The Moonflower Restaurant (Nairobi)

The Moonflower restaurant is located at the Palacina Residence and Suites – an apartment building not far from our own in Nairobi. A colleague lives there and we decided to join her for dinner there a few nights ago. It was a pretty good experience and, but for the price, I wouldn’t hesitate on going there again.
The Moonflower is mostly an open air restaurant. They have a few tables inside, more in a veranda and some on the law. There is even one within a very nice looking Arabian style tent. The place is very nice. I’d describe its menu as serving California cuisine, or at least new American cuisine. There are pastas, ribs and even duck. Most dishes are around Ks 1000, ($15) – which is not really expensive if you think in western terms.
This time we decided to have a full-fledged meal. We started with appetizers. Gabriel had the shrimp and Brianna the asparagus (I think they were about Ks. 600 – $9). They both liked them. I had the baked brie (about the same price), which was OK. Everyone liked it, but I’ve had better. It was definitely good with the apple slices, but three lilliputian slices didn’t go far. It’d have been better, of course, if served with some good quality balsamic vinegar.
My main dish were ribs (Ks 1100, $16.50 for a full rack, Ks 800, $12 for half a rack), which I shared with Gabriel. They were good, the glaze was pretty nice – sweet and tangy – but they weren’t really tender. I don’t know if it was a problem with the meat or knowing how to really cook it. Brianna had the fish and chips, a dish which she enjoys often. She was very pleased with this version. Gabriel had a pasta with salmon, a dish which he also often orders. He thought this version was nice, but his expectations weren’t great either. As for Fiona, she went for the duck. This was probably the worst dish of the evening. The half duck was glazed with some sweet black sauce that didn’t make it look particularly appetizing. Its main problem, however, was that it was quite dry – very, very overcooked. The glace was nice, but the meat itself wasn’t well seasoned. I’d definitely not order it.
Fiona was luckier for dessert. She got the berry pavlova and she liked it a lot, the bite I had was very nice. I had the flourless chocolate cake, and it was also good though not outstanding. I don’t remember how much desserts were, but they weren’t cheap.
In all, we had a very good time at Moonflower – it was relaxing and enjoyable and if I was ever in Nairobi again, I’d revisit it.
Moonflower
at the Palacina Residence & Suites
Kitale Lane, off Dennis Pritt Road
Nairobi
+254-20-2715517
http://www.palacina.com/moonflower.asp