Affordable Lunch in Nairobi for the frugal (You and I)

It being Njaanuary (Njaa=Hunger + January), the cliché spend all money in December and wonder how January is such a long month continue over and over again. Well I will share some of the placed you can get affordable lunch in Nairobi that I patronize and you get to have a decent lunch on a budget. I know these places because I once tried fasting and nearly fainted by the end of the day, never tried that again. So here we go, before that, this list is biased to the places I have visited, please feel free to add your ka joint, so here we go:

1. Citi Gava

Located in the Nairobi CBD with a branch in Koinange street opposite Teleposta towers and another one on the junction of Haile Selassie Avenue and Parliament lane. I found this one five years ago and you can read more about it here.

2. City Market

If you like Nyama choma Fridays, like I do, then City Market is worth a try. It is located in the middle of the CBD along Koinange street. It is very Smoky and if your appetite is affected by such, you might want to give it a pass. If you order your nyama insist to wait for it to be cut and go with it inside, you will get a bigger share this way haha. Or like they say, hawatanyonga nyama…

 

3. KK Restaurant

This one is located on Bruce house in the CBD. It has the same setting as Citi Gava, it is a place you come eat and leave, because during lunch hour there will be dozens of people looking for sitting space.

4. Tamu Tamu

Located on 1^st floor Bandari Plaza in Westlands, is Tamu Tamu, these ones I discovered through my friend Chiry. They have buffet lunch for only 350 bob. So if you have someone you want to buy a decent affordable lunch, why not try Tamu Tamu when you are in Westlands…

 

5. Kwa Mama

Well this one is a Kibanda along Tausi Road. The reason I love this one is because of the chapatis, they serve their chapatis straight from the pan when they are crispy hot. The first days I would struggle with the hot Chapatis as my friend and lunch buddy Tony laughed at me, but with time I learned to take a bite into that crispy hot chapati and escort it quickly with matumbo stew… Here the prices average at 100 shillings and hardly go beyond 200. Make sure you go early as the guys who work around usually flock and fill the place by 1.15 pm.

6. Café Naivas

This one is right at the Westlands bus stop opposite Delta Towers. You can get to choose a variety of dishes from their deli and pay according to how much your appetite demands…

7. Njeri’s

This is another kibanda, located right next to KFC Westlands. You can’t miss it because of the smoke, we loved it because of the nyama choma. As we waited for the meat to be cut, Njeri’s meat guy, Gitau would keep giving us pieces and also passers-by. I think they give away a kilo of meat marketing every day. Then Njeri also has a tremendous derriere, on a low unmotivated day, stealing glances would brighten up afternoons hahaha. You will find 90% of the patrons at Njeri’s are male!

8. The Navigators

This one is hidden next to Top Plaza in Kilimani. They only serve lunch between 12.30pm and 2.00pm. They have predesigned meal plan for each day so you won’t get too much variety. The thing I love about navigators is the canopies, every time I go there I remember home and my grandfather and this calmness engulfs me. I always leave it happy. The average spend at Navigators is 150 shillings.

The view at navigators eating terrace

PS:

 I have not mentioned Uchumi and Java despite their sandwiches priced below 200 shillings because, I still do not consider bread as food, but rather a snack haha. Okay I’m done.

Where do you get your affordable lunch in Nairobi? Please do share 🙂

 

Mugged

It’s Sunday, 15th December 2013. I get to Nairobi at 6.15pm after visiting family members back home, after the long Jamhuri weekend. My head is filled with random thoughts and what I will have for supper, I do not feel like cooking today; should I pass by Uchumi and get a power sandwich, go get some pilau from tuskys or just buy some junk is all am debating as I cross Haile Selassie road from Easy coach station. I spot this bakers inn and junk is what I decide on having as supper thanks to my lazy self. I get some meat pies and cupcakes for breakfast and start heading to ge my matatus to the house.

The streets are not crowded as they normally are, since my phone does not have enough charge I make mental

Image: theguardian.com

notes to call a few people (especially my new flame hehe) and reply to a number of messages on whatsapp. As I cross Ronald Ngala I decide to avoid the traffic on the Moi avenue side and use Tom Mboya where there are fewer people. I wait for a citi hoppa bus to pass and cross on the back side of national archives. I see two guys quickly pass me and someone taps my shoulder “tupe soo” to mean give us a hundred shillings, before I can take in what is happening I have a group of six guys surrounding me, and my phone and some money are gone. I am stunned I don’t even know what to think. Some ladies who were passing are telling me “you should have screamed”, am just dumb and slowly start walking to my matatus. “Should I have tried to fight back?” “Should I have screamed” “Should I have used the other side of Moi Avenue with more people?” I don’t know. My greatest sadness is having not backed up last weeks documents. The stories I had heard about that happening and the script was the same but I was not better prepared, I now need to get used to not having some of the conveniences my phone provided me…

 

Asakatho Kisii

The whole of August I had these many topics to write on but every time I sat to type them I couldn’t get past sixty words, the story in my head just refused to come out… Then just to make sure I posted something for the month I wanted to do another playlist, then I remembered ghafla guy told me not to write about playlists again… I listen, see?

Having been born, bred, raised, schooled near or in Nairobi, the word here is near, note that… One starts to have a bias on the other parts of the Country that exist, as opinion about a place will be formed through hearsay or what you read. Truth be told the furthest I had ever been going to West of Kenya was Kisii. So when I got an assignment to go to Suba Kuria I did not mind where that was I just wanted to asakatho Kisii (Luo for I have gone past Kisii).

I got to learn that the word asakatho (thank you Omondi Awinda for translating that for me :-)) means past, like if you go past Nyayo stadium, you say “asakatho Nyayo stadium”, to mean “I am past Nyayo stadium” so back to my story, the longest I had been on a vehicle was six hours during that Kisii trip, but this time round it was eleven hours and thirty minutes. When we got to Migori town we stopped for some butt rest, I saw some guy insult some mechanics the insult is un-typable here and stones began flying, these were huge stones mind you, we had to scamper and watch the show from a distance, what a welcome that was…  Here are some random pictures I took on my trip as I asakatho Kisii.

You can also follow me on instagram username: mackel9 for more photos of my mundane adventures over here 🙂

PS: I will try to put up better posts when I get my act together, stories that flow lol

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Two months without Gee :-(

Source: Internet

It started with a trip to the Orange shop to see about her, I was told she was transferred to Westlands. I followed her there and was told she had gone to be with another dealer. I was told to wait for two weeks before I could be able to see her again. I was devastated, two weeks? Really? But when you want someone/thing you have to be patient, good things come to those who wait, no? Maybe; I do not know, you tell me!!

There I was after two weeks, I went back to see on her.  I was told she was still away and that, they would call me when she gets back. From there it became a game of; come this week by Friday, to next Friday, to after ten days, to finally a month, then two!

I used to get texts and emails about her, that they had sent spare parts from the source. I was told it took ten to fifteen days for them to get to here from there and a week for them to be put on her. As you might have started interpreting I am talking about my laptop, Gee. She is an acer aspire, she got a little cover problem below the touchpad that could have been sorted out easily under the warranty. But as acer after sales service would have it, from the various dealers I have been to, are unreasonably slow here in Kenya. I am still not sure if I will find her problem sorted, if not I will just take her like the “unconditional love” pill and have her back with all her flaws…

After thought

If you are planning on buying an acer machine be ready to experience bad after sales service in Kenya. The dealers usually tell you before taking it in that it will stay for more than two weeks, which might turn to two months in my case. What is your after sales experience for something you once bought? Good? Bad? Do tell…