A taste of Honey: The Best Cupcake in Lagos

The only thing better than a cake is a cupcake. Sadly, Lagos is not one of those cities where you can just roll out of bed and into some divine patisserie to get a cupcake, they are far and few between and not always filled with the best offerings. Recently, I have received tons of mails asking for my expert intel on where to get above average cupcakes, and was stumped that I honestly could not recommend any. My search for the ultimate cupcake in Lagos had thus far led me to the reality of rock buns parading as cupcakes and mini hills of coloured margarine in the name of icing.

I had almost resigned to a fate of swallowing rocks topped with margarine when I discovered Honey's Cupcakes. I stumbled on her website and was pretty blown away by the selection of cupcakes she had. They looked too good to be true and I could not wait to find out if indeed they tasted as good as they looked. (i am looking at you cupcake girl with the nasty yet good-looking cupcakes at the Lagos Food Fair 2014!!). 

My excitement quickly turned to despair when I found out that Honey's Cupcakes was an online store, which meant the looong process of placing an order. Luckily, after a bit of correspondence with Honey herself (yes, I am resilient) , I discovered that Honey's Cupcakes was re-launching a pop-up shop at Stranger Lagos, a concept store at Lekki. 

The Cupcakes: Created by an Art graduate turned baker, Honey's Cupcakes are hands down the most deliciously decadent cupcakes you will find in Lagos, trust me, I have searched. Each cupcake was deliriously fresh, and not the mediocre plain ol' vanilla or chocolate you can find in the city. With the richest ingredients sourced from various parts of Europe, every cupcake is a work of art.

The Bountiful: This was my absolute favourite. It is a chocolate and coconut cake topped with coconut butter cream with coconut flakes and reminiscent of a bar of Bounty, hence the name I guess.

The Strawberry Lane: Topped with a piece of fresh strawberry , the strawberry lane cupcake oozes right down the middle with a light strawberry sauce and little bits of strawberry through out.

The Delight: If you love chocolate like I do then The Delight would be a pure delight for you to savour. This cupcake is topped with a generous amount of glazed chocolate and filled with "dulce de luche."I will admit I did not know what dulche de luche was, but google did and it turns out to be a confection derived from slowly heating milk. Yummy!

Get your dulche de luche on

The Drunken Fig: This was interestingly my proclaimed teetotaler's favourite cupcake. The perfect merger between figs and a dibble of whisky, though not overpowering may not be suitable for those under the legal drinking age. I am pretty sure enough of this will leave you a little light-headed.

Eat Responsibly !!

The Hostess with the Mostess: This little dark chocolate creation boasts of a marshmallow filling with very generous chocolate topping. If you are not drooling by now, there is something very wrong!!

The Very Vanilla: If you like your basic vanilla cupcake, this might appease you. Sure it's vanilla with a copious amount of tasty vanilla bean butter-cream, but right down the middle is a vanilla surprise. 

the new classic

Order online: I am positive that by now you are dying to have a taste of Honey's Cupcakes for yourself, so place an order at honey@honeyscupcakes.com or call 08121601289. Check out the honey cupcakes website for an updated version of her menu which offers twenty(20) different flavours of cupcakes. Imagine these dreamy cupcakes at your parties and events.

The Pop-up Shop: If you can't wait to place an order, head on down to STRANGER LAGOS, at No. 3, Hakeem Dickson Road, off Victoria Arobieke, Lekki Scheme 1, Lagos. Honey's cupcakes are available at the pop-up shop on SATURDAYS ONLY!!

Wallet Control: At N 500 per cupcake, Honey's Cupcakes does not do a lot of damage to your wallet. Half a dozen cupcakes cost N 3,000 and a dozen cupcakes cost N 6,000. 

With amazing flavours, a personalised touch and a commitment to the environment with eco-friendly packaging, Honey's Cupcakes are set to fill the void in the luxury cupcake industry(Yes, that exists!). If you have tasted cupcakes better than Honey's anywhere in Lagos, be a dear and drop a comment.  

* Dedah Eats was a guest of Honey's Cupcakes. Many thanks to the warm and receptive CEO of Honey's Cupcakes-Honey !!

*Dedah Eats will be rewarding the most consistent "commenter"of the year with a box of  cupcakes in December. 

Zaza Bazaar : Newcastle Upon Tyne

While I pride myself in discovering awesome places to eat in my home turf of Lagos, it's even more fulfilling to discover the most amazing places to eat outside of my jurisdiction(sorry for the legalese), and that's just what I did when I sniffed out Zaza's Bazaar in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Zaza's Bazaar is any foodies dream come true, with cuisine from at least four different continents under the same roof. It is an insane buffet styled opportunity to sample dishes from various parts of the world while ironically being in the U.K. So while observing my rules to a successful buffet out, Buffet Slayer, I made my way through the offerings.

The Ambiance: With its many vibrant segments, Zaza instantly gives the feeling of a really cool street market(fyi, no such thing exists in Lagos). The various countries are represented with their indigenous designs and huge neon signs. The atmosphere is filled accordingly with music from the represented countries, so very quickly your ears are filled with an unobtrusive mixture that ranges from mariachi to Indian pop.

