TRIED THEIR CHICKEN CEASER SALAD, ENGLISH BREAKFAST, LOUISIANA PASTA, ORIENTAL RICE and CHICKEN KEBAB!
At different times, social
media can be anything you want it to be and this time, it served as an eye opener for me.
After I visited Keje Grill and
totally fell in love with their Ala-Veg, I asked my followers on Instagram to
suggest a restaurant in Abuja where they
were sure sold good food. Several restaurants were mentioned in the comment
section but this particular lady sent me a direct message, assuring me that
Tulip Bistro is one restaurant I will be grateful I visited. The confidence in
her message made me give it a try.
Now, Tulip Bistro is tucked in
the corner of a street, off the popular Ademola Adetokunbo street, in Wuse 2. I
mean, if I had not mentioned Ademola Adetokunbo to the cab man, we would have
ended up driving round and round Wuse 2. This is something you should have in
mind when visiting Abuja for the first time: You always have to have your
addresses accurate as most of the cab men in Abuja are not very familiar with
the nooks and cranny of the city.
Anyway, Tulip Bistro:
From outside, Tulip Bistro is
a small and homely restaurant that had the tendency to keep you seated, way
after you have finished eating. And stepping inside, I understood why I thought
of it that way. The place is a delightful blend of cream and brown colors and
furniture that gave off a
sense of intimacy, warmth and class.
Haven visited a handful of
restaurants, I had suddenly developed the urge to see what a restaurant’s
kitchen looked like. I wanted to know if it would look as chaotic as the ones I
had seen on television, where the chefs had to scream above each other’s heads
and how they flipped pieces of fried eggs and pancakes high up in the sky. I
just wanted to see one.
I told Maryjane, the head
cook, that I had come to verify if all I heard about Tulip bistro was true. I
also added that I would be filming my honest reactions of each meal I tasted,
because I needed to keep my Blog and YouTube audience informed.
“Oh sure, we can totally do
that!” She replied. Then I pushed my luck further and asked if I could sneak in
and out of the kitchen. To my surprise, she agreed and we headed for the
kitchen.
And no, it was not like what I
had imagined or seen on TV. It was an organized kitchen with three chefs
cooking, frying and serving. One was frying a piece of tomatoes, the next was
boiling a pot full of Irish potatoes and the third chef was serving what seemed
to be an interesting plate of salad. I had finally fed my urge and my head was
back to the food. She informed me that I had to wait 10 minutes for the food to
be ready and suggested that I checked their Tea Room to see if anything they
sold there caught my fancy.
The Tea Room is a small room at the back of the restaurant where delicious deserts
and Teas are served. Its blue and gold painting accentuated the royalty theme
the restaurant imbibed.
Elizabeth is the name of the
lady who attended to me and she was sweet to say the least. When I asked her
for the menu, she took her time to not only tell me the names of their deserts
but also how it tasted and what each name really meant.
In there, you can have a bowl
of Cream Caramel, Cheese Cake, or Dress Legend.
“What is a Dress Legend
Elizabeth?” I asked and she replied,
“It is sponge cake soaked in
milk.”
“What? Sponge cake soaked in
milk?” I screamed the question with my eyes closed, allowing my mind imagine
the luscious taste it would have and instantly my mouth began to water.
“Yes ma and I am sure you will
like it too.” Elizabeth replied.
I was certainly sure of that
but today wasn’t the day for dessert, I was there for their main dishes. So
reluctantly, I put off my camera and went into the restaurant to find out if
Maryjane was ready for me and she was.
I was going to be tasting four
different meals: Chicken Ceaser Salad, Louisiana Pasta garnished with shredded
chicken and cheese, Big English Breakfast and then, a plate of Oriental rice
with chicken Kebab.
Maryjane opted to seat with me
as I tasted and filmed, so I set my tripod on the table, placed my camera on
it, sat in front of the camera and it rolled.
THE TASTING
The first one I had was the
Big English Breakfast. By big English Breakfast, they mean a
I reached for the cutlery, cut
out a chunk of fried egg and sausage, gently stabbed it with the fork, straight
to my mouth and I chewed.
Frying eggs is one act that
differentiated a good chef from a bad one and this one didn’t do badly. All the
ingredients used in frying the egg tasted
subtle and well blended except for salt, which succeeded in its fight to be the
most noticed of all.
With the training I got weeksback on how to spot freshly fried potato chips, I took one chip in
my hand and properly examined it, to be sure it was golden brown as I had
learnt. It passed the test, so it made its way into my mouth.
“I like this plate.” I said,
then replaced it with a plate of Ceaser Salad.
The Ceaser Salad was well
garnished with lettuce, Shredded chicken, shredded pieces of apples and a lot
more.
“I have high hopes for this
one, I hope it meets them.” I said, genuinely hoping I didn’t end up
disappointed with this one.
“I am sure it will meet it.”
Maryjane replied. I nodded and welcomed a fork full of vegetables and chicken
into my mouth.
As I chewed, the blend of
chicken, apples, lettuce and the richly mixed cream had me ‘hmmmming’ for a
long time. I opened my eyes with joy and smiled at Maryjane.
The Ceaser salad is the most
interesting healthy meal I have had in my entire life. It is rich and delicious.
I am not certain of the content mixed in the cream but I think the secret to
the delicious taste of the salad is in the cream. I took another fork full into
my mouth and had to remind myself that I had 2 more plates to try out. So I
replaced the Ceaser salad with the Louisiana Pasta.
This one is by no means shy.
The taste hits you immediately a forkful lands in your mouth. It is moist, easy
to chew, cheesy and tomatoes pasty. Even though I never like my pasta moist, I
could not fault this plate as all the ingredients blended well to give it a
very rich taste. I then went in for some chicken and that crowned the meal.
According to Maryjane, their
chicken, howbeit fried, is always spiced with ‘Black Pepper” to reduce the
fatty content in it. Relieving, isn’t it?
The fourth and final plate was
the Oriental Rice with Chicken Kebab. I had always known
This meal is easy to the taste
bud. With very little spice, it welcomes almost everyone to it. A spoon full of
Oriental rice accompanied with a piece of the spicy and mildly chilly Chicken
Kebab will surely make a not-so-boring meal for anyone trying to control their
sugar level.
In all, I enjoyed myself at
Tulip Bistro. Out of a 5, I score The Ceaser Salad, which is a must for
everyone, a 5; The Oriental Rice, I give a 4.5; The Louisiana Pasta, a 4 and
finally, The Big English Breakfast and its unwelcoming salty taste, I give it a
3.5
If you are ever in Abuja,
make sure you visit Tulip Bistro and share your experience with me in the
comment section and if you would like me to review any restaurant for me, leave
the names below and I will see to it.
It is always fun gisting with you, till next
time.
See Ya!
No comments:
Post a Comment