During the first morning in Zambia, we walked from the hotel toward town. Enroute there was a older lady grilling cassava over charcoal and sprinkled with salt. It was a simple introduction to food in Africa. I was hoping this would start a nice trip to the City Market and there would be some nice street foods to sample. Unfortunately the only things I found there were a wide variety of vegetables, fruit, fish and meat but not much cooked things.
A walk back through town led to Fajema which seemed the first opportunity to try a variety of local specialties - nshima and the ubiquitous fried chicken. The place had a simple diner setting and a few people stopped by outside the window to stare or ask for money.
- 2 pieces chicken & chips - chicken not too dry, flavour similar to a mild form of KFC. Standard chips and coleslaw;
- nshima & fish - plain grilled fish, not too dry, served on top of a few stewed vegetable dishes including the slightly bitter rape national dish.
The first experience with nshima was interesting. It takes a particular skill to use one hand to tear and roll a small section, create a pocket in the middle, hold it in your palm and fill it with ingredients. Nshima itself is a very plain flour and water mix like a smooth blend of slightly textured playdough. I can't say I prefer it to rice, but it's different and makes eating interesting.