A couple of weeks ago, I sojourned to Ghana for the first time since after I was there as a baby.  The trip was to attend a location wedding in Accra. The wedding was held at the prestigious La Palm Royal beach hotel and was a wonderful ceremony. The gist about the wonderful location and celebration will be left for another post 😉

I was particularly happy to be finally able to try Ghanaian cuisine. Not that I hadn’t in the past, but I guess the locality and authenticity that comes with actually being in the country counts for something.

My first stop was the Thai Island Restaurant- Afrikoko. They had a buffet menu as well as the standard la carte, but I and my crew opted for the buffet option. If you’ve ever had African food, you’ll understand that having an all you can eat experience is a myth. Our food is too filling to be able to try lots of varieties. So what I did was try really small portions of different foods, or at least I tried to. I sampled everything from their soups and stews, to the ever popular jollof rice(Jamie Oliver take note 🙂 ). I even tried atcheke which is made out of garri and their delicious spicy fried plantain called kelewele.

Here are a few samples..

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Rice and beans, fried yam ball, chicken in white sauce, plantain and crab.

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Atcheke and plantain.

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Tilapia fish soup.

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Jollof rice, palava sauce(called egusi soup in Nigeria) and plantain.

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The next day, we ventured into town and had lunch in an aeroplane. Yes, I kid you not! What was once an aeroplane flying people all over the world was now turned into a makeshift restaurant. Sadly I don’t remember it’s name but it’s popular enough to be able to find once you ask a local. The waitresses were of course in air hostess uniforms, and had the trolleys to usher in our food. It was a lovely experience indeed! The restaurant had a lovely ambience and the waitresses were lovely and helpful. Great customer service in Africa? Who would have thunk it! lol.

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On my third day in Ghana, I went on a trip to Cape coast which is about 3 hours away from Accra (depending on traffic!), and on my way back, stopped at Hans Cottage for lunch. By this time, I wanted something different from the spicy and rich Ghanaian cuisine so I ordered fries and grilled fish. Boring I know, but my pallette needed a breather, and my tummy even more so! Hans cottage was serene. It was a space where one could just sit, relax, enjoy good food and nature’s beauty. My trip to Ghana revealed a different side to Africa which I knew existed but hadn’t really been exposed to as much, especially in the Western media. Needless to say, I was enjoying my return to African soil.

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And while I wasn’t enjoying the delicious food that Ghanaian restaurants had to offer, I was still having a scrumptious meal prepared by the grooms mother. Nothing beats home cooking!

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And when the health and fitness guru in me felt guilty for all the calorific dining, I stuck to having only omelettes for breakfast at the hotel where I stayed.

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I’ll ever be a foodie, and even when I travel to the other ends of the world, I’ll always seek good food, great company and unforgettable experiences!

Photo Credit: Sewafolie

 

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