The Countries 

Japan 

First stop on this international food flight was Asia, where I piled on a Japanese favourite; Sushi. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of fish, so to taste what I assumed was just raw fish was kind of nerve racking. After a pep talk/orientation on how not all sushi was raw fish, i decided to give it a shot.The Takuan Maki and essentially all the sushi rolls that I tried were a labyrinth of rice with either radishes or cucumbers in the center, with of course some part of fish elegantly nestled on top or in-between. Did I think it was awful? No. But the crunchy center had me imagining I was chomping on fish brains, so yes, while I tried it, I probably won't willingly do that again.

definitely an acquired taste 

Thailand 

Its not Asian cuisine without a little rice, so I just had to try the Thai Curry Rice with mixed vegetables and sweet and sour chicken.

India 

It didn't make sense to leave Asia with just two countries in my tummy so a pit stop to India was in order. I had the Jeer aloo and Pulao rice with paneer jalfrezi, which in plain English is Baby Potatoes cooked with whole cumin and rice with curry, which was amazefest!

Italy

The trip to Italy was made worthwhile by the pasta bolognese which was made fresh to order by the amazing and super cute chef.

You have to love a man who can cook 

Meaty, Cheesy, Al dente Goodness 

The lasagna was simply perfection and put to shame the store bought microwave version I had previously been stuffing my face with.

The real McCoy 

The trip to Italy would have been incomplete without a few slices of pizza.

England

The English section was a representation of quintessentially British cuisine from fish and chips, minced pies, mash and peas, pretty much a lot of what I had been consuming on a daily, so I had to pass (almost at my breaking point here)

Mash, Peas, Fish and Chips a' plenty! 

A "drive by" through the salad bar was in order.

Desserts: No meal is quite complete without a few desserts. The Bazaar offers a frighteningly amazing array of desserts for those who may have enough space to tuck in. Cakes and sweets of a worldwide origin was the best way to end the adventure.

Wallet Control: As a girl on a budget, I was a beneficiary of the Monday Madness discount which guaranteed my tasting buddy a two for the price of one experience. The entire night cost just 13 pounds, the equivalent of less than Four Thousand Naira (gasp).

Staff: The staff were very nice and quite efficient with the dishes being cleared in record time every time I returned with a new conquest.

By the end of the night, I had developed a protrusion in my tummy which was reflective of my journey and with many apologies to the many cuisines I had to shun in an attempt to walk out of the bazaar with some dignity.

If you ever find yourself in Newcastle Upon Tyne, do yourself a favour and visit.

*Zaza Bazaar is located at Unit 8/9 The Gate, Newgate Street, Newcastle, NE 1 5 TG. 

The Frozen Yoghurt Adventure at Sweet Kiwi

A childhood incident with some really nasty yoghurt made my brain associate yoghurt with a foul smell and taste, no matter how attractive it looks. So when Winnie was chatting the other day about how she's made the healthy switch from Ice-cream to Yoghurt,  I thought to myself,"What a Shanda!"(a scandal) But then again, if Winnie was eating it, it must be good. And so I commenced the search for Frozen Yoghurt and found the The Sweet Kiwi Yoghurt Bar.

The Ambiance:

 It's almost impossible to miss The Sweet Kiwi Bar with it pink and white exterior. It looks like a toned down version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory with the spiral designs of cotton candy pink, nickelodeon green and pristine white chairs and tables.

 The Five Steps to Your Fro-Yo: 

If you were ever fascinated by those soft serve Ice-cream machines, then congrats, you'll be delighted to know that Sweet Kiwi operates a self serve system which is kind of fun.

Step 1: Pick up a cup of your choice. If you are a hungry beast, the biggest cup, (which I think is really big) should be just fine for you.

Step 2: Peruse the flavours of your choice. With five dedicated stations, each housing two delightfully fruity flavours each, you are bound to find one that you love.

Step 3: Hit the Lever. Easy enough. The lever to the right releases the flavour indicated to the right and same for the lever on the left. The lever in the middle (my personal favourite) creates a mix of both flavours.

Step 4: Top it off: There is a large variant of topping available. For the health freak, you have fresh fruit toppings which range from the title Kiwi to blackberries and strawberries. For those with a sweet tooth like me, you will be spoiled for choice with toppings ranging from gummy bears to M&M's.

Step 5: Weigh it: This is the part where you regret going with the super huge cup (hehehe!!) Your purchase is costed by ounce.

 The End Results 

something tells me I could design fro-yos for a living!

so my blueberry and pomegranate didn't come out so great

After the fro-yo induced brain freeze, try out any one of their healthy yoghurt inspired creations.

Yoghurt Topped Cupcake! Yum

The Parfait is the perfect layering of yoghurt and fresh fruits and nuts of your choice

I'm obsessed with this smoothie blend of Kiwi, cherry, Mango and banana

Wallet Control:

With yoghurt ranging from N 150 per ounce, and other "yoghurty" creations costing less than N 2,000 Sweet Kiwi Bar experience will not dent your wallet. The only extra charge to consider is the charge at the toll gate, for those who live outside the gate.



