash of colours, the colours and designs still stay clean and beautiful on the walls. The convenience is fresh and the atmosphere is just cool, for that I felt relieved. At least it’s said that a good atmosphere encourages a good dine.
Marco Polo Chinese Restaurant offers a menu of food and beverages with a distinctive taste – which depends on how active your taste buds. The restaurant which started about seven years ago started out offering the best service, but based on regular diners at Marco Polo, it has come to be a-less- than average restaurant.
Marco Polo offers three main menus; the Main menu, the Vegetarian menu and the Chef Wung’s Special menu. Because it’s a business meeting and two, it’s my side paying the bill, I decided to take it cool, Cool like, just get the usual, so I did and saved everyone my speech of ‘what I want in it and what I don’t’. But the ’opponent’ didn’t care about who was paying or not, at least it was tagged a business dinner at 7pm.
There’s one thing though, Sushi at Marco Polo is simply irresistible, when I saw it, and I thought it was a crown of shame on us for dining there, but a first taste of the meal restored me back to life. Marco Polo offers a real alternative; the sushi is a welcome culinary addition to the other varieties on course, the fabulously fresh sushi and sashimi is made beautifully along with traditional dishes which makes the dining experience a fusionist affair, the menu is simply seasonal. The food was great as mentioned but my Chicken Tepanyaki was such a big chunky fillet, that I had to use a knife and fork to cut/eat it. I don't normally complain about there being too much food, but I always thought Japanese food should be small, bite-size pieces you can pick-up with chopsticks?
The intimate dining room is clean and crisp, with comfortable upholstered chairs and dark wood furniture squared up against a deep red wall. A striking tree sculpture, made from bamboo, spreads up the walls and across the ceiling, with lights dangling above the centre tables.
Hmm...I wasn't really impressed with this place at all. For a restaurant that openly boasts about winning lots of remarks, I expected award-winning food and service but the waiters and management seem to be out of the decent type. I really found this odd considering the wait-staff have a touch of snobbery. We ate beside the window to get a view of the beautiful street and the range of lovely cars parking in and out of the lot.
It seems all the things that made Marco Polo "Swell" are now gone? Now it is a typical sushi and tappanyaki on the Island. I don't write this to be mean or cruel the food is still good at Marco Polo but not what it once was. Maybe I will start eating somewhere else each Sunday since it seems there’ll always be a meeting at Marco Polo.
Although Marco Polo is aware of the sensitive nature of the restaurant, business, catering and food service in general, I think the restaurant pays too much attention to customizing everything they own. From the uniforms, badges, menu cards, table covers, crockery and cutlery. I wonder why they all kept shouting “Marco Polo!”
Customer service is on the average at Marco Polo as the waiters are considerably on call, although it seems you have to repeat the order to the waiter, at first I thought it was the particular one that attended to us. But not until I noticed the voice from the next table repeating for the second time, “How many times do I have to say that exactly?”
On the other hand, cleanliness is a big one at Marco Polo, the environs is simply charming, a good dash of colours, the colours and designs still stay clean and beautiful on the walls. The convenience is fresh and the atmosphere is just cool, for that I felt relieved. At least it’s said that a good atmosphere encourages a good dine.
Marco Polo Chinese Restaurant offers a menu of food and beverages with a distinctive taste – which depends on how active your taste buds. The restaurant which started about seven years ago started out offering the best service, but based on regular diners at Marco Polo, it has come to be a-less- than average restaurant.
Marco Polo offers three main menus; the Main menu, the Vegetarian menu and the Chef Wung’s Special menu. Because it’s a business meeting and two, it’s my side paying the bill, I decided to take it cool, Cool like, just get the usual, so I did and saved everyone my speech of ‘what I want in it and what I don’t’. But the ’opponent’ didn’t care about who was paying or not, at least it was tagged a business dinner at 7pm.
There’s one thing though, Sushi at Marco Polo is simply irresistible, when I saw it, and I thought it was a crown of shame on us for dining there, but a first taste of the meal restored me back to life. Marco Polo offers a real alternative; the sushi is a welcome culinary addition to the other varieties on course, the fabulously fresh sushi and sashimi is made beautifully along with traditional dishes which makes the dining experience a fusionist affair, the menu is simply seasonal. The food was great as mentioned but my Chicken Tepanyaki was such a big chunky fillet, that I had to use a knife and fork to cut/eat it. I don't normally complain about there being too much food, but I always thought Japanese food should be small, bite-size pieces you can pick-up with chopsticks?
The intimate dining room is clean and crisp, with comfortable upholstered chairs and dark wood furniture squared up against a deep red wall. A striking tree sculpture, made from bamboo, spreads up the walls and across the ceiling, with lights dangling above the centre tables.
Hmm...I wasn't really impressed with this place at all. For a restaurant that openly boasts about winning lots of remarks, I expected award-winning food and service but the waiters and management seem to be out of the decent type. I really found this odd considering the wait-staff have a touch of snobbery. We ate beside the window to get a view of the beautiful street and the range of lovely cars parking in and out of the lot.
It seems all the things that made Marco Polo "Swell" are now gone? Now it is a typical sushi and tappanyaki on the Island. I don't write this to be mean or cruel the food is still good at Marco Polo but not what it once was. Maybe I will start eating somewhere else each Sunday since it seems there’ll always be a meeting at Marco Polo.
Monday, April 26, 2010
BUNGALOW’S RESTAURANT – AN ALTERNATIVE TO FINE JAPANESE DINING EXPERIENCE
Bungalow’s restaurant is referred to as the hottest and most wired place in Victoria Island, but that you cannot agree with until you find time to dine within the concealed atmosphere at the Bungalow’s restaurant. Bungalow’s is home for Sushi and Teppanyaki food and I can say categorically that Bungalow’s is Nigeria’s only destination for Japanese food. With a spacious dining room that allows for group seating, official or business gathering, Bungalow’s also has one of the widest ranges of Sushibar in Nigeria, with a magnificient high-tech Teppan-yaki Area. Dining at Bungalow’s restaurant is dining on a whole new and different level.
Bungalow’s has three categories; the Bunyaki Teppanyaki menu – which provides a range of contemporary surroundings in which to enjoy authentically-prepared Japanese cuisine, Sushi menu – a menu of mouth-watering sushi prepared by the dexterous sushi chef, and the Bunbeanos – it’s something and more about coffee, cocktails and cold drinks. At Bungalow’s dining is simply orgasmic, every taste is a memory, it’s more than just dining, it’s also about the cooking itself, the chef at the Bunyaki entertains diners with his culinary expertise as he sears in the natural flavours of the ingredients in front of you at the Teppan-yaki table. Dishes on offer at the Bunyaki include; Teppan-yaki cuisine – a combination of western and eastern finesse, Sushi – which contains three varieties; Special Avocado Roll (Smoked salmon, cream chees, Avocado), The Victoria Island Roll (Crab, Avocado and cucumber), and the The Bunyaki Roll (Unagi {Frshwater Eel}, Avocado , Macademia nuts) Sashimi and Tempura – dish of fried seafood and vegetables.
Watching the chef prepare teppanyaki is an important part of the meal. The diners' plates rest on the hot teppan, assuring their food will not get cold. Teppanyaki differs from traditional Japanese cuisine in many ways. With teppanyaki, the salad is served first, followed by the main course, vegetables, fruit, and dessert. Main course consists of beef, lamb, chicken, and seafood. Salad and dessert are prepared almost like the Western-style. Unlike the Western style, but the salad at Bungalow’s is rather small and the dressing usually sweet or sour.
Ordering bunyaki at Bungalow’s is quite simple and healthy, as you can tell the ever willing chef how much of every ingredient you desire to have in your meal. You can determine the amount of seasoning oil you want in your meal as the chef prepares the menu right in front of you. The quality of teppanyaki ingredients at Bungalow’s make it a healthy choice compared to other barbecue style-cuisine around here.
Bungalow’s has re-defined the fine style of delicious food within its warm, modern and cozy environment, with a central concern of providing quality food at a value for money price. Bungalow’s also mixes and matches from small dishes of mezze, skewers of lightly marinated meats, fish, shrimps prawns and fresh succulent meat, shicken and vegetables, steamed rice, fajitas and the best fresh salad.
