Hey Guys! It’s been a hot minute since I last made a blog post. I’m back with news of a new budget-friendly Asian restaurant: Shogan restaurant Abuja.
So I visited shogan with @explorewithruky. Ruky had visited Shogan once before but it was my first time visiting. Shogan restaurant is a sister restaurant of Cantina, a Mediterranean-styled restaurant in Maitama. I did a review of Cantina restaurant last year, you can read the full review of cantina restaurant here
The exterior of both restaurants are similar, same brick walls and brown/white aesthetics. They also have lodging, named Sinclaire. Though I don’t know what the rates are.
Let’s jump into the review, shall we?
THE FOOD WE HAD AT SHOGAN RESTAURANT ABUJA
Shrimp Chow mein – 5,900
I loved this dish. It had a lot of texture. The dish was tasty, quite sweet but balanced all around. The vegetables brought a welcome freshness and crunch to the dish. The noodles were al dente. The shrimp itself was the star! Perfectly cooked and full of flavour. And I loved the fact that the shrimp were big and juicy! Overall this was really good, the only downside was that it was slightly greasy. Would I order this again? Absolutely! lest i forget, i appreciated the plating of all their dishes. it was refined, and i like to eat with my eyes, so this sure worked up my appetite just by looking at it.
Complimentary tea
So I’m a tea person and this tea was excellent. It was deeply aromatic and with a strong flavour.
Complimentary prawn crackers
Prawn cracker is a snack that takes me down memory lane. My childhood was filled with this snack. And the fact that they served us this as a starter was just amazing. Loved it.
Vermicelli noodles with beef – 5600
Just like the chow mein, these noodles also tasted really great. The beef flavour shined through on this one. The plate boasted bold Asian flavours and I was loving it. The dish was full of texture, and flavour and had a sweetness to it. Though this was great, I preferred the shrimp chow mein.
Fried ice cream – 4200
Now, this was one of our main attractions to shogan restaurant. We had seen the fried ice cream online and we’re eager to try this. Let me explain the components of the dish a bit. So the ice cream is coated in cereal and then deep fried. The coating is so thick that the ice cream retains its coolness in the center. The fried ice cream tasted good. It was different, But the dish needed more ice cream and less coating. Also, the ice cream itself did not make such an impression flavour-wise. I loved the crunch of the outer layer and the chocolate sauce tied it all together. Overall it was good.
Orange juice – 1000
I love when restaurants serve freshly squeezed orange juice as against packed and processed ones. I was impressed and the juice was excellent.
Minty shogan -2800
Let me start off by saying this cocktail was fairly priced and that for me was a plus. Because the trend now is 5k mocktails in this Abuja 😩. This drink had a mix of strawberries, mangoes and mint. The drink was full of freshness and flavour, but most of all, it was balanced. Nothing was too much too little. It was a great drink.
Ambiance at Shogan
The outdoors of this slogan restaurant sort of mirrors cantina restaurant but with a twist. There were paintings of anime-inspired samurai on the walls. There was a mural of Chinese-styled paintings on the walls as well. I particularly loved the Chinese lanterns hanging with bulbs above us. The furniture is simple, nothing fancy but the murals and lanterns remind you of the Asian culture.
On the inside, there was a Shoji (an Asian room divider) used in Japanese architecture. There were murals on the walls as well and Asian figurines. The figurines were my favourite feature in the restaurant. It tied in really well with the theme of the space. The decor felt very modern and it had a nice relaxing feel to it. We visited in the evening and the outdoor area was just bliss. Enjoying a meal under the sky can never be underrated.
The Menu at Shogan restaurant Abuja
I like the menu a lot. it’s reasonably priced and uncomplicated. everything on the menu is Asian or Asian adjacent, so they did not deviate from the theme of the restaurant. you can comfortably go here and spend 10k, depending on what you choose to order. And that my friends, is what I like to call awoof! this economy has been shaking like fish out of water and I’m honestly happy that places like this exist so that you can eat without breaking the bank. you can view their menu here
General thoughts
Shogan restaurant has great food, wonderful service, nice ambiance and the menu is reasonably priced. They serve complimentary starters and that’s not something you see a lot in abuja. this place is a solid 8.5/10 in my book. Would i visit again? yes definitely! You can watch the video below to get a feel of what Shogan restaurant looks like in real-time. don’t forget to visit the restaurant review page for more exciting reviews like this. ❤️
Love H.
