Travel By Tongue

Beyond travels’ sights and sounds is the curiosity of cuisine. The local dishes passed down through generations. The sprinkle of spices that form a country’s distinct indigenous flavour profile and the subtle pairings that say so sweetly ‘you are here’.

As Covid-19 banishes international travel to the realm of recent history, I’ve discovered wanderlust can be somewhat satisfied by food.

Tacos from El Tigre offer a taste of Mexico in their delicious soft-shell chicken, pork, meat or vegetal offerings topped with relatively authentic combinations of fresh salsa roja, coriander aioli, jalapeno or apple slaw.

Pad thai gai from Cassia, offering instant taste-based transportation to the lantern-lit night markets of Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Pai, while Daisho’s sushi conjures neon Japan in swallows of succulent sushi and hot sake.

In Windhoek, a city which has slowly begun to spread its culinary wings, for seven entirely different days of the week, one can travel the world via tastebuds.

Mondays are for Maca Maca Café, which offers Paris in a bite of wonderfully textured and completely cute macarons, while a beeline to El Tigre is just the thing for Taco Tuesday.

Warm Wednesdays are perfect for an al fresco seat at Isabel’s Table where Portugal’s petiscos come to life in small plates of garlic chorizo, kabeljou ceviche, slow-cooked ossobuco and pina colada panna cotta.

Reserve Thursdays for your fancy of tom yum goong, crispy pork and red curry from Cassia Thai Restaurant, or a mouth-watering mutton saagwala with aloo paratha from Garnish.

If you ask me, Fridays are for sushi, and Daisho has got you covered with their selection of Philadelphia, tempura and California rolls with a helping of tuna or salmon sashimi if you’re feeling flush.

To elevate your Saturdays, Italy does it best with their version of charcuterie. Whip out a chopping board and build your own with Italian Style’s gorgonzola, mozzarella and prosciutto, and grab a tub of gelato for dessert.

As for Sundays, a little America is as easy as a takeaway from Frank’s Burgers and Franks. Indulge in a custom hamburger or a loaded hotdog and enjoy a little American-style dining in your own city. If American is not your thing, Meatpoint is your Middle Eastern dream of beef shawarma laffa, shakshouka and delicious homemade lemonade.

Though there’s nothing amiss with proud local eats such as braaivleis, kapana, smileys and matangara, for international travellers missing the sweet taste of somewhere else, it’s good to know that even in a little city such as our own, travel can be done by tongue.

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