Tried and tasted; Java’s small sister
Kukito, a new restaurant brand in the CBD, on Kenyatta Avenue was recently launched. I have always passed it and wondered about the name. Who came up with it and why did they add the Spanish suffix –ito, which implies small. So, Kukito would be a small chicken, but why name a restaurant after a small chicken? I decided to find out more about them by ordering in during one busy day in the office when I could not get a minute away from my desk.
I got a chapo wrap delivered via Uber Eats. Kukito specializes in cold dressings and the salad was cold with just a whisper of heat, the ‘pilipili kwa umbali’ that us Kenyans like, with the chapo wrap having the barest hint of brown from the pan. I loved the takeaway packaging, with the serviettes bearing witty Swahili phrases. And so, like the millennial I am, I decided to go to the restaurant and try it out myself; I am old school like that. Ordering in does not count as trying a restaurant; you have to show up to the physical location.
The eatery has high chairs and tables with colourful signs and letterings dotting the walls. They have a no forks and knives policy and instead have a tap where one can wash their hands before digging in.
My luhya babes who love pontificating about ‘uzungu mwingi’ would feel right at home here. The food is quite affordable and tasty. Turns out, Kukito is Java’s small sister who caters for a demographic a little lower than the latter. That describes me in a nutshell. No wonder I have tried almost everything on their menu.
I especially love their chipo kachumbari, which is basically fries with a salad made from shredded chicken and the eponymous kachumbari. It would be weird to name a dish chipo kachumbari then for it to have no chips nor kachumbari.
I also love the chapo wrap, with my only complaint being that it does not come with a side; you have to purchase either fries or onion rings. The onion rings though crunchy, have a surfeit of vinegar, which while a hit with some people, is a no-no for me. I want my onion rings to taste like onion rings not vinegar rings. They normally have froyo, which is frozen yoghurt, as the drink accompaniment or soda. I always choose froyo.
I still complain that I go to the gym yet my midriff changes not. But what is life without a few too many helpings of sumptuous affordable fast food?
