WHEN I told some of my friends that I only had any form of foreign delicacy, and I am not talking about Cape Town curry, in 2010 when I dined at a Chinese restaurant for the first time, I could see their jaws drop to the ground in disbelief.
The truth is, coming from a small southern town like Keetmanshoop, it is not to odd to never have had proper foreign cuisine.
Apart from the rice, there was nothing I liked about the food I had at that Chinese restaurant and based on that experience, I decided that I wanted nothing to do with any foreign food.
Some time ago, I had the luxury of travelling to Nigeria and as excited as I was to go to West Africa, you can imagine what my reaction was when I realised that I would have to eat their food for the entire time I was going to be there.
I dreaded it, without ever even tasting as much as a piece of fried plantain. A few Nigerian meals later, I was converted and totally in love with West African food. I could not be any happier to find out about the West African Food Centre, which offers a piece of West Africa right in the heart of Windhoek, Katutura.
Situated on Hans-Dietrich Street, the green double storey eatery is hard to miss. Walking into the restaurant, one is welcomed by the rich smell of seasoning and the pleasant seating arrangement that screams Nigeria with green and white seat covers resembling the Nigerian flag.
On my way to the spot, I had already decided on having jollof rice and chicken, but when I got there and checked the food trays, I just had to go for the beef stew and freshly prepared eba, or cassava as some people would call it. Cassava is a staple food in Nigeria and no matter how hungry I am, I never seem to finish my portion.
You can have the eba with either egusi, which is made from watermelon seeds, fish or the beef stew, which was my choice. The mildly spiced relish has a nice tomato taste to it and I always wondered if the chef uses tomato paste, but just never asked.
Having had beef at various other places before, I am always careful because some beef is so tough, cutting through it alone is a mission, let alone chewing on it. This beef however was nice and tender. Not tough at all and not so soft that it becomes evident the person emptied a bottle of meat tenderiser into the pot.
The flavours are as rich as the aroma you first get when you walk into the eatery and if West African food is your thing, this is the right spot for you.
They serve a variety of West African food which is imported straight from Nigeria. For just under N$100, you can get a full meal and a drink.
The West African Food Centre is open from 08h00 to 20h00 on Mondays to Saturdays. The venue is also available for functions such as birthday parties.
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