The accents sound too Nigerian, the food is both Nigerian and Ugandan, the tea is Ethiopian, the mode of communication is English and the owners of Blantyre restaurant in Kabalagala, are Ethiopian.
It does not get any more cosmopolitan than that. Just like the people, there is not much difference between Nigerian and Ugandan food, the manager assured me. For a first-timer, the waiter advised I try out the eba, a Nigerian staple of cassava bread with egusi soup with chicken.
She explained that it was made from watermelon seeds and some nuts. The Ugandan version of cassava bread is stretchy with a smooth texture and slightly sweet taste. The Nigerian version, though, was a bit scruffy and flat in taste, and pastier.
The egusi soup looks and tastes like yellow eggs, except there are no eggs. It is apparently the pounded Nigerian nuts. The soup is actually a paste; no wonder no cutlery is served.
The little fish bones and smoked fish fins in egusi seemed completely misplaced as there seemed to be no added value in taste or aroma but I was to later learn these are all cooked together in the same pot even for the meats – the Nigerian way.
The chicken served in tomato paste had a smoky smell and juicy taste and was free range. Worth the Shs 16,000?
Not for this first-timer.
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