THE DISH: My ultimate joint for finger-licking fish fingers

I was so hungry the other day and suddenly I had a craving for only one certain type of food. You know how when you crave something you just have to have it? And at whatever cost?

Well, here I was craving fish fingers and my favourite fish fingers joint was too far away, and the hunger pangs threatened to kill me, or, at the least, make me stop functioning.

FAMOUS DISH

Then I remembered a small restaurant a friend introduced me to many years ago – it was praised for having the best fish fingers in Nairobi. And I believe this is still its most famous dish. And for a while, back then, it was my go-to place for fish fingers and chips.

I couldn’t even remember the name, but at least I remembered the street it was located on. And that’s how I ended up at Greenview Restaurant on Tubman Road, Nairobi, not far from Jamia Mosque.

I did not need the menu; I already knew what I wanted. But I did have to ask for drinks and I settled on a vanilla milkshake and prayed to God it wouldn’t disappoint.

I went to Greenview at 1pm and though there were many people already, I found an empty table upstairs – that was a big change from when I was last there and we had to stand at corners waiting for people to finish their meals so we could get space to sit.

But, of course, this relief of finding an empty table was short-lived as the lunchtime crowd started streaming in. Three strangers joined me; I wasn’t expecting privacy anyway. It is one of those restaurants where you sit at whatever empty seat you get.

The three women had a hearty and very entertaining conversation, from which I gathered they were colleagues. Losing my privacy for some interesting entertainment was worth it.

My order took almost 15 minutes to arrive – yes, I was timing it because the last time I was there, an order took less than five minutes. I later learnt that there were also many takeaway orders downstairs, thus the delay.

THE MEAL

My drink took about five minutes to arrive, and it looked okay – until I tasted it. It tasted somewhat like a cross of mala with a bit of fresh milk and just a dash of ice-cream.

The upside is that it was ‘drinkable’, and for its cost of Sh200, I decided to let my disappointment go. Besides, halfway into the milkshake, you start to taste more ice-cream; or maybe I just wished it and my brain took a hint.

The food portion was just as I remembered – too much for me and worth my cash as a broke campus and tarmacking girl.

I had asked for sukuma wiki instead of salad and I loved it. It was done just right. The tartar sauce was a bit too tangy; I think it had too much vinegar.

And honestly, it didn’t taste like the tartar sauce I’m used to. The chips on the other hand were just okay, but some of them seemed to have soaked in way too much oil. They were really difficult to enjoy. Perhaps Greenview could improve on its chips…

The fish fingers were well done, tasty and had amazing crispy edges. They were good, but they did not taste like the first time I had them.

I couldn’t finish the food as I was satisfied, and I was quite happy when I saw my bill was Sh500 – way less than I had expected. I took a look at the menu and realised most of the food is quite affordable and most people seemed to enjoy it.

There seemed to be many regulars and I even heard one customer say “Nipe kawaida (Give me the usual).”

So, if the craving for fish fingers strikes again while I’m in town, I know where to go.

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