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..
Rice and beans, fried yam ball, chicken in white sauce, plantain and crab.
Atcheke and plantain.
Tilapia fish soup.
Jollof rice, palava sauce(called egusi soup in Nigeria) and plantain.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Nice blog story
Thanks 🙂