Still Buzzing! + Sample Menu from Ummi's Gourmet Food.

Heylo!

Hope You've been well.

So I've just survived the busiest two months since I unofficially launched Ummi's Gourmet Food in May 2016. 

To be honest, when I first started I wasn't quite sure what direction I was heading towards. 

I was just going with the flow, giving people what they want and that left me tired and exhausted with not much to show for profit.

Entrepreneurship is hard yo! Don't let anyone tell you "it's great being self employed" because if you're like me and personal discipline is quite, em, flexible then its a struggle!

I'm passionate about food, but I'm not a businesswoman. 

I'm a scientist that nearly flunked the two MBA units I had to take to graduate Pharmacy school.

(I got 60% o! before you think I'm an olodo. But I struggled to get this mark)

Over the last 8 months I have used trial and error to mould my business a little more and even though I'm not yet where I want to be, I'm a lot closer now than I was even 5 months ago.

The month of December has been super exhausting! 

I have been swamped with orders, had a food stand at two different events, catered to three bridal showers, served scores of office lunches and a LOT more!

I guess 2016 is ending with a BANG for me. I can't wait for 2017, I have so many ideas to put into place. 

I plan to

Finally hire a full time kitchen assistant 

(Yes, I've been doing it by myself this whole time with very little help)

start daily lunches for offices

Start cooking classes

Stock my marinades in shops.

InshaAllah.

Anyways, onto yummier things: I tend to love putting platters together for parties. Here's a sample menu I made for a bridal shower of 20 people.

They got 5 platters of bite sized goodies.

Ummi's Biscuit crunch brownies

These chewy, chocolatey brownies go amazingly well with ice cream! and maybe crumbled pecans, Oh my!

Just in case you missed the details

Churros! 

I still remember my reaction when I tasted churros for the first time in 2006! 

I blogged about it in my old blog back then. 

These fried Mexican/Spanish donuts cannot be described correctly. 

Crunchy shell on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside and dusted with cinnamon sugar! 

Sold!

Choux make me happy!

Mini Burgers!

Beef patties sandwiched with fresh veg and Ummi's signature smoky mayo! 

I didn't like the look of this burger cos my regular burger bun supplier had run out of fresh buns! I had to use soft bread rolls, sigh.

Didn't take away from the taste though!

The secret to a good home made burger is to minimise the seasoning in the patty itself. 

Keep the patty light on seasoning and make a kick ass sauce to compensate for taste! 

The contrast in flavour will tickle your taste buds and keep your foodies guessing!

Burger off! No beef for you here.

Chicken Kebab skewers with Ummi's Gourmet Food signature marinade (Naija Spice Marinade)

Meat. 

.

Enough Said.

Meat.

Corn Dogs!

Puffy skewers of a smooth lightly spiced bun filled with chicken franks.

It's like a hotdog. But less messy.

The Corn dogs come with Ummi's Mustard mayo dip.

Remember that brownie? Of course you do. You can order it when you're ready from Ummi's gourmet food @UmmisGourmetFood on Instagram.

We are currently closed for the year as I get some much needed rest and maybe go visit the family in KN and DR.

Have a great week ahead! I hope the holiday season is nice and stress free for everyone!

P.S. In case you try reaching me on insta, all my personal devices decided to get spoilt last week! My phone is not responding to treatment while my iPad is half paralysed but is recuperating somewhere in GSM village.

My only access to the inter web is my desktop and I feel like I'm living in 2003!

Hopefully I get my devices back soon but if you need to reach me urgently just call or SMS the number on the logo and I'll get back as soon as possible.

Take Care

Lot's of Yummy Love, 

Ummi

x o x o

Road Trip Photos || Kano, Katsina, Daura and back

So back in July our little family unit went to visit the grandparents in Kano and Daura with a little detour to Katsina to see the elder sister. 

We were already in Kano for sallah, so we took a day out for zumunci (kinship)

Zumunci is always lauded in my culture, especially us from Daura. Keeping the ties of kinship alive is a very vital part of our identity.

Apparently a person from Daura never forgets their roots. It's in your blood. At any moment, Daura will call you and you must heed the call. Hehe. 

Read more about the ancient Daura Emirate. We are pretty cool people *wink wink*

So yeah, I'm just sharing photos from July *covers face*

Hope you enjoy my amateur photography skills.

Traveling by road with a toddler isn't easy, but Baby R seems to be getting used to it. 

The OMG-I'm-locked-in-a-small-box tantrums have greatly diminished over time. 

As long as there's milo, bobo and crackers then we are good. 

