Eldorado is just over two months old, and is located down the valley after the RDB and Tele10 complexes in Remera-Gishushu. On our few recent visits, two things about the hotel immediately stood out: that it is Kenyan-owned, a fact that almost automatically meant we would encounter some of the famed delights from that country –Ugali (maize meal), sukuma wiki, kachumbari, nyama choma …name it. Like many other establishments are doing of late, management recently decided to marshal in the services of a two-piece live band act, which plays every Sunday evenings into the small hours of the night. On our first visit, on an early Sunday evening three weeks ago, we walked right into the band, which had staged on the open terrace facing the bar, and the whole thing felt like a jam session on the lawns. On our second visit last weekend, however, and obviously owing to the bad weather, the band had staged at a corner inside the bar, and although I’m all for open spaces, the intimacy of an in-door performance in a small enclosure is just as appealing. The band opened to a thin crowd of seemingly detached and bored evening drinkers, but as the night wore on, the house picked momentum. But credit must go the hotel’s music policy, in that even with the professional outfit that was on stage, any one from the crowd can either request a particular song, or ask to sing one on stage. Basically, theirs is an infusion of the live band and karaoke concepts, so obviously for the hyper-active karaoke lover, this is a place to learn your first musical note. The crowd here is a mix of corporates, business travelers, people that cherish live music, and Kenyans in pursuit of the aforementioned delights. After a few beers on an empty stomach, there was need to summon the food menu, and seeing none in sight, we summoned the waiter instead, who wasted no time in confirming our predictions. There were a lot of goat rib platters going around, so in true nyama choma spirit, we joined the fray. In true Kenyan style, the ribs came accompanied with sukuma wiki, and a suspicious-looking little mound that came wrapped in silver foil. Turned out later that this mound was ugali, which is what the Kenyans like to pair their nyama with. I enjoyed the sukuma most, a fact that perhaps had something to do with the fact that the goat ribs came rather sparse of meat, although tasty, tender (and not oily) all the same.
