Restaurant Review: Independence Day at Yellow Chilli

Hey y'all! Happy Monday, so this post is kinda late because it was meant to be my Independence Day or shortly after post but one thing always leads to another and you know... Anyhow, on October 1st I went to lunch with two of my friends from primary school Deola and Mosope. Yup, THROWBACK! Haha. It was meant to be a slightly bigger reunion but a lot of people dropped out at the last minute so it was a nice girly day for three instead.

We all met at "Yellow Chilli" in Ikeja with empty stomachs and eager anticipation and in the end, we were glad the boys didn't turn up! Read on to find out why...

For those who don't know Yellow Chilli is more or less a fancy buka. Or that's what Mosope thought anyways, lol. They serve all sorts of Nigerian food and do a lot of soups and semi-solids (swallows). They need a 30 minute lead time to prepare your chosen soup though because they do it all from scratch for every order. I really like that about them because it means that unlike most other typical bukas, you're unlikely to hear "Food has finished". Lol.

On arrival I got a Chapman, because really what other drink would you get on Independence Day if not a Chapman? Chapman is a Nigerian cocktail and different people have different recipes but the basis is always the same: an orange flavoured drink (Fanta), a lemony flavoured drink (Sprite or Bitter Lemon), Angsturra Bitters and Grenadine. The one I had was actually a little darker than chapman normally is and was also a lot sweeter so my Chapman aficionado senses tell me that they used some sort of blackcurrant cordial instead of grenadine.

After we ordered our food we got catching up and gisting on all the most recent happenings of our lives and I must say it was a lot of fun. But nothing can really compare to the moment that our food arrived... I must say I was positively salivating. We all decided on pounded yam (the real deal NOT poundo) as our swallow of choice and had three different soups for variety. For starters my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach and I order a portion of Nkwobi for us to share.

I had Edika-Ikong which I really believe is the South-South's version of Efo-Riro.

Deola had Banga Soup which has palm oil as a basis.

And Mosope had White Soup aka Nsala which is quite a healthy option because it's apparently not cooked with any oil at all... Is this true my Nsala lovers?

Side note: I really love how the photos came out, it was my first time using my iPhone 6 which I got as a belated birthday present and I think the camera quality is off the chain!

By the time we were done eating we could barely move. I'm not even sure we finished everything on the table but we definitely made a huge dent. The service at Yellow Chilli is decent and the waiters are quite friendly and the food is GOOD!! Like proper GOOD, GOOD! The price is a lot higher than your average buka but to be fair, this is a restaurant not a buka and my main cost only N2300! I also like the fact that you can add whatever extras of meat and chicken you want into your dish, at an additional cost of course.

It was a lovely day and a lovely catch up with the girlies and I all but rolled myself to watch the movie "October 1" but more on that later.

Here's my final say

Food- 8.5 (because it was slightly cold)

Service- 8

Ambience- 9

Overall- 8.5

To see more restaurant reviews in Lagos and abroad then use the "Restaurants" tab above... Or click here

The Relationship Conundrum

So in the last few days there has been a lot of talk about weddings for some reason. My cousins cousin is getting married soon, I randomly joined my friend in the search for a suitable wedding gift (Did you know you can but TWO champagne flutes for over £100??), I was looking at engagement rings on Tiffany’s (as you do, I quite fancy the one below) etc etc.

The long and short is that weddings have been on my mind for some time now, in particular though, how long is too long for you to date whoever you decide to enter marital coupledom and bliss with?? I realise there are a couple of discrepancies with this question for instance, how are you sure that the person you’re dating now is going to end up being your one and only?  But let’s ignore all that for now shall we?

So take me for example, 20-year-old Nigerian girl, first daughter and first granddaughter in my family on both sides. Every single time we are at a family function relating to my parents or grandparents this prayer never fails to rear it’s head “May you see your children’s children’s children.” Complete with a loud and resounding “AMEEEEEN!” I realise that the prayer pertains more to good health, long life and prosperity but then you know you have those annoying cousins and aunties that come and pinch your arm like ‘You’re next!”

Sorry I went slightly of course there, so what was I saying? Yes me, a 20-something year old Nigerian girl, society expects that in the next 6-8 years I should be happily married and expecting the birth of my first child. This in itself is not a problem at all; you grow up with certain things and come to expect it for yourself as well. The problem is this, what if I meet my future husband right now and start dating him, then what? We date for 7 years before we get married??? 7 years is a LONG TIME! Especially in your twenties when you’re at the prime of your life, forget what all those newly 40 year olds talking about “Life begins at 40”, that one is mid-life crisis.

So what then is the solution? Do you acknowledge the existence of your future spouse and then set them free for 3-4 years hoping that they come back to you at 24 so that you can date for only 3 years before marriage? Because giiiiiirl, that boy might be long gone! My friend came up with a (brilliant?) solution; have an open relationship, so that both parties can do as they please! (This one get comma, but that’s for another blogpost). I guess the whole point of this post is that it led me to thinking, as a girl who had her first “boyfriend” at 14, what is the point of dating seriously and exclusively from such a young age?? Life is meant to be fun in your twenties!

P.S: I am not implying that I am against relationships oh! Neither am I supporting open relationships! All those bad bele people outside take note.

Loves ya!