The Noisy Villager: A small slice of Ethiopia

Food forms an important part of every community's culture and identity such that each community have their own traditions in relation to food,how its prepared,how its eaten and what specific foods should be served during special occasions.In different cultures people prepare their food differently, it might be the same ingredients but no two communities use them in the same exact ways.

If there is a group of people who have tried to preserve their food culture and are even are selling it to others its the Ethiopians.There are a number of joints that offer Ethiopian food in many places some high-end ones but mostly ordinary places and if you are in Nairobi and are looking to eat Anjera but on a budget Big-Mack (I am hoping this is the correct spelling) in Eastleigh is the place you should visit,not ~~classy~~ (what is classy again?) but they have some decent Anjera and key word is food on a budget. .

The special Anjera at Big-Mack in Isli (picture from a while ago)

There is a section of Hargeisa town that is known as Jigjiga Yar which means the small Jigjiga.Jigjiga is a town in Ethiopia.In this part of the town there are some Ethiopian businesses and I think a lot of them also live here.In Jigjiga Yar there is a restaurant that specializes in Ethiopian food aptly named Ethiopia Restaurant.

I went there for an evening out to 'explore' the town because you don't want to be the person who goes to visit other towns and not make the most of it.

The Ethiopia restaurant is a really nice small place that serves Anjera, cold drinks(sodas and juices) and Ethiopian coffee.They have 12 kinds of Anjera (yes 12!!!) you could choose from.I realized that what makes the Anjera different is the kind of topping you choose.My friend went for cocktail and I went for special and we both loved what we got :-) :-) although special is more on the meaty side of things and I am not a meat person but it was really really nice and cocktail had all kinds of toppings;meat,vegetables,potatoes and an egg.

The place has this traditional village feel to it and I imagine a traditional buun/anjera place in some Ethiopian village will be like it because they have colours of the Ethiopian flag for some of the writings on their wall, a lot of cultural things like wooden kettles,calabashes and reed walls(reed mats covering the walls).

We also tried out the Ethiopian coffee (they serve it with popcorn) and there is this lady in the place whose job is to specifically make and serve this cofffee. Now I know why its served in such small cups because its too bitter nobody can drink more than that little amount.