This is the time that I really feel that everything is available in Tokyo. West Africa is over ten thousands away from Japan and is unfamiliar place to Japanese people.
Mali, Senegal...uh which part of the world they are
situated? How they are like? What kind of language they speak? Those questions would
be come up in mind, when a Japanese hears the name of these West African countries. But
we can still taste of their food in Tokyo.
As for the food, some ingredients; chicken, fish, rice are familiar
to Japanese and others, panda bean, banana, peanuts crocodile are not known as ones
for main dishes for us.
I enjoyed lunch there with Japanese friends. What was surprising
for us was that we recognized a few of similarities in those African tastes
with Japanese traditional ones. Particularly all of us agreed that "Egushi" soup (soup
with mashed sheeds of vegetable
called "Egushi" and dried fish) reminds us Japanese“grand mum’s taste”! That
could not have been imagined, when we showed up at the restaurant.
From: upper left, Chicken Yassa(Checken stew with mustard sauce), Mafe(beef
stew peanuts sauce), Egushi soup with Fufu(dumpling made of local species
potato) and steamed rice.
The restaurant also serves selections of alcohol produced across
Africa; liquor from Tunisia, Kenya, beer from Nigeria, wine from South Africa… We
can taste them at its bar counter.
Restaurant name: Calabash
Address: Hamamatsucho build. B1F, 2-10-1 Hamamatsucho, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Website: http://www.calabash.co.jp
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