EATING OUT: Great hospitality, terrible food

Sometime in 2015 I placed an order with CHEKA Japanese Izakaya for home delivery. No sooner had I opened the package than its contents and any desire to eat from there ever again went out in the trash. I had never seen more undercooked, fatty pork cutlets in all my life as a roaming food lover and after that incident, the CHEKA brand was swiftly locked away in the tightly shut box of horrors in my mind and forgotten.

This was until a friend of mine who, as if under a spell, has started to swear by all things CHEKA. Karaoke there, dinner parties there and even dinner massages there (I know. I had the same look on my face too. They have food with massage offers!) Now, my friend is a sensible chap and this fanatic conversion of his to CHEKAism inspired investigatory impulses in me so strong, I could not ignore them.

Situated in an old residential bungalow on lush verdant grounds off Nairobi’s James Gichuru Road, the restaurant – with the exception of the weird placement of a spa at its threshold – is excellently set up. Warm lighting, light-coloured soft wood panels and cosy booths are the main features of the indoor floor space which also has a small bar and mini loft. The proprietors, dressed in traditional Japanese pieces, and their staff, give loud greetings of welcome to anyone who walks in and leave you slightly flushed with embarrassment and warmth. This performance of conviviality is refreshing and a true manifestation of an ancient philosophy of Japanese culture I have long admired called Omotenashi, which gives prominence to selfless hospitality. As a lover of al fresco dining, the yard provides a fantastic experience as the tables are not too close to one another yet the space is intimate, an effect given by the numerous candles and paraffin lamps as well as overgrown shrubbery. On one side of this area there is a raised wooden deck with a line of chabudai tables. The low traditional kind seen in Japanese homes where one is meant to sit cross legged. Charming as the idea was, my friends and I chose the more conventional option if only to save ourselves from the embarrassment of toppling over.

PORK A LA SOY

Too hungry to settle on sashimi and not a big enough fan of sushi (or any rice dish), I ordered the ginger pork in a soy based sauce and fried potato, which turned out to be exactly seven small wedges at Sh400. I was not amused. My pork tasted really good but was saltier than I’d have liked and drowned in so much soy sauce they might as well have named it pork a la soy. I never thought overpowering the flavour of ginger was possible until these guys did it. One of my mates had a most divine avocado shrimp salad of a laughably small size and the other got sad-looking, sliced pork cutlet whose dryness you did not have to taste to notice. I rarely ever leave an eating establishment with no real idea of how to feel about it, but this was one of those rare moments. The inconsistencies in food quality are glaring and this is troubling. CHEKA has a few redeeming qualities though. I might have to go back one more time before I know where I stand!