EAT DRINK FESTIVAL 2015
“Food is my own celebrity”
-Oyinkan Karunwi
Wonuola of Ekó Café for Culture Custodian
I learnt about Eat Drink Lagos for the first time on Instagram. I can’t recall the specifics but I remember thinking “I quite like this idea of reviewing meals they had had at restaurants”. I also thought their slogan “Eating through the pain so you don’t have to” was comic and memorable. So when I heard that they were organising a food festival on December 20th I was over the moon! It was one event I was really looking forward to so I hurriedly checked the date of my flight, quivering. Thankfully I was getting in the night before! BOOYAA! “Food fest here I come”
On the day:
We got to the venue a few minutes after 1 o’clock to find the stalls of various food vendors beautifully laid out. It was a hot day (lol like most days aren’t hot in Lagos) so we ventured to the stall with drinks. Oyin, a friend of mine, pulled us along to Dami’s stall and that’s where we met the lovely lady behind ‘What Dami Did’. The conversation went a little like this…
“Hi!! Welcome to What Dami Did! What would you like to drink?”
” Heyy! You’re her! You’re What Dami Did?! I came across your name on Instagram and I thought it was brilliant! So different”
*She smiled* Proud of herself and her achievements as any hard working young individual should be. Pleasantries aside it was still hot and we were still thirsty! It was Mojito time! I appreciated that the cocktail was already mixed, reducing the waiting time to be served. I took a sip and it was reaalllyyy good. She achieved an amazing balance with the flavours, the mint wasn’t overpowering at all. She wasn’t heavy handed with the Vodka either, thank goodness! My mojito from What Dami Did was N1,000 and well worth every kobo! Well done Dami!
Thirst quenched it was time to eat! I had been hearing rumours of a very interesting sandwich that was being sold at the festival. I was hesitant at first because I couldn’t for the life of me fathom what this sandwich would taste like! I’m not one to turn down a challenge but if I think an idea is a bit too far stretched all in the name of ‘making it Nigerian’ I’m not there for it because stomach aches aren’t cute BIKO (!) but apparently this sandwich was not to be missed so we ventured over Biscuit Bone’s stall and well let’s just say that his SHAKI sandwich BLEW ME AWAY! Bruh! I watched her make the sandwich as she spread on her secret sauce, layered on finely diced (and beautifully seasoned shaki) and a couple of basil leaves. I asked her about her inspiration for the sandwich and was pleasantly surprised when she said she had watched a cooking show (my faves) and decided to try it out but with a Nigerian twist. You could tell that she was so happy to be doing what she loved. An extremely jovial young lady and her partner made us feel very welcome and encouraged us to try it out.
One bite later and I was amazed! I scuffed the sandwich down and had to ask my friend to kindly inspect the sides of my mouth just to make sure my dignity was still intact (LMAO). We’ve had a few sandwiches in our lives but this shaki sandwich with it’s textures and flavours so complementing was damn well close to orgasmic and will be remembered (craved) for years to come! Oh how exciting it was to experience Nigerian food in such a different capacity. Thank you so much Biscuit Bone for an amazing experience!
Up next was POP Candy’s stall! Immediately I saw the Candy floss machine I was transported back to my childhood of days spent standing in front of the machine waiting for the sugared candy to form balls of fluffy heaven! The stall pulled on my heart’s string when I saw two little girls watching the lovely young lady spin sugar to make magic!
“Will you model for me?” I asked and two big smiles appeared candy floss in the ready! I couldn’t try the candy floss as my teeth aren’t quite what they used to be but POP Candy brought big smiles on some many little faces and that is proof enough! Thank you for bringing back such warm memories POP Candy! I felt like a kid again! Thank you POP Candy for taking us down memory lane!
‘Do you smell smoke? It must be BBQ time!’ Our noses led us to Smokey Bones’ stall where we watched a hoard for people queue up for succulent, tasty chicken. It was our turn and we asked the genius behind smokey bones to take a picture with his banner! We absolutely loved his super chilled vibe!
You could tell that he loved his job which is great for us because his warmth, love and passion translated into tasteyyy beautifully charred chicken for the hungry crowd. From what we heard the chicken tasted sooo goood! Seasoning on super fleek! Well done Smokey B!
I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘Urban Fuxionnnn’!! This food truck is something of a celebrity in the budding Nigerian food scene! It’s the new rave now to buy food from a food truck so when we spotted it in the corner at the festival you know we had to ask people for a verdict. Most people had different preferences but the original chicken is LIT! Whoa there!
A little break from reviewing vendors, we decoded to stop and talk to guests at the festival. Our conversation went a little like this!
‘Hey! Can we get a picture of you enjoying your meal?’
‘Ah! I don’t know oh! This one that I’m holding chicken’
‘Don’t worry girl your bride price is safe with me! I’ll do you justice’
Thank you ladies!
Up next?! Goodness gracious Gourmet!
Word of good food travels fast! As we made our rounds we were informed of the deliciousness that was her mac and cheese! We sampled her mashed potatoes which was creamy, seasoned and all round fantastic! Paired with caramelised onion chutney and chicken, yumminess in a pack!
Are you a sucker for small chops? Yes? Good, so are we! We tasted the spectacular small chops Cocktailville & Chops had to offer and the items were well worth it! That spicy gizzard lawdd! The spring rolls were nice and crispy on the outside and rich and tasty on the inside. The stuffing in the samosa was not too spicy and the beef filling quite moist. Job very well done….
Sprinkle some goodness our way, why don’t you? Our food journey took us to Sprinkled & Spiced.
We absolutely love cinnamon and her cinnamon buns caught our attention! They looked so so good! They had this gorgeous caramel-looking syrup dripping on the pastry! My Oh My! Talk about sinful indulgence! We would have loved to take some more images but we had rounds to make! We will meet again Sprinkled & Spiced 🙂 *licks screen*
We spotted a couple of lads by the FAT bastard stand and decided to speak to them. All in all they liked the wine being served! We tried some and it was smooth, fruity and balanced. Crisp wine to the rescue! Well done FAT bastard! We would love to hear more about your inspiration and manufacturing process!
Shake! Shake! There was an impressive line at the The Shake Bar stall which could one mean good things. Funny, we’re craving a milkshake right now! *sob*
We’re definitely an Afro-centric blog, at least we try to be. So when we saw a stall called ‘Sugar Cane’ we were all sorts of happy! How beautiful is that name for a stall selling treats? Sugar Cane! Perfect!
*PeekCam*
After all was said and done we stopped by a stall making cocktails and came across the bartender of life. My guy had so much fun was shakingggg away! The perfect end to our festival experience! Our guy was playing NO games with this cocktail. NONE! It tasted delish!
