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Nailantei Norari

A couple walks in past us and sits next to the pool, as a gentle breeze teases their hair.

They chat amiably as the lady, we happen to overhear, enthuses about her love for lobsters and crabs.

She looks around with naked admiration at the interior décor of the restaurant, her eyes  not missing the corner enclaves, ideal for lovers or private meetings. 

I am curious to see what they will order to decide if I have the stomach for it. We are seated at Mawimbi Seafood Restaurant, a newly opened eatery on Kijabe Street, Nairobi that specialises in seafood with an African flair. 

We are here for a media tasting event as the restaurant launches their lunch menu. They have been open for dinner since December, but are now just widening their portfolio.

Soon, steamed bao buns stuffed with a mix of shiitake, portobello and button mushrooms with avocado cream, butternut crisps and pickled veggies arrive,  with compliments of Carlos Andres Espindola, the head chef. 

He  has more than a decade-and-a-half worth of global experience under his chef’s hat and apron. His style of cuisine is a fusion of Latin American, Asian and international cuisine.

At Mawimbi (sea waves in Kiswahili), Carlos is focusing on seafood and African cuisines. 

Welcoming us, he explains how he has curated the menu using local flavours and ingredients by utilising different culinary techniques. 

Tasty ugali  fritters arrive next, paying credence to the chef’s words about re-imagining African cuisine and seafood.

One can also choose between a sweet corn Thai soup or a crab soup served with butternut as a starter.

On offer as the main dish is either cold raw food from the crudo bar-like ostrich carpaccio or ceviche steeped in tiger’s milk served with plantain chips, or something cooked in the hot kitchen. My favourite couple sitting nearby get a serving of French fries, with a huge lobster and dipping sauces. 

My colleague gets spinach kanikama maki, which I eat more of than he does. I choose wok-fried vegetables served with a side helping of garlic-fried rice.

The vegetables are fresh and crunchy, with the burnt baby corn and cashewnuts adding extra texture and a sweet and nutty taste to the dish. 

Being a Friday afternoon, my friend risks a few shots of whisky as I order a pink senorita. The senorita turns out to be a gin-based cocktail with a frozen rose flower bobbing in the middle of the glass.

Someone gets a plate of lomo soltado as I patiently wait for my dessert. We talk about the high ceilings, the beautiful bar area with its wide array of hanging bottles, the ambience, and the Dj who is setting up for the night. 

The possibility of celebrating a birthday here for my nieces or holding a pool party easily comes to mind.

I relish the taste of my passion fruit banana panna cotta as I try to move around my finances in my head. Valentine’s is around the corner and, edged on by the sinorita,  I start doing the Math for two…