THE MOST POPULAR RESTAURANTS AND VENDORS
IN ZANZIBAR
1940-1950
As
young growing boys, we were always hungry.
It
would seem that so much energy was spent by the young doing all kinds of things
during the day that this energy had to be replaced. Very fortunately, there were a number of very
affordable restaurants around town.
In
the forties, the “Jubilee Tea Room” used to be the most popular. Its location was just opposite the Old Arab
Fort. In recent years, all the buildings
including the Jubilee Tea room were demolished to make place for what is now
known as the Jubilee Gardens which His Highness the Aga Khan, with his
legendary philanthropy has changed into a manicured garden. The Jubilee Tea Room was very popular for its
“bajias” which could be bought for five cents a plate of five with a coconut
chutney added to make the bajias absolutely finger licking good. If requested
you could have a spoon of hot chilli mix put on the chutney. You knew who was indulging in this mix from
the many running noses and tearing that was evident. You could also buy ice cream which cost ten
cents a scoop. If you were still hungry, a plate of potatoes mixed with
turmeric based gravy, which gave the dish a yellow tinge, made one smile with
satisfaction. None of the clients ever
gave the general hygiene of the place with which the food was dispensed much
thought, and it is just possible that most regular clients, which included us,
had developed immunity against every known and unknown bug on the island.
It
was also interesting to watch the hired help physically turn the ice cream
handles to rotate the cylindrical container in a large wooden bucket that held
the ice, in order to produce the ice cream.
I once asked one of these hard working guys why he added salt to the
ice. It was an honest question from an
enquiring mind. The response was that it made the ice cream a lot tastier.
As a young boy of ten I went away trying to
figure out how this could be so, until I got to Canada and had a smile on my
face when I saw large salt trucks spreading salt on the icy roads. We must have had the tastiest roads in the
world.
After
a hard game of soccer or hockey, we would often drop in at the Irani Restaurant
just next to the Majestic Cinema. They
were famous for their “Paiya Soup”.
Basically it was soup made from goats’ feet. A plate of this soup with a large “Pita”
bread was all that one needed to get one’s glucose levels climb the scales.
Late
in the evening it was not uncommon for people to line up at a fruit salad
vendor at the Jubilee Gardens. The African owner had a small grey goatee and he
was made for business. He spoke some
English and was of course fluent in Swahili.
The advantage of supporting this
vendor is because he cut the fresh fruit right in front of you. For a few cents extra he would mix the fruit
with condensed milk. If you wanted it
laced with ice cream you would have to pay a little extra. Tables and chairs were set just next to his
stall, and people would spend much of their time there talking about the issues
of the day. It was also a good vantage
point to watch all the pretty girls take their evening stroll past the Sultan’s
Palace and back again. One evening a
group of us adolescents noticed three girls in the distance and as boys would
be there were some naughty exchanges about those girls who nobody could
identify as yet. The most vocal and
graphic description was by one of our friends.
As it turned out, the girls happened to be his sisters. We did not see him for a week after that.
Sugar
cane vendors were always popular among the young. The vendor usually scraped off the skin and
then proceeded to cut the cane into little pieces about four inches thick. It was one of the prime sources of energy for
the boys and girls. The orange vendors
were in their chosen places in Mnazi Moja playing field. It was a great source of Vitamin C and we
virtually inhaled these oranges because they were generally so sweet.
The
best samosas were sold by an Arab vendor in the Kiponda area in the stone
town. No party was complete without
these triangular pieces of neatly packed minced meat that was prepared with
onions and other spices. The somosas were very tasty and as young growing boys
and girls we virtually ate them by the dozen.
On
Portuguese street there was a vendor that sold a variety of Indian food. There were Indian bajias with chutney, gatia
of all kinds and chevda. These foods
would be placed into newspapers and tied up with thread. I am not sure whether the ink from the print in
the newspaper enhanced the taste of the food, but it was simply delightful.
Arab
halva was perhaps the most popular sweet that one could buy. It was sold by the pound and placed in a
neatly woven bag made from a grass reed.
I saw this halva being cooked in a place in Darajani. There was a very large dish shaped like a
wok. Into it went all the precious
ingredients while one strong guy using a ladle, stirred the ingredients
vigorously for several hours. After being a witness to this excruciating hard
work, I never grudged paying whatever was asked of me for this sweet dish that
I thought was fit for the gods. The
halva recipe has now been disseminated around the world. In Ontario, Canada there are Somali immigrants
who sell it, and it flies off the shelf no sooner that it is put on sale.
There
were private individual families that provided food for those who did not have
time to cook for themselves. The food
was supplied in tiffins (small dishes that dovetailed into each other) and in
each dish was put the kind of food that you ordered. As children we would love to eat the food
supplied in these tiffins. A Goan family
supplied food when it was ordered, and we were sometimes given what was aptly
called “a taste of Goa” through the wonderful preparations.
And
I leave the best for last. The “Mandazi”
has got to be the “forbidden fruit” of the culinary world. They made breakfast an absolute delight. As young folk we loved to dunk the mandaszis
into our coffee and this seemed to tickle the taste buds and provide much
joy. Dunking of course had to be done
when mother had her back to us because it was considered bad manners to do
so.
There
were, of course, a whole lot of restaurants and vendors in Zanzibar that
produced their own unique specialties which are far too numerous to mention,
and there are times I can feel my mouth watering at the very thought of the
diverse cuisines available on such a small island.
COMMENTS:-
Thanks George
I am sitting outside my cabin balcony reading this story...can relate to every word! As my memory is still very fresh. Remember every eating place.
Even visited that Somali shop in Canada where they make the best Zbar halwa. The owner made a special supply and took us in his kitchen to see the giant vessel. The halva was piping hot...but he fed us with an endless supply of Zbar bajias as we waited for the halwa.
Remember the mustakie after the hockey match. The man sat not too far from that Irani restaurant near the lamp post.
Happy memories
Father Lloyd
I am sitting outside my cabin balcony reading this story...can relate to every word! As my memory is still very fresh. Remember every eating place.
Even visited that Somali shop in Canada where they make the best Zbar halwa. The owner made a special supply and took us in his kitchen to see the giant vessel. The halva was piping hot...but he fed us with an endless supply of Zbar bajias as we waited for the halwa.
Remember the mustakie after the hockey match. The man sat not too far from that Irani restaurant near the lamp post.
Happy memories
Father Lloyd
Nurdin Karimjee comments
Sunday May 12th 2013
Hi George
I saw your interesting article for restaurants in your blog and it brought nostalgic memories. Besides eating Bhajias at Jubilee Restuarant at Fordhani the one thing I enjoyed most was a drink called #Chande#. In short it was delicious icecream mixed with freshly squeezed orange juice . It makes the most delicious refreshing drink and my grand children love it.Pl continue writing stories about zanzibar. regards. Nurdin