On this trip she seemed more interested in the quick succession of trees and people. 

She just soaked in the landscape like a good little girl.

Ramin Doya

Another vital part of zumunci is to bring gifts for the people you're visiting, so we stopped at the outskirts of Kano in a small village called Ramin Doya (The valley of Yams, Hehe!) to get some Yam for the oldies.

Negotiations

I guess the Yams didn't look as great as Gwari and Taraba Yams we get in Abuja, but this is as good as it gets in this part of the country. 

It was pretty cheap too. I think we got a full boot for about 4500.

And then we hit the open road...

First we went from Kano to Katsina  (173.km) which took about 2 and a half hours.

Spent half the day in Katsina before heading to Daura (125km) and it took an hour and 15 minutes.

Are we there yet?

Katsina state is very green in the rainy season. I got these shots right after some rain had fallen and on our way to Daura, there was actually a thunderstorm.

Katsina is a lot more green than many people think. 

Some people may think the vegetation of northern Nigeria is arid with no greenery. But we are farmers in KT, so while its drier than some parts of the country, it's green enough in the rainy season to produce your tomatoes and peppers and rice and corn and many more staples.

We stopped to buy some kilishi and I couldn't resist this view.

Love the juxtaposition of natural, modern and traditional structures.

Awesome wallpaper, no?

Wider shot. I love the clouds.

Roadside commerce

Tasting Platter (Katsina Kilishi)

You can't leave Katsina without having some kilishi (spicy beef jerky). 

Our kilishi is LEGENDARY. 

The only kilishi that may try to rival ours is Sokoto kilishi but it doesn't even come close! 

Kuli kuli, Dabino and Aya kilishi

Katsina Kilishi is known to have an understated sweetness, thanks to the addition of dates and tiger nuts.

We bought a wrap of everything and headed off.

Winter is coming.

I love this shot!

The calm before the storm

Windbreakers

Its not uncommon to see trees planted in a grid pattern by the road sides. 

They are called windbreakers and they help prevent dessert encroachment from the Sahara to northern Nigeria.

They are usually turare trees (literally; perfume trees) and their barks are often used for making traditional incense.

Shelter

Some flooding after a heavy downpour.

Hello Daura

Welcome to Daura. 

Kofar Sarki Abdurrahman literally means King Abdurrahman's Entrance and was named after my Great uncle Sarki Abdurrahman who was the 2nd to last past Emir of Daura and ruled for 55 years.

There are three other city gates all named after kings and heroes of the Daura Emirate. 

I guess at this point I was so excited to be in the motherland and seeing so many cousins and aunties and uncles that I didn't get many photos of the town.

Sheep at my aunt's house. 

More sheep!

By the time we finished our zumunci it was 7:30pm! and thats when started our trip back to Kano. 

All in all it was a tiring day, but we had a lot of fun.

When I'm in Daura with my parents we usually visit family in neighbouring villages like Mai Adua, Zango and Karkarku. 

I'll be sure to have my Camera with me next time. Perhaps I can give you a glimpse of our Emir's palace in Daura or show you how daddawa is made in Mai Adua or even how the Fulanis extract and process fresh cow's milk in Karkarku.

Until then, manage this road trip.

Hope you enjoyed the photos.

Which was your favourite?

Lots of Nomadic Love,

Ummi

X O X O

355 Steakhouse & Lounge || Restaurant Review

    .

It's my job in the relationship to pick the restaurants. 

If I leave it all to him I just end up getting ticked off because even though I'd have given him 2 weeks notice, at 7pm on the D day, he'll ask 'where do you want to go?'

Err, it was your job to pick the restaurant!

Yeah but you know these places better than I do. You choose. 

He thinks it's chivalry. I think it's not taking an important date seriously. 

I just end up sulking in the car on the way to any restaurant of my choice. 

So in order not to sweat the small stuff, I pick the restaurants. 

Even after picking 355 Restaurant for our wedding Anniversary date night, thanks to work, business and out of town guests, we couldn't go out until 9:45pm!

I had actually given up, wiping my lipstick off angrily but a quick phone call to the restaurant saved the night... They're open until 12am!

So off we went on our anniversary date with me sulking in the car, desperately hoping that 355 Steakhouse can put a smile on my face. 

The Ambience

When you walk in there's the restaurant on your left and the lounge to the right.

The restaurant had a warm, romantic feel to it, making it a good choice for a couple on a date. The tables were set beautifully and they had nice and heavy crockery. You know how I feel about fine dining and cutlery. 

