Let me tell you a little bit about the food here, Swahili cuisine is all about making the most of what you have, (which in Africa can sometimes be very little) and let me just say that the locals do a very good job of making tasty, filling dishes with what they have. Rice is eaten alot everything is with rice. rice, rice, rice, rice, rice. They have delicious spicy mixes like curries, beef and chicken type casseroles or soups, plenty of fish, some very particular rice dishes are made with lots of herbs and spice and served with a type of salsa, its good! They eat banana as a part of their savoury meals, I'm told that there are two differing types of banana, the ones us kiwi's know and import as fruit and the ones the Africans dont allow to ripen to use in stews and boil ups, some of the banana casseroles are very tasty but have off putting colours. They produce interesting maize mixes that are dipped in all types of colourful sauces, the maize mixes are interesting in colour and texture, they are very, very white, at first it looked odd to see delicious looking concoctions combined with a smattering of what looks like play dough, still it's very nice. Vegetables used commonly are okra, spinach, turnip and of course the usual like potatoes etc.. another interesting mix is potatoe chips or fries and eggs, a chip filled omelet, very filling, cheap and quite good. They have burger chains and subway over here, but i haven't been and don't intend to as they are exuberantly priced.
It is not uncommon to walk into a restaurant in Dar-es-Salaam to find that the place has no food, a restaurant with no food is like a lame racehorse, whats the point, so it can be a pain to find food at times and Murphy's law states that those are the times you most want it. Restaurants can be very cheap or very expensive depending on your preferred choice, beer and spirits are cheap, as I think they lack the large alcohol taxes that we have... eating houses are far from our house and are a very hot mission indeed especially if you are unsure whether there is going to be food or not. Locals eat lunch here at 2pm and eat dinner late, if at all. In New Zealand, My family has often dubbed me the waste disposal unit so you can imagine my dismay when I find that the food here isn't exactly flowing, and it is not eaten when I'm hungry!! then again, I'm always hungry! I am very lucky as I am provided lunch at school, and it is to a high standard, it gives me the great chance of sampling all sorts of food without the worry. Talk about worry, I am unsure of food standards over here, I pass butcheries and cringe at their displays, if local restaurants prepare that sort of thing, I don't want to think. In one Turkish restaurant Lawrence and I visited, we were greeted with a yellow glupe that contained three very hard brownish, black balls, it was like being on who dares wins.. haha.. I'm told I have to wait until Zanzibar to experience the sea-food in all its glory, cant wait!
We held a graduation party at our flat last night, enter the hoards, this time I was more receptive and got involved with the BBQ'd goat that we prepared and danced the night away to traditional African music. We went to a proper club this time, one full of African music in the 'bolingo' style that originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The dancing involves ALOT of hip and bottom shaking.. as a prelude we watched a couple of dancers preforming on a stage near our house, the way some of these girls can dance is mesmerising. I love the music and the rhythms, I want to hear as much as I can in my short time. Despite people's best attempts, still I'm abstaining from too much drink, it most certainly would be unwise I feel.
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