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The Blowfish is actually a cosy hotel, tucked in a quiet corner somewhere down in Victoria Island. It’s a startling thing to be coasting down a demure residential area and suddenly spot a fancy commercial signboard that you haven’t seen before. It looked very curious, with classy bold letters spelling out “THE BLOWFISH” vertically on tall gates, inviting you to guess what is within. I guessed restaurant and guessed wrong, but I didn’t find that out until later. The moment you step into the foyer, you find yourself in the middle of two restaurants. One says Purple and the other; Purple by Blowfish. I chose Purple By Blowfish. It advertised Thai and Italian cuisine at reasonable prices, and there was an option for fried noodles that you could have without sauce. This was appealing to me and I found myself sitting down. I have always wondered why, at Asian restaurants in Lagos, one had to get food AND sauce. It’s not even an option to have fried rice alone. It’s like paying for rice and stew separately; and having the stew more expensive than the rice. Why?

The food arrived after a considerable wait (about 15 minutes), and it smelled really good. I quickly dug in before I remembered I hadn’t taken a picture yet. However, halfway through the meal the noodles got cold and sticky, and I lost my appetite. Now, looking back, perhaps I should have done the chef a favour and shared with him the secrets of using ororo (vegetable oil) when cooking noodles… Why didn’t I know right off the bat that Blowfish was a hotel? Well, this is because it is a boutique hotel. That is, a hotel that is small and offers luxury facilities of varying size in unique or intimate settings with full service accommodations. It is quite classy and quiet. Another reason to check it out sometime, hmm? Location: 17, Oju Olobun Street, Off Idejo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.