I had met Bade Aboderin during my
Master’s program. She had also moved back to Lagos-Nigeria and was working barely two blocks
from my office. We bumped into each other at the Mall and after discovering we
worked not so far off from each other, we decided we’d have lunch when our
schedules allowed for it.
We started off with regular
continental restaurants which served our regular traditional meals; all kinds
of rice, poundo, semovita and eba with a variety of soups (you get the drift!
Lol). She had mentioned her sudden interest and love for all things Asian and was
in an exploratory mood. First up was her new found love for Korean food,
culture and language. Now, to be clear I love food, but my foodie tendencies
are kind of restricted to familiar terrains. After many failed attempts at
finding time to explore the Korean Cuisine, we decided on a flexible
alternative we could reach within both our lunch breaks. So Japanese it was!
It was going to be both our first
exploratory experience of the Japanese menu. As usual, I wasn't exactly worried
as I figured the menu wouldn't be entirely far off from Chinese Cuisine that I
was used to. Our restaurant of choice was “Izanagi”, located on Idejo in
Victoria Island, Lagos. The ambiance was soothing and welcoming. I could sit
there for days just taking in the scenery. Chairs in tile and grey colours,
wall paper in two shades of purple and the wall painted in a cool peach.
Bade sat right behind a cute
polar teddy bear I had hoped I could take home as a new addition to my family
of teddy bears (yes, I’m cuddly like that…lol).
 |
| Bade Aboderin |
%2B(_)_677596.jpeg) |
| My cutieee! |
We received the book of life,
izanagi’s well over 5-page menu, with a wide range of
recipes for starter, main course and desert.
After staring at this book of life for over 10 minutes, we both
decided on somewhat familiar starter options. I ordered the Crispy Coconut
Prawns which had gigantic prawns coated with coconut, deep fried and served
with sweet chilli sauce. No wonder it cost me 3,600 NGN, the USD equivalent of $20 *rolls eyes* I could have gotten 2
meals from my regular continental restaurant ohhh! Well, food adventure comes
with its costs…lol!
 |
| Crispy Coconut Prawn with Coconut coating |
Bade had the Kawayaki Chicken
Squares which had Chicken strips marinated in Teriyaki Sauce, deep fried and
topped with sesame seeds. And this is where Bade’s food experience went
downhill and under (sorry love! Lol). We hadn't realized that the Teriyaki
Sauce was a sweet sauce almost similar to the taste of the barbecue sauce or
the “sweet”, in the “sweet & sour” sauce (Pun intended! Lol). She wasn't
huge on all things sweet so this was a bit *underwhelming* (sad face)…
 |
| Kawayaki Chicken Squares - Ps; She was all smiles before tasting the recipe oh! lol |
By the time our starter had
arrived and after Bade’s disappointment on her choice of starter menu, she
realized her main course menu was to be served in the same sweet Teriyaki
Sauce! Ahh! Wahala! We couldn't be spending all this money only to be served
sugary meals oh! I could totally feel Bade’s panic (lol). Whatever happened to a
pinch of Cameroun pepper or ata-rodo, she asked? Abeg oh! I did have a good
laugh! She was lucky to make a quick change to her main course menu. Apparently
the cooks hadn’t started making it at the time (thank God that was possible).
Her new order was the Teppanyiaki Chicken made up of Grilled Chicken,
Teppanyaki sauce with a topping of Lemon & garlic served with a side of
vegetable and fried rice.
 |
| Teppanyiaki Chicken served with fried rice |
Bernard, our ever pleasant
service attendant had advised Bade to try this alternative as it was not as
sweet as the Teriyaki sauce she was resistant to.
Let’s just say Bade’s taste buds
had already been upset from her first try-out so much so that this less sweet
alternative tasted too sour for comfort (Chai! Money miss road food! Lol).
 |
| Bade's what the heck am I eating face! loool |
I on the other hand stuck with my
Teriyaki Chicken menu. It had seasoned grilled chicken strips in teriyaki sauce
served with some side of vegetable and fried rice.
 |
| Teriyaki Chicken |
Overall, I did enjoy the meal but
I would have preferred something a bit more spicy (blame it on my Nigerian
roots, abeg I love my spices biko!).
 |
| Happy foodie! lol |
We have decided to try out a
different menu from Izanagi some other time, hopefully we’ll ask all the
required questions on the sauce options before plunging in. I get to choose our next food
adventure and I’m already thinking Thai Cuisine! *doing the happy dance*. I’ll
keep you all posted!
So it was bye to Izanagi, a
combined “Sweet & Sour” experience for Bade & I!
What sort of food adventure have
you had and what were your experiences? Feel free to share in the comment
section!
Till next time; Eat, Pray, Love!
Kechy!
4 comments:
U jus reminded me of the first time I went to "Chop Sticks" in abuja with my Dad....its was an extremely horrible experience for me.... I went for a funny sauce make of lots of vegetables n seafood and I dnt do well with seafood.....and it came extra chilli....Mehn I couldn't do more Dan one bite of dat dish......my Dad laughed so hard at me and teased that next time he would take me to a "Mama-Put" kitchen to eat.
Loooooo! I can totally imagine your frustration dear! Food adventure can be tricky especially if it's a first! Thanks for sharing dear! Cheers!
I can relate to Eki's experience, I remember the first time I tried sushi, I knew it was raw fish, but I thought the sauce might make it a bit better, it was not so good. I also recall my first taste of British steak, imagine the horror of seeing blood in your plate! all I can say is always tell the waiter you want it over cooked.
Hahahaha! Ebi you got me rolling over with laughter with your British Steak experience! OMG!! I recall the first time my Cousin, Uncle, Aunt and I went to Bella Italia in Coventry when they visited. All they had on their menu were steaks and puddings with veggies. I kept checking the menu with hope that i'll find something that had rice ohhh! Haa! Let's just say we left in a hurry for Cosmos, a Chinese restaurant that had a variety of rice and other edible familiar condiments...loooool! Thanks for sharing your experience! Cheers!!
Post a Comment