When my sister came back from Nepal, we talked for the first hour about the food. So, before venturing into Rwanda I will comment on the food in Tanzania.
Best entire experience:
We had just showed up at the school to play with the kids when we realize we have 30 minutes until the kids finish their lesson. So, Kyle and i aimlessly walk down the threet to find lunch. In 3 minutes we walk into a local restaurant with meat on a little BBQ. Perfect.
Kyle: "Do you serve food?"
'Yes, you want meat?'
Me: "Yes"
'Ugali or wal?'
(Blank stare)
'Wal is rice.'
"Oh, yes rice."
'With rice, you want...?' She clearly cant think of the name.
Kyle: "Vegetables?" 'No'
Ryan: "Sauce? 'No'
Kyle: "Beef Stew" 'No'
Ryan: "Chapati?" 'No' "Beans?" 'Yes' Big smile.
"Yes, we would like beans"
We sat down, drank orange Fanta and watched the locals fill the restaurant. We got white rice, with a scoop of whole pinto beans in a thick sauce, a chopped green leafy vegetable, and a bowl of goat stew with squash and potatoes. I promptly dumped my bowl onto the rice and enjoyed the meal I have had several times in Tanzania.
Most Unique: Ethiopian platter
A spongy crepe with piles of sauces/meats/vegetables on it. Rip apart the crepe and scoop full of spicy concoctions Wash down with house fermented honey wine.
Staple: Chapati
Wile ugali is the staple (soft doughy flour biscuit), chapati (fried tortilla) I could eat every meal for the rest of my life.
Most Creative: Salomon
Our cook on Kilimanjaro wowed us with many dishes. Early in the trip we had half an avocado filled with a coleslawish salad. I told him it was the best thing I had ever eaten. Sorry mom.
Late night craving: Zanzibar pizza
After walking out of the pool hall and back to the hostel. You could not walk past a person cooking on the street without spending 70 cents of a Zanzibar pizza. Ground meat and vegetable mixture is dumped into a freshly rolled dough square. They then crack an egg into it, fold it up, and fry it. its served with hot sauce and a garlicy hummussy side. One night we arrived 5 minutes too late. Cried ourselves to sleep.
Skipped Ecuador, starting in Sydney.
So good that you are having all these food experiences in the desert - no need to worry about the intrusion of seafood!
ReplyDeleteI have had the Ethiopian food experience in Vancouver, Seattle, Chicago and Melbourne, but never in Ethiopia. (The spongy pancake is made of a local grain called TEFF, which is fermented - hence the bubbly texture and slight bitterness)
Before too long in Africa I'm sure you will encounter the ubiquitous cornmeal porridge (some places call it "mealie meal") - a staple accompaniment for most meals, often made into a ball to scoop up bits of stew. We had this in a Nigerian restaurant in Naples (not Nigeria), where the menu consisted of either chicken or fish (both stewed, with mealie meal).
A few weeks ago I was on a "bush foods" tour in Darwin, where I tasted turtle and dugong. Nat was appalled that I would eat turtle!
Keep well and safe, keep up the good work, and keep blogging!