Edible ‘table cloth’ at the Ethiopian village
Sep 13, 2007
IF you want to appear seven years younger and live longer, visit Ethiopia,†says Ethiopian Airlines’ Regassa Ermejachew.
By Titus Serunjogi
IF you want to appear seven years younger and live longer, visit Ethiopia,†says Ethiopian Airlines’ Regassa Ermejachew.
She sounds so convincing that you could be tempted to spare $350 (about sh595,000) for a return trip to Ethiopia. However, if you cannot make it to Ethiopia, there is no need to worry because dining at the Ethiopian Village in Kabalagala is equivalent to eating out in Addis Ababa.
At Ethiopian Village, you might be disappointed if you expect to be received by waitresses. The day I went there, a man turned up at our table, dressed in faded jeans, an unbuttoned shirt and a black vest. How could we have known he was the waiter? The guy behind the bar was not any different; he had an outrageous mop of hair.
The compound is occupied by grass-thatched huts with colourful tables and comfortable sofas, dimmed light, large serving dishes, old photographs and paintings.
At this village, eating with fingers is acceptable. The waiter shows you to the sink before you dine. They also serve stews. Waiters present the food on a large wheels of injera, the traditional Ethiopian flat bread.
Injera is a sour and spongy flat bread that you can mistake for a tablecloth. But it is to Ethiopians what rice is to Asians. If you want to enjoy the injera delicacy, tear off a piece and dip it into sauce.
In Ethiopia, it is believed that eating food from the same plate promotes friendship and loyalty. So, the food is served on large injeras, so that many people eat out of one plate.
The dish is served cold. Doro watt (chicken stewed in a peppery sauce) and kaey watt (meat stewed in a similar sauce) are some of the delicacies.
The menu has more options for non-vegetarians, although there is a section for vegetarian dishes with lentils, leafy vegetables and potatoes.
If you are considering going to the Ethiopian Village for a buffet, but cannot stand raw meat, this is not the place for you. Their buffet menu includes raw meat. They serve pastry for dessert. The coffee is tasty.
Even as you can almost pour it into the teacup, you taste its sweetness, smell the spicy aroma and feel the smoothness down the throat. My only regret is that the coffee cups are too small that they leave you wanting more.
The decor at the Ethiopian Village is is modest, the price reasonable, and the waiters, slow but polite.
The toilets are clean. The parking space is so small that you eat with your heart in the road where you parked. The crowd comprises a few Ugandans, Chinese, Indians, whites and mostly Ethiopians.
IF you want to appear seven years younger and live longer, visit Ethiopia,†says Ethiopian Airlines’ Regassa Ermejachew.
She sounds so convincing that you could be tempted to spare $350 (about sh595,000) for a return trip to Ethiopia. However, if you cannot make it to Ethiopia, there is no need to worry because dining at the Ethiopian Village in Kabalagala is equivalent to eating out in Addis Ababa.
At Ethiopian Village, you might be disappointed if you expect to be received by waitresses. The day I went there, a man turned up at our table, dressed in faded jeans, an unbuttoned shirt and a black vest. How could we have known he was the waiter? The guy behind the bar was not any different; he had an outrageous mop of hair.
The compound is occupied by grass-thatched huts with colourful tables and comfortable sofas, dimmed light, large serving dishes, old photographs and paintings.
At this village, eating with fingers is acceptable. The waiter shows you to the sink before you dine. They also serve stews. Waiters present the food on a large wheels of injera, the traditional Ethiopian flat bread.
Injera is a sour and spongy flat bread that you can mistake for a tablecloth. But it is to Ethiopians what rice is to Asians. If you want to enjoy the injera delicacy, tear off a piece and dip it into sauce.
In Ethiopia, it is believed that eating food from the same plate promotes friendship and loyalty. So, the food is served on large injeras, so that many people eat out of one plate.
The dish is served cold. Doro watt (chicken stewed in a peppery sauce) and kaey watt (meat stewed in a similar sauce) are some of the delicacies.
The menu has more options for non-vegetarians, although there is a section for vegetarian dishes with lentils, leafy vegetables and potatoes.
If you are considering going to the Ethiopian Village for a buffet, but cannot stand raw meat, this is not the place for you. Their buffet menu includes raw meat. They serve pastry for dessert. The coffee is tasty.
Even as you can almost pour it into the teacup, you taste its sweetness, smell the spicy aroma and feel the smoothness down the throat. My only regret is that the coffee cups are too small that they leave you wanting more.
The decor at the Ethiopian Village is is modest, the price reasonable, and the waiters, slow but polite.
The toilets are clean. The parking space is so small that you eat with your heart in the road where you parked. The crowd comprises a few Ugandans, Chinese, Indians, whites and mostly Ethiopians.