Ibadan Series:  'Sooting' Pounded Yam, Lounges, Malls, Supermarkets & 'Evaburator' (2)

I thought I knew all the major good eateries in Ibadan until @Kflash22 told me about 'Shooting' pounded yam. That eatery is beside Shooting Stars club house at Jericho.

It's absolutely non-descript. No signages- but five elderly women pounded away at yam inside a mortar with their pestles while several cars were parked at the frontage. When I tried to take the pictures of the women pounding away, they were only too glad to oblige.

"Ya mi daa daa o" (make sure you take my pictures well), they chorused. Now, if you have never eaten 'Shooting' (pronounced Sooting) pounded yam, only Heaven knows what you have been eating. It's the kind of pounded yam you will eat and share testimony later.

The pounded yam comes straight from the mortar and it is steaming hot. The pounded yam is soft and from another pot comes the 'efo elegusi'. The aroma of the vegetable showed that locust beans (iru) were added to it.

For your information, vegetable is never complete without locust beans. The soup was done using firewood. Maybe you don't know but 'firewood soup' tastes better. Just like 'firewood jollof rice'. So I had a chance to point at the type of meat I wanted.

Now, Mama Ekiti (that's what I heard someone call the owner) is a lover of democracy as all of us stayed on a queue with our bowls in our hands. When it got to my turn, I carried my bowl proudly and made my way to the makeshift open-air canteen.

Well, it's not quite open-air as we sat under a tent with natural breeze blowing on our faces. I flung my tie backwards as I dug into the dish. No tie that was fashioned against me shall prosper.

I saw two of my staff at the place and I told them to expect their queries when they get to the office. Keeping 'Sooting' pounded yam secret from me is an offense tantamount to treasonable felony.

And if you want a highbrow eatery where you can take a guest to and still not feel ripped off, try Chrysallis. Chrysallis has three outlets in Ibadan: one off the road behind the Bodija Police Station, another at Ventura and the third beside Leadway Insurance at Ring Road.

Their outlets  don't have any signage as their main strategy for selling is word of mouth. No restaurant in Ibadan has the quality of service that Chrysallis has. Right from the security guards at the gate to the staff at the restaurant, everyone delivers excellent service.

If I need a staff, I'll come right here to poach one. If you visit this restaurant, please ensure you visit their rest rooms also. They are sparking clean with hand towels meticulously arranged for just a one-time use. The toilets have removable and flushable seat covers.

My favourite meal is their yamarita with African salad.  But then, if you are really hungry, please call and place your order at least 30 minutes before your arrival. Overall, you're guaranteed a memorable experience.

A Thai restaurant, Kabachi is at Bodija. If you want Chinese food, this is the place for it. Then there's Martha's Kitchen on Magazine Road, Jericho. Her food is good but my favourite is her poundo yam and seafood okro.

And talking about Malls, Ibadan has 4 malls for those who like to shop. Ventura Mall is at Samonda, Palms Mall is at Ring Road and it boasts of having the largest parking lot for any mall in Nigeria, Heritage and Cocoa Malls at Dugbe.

Ibadan has 3 cinemas with Heritage, Palms and Ventura having one each. I usually marvel when I see the crowd at the two Shoprite outlets in Ibadan, especially during public holidays or festive periods

Yes, Ibadan has two Shoprite outlets. And Ibadan also has not one Domino Pizzas but two- one at Ring Road and the other at Bodija. There's Cold Stone Creamery also at Palms, Ring Road and Town Planning, Oluyole.

By the way, the State Government should develop Agbowo Shopping Complex it into a mall. The location is superb and I'm sure the cinema in that place will be the highest grossing because of its proximity to the University of Ibadan. How can such a place lie in ruins?

One supermarket that has endured and expanded with the times in Ibadan is FoodCo. FoodCo started out with an outlet where AB Plaza is now located many years ago.

One would have thought that the arrival of Shoprite might signal its demise but FoodCo is waxing stronger and stronger with several outlets at Monatan, Idi-Ape, Ring Road, Jericho, Heritage Mall and Bodija. There's also Ace Supermarket and Grandex. You need to try Ace's Bread.

Back in the day, there was Favos Supermarket at Bodija. That was my favorite supermarket in the 90s. If you wanted to give any lady a treat those days, just take her to Favos Supermarket. That's a ticket to winning her for keeps.

