By Bizna Brand Analyst
Over the weekend, I decided to visit an aunt in Lavington Estate. My day was unfolding brilliantly until I got into the matatu. A rather good-looking lady came and sat next to me. Soon, a strong smell began diffusing from her handbag. It was the strong irritating smell of fries, commonly known as ‘chips’. The whole of the matatu soon had the stench of a dirty kitchen but as everyone else as struggling to open windows and get some fresh air, the lady didn’t seem bothered. From the look on her face, she couldn’t wait to get home and munch on her junk meal.
If you have been a lover of fries at some point in your life, you know that there are well-prepared chips that sooth your stomach and soul then there are ordinary smelly chips that assault your nostrils. You never want to be near the ordinary chips, especially if you are not the one eating them.
Even after alighting form the matatu, the smell still clung to me. I was in complete agony. I asked myself which restaurants would dare prepare such bad fries and the answer was right there in my head. It’s a well known fact that they come from the numerous Altona Fish and Chips joints in town as well as Sonford. A couple of other restaurants in downtown Nairobi are also in that bandwagon. These fries are merely dipped in steaming cooking oil for a few minutes then served to customers.
If you happen to eat fries from Chicken Inn or KFC for example, you will notice the difference. These are eateries that get it right when preparing the most basic invention of a meal by the French. Fries from these joints don’t cause other people to wrinkle their noses even when carried as ‘takeaway’.
I believe all a matter of preparation and putting effort into churning out the best quality. Since it’s impossible to tell someone to throw their fries out of the window because they stink, the only other option would be to call for restaurants that make these fries to do better. The ‘chipo’ are cheap and affordable to all I understand, but just do something please. Just like technology, meals need to evolve too. People can’t eat the same thing for decades.
So dear Sonford and Altona, kindly understand that the best meals are more than their taste or sum of their ingredients. The aroma tells the biggest story when it comes to great food. Put some work into making your fries better. Okay? Thank you