Afri Restaurant @ Casa Tropicana

Point & Kill is one of Afri's specialities - it's a popular Nigerian recipe that takes its name literally; choose one of the live catfishes in the restaurant's aquarium & it'll be caught & slaughtered in the kitchen to make a memorably smooth catfish pepper soup, a savoury broth that's rich with some unique flavours of African herbs & spices. RM30 per kilogram of fish.

Afri's Nigerian chef takes pride in plenty of other temptations too - try the tender boiled yam with a very tasty stew of eggplant, crayfish, fried fish & dried prawns (RM30). If you like offal, the hot & hearty pepper soup with beef liver, tripe & intestines should make you pretty happy (RM30); wash down with Orijin, a medicinal-tasting Nigerian liquor (RM30).

We've seen more than a few African restaurants come & go in the Klang Valley over the past decade, but Afri could be the best one so far. Head here if you're willing to stretch past your comfort zone & explore new cuisines.

Afri Restaurant & Bar

B-0-9, Block B, Casa Tropicana, Jalan Persiaran Tropicana, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. 

Open Mon-Sat, 11am-2am; Sun, 4pm-2am.

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Savanna @ Munich, Germany

Zebra meat in Munich? That might be your quarry if you manage to hunt down Savanna, where the South African-inspired menu includes relatively exotic meat like braai-style crocodile & kingklip eel-like fish. Turns out that a zebra steak isn't too different from a regular beef steak - tender, chunky, & perhaps a palatably bit gamier. Round out your meal with braaibroodjie grilled chutney sandwiches & addictive cocktails with theme-appropriate monikers like Joburg Sling & Leopard Secret.

Savanna

Munich, Germany.

Coco Bar African Food @ Solaris Dutamas

Looking for something a little unusual at Solaris Dutamas? Coco Bar's offerings fit the bill, though they might prove an acquired taste.

Coco Bar tackles the exotic adventure of West African cuisine; the kitchen's commandeered by at least one person from that region. Imported ingredients purportedly feature in this 'egusi' soup, a much-seasoned stew of melon seeds & leaf veggies.

Egusi can be enjoyed with 'ponmo' (RM10 nett), the rubbery hide of a cow, & internal organs like 'shaki' (tripe) & what-not. Probably not something we'd want to eat everyday.

To make the meal more filling: 'Eba,' starchy-grainy balls of dried grated cassava. A serving of the soup with this costs RM30, not exactly cheap but not excessively costly.

We like the African-style grilled fish at any rate: Whole sea bass, well-marinated, moist & meaty, served with fried plantains, onions, mayo & green chili sauce.

The fish is packaged with two glasses of wine (the white's better than the red) for RM85 nett.

No African cocktails, but two Mojitos come for the price of one (RM28 nett) during happy hours that stretch well past 8pm. Slightly more sweet than intoxicating, but perfectly fine for this price.

Coco Bar & Kitchen,

D4-G4-09, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur.

Open 4pm through late. Tel: 03-6211-0708

Africano @ Kota Damansara

African food hasn't unleashed a culinary contagion in the Klang Valley so far, but if it ever does, we probably won't pinpoint the outbreak to Kota Damansara's Africano.

A Nigerian cook's in charge, assuring the authenticity of this 'egusi' (RM5) mix of West African cucumber seeds, tomatoes, leaves & seasoning that tastes like scrambled eggs & spinach soup with curry. Oily but pleasantly flavorful.

Amala (RM20), a thick, sticky & misshapen lump of yam tubers that might taste like (depending on which of us you ask) cement paste or melted shoe soles.

Pounded yam, also an acquired taste, with slimy cow skin & spiky cow tongue.

Jollof rice (RM10), a heap of tomato rice that's less mouthwatering than it could be, with fried fish (RM20!!!) that's less fresh than it should be.

Okra-tomato soup. We considered also ordering goat meat, catfish & semolina paste, but realized that maybe African specialties aren't for us.

Africano,

8, Jalan PJU 5/20D, The Strand, Kota Damansara.