'Mimi ni Sheeba!'
Karoline said this, and I completely shared her sentiment after a rather heavy, sumptuous and affordable dinner; it means 'I am completely full' in Swahili.
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| Sangara fish from Lake Victoria |
We were at
Salenda Bridge Club on the United Nations road and were trying hard to finish everything on our plate. I had ordered Sangara fish which comes from lake Victoria. As its not going to be possible for me to visit the lake, I was happy just to eat something from there. However, I was rather shocked when I saw the entire fish (and a big one at that) waiting for me when I came back after washing my hands; along with the traditional staple food of Tanzania - Ugali.
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| The very inviting seating space... |
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| They made a personalised menu for us :) |
Over a long dinner which spread over two hours, I managed to finish most of the fish (but not its head) along with Ugali, fried bananas and two bottles of . But food was of much less interest to me, what I enjoyed most was learning about the ways of life from different parts of Tanzania. I was with some absolutely remarkable women on the table (I will write about one of them very soon as she is quite an inspirational figure), and I was just chewing my rather bland fish, over some amazing stories. I was enthralled! I was in a foreign country and within just a few days I was so much at home. And by the way, all this while I had a crown of mosquitoes hovering over head (and only my head), while everyone else tried to use insect spray to away :)
Here are my five recommendation if you want to enjoy some local food at Dar-es-Salaam:
- Eat fish - Dar-es-Salaam has some good sea as well as fresh water fish
- And do not skip on Ugali - you eat it like you eat rice in India (with curry and vegetables). Its quite a staple part of food here. Made with cornflour, it takes time to grow on you but eventually you will love it. Plus its best eaten with hands :)
- Have Stoney Ginger with meals! I am not a fan of sodas but this one rocks :)
- If not soda, have Kilimanjaro beer which is quite an easy beer to have
- Eat with your hands - most food here is eaten best with hands, so go ahead and get them dirty :)
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| And my favourite Stoney Ginger |
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| Cansu enjoying one... |
On a different note I feel bad that I do not know Swahili, I miss out on so many conversations and so many stories. Before I visit the country again, I will surely put my sweat and blood and learn at least some of it and then practice and improve it here.
If you want to visit here, take the United Nations road and the restaurant is slightly ahead of the Inetrnational school on the left as you approach the beach. Here is a map to help:
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