As I have said in my previous pieces, South Africa is a melting pot of cultures, so it really surprised me when I first arrived and saw both familiar and unfamiliar foods for sale. Due to South Africa's history there is a great variety of food to be had here: Chinese, Ethiopian, Indian, Italian...you name it! Capetonians also love fast food. I have seen a lot of American fast food restaurant chains since I arrived here. Around my block, restaurants such as KFC, McDonalds, and Nandos are quite popular with the local people.
Two interesting meals I had recently were the Cape Malay curry and the Ethiopian veggie dish with injiera. The Cape Malay curry included a handful of spices, chicken and other meats, tomatoes and pesto. It was served with either yellow or fried rice. The Ethiopian dish I had included five different veggie meals: Atkilt - delicious curried vegetable stew made up of carrots, potatoes, pepper and onions; Gomen - spinach and greens cooked the Ethiopian way; Kik Alcha Wot - split peas cooked in curry and other spices; Misir Key Wot - lentils cooked in Berbere sauce; Shiro Wot - spiced chickpea flour cooked in Berbere sauce; finally, Injiera, which is a spongy, lemony bread with a bitter taste.
