By Caroline Nyanga

Located on the first floor of The Mall in Westlands, Tamambo has just launched a new-look menu. Dubbed ‘Molecular Gastronomy Menu’, the meals are largely influenced by Japanese cuisines though most of the ingredients are Kenyan.

Chef Nuno Mendez at work with one of Tamambo’s cooks.

The restaurant is divided into two sections — the bar and restaurant. The cool ambience offered by the pleasant rich brown dÈcor is perfectly designed for relaxed dining experiences. Not surprising, therefore, most of Tamambo’s clients are long time favourites hooked to the restaurant’s foods and service.

Healthy Foods

Their new menu, launched recently, offers more variety and was specially created by professional chef, Nuno Mendez, a Portuguese based in London. He was in the country for a three-day visit and explained that his modern menu is unique, simple and a lot healthier.

"It is aimed at scintillating the taste buds of Tamambo’s customers with its refreshing flavours," he said.

The chef also paid a visit to Tamambo’s sister branches — Tamarind and Carnivore. "The world is rapidly evolving towards healthy foods and everyone wants to watch what they consume," he said.

Mendez’s cuisines are prepared with simple ingredients cooked in an oven on low heat. This makes the food tasty while retaining its compact form with little if any mass lost as opposed to cooking using frying pans and open fires.

Onion soup: Moderne with tapioca and classic garnishes. [PHOTOS: Martin Mukangu/standard]

Sipping a glass of fresh passion juice worth Sh220, I sampled the menu. What makes it unique is the fact that, unlike most menus where customers choose what they want before it can be prepared, here the 20-course meal is prepared at once.

A variety of seafood is also part of the comprehensive and artistic menu at the restaurant, not to mention the delicious fresh juices and drinks. Tamambo prefers to use indigenous ingredients and making the best of them rather than import foods.