The Apic Centre is one of those many shopping centres in Nairobi that had their hey day in the early 90's. That said, there are several reasons to go there. It is located on Muthithi Road in Westlands to the right of Steers. (S 01'15.824' E036'48.341') It has plenty of street level parking, although it might be a tight squeeze with a roof racked Rover or Cruiser. The shops are a mix of restaurant, electronic, clothing boutique, and jewelry.
Four highlights -
Kenya Lampshade: the first shop in the front has a wide selection of lampshades and related products. We bought a few small shades there. In the end, they were not a good fit. We took them back the next day and they gladly exchanged them. They also have a shop at Adam's Arcade on Ngong Road. Ground floor
Ashiana Vegetarian Restaurant: I've eaten Indian food in Lusaka, Durban, Boston, New York, Montreal, and of course Nairobi. I wouldn't say this is the best I've had, but it is close in terms of consistency in taste and my overall enjoyment. Then again, in view of the price, it probably is the best. A full Thali will set you back Kshs. 320 The atmosphere is cafeteria. It's not the place to go to impress your friends with a fancy location.
If your visiting Nairobi or live here and enjoy Indian food, you need to visit. If others in your group don't enjoy Indian cooking, they have a large selection of pizzas (fresh dough prepared daily and homemade tomoato sauce). The ingredients are very fresh. The spices used lend themselves to some of the best flavoured Indian food I've had.
I especially enjoy the Pani Puri(Kshs 180), Ashiana Bhel(Kshs 195), and the Aloo Cholle (Kshs 275). The wide variety of Dhosa are very good. If visiting on the weekend, be sure to have some Shrikhand for dessert.
Upon presentation of your Nakumatt Smart Card, the owner will give an additional 10 % off the bill. The place is often full of Asian families on the weekend. As good of a recommendation as any.
Located on ground floor Contacts: cell 0733-741905 land line 020-3749797 fax 020-3752424
Jude's Second 2 None - This shop sells fashionable men's and women's clothing hand picked by the owner from the mutimba piles. The staff are dressed as if they work at Express and the stock reflects their good taste. Prices are reasonable for good condition pre-owned clothing. The store manager is Jude Thaddeus. He can be contacted on 0722-731442 Ground floor
Mitsuminet Cable Vision - this company is spreading the tentacles of their product throughout Nairobi and it presents a good alternative to DSTV at a competitive price. The bouquet is heavily slanted towards Hindi programming, with plenty of Bollywood on offer. However, there are enough English options to keep most people happy. Examples - SABC-3, Fashion TV, Comedy Max, Euro Sports, Fox Sports, Extreme Sports, HBO, Show Time, Movie Max, VH1, MTV, NDTV, BBC World, CNN, Nick, Fox Kids, and Bloomberg. Contacts - Land line 020-3747771/5 email info at cablevision.co.ke Located on 1st floor.
I think Mitsuminet Cable Vision is a great idea but they have confined themselves to only upmarket places. They could do very well in Buru Buru which has the largest concentration of middle class clientele.
Their Branding is also very poor and it has positioned them as cheap and unprofessional. They may need to hire a professional Agency.
Furthermore, they need to hire customer friendly staff to complement their product offering. I was dissapointed to have the phone answered by a person who could not even express herself well in English.
Otherwise this idea is long overdue and they could go a long way to capture a potential market of up to 500,000 homes in Nairobi
Posted by: Kevin Ouma | Friday, June 09, 2006 at 05:27 PM