It was quite interesting as the teppanyaki chef involved me in his dexterous act of cookery, using his tools; a knife, a fork and two spatulas, he cuts, stirs, seasons and put each diner’s portion onto plates on the teppan, a beautiful scene of culinary experience to behold. As he prepared the meal, he served simultaneously as each menu was ready, and for each bite, it felt like leisure in dining paradise. Watching the chef prepare the menu right there is part of the dining experience that has just one major effect on you – satisfaction. While every one other diner on either side of me, I stared in amazement at this skillful chef that made every moment of my experience a beautiful one, I guess others were not that amazed as they were used to it, or perhaps they just acted so.
For starters the Milo soup (N1000) – milo paste, tofu, mirin, hondishi (stock of fish), and seaweeds had this existing taste I guess came from the quantity of flavourable ingredients used by the chef, he sure did not mince his ingredients. For something I do not understand, I do not enjoy salads, but the Vegetarian Salad (Namasai-N1600) – iceberg lettuce, mixed bell pepper, carrots, cucumber and some other thing I didn’t recognize gave me a second thought on salads. Going on like this might not be a good idea as I thought, the best option was for me to take a break, so I told the chef to hold on for a moment while I digested the first part of my dining journey. After a few minutes the Tempura came calling, with patience and respect for proper digestion I gobbed every part of the slightly fried Ebi tempura (N2, 300). Every bite was like a thrill to ‘cheese’ land.
Deserts at bunyaki is on a whole dimension of its own, the bunyaki cake – chocolate Cadbury, waffer biscuit and tofu (N1100) And for the beverage dessert, the sensei (green tea) – N350 is definitely not a bad idea.
After a second thought, I decided to have the Victoria Island Island roll, which had the calamari salmon wrap with crab cucumber mayo and togorashi which came for just N3,550 and the Seafood cocktail containing the salmon, tuna, shrimp, smoked salmon, mackerel, parsley, spring onions for N3,550 also.
Bungalow’s favourite for me is the burbeanous, a section that shares variety of drinks, from coffee (I love coffee) – iced coffee, iced caffe latte, iced caffee mache, iced caffee mashe latte, iced salmon caffee latte, Maple caffee latte, Almond caramel caffee latte, Caffee latte with soy, Royal milk with soy, tea, Royal milk tea and Maple Royal milk tea. To hot drinks – Espresso, Caffee Latte, Cappucino, Caffee Mocha, Maple Caffe Latte amongst others, and Fruit Cocktails.
When it comes to fine dining, I mean one that leaves an unforgettable memory, then Bungalow’s is somewhere to meet your expectation for quality ingredients, service and hygiene standards. Although this doesn’t fix Bungalow’s in that ‘perfect place’ or ‘five star’ restaurant level, (that I can say is yet to be accomplished in Lagos, not even Nigeria. But for a good experience of fine Japanese cuisine in a warm environment, Bungalow’s offers that on a platter of gold, no, say silver.
Bungalow’s has three categories; the Bunyaki Teppanyaki menu – which provides a range of contemporary surroundings in which to enjoy authentically-prepared Japanese cuisine, Sushi menu – a menu of mouth-watering sushi prepared by the dexterous sushi chef, and the Bunbeanos – it’s something and more about coffee, cocktails and cold drinks. At Bungalow’s dining is simply orgasmic, every taste is a memory, it’s more than just dining, it’s also about the cooking itself, the chef at the Bunyaki entertains diners with his culinary expertise as he sears in the natural flavours of the ingredients in front of you at the Teppan-yaki table. Dishes on offer at the Bunyaki include; Teppan-yaki cuisine – a combination of western and eastern finesse, Sushi – which contains three varieties; Special Avocado Roll (Smoked salmon, cream chees, Avocado), The Victoria Island Roll (Crab, Avocado and cucumber), and the The Bunyaki Roll (Unagi {Frshwater Eel}, Avocado , Macademia nuts) Sashimi and Tempura – dish of fried seafood and vegetables.