The restaurant is small though you don't feel it because of the tables were arranged efficiently to optimize the spice. We sat at a solo table for two, but they also had tables for larger groups with soft cushions along the wall.

Our table was close to the door that linked the restaurant to the lounge, which turned out pretty noisy as the night progressed and people got more turnt up.

The waiter pulled up a third chair and I told him "we are only two!" He says "no ma, this one is for your bag." I'm like "awwww," and I turn to, Mr. H "see, he knows the way to a woman's heart! You've never pulled up a chair for my bag! All It ever gets is "move it out of the way, it's obstructing my driving.'

The Drinks

 

 I can't remember what drink he got, but knowing him it was something freshly squeezed with orange or ginger.

 I'm guessing here.

I, on the other hand got this showstopper! The strawberry daiquiri! One look at the mocktail menu and I knew I had to have it.

It didn't disappoint! The ice was so finely crushed, the Result was a smooth blend of velvety ice and premium sweet, tangy strawberry juice served in a tall martini glass. I had to get in with a spoon
.


The Food

We came here for something different so we went straight for the Mexican menu. That was why I actually picked this restaurant. I hadn't had Mexican in a few years, it was time for a refill.

The food took a little too long to come out though.

but when it did, it was worth the wait.


We did get some carrot and cucumber sticks to munch while we waited...

We started with the DD nachos, which according to them:

DD Nachos "Deep fried flour tortillas served with refried beans, ranchero sauce and cheese "

It was so good! It didn't look like a traditional nachos dish; the tortilla breads were served whole and stacked me on top the other, like a sliced double decker pizza sandwiched with a rich, beefy chili con carne.

They were very generous with the minced beef! The ratio of meat to tortilla was definitely greater than one! 

Let's not even talk about the cheese! It was just the right amount of sharp queso melted into the chili. Oh my, that first bite was memorable.


Next up we had the chicken fajitas.

"Grilled steak or chicken served with guacamole, salsa and cheese add prawns for an extra"

 The chicken came sizzling in a skillet, obviously freshly grilled with some sweet peppers and onions.

 It was tender and moist but still cooked all the way through.

 

 It came with four medium sized tortilla breads....

And Four different condiments:

A tomato Salsa, Guacamole, Shredded cheese and "Sour Cream" that didn't really taste or look like sour cream though. But I understand, its nearly impossible to find real sour cream in Abuja.  No harm, no foul: it was close enough.

Of course, I was in charge of wrapping the fajitas for both of us because apparently I'm "Great with wraps and sandwiches, nothing falls out!" 

*side eye* Sounds like I was being buttered up to work for my anniversary dinner! 

Luckily I was already in a good mood thanks to the delicious food, so I happily layered chicken and condiments for an amazing wrap that I could seriously eat three times a day, everyday. 

That guac was so out of this world!  I smeared it on everything I ate there...EVERYTHING!

For the third we ordered a burrito, which we thought we needed but oh boy, we over estimated our hunger!

The serving was so much bigger than we anticipated!

"

"Soft flour tortilla filled with beans, cheese, lettuce with your choice of chicken, beef, or grilled veggies"

 The burrito came with a side of refried beans (I'm not even a beans person! Yet I enjoyed it.) and mexican rice, garnished with green and black olives.

*sigh*

.
Again, the chef didn't skimp on the filling! It was the same delicious chili that topped our nachos...

Unfortunately we were all but passed out thanks to the food we had consumed! We had quite a bit left over and we didn't even bother with take aways.

We enjoyed the food tremendously and it was so refreshing to try something new in Abuja that didn't disappoint. The evening ended on a high!

The Service 

The waiters were super attentive without being too in your face, which is always pleasant.

The only teeny tiny issue was upon arrival, we weren't handed steamed towels or at least anti septic wipes to clean our hands and when we tried to wash our hands, the bathroom was out of order. We had to manage with my hand sanitiser.

This might not have been a big deal in other restaurants, but this is a fine dining restaurant that serves Mexican food and an extensive tapas menu; people are bound to eat with their hands!

This was back in April though, so the problem may have been rectified.


 The Price.

The damage done was  about 15,000 Naira including service charge and VAT and a small tip  for the waiter.

Bear in mind that this was back in April, before everything got more expensive so I'm not sure what it is now.


I will definitely recommend 355 to anyone needing a modern restaurant for a romantic date or a night out on a special occasion. Just make sure you come with a loaded wallet!


Did you enjoy this review?

Do you have a restaurant recommendation for me?

Want me to review a restaurant?

Have you been to 355?

Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments down below.


Lots of nacho cheesy love,

Ummi.