In the capital city of Brussels, there is an area with a big community of Congolese people. This area is known as Matongé. Many of the people in the Congolese community were born in the African country of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), or they have family members that are from DR Congo. Since they are from DR Congo or have a family history from there, they are known as Congolese. If you were born in the Dominican Republic, or maybe your parents are from the Dominican Republic, then you are Dominican. In Matongé, there are a lot of restaurants, hair and nail salons, small businesses, beauty supply stores and barbershops that are all owned by Congolese people or which employ Congolese employees. Other African ethnicities are part of the community as well, such as people that come from the countries of Angola or Rwanda.
I have gone to Matongé twice to try Congolese food. Both times, I have eaten ailes de poulet (chicken wings), fried plantain and chèvre (goat meat). I have also tried oven-cooked pork and fufu. Fufu is one of the most common, traditional and beloved foods in the Congo. Fufu is a kind of white dough that is made from boiled and ground plantain or cassava (cassava is also known as yuca in the Dominican Republic).
