Fresh and organic foods: Unique eatery where organic meals reign

Nduta Waweru With the increasing demand for fresh and organic foods, one restaurant is out to offer a serving to Kenyans. It is a combination of great food, cool ambiance and a road trip to boot. Located a short distance from Ngong town off Ngong-Kiserian Road, Zion Restaurant is a cosy outfit that grabs your attention as you arrive. Surrounded by a small lawn, it is suitable for a nice outdoors chill out, but you can also enjoy the interior, with tables decorated with Maasai shukas, giving it its signature Maasai look. We are at Zion to sample the Chef Sif x Zilawe’s special for the day. Originally from Zimbabwe, he runs the restaurant together with his wife Wangechi. This team of two, after travelling the world for a few years, decided to settle in Ngong and try out some concept they had encountered in their trips. For us, Sif prepared pastrami sandwich and beef flank (steak comes from the abdominal muscles or lower chest of the cow) with hummus. Hummus is a thick paste or spread made from ground chickpeas and sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon and garlic. Sounds like your usual offering, but as we found out, it wasn’t. Zion prides itself in preparing world-renowned foods with a twist, adding something here, bits and pieces there that they had observed and appreciated while travelling in various countries. The beauty about the food at Zion is that it’s all-organic, with ingredients sourced from communities around the restaurant and food made straight from the kitchen garden as opposed from the fridge. It is also exclusive, with just a few items on the menu to satisfy or entice the palate for many a foodie. I hadn’t tasted pastrami before, and having it combined with bread was something to look forward to. And I was not disappointed. The pastrami was spicy and you could feel the flavour burst in your mouth, complete with a blend of managu— a traditional veggie— and bread. The spice is deliberate, too. Sif tells us that preparing pastrami takes at least seven days, six days to cure the brisket (the cut they use to make it), a day to smoke and another day to allow it to redistribute the juices. “I’d say it is a nine-day process and we do it here. We cook the managu in fresh chili, lots of garlic and spring onions, slowly,” he adds. Sif cooks the flank in its own juices and fat. Unlike some chefs, he does not chop off the fatty part of the steak; instead, the fat is cooked with the meat for about eight hours, making it disappear completely. It is then mixed with a sauce from tomatoes, onions, garlic and natural yoghurt cooked for a few hours. Then it is cooked again with the flank. The effort and the techniques are evident in how tender the meat is, the paste and hummus smooth. Spicy enough and quite delicious that we ate half of each meal and exchanged plates. The surprise for us was the dessert. For most, dessert means sweet, but for us, a sweet and sour serving waited. The plate arrived and on it was chopped banana, narrow strips of pilipili hoho (green capsicum), lettuce and beans, sprinkled with some brown dressing. What a weird combination, we thought! But it worked and our palate was grateful for it. That these ingredients are easily found within the neighbourhood translates to cheaper prices. The pastrami sandwich goes for Sh500 a piece, the flank Sh600 and the salad Sh250. The most expensive item on the menu is the steak sandwich, which costs Sh1,000. Other popular items include matumbo curry, which, according to Sif, is cooked for 12 hours (slow cooking) to allow the flavours to marinate and blend easily with the tripe. It is then left overnight before being served the next day. Such are some offerings at Zion. Some Kenyans also ask for Boerewors, a delicacy from South Africa, but with a Kenyan twist. No alcohol is served because the eatery is yet to acquire a liquor license.

Fresh and organic foods: Unique eatery where organic meals reign

Latest News

Perfecting filmwork, one story after another

Endorsement by Mt Kenya Foundation will not change Raila – Raila Jr says

PNU, Ubuntu to sign first pre-election deal with ODM during Raila’s Azimio la Umoja event

Mt Kenya Foundation finally picks Raila Odinga for presidency

Mt Kenya tycoons holed up in meeting with Raila Odinga

Serve with courage, integrity and discipline – President Kenyatta tasks new GSU officers

Six Mount Kenya governors confirm their attendance to Raila’s Azimio La Umoja Convention

More on Lifestyle

Bad girls make their heaven here on earth

Study links malnutrition to higher pneumonia deaths

Motoring 101: You’ve been driving wrong all along

Tried N’ Tasted: Pizza à la Migori

Follow us:

Fresh and organic foods: Unique eatery where organic meals reign

Latest News

More on Lifestyle

Every morning, our editors cut through the noise and send a digest of the day's top news. Subscribe here to get the digest and a free copy of our e-paper