Chinese flavor wave sweeps Nairobi

Back in 2005, when Huang Guifang first opened Fangfang Restaurant, one of the first Chinese restaurants in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, local customers had only a vague understanding of what Chinese food was. To many, it was simply food from China.

"In the past, customers didn't know how to eat crab," Huang says. "Now they know how to crack the shell and pick out the meat themselves. We also cut the crab into smaller pieces to make it easier for them."

Today, most of the restaurant's customers are local Kenyans rather than Chinese diners. Dishes such as chicken with cashew nuts, garlic-fried pork ribs, and stir-fried shredded pork are among the classic Chinese dishes most popular with Kenyan customers.

Two decades on, local interest in Chinese cuisine continues to grow. Based on Huang's observations, customers often become curious about Chinese culture beyond the food on their plates.

"They ask me where they can send their children to learn Chinese, or which universities they should apply to if they want to study in China," she says.

Chinese restaurants are now a familiar sight in Nairobi, and diners are often diverse, including Kenyans, Chinese and other foreign expats. The number of Chinese restaurants in Kenya has seen a significant rise in recent years, spurred by growing economic and trade exchanges between China and Kenya.

According to Leng Yonghe, president of the Kenya Chinese Culinary Culture Association, 15 years ago, Kenya had only about 10 Chinese restaurants. By 2025, that number had grown to around 60, most of them concentrated in Nairobi.

Leng says many of the earliest Chinese restaurants mainly catered to the Chinese community living in Kenya. Over time, however, their customer base broadened as more locals developed an interest in the cuisine.

"In Nairobi, the range of Chinese food has become quite diverse," he says. "Diners can now find dishes from almost every region of China, including Cantonese cuisine, hotpot, Lanzhou beef noodles and knife-cut noodles."

The interest does not stop at restaurant tables. Increasingly, Kenyans are experimenting with Chinese cooking at home. Alex Muriuki, a Kenyan consultant, became curious about preparing Chinese dishes after frequently eating at Chinese restaurants.

"I tried making dumplings once, but it didn't go well," he says. "The wrappers kept breaking. That was quite tough for me."

After several attempts, he improved his skills by buying ingredients from a local Chinese supermarket and following online recipes and YouTube tutorials. He has since successfully prepared noodles, an eggplant dish and egg fried rice.

Chinese flavors are also starting to blend with the local cuisine. Leng notes that many Kenyans have started using Chinese ingredients in their own cooking. "They like condiments and seasonings such as oyster sauce, soy sauce and Chinese black vinegar," he says. "When they eat nyama choma, Kenya's signature barbecue dish, they often prepare a plate of Chinese sauces for dipping."

The culinary exchange works both ways. Boniface Ndolo, who has worked at Fangfang Restaurant for 15 years, has experimented with combining Kenyan cooking techniques and Chinese ingredients.

Beef stews are common in both Kenyan and Chinese kitchens. Ndolo prepares the dish using Kenya's traditional slow-stewing method, but adds doubanjiang, a spicy Sichuan chili bean paste, to deepen the flavor.

Many customers appreciate the fusion.

While Ndolo, who has been learning the art of Chinese cooking for more than two decades, has never visited China, he has already completed a journey across the vast East Asian country through its food.

He knows the sweet and salty flavors of Shanghai-style dishes, which Fangfang Restaurant specializes in. He can also recognize the spicy kick of southwestern China, gained from five years of working in a Sichuan restaurant.

As Chinese cuisine grows more popular across Kenya, the demand for trained chefs has also increased. Some Kenyan chefs have chosen to deepen their expertise and get trained in China.

Victor Palapala is one of them. He began working in Chinese restaurants in 2013, after majoring in Western cuisine during a three-year culinary program at Kenya Utalii College.

His career path changed when he was selected as an exchange student to Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi province in Northwest China. There, he received basic training in Chinese cooking under the guidance of English-speaking local chefs.

"After college, I chose to focus on Chinese cuisine because it offered a different career path," Palapala says. "I wanted to stand out and explore this unique culinary tradition."

Training opportunities are now becoming more structured in Kenya. In 2025, the Kenya Chinese Culinary Culture Association signed strategic cooperation agreements with Kenya Utalii College to establish the country's first Chinese cuisine major to train local chefs.

The association is also planning a two-year, full-time program whose diplomas will be recognized by Kenyan education authorities.

Qiu Letao and Liu Haowen contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn