Going back to our traditional foods

Kenyans have realized that traditional foods of olden days are safe and healthy. You may recall the many traditional vegetables (mitoo, mirenda, apoth, terere, kunde, susa, atipa etc) coming in all sorts of indigenous names. I can’t tell the names in English or agricultural names but they were there in plenty. These vegetables were medicinal and healthy. Allow me to talk about few luo dishes that I can remember
Aruda
I remember during those good old days when my mother (my God rest her soul) could prepare the yam`s leaves and mix it with smashed groundnuts (aruda). It was a sweet meal taken with potatoes or cassavas.
Aluru
Think of those biblical little birds that God fed the Israelites with (we call them aluru) . They were plenty in those old days and the small meat out of them were just too sweet. The recipe can still be found in some hotels in Kenya but very expensively.
Obwolo
These were the traditional mushrooms grown from ant/termites hills. They were real, sweet and natural. I am not talking about the processed ones in the supermarkets nowadays or the ones grown under green houses. The Obwolo went well with mid brown ugali. My mum used to add sour milk (chak ma wach) and it was excellent.
Aliya
This was dried meat (normally game meat). The meat was dried for some days in the sun (not by firs as others do it now). The dried meat was then well cooked and accompanied with brown or white ugali. It was a great meal.
Moo Alenya
Those old days we used to get solidified animal fat from shacking the milk in a gourd (koo).The solidified milk was then melted into sweet liquid (soup) taken with ugali or potatoes or added on dried fish or vegetables.

Post by W. Orwa

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Eating what I can afford or balance diet

Yes, the economic situation can no longer allow for a balance diet. Many of us opt to go without breakfast, lunch or dinner simply because we can not afford three meals a day. But wait abit, is that good for our health or for our pockets.

It is not easy to satisfy all customer’s needs

Customers come with all sorts of request; some will ask for spicy food others don’t want spicy food. Some want food prepared in a certain way from how we make it. We try our best to prepare food the best way we can and to satisfy all customers as much as we can. One thing I have realized is that many people in Kenya now prefer traditional meals with no spices to add flavor.

Doing Business in Kenya

Yes it is becoming a bit difficult to do business in Kenya. There are a number of laws that are frustrating, long in procedures and never clear. I want to share my experience at The Full plate cafe;

1-Payment of Goodwill: This is a normal procedure but may prove very expensive. If you are taking an on going business, you are required to pay some money for the good will that the former business owner built in the past times. The amount payable is never constant because it is an agreement between the outgoing and the incoming tenant.I don't want to tell you what I paid but it was good money.So if you are thinking of doing business you need to factor that.

2-Licenses: This is the biggest obstacle in Kenyan business set up. The City Council authority does not educate the incoming business people on what is required. There is the trading license, hygiene papers, medical papers, fire extinguisher paper etc. The list is long but these are the ones I have known and complied.

Many Kenyans are trying to make a living from small scale business, hence the many licenses required and goodwill are major obstacles. Many prefer playing "hide and seek" with authorities to survive.

Welcome to The Full Plate Cafe website

Hi,

Welcome to this site. The Full Plate Cafe is in Nairobi West on Mahi Mahiu Rd. Off. Langata Road, from T-Mall, opposite Space Apartments.

We specialise mainly in Kenyan dishes, like Githeri, Pilau, Madondo (Beans stew), Chapati etc..... We also have chips and snacks, soft drinks etc..

Come and enjoy our food.

Karibu Sana!