We live in Africa, and, boy, do we live well. Break out of your comfort zone and take a trip to a township to see what I mean.
It is simplistic to say this, but KwaMashu is a town, with all that implies – a main street, Woolworths, Pick n Pay and all the rest. There are dodgy parts and there are good parts, and, for those of us who live in “white” suburbia we should all get over the feeling that the minute we drive in we are going to get attacked.
If you don’t want to give it a try on your own, give Streetscene a call and Richard Powell and S’thembiso Mbonambi will take you safely in, soothe away all fears and feed you like a king. First port of call might well be the Hlabisa Tavern, which has had its own butchery since long before the current clientele were twinkles in their parents’ eyes. Choose your meat for the shisa nyama from sausages, steak, liver, or kidneys and braai it yourself or let the guys do the honours.
This type of eating goes back to the Zulu tradition of communal food, where everyone would eat from large wooden boards with pap and meat, from the eldest to the littlest, making sure everyone got something. You will find yourself sharing with friends as the meat is cut up, salt, tomatoes and chillies are added and chakalaka and pap are replenished from the lady in the park under her umbrella. You will soon be digging in and sitting around with quarts of beer listening to fantastic music for hours, taking in the atmosphere, and seeing a whole new side of the Africa you thought you knew so well.
The average spend is R150 for four of you, and that is going big. R50 here will buy you an evening of more food than you can eat and more beer than you can drink.
Tina’s Fast Food will answer any cravings for spice you may have, with phuthu, mutton, vegetable and chicken curries and fresh ujeqe – Zulu steamed bread, and again you will be full to bursting for about R25. The Maphumulo Tavern is legendary for its chicken dust, cooked by the road, hence the name, with izingingila, chicken gizzards on a kebab stick, all cooked as spicy as you feel you can take it.
When we drive up the freeway, it is easy to forget that 61 percent of KwaZulu Natal’s rural households still have no electricity, and that 57 percent use wood for cooking food. For all our sakes, a bridge between the haves and have-nots has to be built and eating is the universal language we can all use to lay the foundations.
Even if you are in the city, you can safely drop into Fistaz in West Street and try their shisa nyama or beef stew with amadombolo (dumplings) on top. Really, really delicious, with some amadumbe and yams.
For a little piece of legendary African folklore go to Max’s Lifestyle Lounge in Umlazi, where you will find all the foods above being eaten by everyone from factory workers, executives, tourists, and even Julius Malema. This is the real deal, and the atmosphere is second to none.
Eating in Africa, the Africa where R50 makes you a rich man for the evening, the food is delicious, and smiling faces of all colours remind you were are all the same under the skin, is a habit we should all try to develop.
In South Africa eight percent of people have English as a first language, and of that eight percent precious few of us have seen the inside of a tavern.
As Brillat-Savarin said, a long way from here: “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.” Surprise yourself, it won’t hurt a bit.
Contact Streetscene at 071 887 3079. - The Mercury