Off menu at The Cloud

In Luganda, we sometimes use profanities to express pleasure, love, enjoyment. One might say, for instance, mbwa gwe onyumye which means, you are smart you dog, which means, my man, you look good.

Some such profanities came to me as I ate on the rooftop at The Cloud in Ntinda (Atop the Capital Shoppers building) . I wanted to say, ****,  *** you can cook! Instead I just grunted ‘Mmm mmm’.

First of all, the chef…is so damn ballsy! When asked what he thought we should order from the menu, he said “Let me do something for you” Eh, I only see such things in movies! where the chef  ignores the menu and  just “whips something up”. A quick ask about allergies and whatnot and he was off to the kitchen to cook.

So we waited and 3 dishes were presented and I went around the table photographing my companions’ food.

I have to say the idea of waiting to be surprised added a dimension to the meal. I don’t think i would have enjoyed the food as much if i had known what to expect.

I got my food last, at which point i was clapping my hands in excitement.

Yes I sampled some of the others’ food but I’ll focus on my own.

Sight

Some thought was put into the presentation of this variation of chips and chicken. Look at it, doesn’t look like chips and chicken, does it? Plus, this man’s mind reading powers gauged that I love my greens so seeing a plate where  i didn’t have to ask for “some salad, please” was lovely. But come on other restaurant owners, give the people greens. Anyway, at first I thought that I had got a vegie meal but upon biting into said vegies I discovered chicken! Shredded chicken. A pleasant surprise.

Taste

You will be able to pick out every taste. Think of it like a technicolor painting; chicken, carrot, courgette, eggplant, some mushroom? None overwhelming the other. A beautiful thing was that the entire thing was firm…not overcooked. The carrots had crunch, the mushrooms had that thing that ready mushrooms do-a mild chewiness. And the coleslaw looks creamy but has no mayo so ya, good times. I know some people prefer it to be drowned in the stuff but this is mayonnaise free. The salt though was about to approach the border into ‘much’ territory, just about.

Smell

Chips always win the race of smells. They were however mildly subdued by the coriander.

Touch

The chips were not all the way to masala which was a new texture on my tongue.  A sort of mash up between soft and crispy.

Sounds

Drifting sounds of the intoxicating auditory assault that is the Ntinda nightlife

Eat here when you seek to be pleasantly surprised. PS. Off Menu isn’t the norm, we just found the chef in the mood to impress.