The Taste of Tanzania and Where to Eat Like a Local in Dar es Salaam

When you love travelling so much you get the chance to experience a lot of foods in the different areas you go to and many people love it. Tanzania is the land of cultural diversity with more than one hundred and twenty ethnic groups in residence. Surely just this promises your taste buds a different yet exotic tastes from Tanzania and Dar es Salaam is a city in Tanzania that has many people from all over the country.

If you want to eat like a local in Dar es Salaam you have to try these dishes:

Pilau

Amongst the many foods present one of the foods you should try is definitely pilau. This is a mix of rice, meat (it can be any type of meat), spices that include curry, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and Irish potatoes. The mix is cooked to perfection to form a nice tasty dish that will leave you wanting more.

In addition to this, a side salad is prepared to go with it. It is a traditional dish in one way or another that is famously always present in special occasions such as weddings, Christmas period, New Year and Eid. It is very rare to attend an occasion in the mentioned time at someone’s house and miss pilau. Nevertheless, it is also cooked daily at some restaurants where you can go have a taste of Tanzanian food.

Ugali

Another meal you have got to try is Ugali. This is such as common meal in Tanzanian households that it might as well be impossible to find a Tanzanian who has never tasted it. It is a stiff yet soft dough made of cassava flour or maize or millet or sorghum or sometimes made up of a mixture of all that is easy to cook and loved by many. It is usually served with meat, fish, beans, or vegetables.

Chipsi Mayai – Chips and Eggs

Here is another food that is not really traditional but it is something you will encounter only in Tanzania. Chips and eggs cooked in a fashion that will make you want to eat it the next meal too. Be careful though, you might just find yourself gaining weight.

It is commonly known as chipsi mayai, this is the direct translation of chips and eggs. Basically, the chips and eggs are cooked together and served while hot. The food has become so popular that it is offered in many areas of Dar es Salaam and so popular that it has its own Facebook page where people especially tourists who have now left the country comment on how they miss it.

Makande

Makande is another food that is traditional local food in Tanzania loved by many and comprising of just corn cooked with beans and coconut milk and adding salt for taste. It is a good food that you will probably like after all we all have different tastes that we like. For Makande is not easily available as is usually cooked by locals, so for trying Makande in Dar es Salaam you will have to join a local in their home to cook it for you.

There are many more foods in the vicinity but you have to know the best areas to get them so here are some of the areas where the Tanzanian food is really worth the travel there and the menu is diverse. Makumbusho cultural centre in Village Museum, New Bagamoyo road.

Bandari grill in New Africa Hotel, Azikiwe Street and Sokoine drive. Tausi restaurant in Peacock Hotel, Bibi Titi Mohammed Street. Mafian fish lounge in Masaki Kahama road near Barricks Headquarters.

There are many more places where you can eat like a local  in Dar es Salaam, so you will not be limited just on the ones we mentioned. A little tip when it comes to the chips dish mentioned earlier, because it is so common and on demand, it is sold in different areas and sometimes it you can just find it about anywhere.

There are many small kiosks that you might see with tables and chairs plus an aluminium glass box where chips are kept; those are the places that sell the best chips and eggs. No names can be mentioned as most places do not even have name signs. They are mostly known by the cooks name.

Dar es Salaam food is so diverse that not only will you find restaurants with traditional Tanzania food but you will also find food from different parts of the world and restaurants that cater to a specific cuisine from a certain country.

Such as if you want Lebanese food, you can get it from Albasha which is in Samora street, city centre. If you want Mexican food then there is always Casa Del Ray located in Village walk Masaki. Or if you want continental there is Oasis restaurant, Royal Mirage hotel, The Q-bar, Waterfront and many more.