DINNER FOR TWO @ POW RESTAURANT.
8.11.17
At the beginning of every month, I get the urge to live lavish and splurge on food. I usually don't give in to this urge but Sunday was one of those days, I was in a funk and I needed something to cheer me up. I asked Michelle if she wanted to have dinner with me. Lucky for me and for you guys, her reply was yes.
I was referred to Pow Restaurant by Bella (a.k.a Brownie) two months ago. I asked on Instagram for the best place to get Thai food in Abuja and she came through for your girl because this is one of my favourite places to eat now although it is pricey!
Pow Restaurant specialises in Asian food and Asian teas. It really is one of a kind in Abuja. It's the perfect place for either a romantic dinner or a lunch date with your family. The wait for food isn't as long as in some other restaurants. I tell you, there are a few places I've been to in this city where I've considered breaking into the kitchen to cook the food myself. The food presentation is on point as you can see from the photos below. Also, the staff are friendly and they let you take photos without hassle. That's a definitely a plus. Shoutout to management for that one.
This was actually my second time here. The first time was more formal and I couldn't take photos. This made me more determined to come back. I love the atmosphere of the restaurant. It was night time and the lights are usually turned down low so I couldn't get good photos of the layout. The advantage of this is that it gives guests a sense of privacy. You can't see the person on the table next to you struggling to use his/her chopsticks and vice versa.
Below is a break down of what we had and their prices.
DRINKS: MAI TAI & GUAVA PUNCH.
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| COST = ₦2,500 (EACH) |
This is a fact. This restaurant makes the best mocktails in Abuja. Hands down. Unbeatable. If you think otherwise, let me know and I'll go prove you wrong. On my first visit, I had the Mai Tai and I was impressed. This time around, I convinced Michelle to try the Mai Tai while I went for the Guava Punch. She's my witness, after my first sip I was like, "ohmygodohmygodohmygod". It was that good! They both contain coconut so if you're allergic, you can try the Gingerine Daquiri instead!
STARTER: BEEF SPRING ROLLS.
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| COST = ₦1,200 |
These were served piping hot and my tongue can testify to that lol. They were crunchy with just the right amount of spice. The ratio of beef to vegetables was reasonable. I like my food extra hot so the hot sauce on the side was a welcome sight.
MAIN: PHở CHIN.
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| COST = ₦2,800 |
Michelle and I decided to share each other's main dishes. I had the Phở Chin. It was tasty but it wasn't as hot as I would've liked it to be. I ended up dumping the leftover hot sauce from the spring rolls in this. If you're not a fan of extremely hot and spicy food, go for this.
MAIN: CHICKEN PAD THAI.
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| COST = ₦2,800 |
This was Michelle's main order and I preferred it to mine because it reminded me of a peanut sauce my mum used to make back when she had time to go all out in the kitchen. I also didn't need to add hot sauce. I highly recommend this!
DESSERT: MATCHAMISU.
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| COST = ₦1,800 |
A short story. In my first year and for a bit of my second year of uni, I was a health nut. I gymed regularly and I bought all the superfoods; chia seeds, whole flaxseeds, milled flaxseeds, dairy-free milk, tons of kale, matcha powder and I could go on for ages. Finally, I admitted to myself that I really - hated - did not like kale, matcha or milled flaxseed in my smoothies or in my food. Eww. I was just punishing myself. So I steered clear of them till I decided to give matcha another try at Dark Sugars last summer. I tasted their matcha chocolate and had to run out of the shop to spit it out. Quick thinking really, because I almost spat it back into the displayed pile of chocolates. Disclaimer: I love everything else from Dark Sugars, especially their peach melba pearls!
Fast forward to a few weeks later, I decided to give matcha another try. I had some matcha green bubble tea from a popular franchise in London, I can’t remember the name. It was sweet. In fact, I liked it. Hmm.
I didn’t attempt to consume matcha again till last weekend at Pow. I lo-love tiramisu, so I figured that the “Matcha-misu” wouldn’t be that bad. I was right. I mean, I still avoided the lone grains of matcha on the platter but mixed with the tiramisu, it was nice. Bitter-sweet. A weird combination but it worked.
I want to try the white chocolate cheesecake with ginger caramel sauce next, it sounds like a treat!
CONS.
This wouldn't be a good review if I didn't speak my mind. For me, the main courses are reasonably priced but the drinks - and spring rolls - could be a little bit cheaper although the prices aren't too bad. I mentioned at the beginning of the post that this restaurant is quite pricey and really, what does my head in is the service charge. It is a whopping 15% of the total cost of your meal. Both the food and service are great so you could argue that the extra money is worth it.
Pow Restaurant is located at No. 5 Bangui Street. Click on the link for directions. If you've been here before let me know your thoughts and your recommendations. What should I try next? If you visit for the first time, let me know how you find it!
You can follow the restaurant on Instagram here.
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