By Jain
If I haven't written about African food it's because there is not much to say. Most people would agree nobody associates Africa as a continent with good food. Having said that, I have read the trend is slowly changing and restaurants are taking a more creative approach to their dishes trying to be more upscale and appeal to wider audience.
Meanwhile here in Botswana most dishes are meat and mielie (maize). The National dish is Seswaa which is stewed beef mashed up with onion and pepper.. anything else added is considered to be an infringement and just not done. Fu Fu is a starchy vegetable from yams and plantains pounded into a ball served with dipping sauce. It is supposed to be good, but anything dipped in a spicy sauce might be good. And of course there are those mopane worms (caterpillars) that are considered a local delicacy, eaten dry like a potato chip or cooked and drenched in a sauce. Those are a bit out there for my palate.
Most tourists don't get to eat real African food experienced by the locals. Restaurants cater to tourists, and I guess they don't think tourists are gonna be all that excited by traditional dishes. So far all we have seen on the menu here have been burgers, fish and chips, pizza, salad, steaks and barbecue meat (braai). Jay ordered the beef ribs the other night and said they were very good. In any event, Kasane is seriously short on eateries and our choices are limited.
This afternoon we went on a safari drive through Chobe National Park. Being the people lovers we are, we opted for a private tour. Actually it is just as cheap as being with a bunch of others. In our experience there are those groups that always seem to have a few individuals that talk too much, take too long to get the perfect shot and always ask that stupid question.
Our tour guide and driver is Simon. He is young, polite and has been a tour guide for Chobe Fig Safari Tours for fifteen years. Chobe National Park has the largest population of elephants in Africa and we saw at least a hundred of them. We also saw lots of hippos, antelope, zebras, kudu, buffalo, bushbuck, Impala, mongoose, giraffes, baboons, and a whole bunch of exotic birds. Oh yeah and we also got lucky enough to see about 8 lions. If you are interested in seeing our pictures of them please feel free to drop by our house and Jay will show you his 20,000 pictures he took this afternoon.
By the way there are no Tigers in Africa unless they are in a zoo. There are no brown bears here. They once were here but now extinct. There are no alligators here, just crocodiles. Alligators exist in the United States, mainly in Florida and Louisiana.
After Simon dropped us off at home, we were starving. We walked down the main road and went to the Water Lily hotel and restaurant. Our hotel staff said that they hadn't a clue about the food. Most locals never eat out except KFC. It was a lovely evening sitting outdoors by the pool, and with a view of the Chobe river. I ordered a cheeseburger and Jay ordered a steak. Both were satisfying.
We both agree, all in all, it was a GREAT day in Botswana.
p,s. Tomorrow we move to the Old House down the road ...we will miss our apartment at the Chobe River Cottages.
If I haven't written about African food it's because there is not much to say. Most people would agree nobody associates Africa as a continent with good food. Having said that, I have read the trend is slowly changing and restaurants are taking a more creative approach to their dishes trying to be more upscale and appeal to wider audience.
Meanwhile here in Botswana most dishes are meat and mielie (maize). The National dish is Seswaa which is stewed beef mashed up with onion and pepper.. anything else added is considered to be an infringement and just not done. Fu Fu is a starchy vegetable from yams and plantains pounded into a ball served with dipping sauce. It is supposed to be good, but anything dipped in a spicy sauce might be good. And of course there are those mopane worms (caterpillars) that are considered a local delicacy, eaten dry like a potato chip or cooked and drenched in a sauce. Those are a bit out there for my palate.
Most tourists don't get to eat real African food experienced by the locals. Restaurants cater to tourists, and I guess they don't think tourists are gonna be all that excited by traditional dishes. So far all we have seen on the menu here have been burgers, fish and chips, pizza, salad, steaks and barbecue meat (braai). Jay ordered the beef ribs the other night and said they were very good. In any event, Kasane is seriously short on eateries and our choices are limited.
This afternoon we went on a safari drive through Chobe National Park. Being the people lovers we are, we opted for a private tour. Actually it is just as cheap as being with a bunch of others. In our experience there are those groups that always seem to have a few individuals that talk too much, take too long to get the perfect shot and always ask that stupid question.
Our tour guide and driver is Simon. He is young, polite and has been a tour guide for Chobe Fig Safari Tours for fifteen years. Chobe National Park has the largest population of elephants in Africa and we saw at least a hundred of them. We also saw lots of hippos, antelope, zebras, kudu, buffalo, bushbuck, Impala, mongoose, giraffes, baboons, and a whole bunch of exotic birds. Oh yeah and we also got lucky enough to see about 8 lions. If you are interested in seeing our pictures of them please feel free to drop by our house and Jay will show you his 20,000 pictures he took this afternoon.
By the way there are no Tigers in Africa unless they are in a zoo. There are no brown bears here. They once were here but now extinct. There are no alligators here, just crocodiles. Alligators exist in the United States, mainly in Florida and Louisiana.
After Simon dropped us off at home, we were starving. We walked down the main road and went to the Water Lily hotel and restaurant. Our hotel staff said that they hadn't a clue about the food. Most locals never eat out except KFC. It was a lovely evening sitting outdoors by the pool, and with a view of the Chobe river. I ordered a cheeseburger and Jay ordered a steak. Both were satisfying.
We both agree, all in all, it was a GREAT day in Botswana.
p,s. Tomorrow we move to the Old House down the road ...we will miss our apartment at the Chobe River Cottages.
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