The Sweet Kiwi bar is an awesome place to get guilt free desserts that definitely have fewer calories than ice-cream and taste just as great. And just in case you didn't notice, I'm totally into yoghurt now. The Sweet Kiwi Yoghurt Bar gets a five star rating * * * * * 


* The Sweet Kiwi Yoghurt Bar is on Admiralty Way, Off Road 10, Lekki, Lagos.
* Dedah Eats was a guest of The Sweet Kiwi Bar. Many thanks!! 

 *Dedah Eats Readers will enjoy a special 10% discount off their purchases from Friday 11th of April to the 18th of April, 2014. As always, just mention that you are a Dedah Eats reader to redeem your discount!!!* 
 

Cupid's Chokehold at Southern Sun

Cupid is this evil little baby with arrows filled with a venomous potion, who goes about shooting people in the butt and causing them to fall into the irrational and indescribable feeling called Love. (definition culled from Dedah's Dictionary 2014 Edition). And there's no greater time for the expression of this infestation of love than Valentine's day.

Couples worldwide will engage in the frenetic search for a gift or a gesture that will curry the favour of their significant other. The beautiful city of Lagos is not left out in the Valentine's day madness. The roads will be filled with couples looking for a romantic spot to spark "L'amour." 

To ease the stress of looking for a lovely dinner on Valentine's Day, the Southern Sun Hotel Restaurant is offering a special dinner for lovers. Here's a peek at what you could be dining on on the 14th of February, 2014!

The Ambiance: Located on the ground floor of the hotel, the Southern sun restaurant is an open floor plan which draws out elegantly from the lobby. There's formal seating for just two and larger seating arrangement for a larger party. I would recommend the cozy seating at the end of the restaurant( for the couples of course who don't want to engage in P.D.A)

The Menu: Southern Sun restaurant is famous for their divine and affordable buffet, however their a la carte menu is nothing to thumb your nose at. Starters feature salads, soups & sea food, main meals include the finest selection in meats and desserts are the most decadent with healthy options. If your taste buds are longing for something more traditional, fear not, they have also got  a wide variant of Nigerian food.  

The Food: 

Starters: 

Coconut Crumbled Queen Prawns: 
After the complimentary basket of assorted bread rolls, I settled down into the aesthetically placed serving of prawns. The prawns which came with a side serving of fries looked almost too good to eat.

The crunchy prawns were seasoned to perfection and tasted amazing when dipped into the slightly peppery yet creamy chilli tartar sauce.

The Main Meal: 
In choosing the main meals, I decided to keep in mind all those fish loving people, who find it impossible to consume meat(weird, but okay).

The Fish Platter: It's no longer news that I'm not a fan of fish, however it seems like the folks over at Southern Sun have figured out a way to make fish in a way that anyone would love, boneless and for the most part skinless. What they didn't skimp on however was the amazing taste. The fish platter was of course not just a selection of the nicest fish I have tasted, it also had a generous helping of prawns and lobsters.

The Platter was accompanied by three boats of different sauces each offering an exciting flavour to the sea food. The Jakanada was a nice mix of vegetables, Three cheese sauce was a creamy light mix of cheeses (duh) and the Hot Chili was Hot Chili.

The Platter was also accompanied by a serving of fries.

The Beef Fillet Madagascar: 

This was one generous beef fillet. I was expecting the usual miserly cut of beef but out came a huge chunk of beef accompanied by a serving of white rice.

The fillet was seasoned wonderfully and grilled to perfection. The rice was under-seasoned and for good reason, the gravy was so explicitly spicy with tiny chunks of beef in it, any flavour from the rice would have caused a riot of sorts.



Portion Control: One serving of food is just enough for one. If your plan is to gorge on food, I suggest going for the buffet which offers quite an array of dishes. 

Delivery Time:  Most meals took an average of twenty minutes. This will allow you and yours ample time to gaze aimlessly into each other's eyes or whatever it is couples do.

Wallet Control: Most people would walk in here with the misconceived notion that you would have to spend a fortune on the food. Wrong!! Southern Sun is very budget friendly. I also believe in being a prudent eater and  with the right selection of meals, you shouldn't spend more than twelve thousand naira on a three course meal... Not so bad for the one you love.

Buffetlicious: Here's that buffet I was telling you about.

I would recommend the Southern Sun restaurant especially to the singles ladies out there. Don't sit at home miserably while your friends instagram pictures of themselves and their boos at dinner. Get yourself down to the Southern Sun and pig out with the ambrosial food, after all "There is no love sincerer than the love of food."  George Bernard Shaw

*SOUTHERN SUN is offering A SPECIAL COUPLES DINNER AT N 13,000 AND THE SEAFOOD LOVER'S BUFFET FOR N 7,500 !!!!!!Happy Valentine's Day from me to you...

* SOUTHERN SUN HOTEL IS AT NO.47, ALFRED REWANE ROAD, IKOYI, LAGOS. 

Dedah Eats was a guest of Southern Sun. Many Thanks.