The InterContinental Hotel Nairobi is one of my favourite places to eat in the CBD. So when I got an invite to check out the new À la carte Menu at The Terrace I was kind of excited. I tend to eat a lot of restaurant food and so after a while, you end up feeling like there is nothing that you haven’t tried. I love trying out new menus because it usually means that the chefs have been experimenting quite a bit to come up with new options.
We were going to taste various things and where is the best place to start? With soups of course. We had a choice between a Seafood soup and a veggie soup. I have never had seafood soup anywhere as a starter. This is delicious and with just the right amount of salt that I didn’t have to reach for the salt (I have a salt problem ). It set up the rest of the meal quite perfectly. It was great as it did not have a strong seafood smell although you could still taste the fish oil.
Then we had the five spiced sesame Duck salad with hoising glazed dressing, orange, mixed baby spinach, rocket and cherry tomato salad. I loved this although I found the Apple Cider Vinegar to be a bit much if you are not somebody who likes it. I don’t have a problem with it so I was good.
The Smoked Chicken and Mango Salad which was served with arugula and watercress. The chicken was smoky but I still felt like it was a little bland. But taken together with the sweet cooked strawberries it came out nicely.
We then had some garlic bread which was garlic and butter toasted French Bread, served with a spicy Harissa blend, and an onion and raisin chutney. I was only going to have one piece of the bread – just to taste but I ended up eating two because that onion and raisin chutney was the truth. It had a unique flavour I can’t explain.
Image from http://www.scrapbookjourneys.com/2018/07/05/we-are-back-intercontinental-hotel-menu-review/
This was the highlight of our lunch at the InterContinental Hotel. The Morendat Beef Fillet Medallion and Sirloin plus the Chicken Peri Peri. Where do I start with this meal? The meat was sweet and delicious and paired with the sauces it took on a whole new flavour. The Chicken was HOT. It was quite spicy (the chef had warned us). I am not a fan of chilli but I loved the fact that you could taste the chilli to the bone. I only had one piece. The Chicken Peri Peri is marinated in lemon, rosemary and garlic and their house-made peri peri sauce. If you love hot, peri peri chicken this is for you. The beef is what I was reaching for again and again. Delicious. The beef and chicken cater to those who love either sweet or spicy food. The beef was quite sweet, the Morendat Beef Fillet Medallion is something any meat lover would fall in love with. It came with some fantastic sauces that worked as a perfect accompaniment.
This pizza doesn’t look fancy but it is delicious. Meet the mini Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza. I loved the fresh ingredients and how the crust was just soft and it’s so easy to eat like eating chicken with Naan bread which is what gave the chef the idea of this pizza.
The one reason I hate à la carte is that desserts are usually quite small and I have a sweet tooth. The portions may be small but oh do they pack a punch. We had tangy lemon cheesecake with candied ginger, berry coulis and orange segments (awesome), sesame and Amarula tart (on another level) and Nanaimo bar (tasted like bounty chocolate ???) and sorbet (I love sorbets so so much). It was delicious. A perfect end to a great lunch.
I would personally recommend the Morendat Beef Fillet or the Chicken Peri Peri if you love a spicy meat option, the Mini Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza and the Tangy Lemon Cheesecake.
Although I am not a fan of really hot dishes, I don’t mind mildly hot dishes and that is why I love Indian food from Bhandini Restaurant, Intercontinental Hotel which you should check out. If you would like to try some Indian food you can check out some of Chef’s JP’s recipes – Easy to make Indian recipes from JP, Chef at Bhandini Restaurant.
