Food #3 Zanzibar (Stone Town)

At first I wasn’t going to blog about my holiday in Zanzibar because I didn’t think it really fit with the reflective and analytical nature I attempt.

It was mostly just a pretty, touristy beach vacation, with turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, giant tortoises, dolphins and snorkeling to see coral and fish.

During my week in Zanzibar, I spent four nights in Stone Town, the capital, and two at Kendwa Beach. Kendwa is exactly what you would picture if you thought of a typical beach paradise.

It was very relaxing, however the beach seemed so isolated and I didn’t feel like I was in Zanzibar.  The area outside of the resorts are very rural and someone living on the island would never think of Kendwa when talking about home.  

Stone Town, on the other hand, had such…culture.  Over the centuries the island has hosted explorers from around the world leaving a mix of European, Arab, and Asian influences. I relished observing the graceful conventions of Islam seen through the social habits, relaxed routine, and beautiful, traditional garb.

The city slept late and came more alive at night, augmented by the numerous public spaces where there were nightly food festivals, games of soccer, young men working out and old men playing checkers.

The cheap nightly food festival in the central gardens is the most memorable part of the trip. The Zanzibarian pallet is huge and varied from the influences of all the groups that had ruled at one point or another (although I’m still not sure exactly what is produced for tourists, considering their large presence on the island). It was a nice change from the Rwandan choices of eggplant or cabbage each night.  Also, Rwanda has a strict taboo about eating in public and culture does not center around food at all. Even restaurants area fairly new phenomenon in the country. In fact, many of the events that would center around food elsewhere, such as weddings, are instead replaced by dancing here.  So being in an environment that appreciates food for its own sake was exotic.  The last, and possibly most important, reason I loved the gardens were because everyone came together to socialize.  Zanzibarians, tourists, families, young and old, it did not matter. I had several interesting conversations with English speaking locals and by the last night I knew quite a few people and my newfound friends had a prepared list of questions for me about English words or American customs.  Comparing to Rwanda again, I rarely talk to “strangers” because of the language differences, the fact that I’m in a relatively rural area and people are much more reserved, possibly because it is a police state.  So, let me share unique Zanzibar foods!

Firstly, if you ever get a chance to fly Rwandair, take that!  The service was impeccable, the airplane was very clean, only half full and this is the “snack” I got during the two hour flight, with a choice of chicken, beef or vegetarian. Beats the possibility of peanuts.  They also came by twice with drinks, including the option of complementary wine. I have never had such a pleasant flight experience.

Falafel wrap (best falafel I have had in a very long time) with roasted vegetable couscous.  Both had a vinaigrette sauce.

Closer to traditional Zanzibar food. Plate is rice with masala and potato. Upper bowl is a fish sauce, very spicy and flavorful.  Lower bowl is a coconut vegetable sauce, with a pleasant coconut flavor.

All the locals were eating this at the garden so I had to try it too.  It was not quite what I expected.  There were several toppin options an I took them all: boiled egg, two types of fried dough balls, coconut, and something green.  The broth was potatos and other vegetables with a vinegar-y flavor, no meaty broth flavor at all.  The hefty bowl was provided but expected back after I was done on the honor system.

A typical gardens food stand.  This is all prepared ahead of time, but it is a mystery how long it sits out, although they will gladly warm it up on the grill for you.  I didn’t get sick from it, so there’s that. 

 Seafood is huge in Zanzibar since it is surrounded by the ocean.

A marvel known as Zanzibar pizza!  This is the freshest you can get.  You choose you filling, either chicken, beef, veggies, tomatoes or the more expensive prawn option, they flatten out some dough, add an egg, cover it with more dough and fry it up in margarine.

Salad and chili sauce.  You can also get dessert pizzas with Nutella and peanut butter and covered with chocolate ice cream sauce.  I went to the same stand every time and noticed the filling getting more generous every time I came.  This was the first night’s serving.