Stepping into the environs of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel to experience the Zuma Grill restaurant; the atmosphere was calm yet filled with the sweet notes of a live piano session ongoing. The view was a classic-modern arrangement where the lighting warms up the room with a rich essence. The combination of it all sets a very pleasant and inviting mood.
So here goes, I ordered the Nigerian Guinea fowl pepper soup for starters, the Beef tenderloin with a side of hand cut fries for my main course and the caramelized pineapple crepe for desert.
The breads: A basket of assorted dinner rolls came served with 3 types of whipped butter. Whoever whipped the flavours into these spreads deserves praise. All three spreads were light, buttery and delicious with the assorted rolls.
The Soup: Nicely plated but a bit too plain for me. They could have garnished it better. The only thing “Nigerian” about it was the Guinea fowl. The soup itself was quite mild and spoke nothing of our very legendary pepper soup. In order words, the pepper in the “pepper soup” was seriously lacking otherwise it was just okay.
Main Course: The Beef tenderloin with a side of hand cut fries. Beautifully plated. I expected a larger portion, however the little portion reminded me I was in a high end restaurant and this is norm. It was really good. I prefer my fries a bit more crispier but the entire meal was quite unexpectedly excellent as is and very filling.
The desert: Caramelized pineapple crepe or rather “Sensory awakener”!
Where do I start? This was certainly the highlight of my dinner experience. Extremely delicious. It felt like a revival. An arousal of the spirit!
The beauty of my desert begged for a shot of rum and so I obliged by drizzling half a shot on my caramelized pineapple crepe and took a bite!…….
A moment of silence please…..
Today, I touched the milky way and tears of sweet joy dampened my eyes. I did not want it to end. I downed the rest of my rum with the last bite and it was soul satisfying. My senses were reeling as I continued to soar with ecstasy while the live piano session was smoothly accompanied with jazz. A silent prayer of blessings to the pastry chef as I was quite impressed with the dexterity of his movement on the trolley while the fire sizzled the desert into life.
While I was still high off of my insane desert, a birthday celebration was in full swing and before I could push back from my table, a plate of a scrumptious looking red velvet birthday cake was presented to me. A bite later and I was convulsing with pure pleasure!
In closing, Zuma Grill restaurant of the Transcorp Hilton successfully redeemed itself after such a long wait for my dinner. A member of staff personally came to apologise for the long wait and even gave reason why the food was delayed. The restaurant staff were quite good and attentive except for one individual staff member who felt the need to inform me of how expensive the dessert wines were when I asked to see the desert wine list. That was an absolute faux pas! I didn’t let that ruin my experience though and I’d definitely return.
