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Local food: The pride of Kampala!By Elisha Mayallah When I visit Kampala, I usually flew in and out of Entebbe International Airport. However, four years ago I realized that perhaps flying is not all exciting as it is thought to be. With your head in the clouds, you miss the opportunity to experience what lies below between the cosmopolitan cities - good, old-fashioned, rustic living and chance meetings with friendly folk whose lives are uncluttered by the turmoil of the city. The 20 plus’ hour’s drive from Kampala to Arusha gives a brake from the traffic jams. It’s a long drive into the wide, open, unpopulated magnificence of the vast rural landscape of both Uganda’s and Kenya’s sprawling villages. There are no traffic lights for the driver to watch. The Scandinavia bus that I boarded kept dodging cows, goats and sheep on the way. As we left Kampala, on a chilly morning, I could not help wondering why each visit seems to be unique and exciting than the last - no matter how many times you have been to Kampala! The most noticeable attraction is the pride of the local food. Local food is an important part of travel, and for that matter tourism. The most famous restaurant for preparing traditional dishes in Kampala is Ekitoobero Restaurant located on Yusuf Lule road. It is this niche that has kept it standing out from the crowd. In its cool environment, one enjoys every moment of their stay either in the gardens or inside the restaurant Strictly traditional dishes which include luwombo are served. This menu of local stuff has attracted all kinds of people within and beyond Kampala. I did not mind having my lunch or dinner almost half of my ten-day’s stay in Kampala. And the restaurant is nearly filled to capacity during lunch and evening hours but this does not mean that there will be no seat left for you, t it is prepared in different types of sauce but mainly chicken, goat meat, dry fish he restaurant is huge and the gardens are spacious. Luwombo is their main dish. Prepared with groundnuts. All these are served with Matooke, millet bread, cassava, yams and sauce. Goat muchomo [grilled meat] is also prepared in the evenings, complete with matooke, fried cabbages and tomatoes – nebigenderako. Kampala best described as a city of seven hills, is translated as a city with plenty of restaurants and hotels offering mouth-watering food. Uganda, once referred by Sir Winston Churchill as ‘The Pearl of Africa’, is the country where the bananas [Matooke] have added fame to the ‘popular’ local food. Better still, the beauty of Kampala is further revealed in the traditional dress of the Baganda mostly worn by women – gomeesi and busuuti. A tourist friend I met in Kampala referred to Kampala as ‘very natural’ and something ‘real African’ I guess he was obsessed with emotion. The now-famous Matongee in town [an upmarket joint] depicts the fame of local food, which is much sought-after by both visitors and residents. The joint proudly serves smoked and roasted fish, among other food choices, to the delight of customers. "Even the most hardened Arusha slicker needs to break free of the work-eat-sleep syndrome and take time to sample the local food" said Mr. Wilson Baitani, a resident of Ngusero, who patronizes the joint. Arusha town, given its popularity in hosting both game viewing and conference tourists, needs to introduce and develop local food menu options. Here is one way that will bring a home grown touch to our visitors, hoping that the visitor wants to try our local foods and local cuisine. Similarly, in so doing we can boost the local agricultural economy while serving local foods that will leave a positive impression on our visitors. Any food provider, I suppose, would want to support local farmers, and highlight local and regional flavour in meals, which are served. E-mail contact: ermayallah@yahoo.com
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