I think I’ve told you about Africa Café (http://www.africacafe.co.za/) in Cape Town in a much earlier post, but let me refresh your memories. It is located in the “city bowl” of Cape Town, in an 18th century Cape Georgian house. Each room has a theme. There is the Egyptian Room, the Morroccan room, and the Ndebele Room, among others. They serve dishes from all over the continent, plus some that the owner/chef, Portia, has created.
The meal begins with a hand washing ceremony. Many traditional African foods are eaten with the hands, and so it’s good to have clean ones. You hold your hands over a basin that the server holds in one hand, and she pours warm water over your hands from a pitcher in her other hand. Everything is served communal style; the server brings out bowls of each dish, and you serve your own plate and eat as much as you like. The menu appears on the sides of a round vase that sits on the table, so you can consult it during the meal if you forget what you’re eating!
So, this is what Dad and I ate when we visited on 18 March 2006.
Starters
Cassava bread (southern Africa)
Xhosa imifino patties (spinach and mealie meal patties; kind of like what we in the Southern U.S. call hot water corn cakes)
Dhania dip (coriander, tomato, chilli)
Ehtiopian iab (white curd cheese with fresh herbs)
Tunisian briouates (phyllo pastry parcels filled with potato, carrot and garlic)
Chick pea mix in phyllo parcels
Egyptian ta amya (white bean patties cooked with coriander and parsley
Salads
Morroccan cous cous (finely sliced dhania, dates, carrots, corn and garlic tossed in cous cous)
West African fish imojo (salad of fresh fish chunks, tomato and peppers)
Mains
Pumpkin curry (an Africa Café recipe)
Congolese spinach (with fresh tomato, peppers and pilchards)
Cape mussel curry
Morroccan lamb stew (tender lamb stew sweetened with dates)
Malawi chicken macadamia
Dessert
Fresh fruit kebabs
Rooibos tea or coffee
Yummy!!!
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