Watching the chef prepare teppanyaki is an important part of the meal. The diners' plates rest on the hot teppan, assuring their food will not get cold. Teppanyaki differs from traditional Japanese cuisine in many ways. With teppanyaki, the salad is served first, followed by the main course, vegetables, fruit, and dessert. Main course consists of beef, lamb, chicken, and seafood. Salad and dessert are prepared almost like the Western-style. Unlike the Western style, but the salad at Bungalow’s is rather small and the dressing usually sweet or sour.
Ordering bunyaki at Bungalow’s is quite simple and healthy, as you can tell the ever willing chef how much of every ingredient you desire to have in your meal. You can determine the amount of seasoning oil you want in your meal as the chef prepares the menu right in front of you. The quality of teppanyaki ingredients at Bungalow’s make it a healthy choice compared to other barbecue style-cuisine around here.
Bungalow’s has re-defined the fine style of delicious food within its warm, modern and cozy environment, with a central concern of providing quality food at a value for money price. Bungalow’s also mixes and matches from small dishes of mezze, skewers of lightly marinated meats, fish, shrimps prawns and fresh succulent meat, shicken and vegetables, steamed rice, fajitas and the best fresh salad.
It was quite interesting as the teppanyaki chef involved me in his dexterous act of cookery, using his tools; a knife, a fork and two spatulas, he cuts, stirs, seasons and put each diner’s portion onto plates on the teppan, a beautiful scene of culinary experience to behold. As he prepared the meal, he served simultaneously as each menu was ready, and for each bite, it felt like leisure in dining paradise. Watching the chef prepare the menu right there is part of the dining experience that has just one major effect on you – satisfaction. While every one other diner on either side of me, I stared in amazement at this skillful chef that made every moment of my experience a beautiful one, I guess others were not that amazed as they were used to it, or perhaps they just acted so.
For starters the Milo soup (N1000) – milo paste, tofu, mirin, hondishi (stock of fish), and seaweeds had this existing taste I guess came from the quantity of flavourable ingredients used by the chef, he sure did not mince his ingredients. For something I do not understand, I do not enjoy salads, but the Vegetarian Salad (Namasai-N1600) – iceberg lettuce, mixed bell pepper, carrots, cucumber and some other thing I didn’t recognize gave me a second thought on salads. Going on like this might not be a good idea as I thought, the best option was for me to take a break, so I told the chef to hold on for a moment while I digested the first part of my dining journey. After a few minutes the Tempura came calling, with patience and respect for proper digestion I gobbed every part of the slightly fried Ebi tempura (N2, 300). Every bite was like a thrill to ‘cheese’ land.
Deserts at bunyaki is on a whole dimension of its own, the bunyaki cake – chocolate Cadbury, waffer biscuit and tofu (N1100) And for the beverage dessert, the sensei (green tea) – N350 is definitely not a bad idea.
After a second thought, I decided to have the Victoria Island Island roll, which had the calamari salmon wrap with crab cucumber mayo and togorashi which came for just N3,550 and the Seafood cocktail containing the salmon, tuna, shrimp, smoked salmon, mackerel, parsley, spring onions for N3,550 also.
Bungalow’s favourite for me is the burbeanous, a section that shares variety of drinks, from coffee (I love coffee) – iced coffee, iced caffe latte, iced caffee mache, iced caffee mashe latte, iced salmon caffee latte, Maple caffee latte, Almond caramel caffee latte, Caffee latte with soy, Royal milk with soy, tea, Royal milk tea and Maple Royal milk tea. To hot drinks – Espresso, Caffee Latte, Cappucino, Caffee Mocha, Maple Caffe Latte amongst others, and Fruit Cocktails.
When it comes to fine dining, I mean one that leaves an unforgettable memory, then Bungalow’s is somewhere to meet your expectation for quality ingredients, service and hygiene standards. Although this doesn’t fix Bungalow’s in that ‘perfect place’ or ‘five star’ restaurant level, (that I can say is yet to be accomplished in Lagos, not even Nigeria. But for a good experience of fine Japanese cuisine in a warm environment, Bungalow’s offers that on a platter of gold, no, say silver.
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