If you needed to buy medication in the 90s, there was ABC Chemists and then in the 2000s, there was Pharmalot and Oluyole Chemists. ABC is gone but Ibadan now has HealthPlus, MedPlus and Vanguard Pharmacy at all the shopping malls with Pharmalot going strong for almost 30 years.

Another pharmacy that has been there for several years is Kunle Ara opposite UCH. If you don't get a particular drug at Kunle Ara, it's doubtful if you can get it anywhere else. However, I'm wondering why Kunle Ara has remained as a single outlet over these years.

Ibadan has 8 major commercial hubs- Challenge, Ring Road, Agbeni, Bodija, Iwo Road, Mokola, Dugbe and Oke-Ado. Agbeni Market is only second to Oke-Arin Market in Lagos in terms of fast moving consumer goods volumes.

Drive around Ibadan at night and you will marvel at how the City has woken up. There are several lounges and relaxation spots that started in the last few years. GQ (Gentleman's Quarters) is at Bodija on Awolowo Road. The array of cars that park on that road will stun you.

BubblePlus is at Ring Rd. Appollos Lounge is inside Palms Mall. If you're looking for an 'owambe' lounge, look no farther. Apollos has a 'tungba' artiste who plays on certain days and an in-house comedian. That's the place you will see people peddling new naira notes at 9pm.

Yes, they spray money at Apollos Lounge. 360 Lounge is on Elebu Road. 411 is beside Cotton's Club off Awolowo Road. Latitude Lounge is at Ventura Mall. Echo Lounge is on Ring Road. Not to forget Options 24/7 which has been around for ten years. What's happening to Koko Dome?

Ibadan had a dearth of good hotels with the popular names like Lafia, Kakanfo, now extinct DRovans and Premier in vogue for a long time.  However, the hospitality industry is gaining ascendancy with a few 3-star and 4-star hotels springing up

- Owu Crown Hotel at Monatan, Golden Tulip at Jericho and Best Western at Iyaganku among others. There are a few good bouquet hotels such as La Maison and Royal Resorts- both at Iyaganku.

One other reason I love Ibadan passionately is the very low cost of engaging artisans. I called up Akinloye to see if he could recommend anyone who could work on my vehicle's air conditioning. It had started malfunctioning for close to two weeks.

Now, if you don't know, Akinloye is the most honest and efficient 'mechanic' I've ever met in Ibadan. Akinloye knows his onions around Japanese cars especially. I started using Akinloye in 2001 and he has remained my 'mechanic' ever since.

Akinloye understands customer service even if he can't explain it. When I relocated to Lagos from Ibadan, he never lost touch. Akinloye will call me up and ask after my family.

Even though I didn't bring my vehicle to him for some years, hardly will a month pass by without Akinloye calling at least once. If Akinloye were a banker, he will make an excellent relationship officer. I wrote about him earlier.

So naturally, it was to Akinloye I turned. He called up an air conditioning technician inside his motor workshop at the mechanic village. After examining my car, the fellow said the problem was the 'evaburator'. I'd never heard the word before.

He said it was very expensive and would cost 30k. But then he would have to engage a 'rewire' who will remove my dashboard before he can fix the 'evaburator'. Not quite satisfied, I asked my driver to take the vehicle to Mandillas at Oke-Ado.

The guys in Mandillas first charged me 5k for diagnostics. Thereafter, my vehicle was examined and they came up with the same problem- it was the 'evaburator'. However, they couldn't give me the cost implication on the spot.

And so I waited until yesterday when I had to call Mandillas for their quote. I got the shock of my life when I got Mandillas' quote- they will fix the 'evaburator' for 813k. Their quote stated that they will buy front evaburator and back evaburator.

So I decided to take my chances today. Akinloye came to my office to pick my car and I handed over 30k to him. This evening, he returned my vehicle with the air conditioning working perfectly. He brought the 'evaburator' that was changed and showed me how it was bad.

It was at that point that I knew he was referring to evaporator. I asked Akinloye if there were cars with more than one evaporator and he replied that only Toyota Sienna has two. And mine is not a Sienna. So does it mean the Mandillas crew wanted to cheat me?

I paid an extra 5k to cover labour and hose. Sorry, Mandillas, your loss is my gain. An average Ibadan technician or artisan is good. And cheap. Life is good in Ibadan.

(Previously written on October 28, 2015 but now updated)

© Bayo Adeyinka
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