Food Glorious Food . . . kind of

I didn't really know what to expect when it came to food in Uganda. Having been to other African countries I could guess so wasn't feeling too positive. But was pleasantly surprised . . . when I saw the restaurants. Sorry Uganda but your local food is, um, yeah.

One of the favourites is matoke, a special type of banana which is steamed and mashed. It's hard to describe what it tastes like. Oh I know. Nothing.

Bunches of bananas line the streets

Each day we would eat lunch at the babies home, a meal prepared by the lovely cook Rose. The menu would slightly vary but matoke is a staple as is posho which is maize flour cooked with water to make something resembling porridge. Accompaniments would include ground nut sauce, kale or spinach and potatoes. Rose makes the most amazing roast potatoes - we all looked forward to Wednesdays!

Lunch time!

When we were feeling lazy, hungover or wanting a break from steamed bananas, we would venture to one of the local stalls to get a rolex. The making of a rolex is best not watched if you have hygiene issues with food! Eggs, tomato and onion (cabbage is optional) is mixed in a plastic cup (clean cup is optional) and poured onto a hot plate set at the temperature of the sun. We liked to think that the hotter the better i.e. the hotter the more germs it will kill. Then a chapati is put on top and rolled up. There are various myths about the origin of the name rolex. The most common and most likely is that it sounds like rolled eggs. Original!

Best served with Coca-Cola - additional way to kill the germs

The supermarket is always entertaining as names and packaging of some products can be original!

You could put this out for breakfast in the morning

And at the races, you can get a hotdog Ugandan style . . .


But some of the best meals have been in the local restaurants around town. I was amazed at the variety - Mexian, Thai, Greek, Turkish, Chinese, Italian, anything you fancy really. Or we would often visit the local eating establishments for a beer and a quick bite. You get an extensive menu with lots of options but realistically they only have 2 meals - sausage & chips or chicken & chips. But we made the mistake once of eating while it was still daylight. Never again. Only eat when you can't see what you're eating. You have been warned.

Our local was the Cathedral Bar, funnily enough it was next to a cathedral

The gang having a well earned beer

One of the favourite haunts was New York Kitchen who serve the best macaroni & cheese and BLT bagels. But it has one drawback . . .

Ready to order at New York Kitchen but what's that smell?

Ah, that would be the car fumes.