Options for eating-out in Kosti are extremely limited, to say the least. Locals here tend to go out for tea and coffee, but take their food at their or someone else's home. So far, we have managed to find two places that come closest to being a restaurant. And yesterday we visited one of them: an old hotel with a green garden next to it. While entering the premises we noticed that we were the only customers and so we had the option to choose the best seats on their 'terrace'. We sat down under a nice tree and enjoyed the breeze. After a moment of observation we both agreed that this place surely has a lot of potential and our fingers started to itch to cut the grass, remove all the plastic and empty tins, paint the building and to wash the cushions on the chairs. But because we were there for a nice unwinding diner after a long day of work, we just decided not to look at the details too much. The menu was simple and clear: 'chicken'. Frank had had the 'chicken experience' before and he asked if this time, the chicken could be grilled instead of fried. While explaining, Frank tried to show how he always grills his chicken on the BBQ. The waiter looked at him with a clear question mark on his face and slowly nodded his head to show he somehow understood. To be completely sure, Frank called one of his Sudanese colleagues to ask her to explain our dining wishes to the waiter. After we had finally ordered, we took the games we had brought with us, out of the bag. While we started playing, our drinks were being served; not exactly what I had ordered, but it did taste nice. After an hour-and-a-half wait (yes, it was indeed 1,5 hours..) our chicken with bones arrived! It was grilled and looked lovely. All the waiters (-we were still the only customers-) enjoyed the view of us eating our fine dining Sudanese meal. We finished the chicken to the bone and finally promised to come back again soon for another interesting Sudanese open-air dining experience. "Inshallah!"
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Dining experience
Options for eating-out in Kosti are extremely limited, to say the least. Locals here tend to go out for tea and coffee, but take their food at their or someone else's home. So far, we have managed to find two places that come closest to being a restaurant. And yesterday we visited one of them: an old hotel with a green garden next to it. While entering the premises we noticed that we were the only customers and so we had the option to choose the best seats on their 'terrace'. We sat down under a nice tree and enjoyed the breeze. After a moment of observation we both agreed that this place surely has a lot of potential and our fingers started to itch to cut the grass, remove all the plastic and empty tins, paint the building and to wash the cushions on the chairs. But because we were there for a nice unwinding diner after a long day of work, we just decided not to look at the details too much. The menu was simple and clear: 'chicken'. Frank had had the 'chicken experience' before and he asked if this time, the chicken could be grilled instead of fried. While explaining, Frank tried to show how he always grills his chicken on the BBQ. The waiter looked at him with a clear question mark on his face and slowly nodded his head to show he somehow understood. To be completely sure, Frank called one of his Sudanese colleagues to ask her to explain our dining wishes to the waiter. After we had finally ordered, we took the games we had brought with us, out of the bag. While we started playing, our drinks were being served; not exactly what I had ordered, but it did taste nice. After an hour-and-a-half wait (yes, it was indeed 1,5 hours..) our chicken with bones arrived! It was grilled and looked lovely. All the waiters (-we were still the only customers-) enjoyed the view of us eating our fine dining Sudanese meal. We finished the chicken to the bone and finally promised to come back again soon for another interesting Sudanese open-air dining experience. "Inshallah!"
