Tuesday 12 June 2012

Lunchtime Palaver

Lunchtime is usually the highlight of my working day and I practically start planning it when I get to work (abeg stop rolling your eyes joo!). But, somehow, I usually end up not concluding on what I want to eat by lunchtime and basically just grab whatever is convenient for anyone to get for me. Now working in Victoria Island, my main issue is usually trying to decide which fast food restaurant will offer me the quickest option and what I typically like from their menu.
Depending on my dietary needs….yes, I know; unfortunately being a grubaholic comes with a few downsides, the expanding belly area, which means that my clothes “suddenly” become tight and I spend hours trying to find what to wear. Now when I do find something that goes over my bum, my poor brother is then subjected to trying to zip me in. You should hear him saying “Sis… it’s not going to work, don’t let me spoil the zipper.” Then I say “Try again, you need to pull it together and zip it up!!!”. Finally, he gives in and says,  ”Yeah, there’s too much space in-between each side of the zipper…it’s not coming together”. By this time I’m all sweaty and tired and even I give up, there’s no hope!

I’m sorry to bore you with my wardrobe issues, but chics like me know what I am saying! It requires a moment.

Now, back to my lunch troubles.

I have a few default fast food restaurants that I run to when its crunch time and hunger pangs have made me grumpy. My top pick is Tastee Fried Chicken, partly because it’s fast (near my office) and the meals are…well, tasty (no pun intended). Depending on my mood, I usually bounce between their Fried Rice and Chicken or Pam Rice (White Rice and stew fried with palm oil and laced with little surprises of assorted meat…*sighing at the memory*). However, in the spirit of shedding a few kilograms, I recently stumbled upon, and made up my own combo of, their Dodo (fried plantains) and Efo Riro (stir fried spinach in pepper sauce with locally smoked fish and pan-dried shrimps). Guys…(yes we can hold hands on this and have a moment of joyous fellowship at this revelation)… they have THE BEST Dodo ever. Particularly if you get them freshly fried and piping hot. Tastee (we work on first name basis now *smiley face*) use nicely ripened plantains, cut in generous chunky slices and fried till its golden brown. Dodo perfection!

Oh yeah…the diet.  So, depending on how committed I feel, one portion of Dodo with Efo Riro is fine but sometimes I go for two when I’m feeling err…greedy!

Another place that I like for something different is Munchies. I don’t order regularly from Munchies but I do like their beans. Of all the beans I’ve eaten in fast food restaurants, theirs is my favourite. The beans are cooked with green and red peppers (making it slightly spicy) and pieces of dried smoked fish which gives it plenty of flavour. Now combine the beans with TFC’s Dodo and you are in beans and dodo heaven! Absolutely yummy. (smiley face)

A nice departure from the usual fast food restaurants is the newly opened UTC Food Court.

I just noticed that my friend who hardly indulges in lunch was eating meals everyday from the UTC Food Court and started raving about it with conviction. My friend usually orders the Fried Rice and Stir Fried Chicken, which is nice but I decided to try their basmati fried rice and curry chicken, which was also tasty. I later tried the rice with their spicy fish and that was the winner for me. The fish is lightly fried and covered in a sweet and very spicy sauce and when eaten with the rice, the spiciness is mellowed.  I also like their takeaway packs, really nice!

My other lunch favorites are White Rice and Efo Egusi (vegetable cooked in pepper sauce with grounded melon seeds) from Sweet Sensation (I know, sounds slightly weird but it just works), burger meal from KFC and Pounded Yam with Efo Riro and Okra from Yellow Chilli – don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. I also have other spots that I order lunch from but the process usually requires military style planning to ensure prompt delivery of meals so that I don’t pass out from extreme hunger. Take today for example, I tried out a new place for lunch and just got my meal at about 5pm (How did I last till then, I relied on my excess fat reserve! Lol). It’s a new restaurant and there were slight packaging issues with my first order which the chef graciously corrected and sent me a new meal at no costs. (Very good customer service). The name of the place and my thoughts on the food… not yet, let’s leave that for another day after trying different items on their menu to tell you my favorite meal.

Now I also have my lunchtime Buka joints (local eating spots) and mentioning them in a single paragraph will be a great injustice so I intend to dedicate a whole blog article to them. Wink wink.

Anyway, let me know what your lunchtime favourites or combos are and which spots you’ve discovered for lunch. I will be happy to try them out!

Yours Grubbingly,
 

Grubaholic











Munchies – Idowu Taylor Street, Victoria Island.

6 comments:

  1. Sorry, it's closest thing possible for me. I hate waiting for food.

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  2. Well all of them seem far from me since I work in Lagos Island, Marina to be precise. I'm also quite busy at work and just dont have the time to start experimenting with food cos by the time I get hungry theres no time to waste anymore. So the office messenger gets kakawa food for me and almost everyone at my office...What can I say its a buka joint that aint so bad...

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  3. Nice and witty post, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It's also very informative about the choices available to people who struggle to find variety to choose from, for lunch at work. Are you going to review restaurants as well? - it will be great to get the views of a true foodie @ heart - I often say that the appreciation of good food, not just any food is an art. well done....

    I look forward to reading more from you, lady Grubz :-)

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  4. sexitrendiguccifendi18 June 2012 at 19:23

    Dear grubaholic,
    In all your adventures, pls stay away from cloud9.unless ofcourse u want to intensify diet for that day. I heard about them through a fellow foodlover-colleague-friend of mine. So we placed an order at about 9am(like u, I plan lunch first thing in the morning) grilled fish, grilled chicken, dodo, jollofrice all with mixed veg and at an average of 1500naira/meal. Hmmmm my dear till today we are still waiting for the food. This is after we received email confirming our order, and notification that delivery was free for that week. No show. u can't imagine the hunger, that feeling of "if I just order somthing else, they will just come" so u dig into work and realise another hour has gone by. CLOUD9!!! Where is my order? In the clouds I guess.

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    1. @Sexitrendiguccifendi....Oh what a shame. So sorry to hear about that. I have been told that i should try them out and i've had about 2 meals so far and my colleagues have also used them. My favorite meal so far was the bbq pork chops, that was nice. I cant speak for them but I'm hoping that was a slip up. You should call them and ask for compensation, I'm sure they will be able to give you a complimentary meal to make up for what happened.

      Yours Grubaholic

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