User:Alfonse Nzioka

Alfonse Nzioka (talk) 10:55, 9 September 2014 (UTC)The Nocturnal Eateries of Mombasa

When dusk sets in, the streets of Mombasa transform with it. Suddenly any meal of your choice is availed in the open air restaurants. Where the vendors get benches, tables, cookers and other paraphernalia necessary in the eatery business has remained a subject of my curiosity. A strange aspect of the Swahili culture but very admirable, especially seeing the way families come together to chew the evening away. The variety of food cannot be ignored, together with the common meals known in many cultures; Swahili dishes dominate the menu in this nocturnal enterprise. It was down here that I first heard of words like Mshakiki, Mataha, Mahamri, Vitumbua, and Kahawa chungu. You might want to look at our Swahili dictionary to familiarize with common Swahili words.

Another one of my observations is the way people like to go it natural when it comes to mode of transferring food from the plate to the mouth. One might be tempted to think that it’s meant to save time but why the Swahili people like using their hands to scoop into their dishes remains a mystery.