11 DELICIOUS ZANZIBAR STREET FOODS AND DRINKS TRAVELLERS VISITING ZANZIBAR ISLAND SHOULD TRY!
By now we all know the mantra that, when you’re travelling, you should do all you can to eat “local and try street foods”. It’s not only cheaper and easier to source, but it’s also almost always of a far superior quality that knock-offs of already substandard fast-food chains – Let’s go Zanzibari and try out these delicious Zanzibar street foods and snacks.
The food you can expect is nothing short of amazing. Fresh fruit, meat, and fish is just the beginning. Zanzibari people typically eat lots of seafoods and carbs such as rice, sweet potatoes, wheat, and cassava, so expect a lot of this.
So why do we love Zanzibar? Well for starters, there is a whole lot of historic sights, beautiful beaches, lovely people, a chilled atmosphere, and most importantly lip-smackingly delicious Zanzibar street food! So, listen up foodies, and take note of these ten of the best street foods in Zanzibar, recommended by yours truly.
1. Urojo Soup (Zanzibar Mix)
Urojo Soup also called Zanzibar Mix is a traditional Zanzibar street food which is a popular favorite in the Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam regions in Tanzania. This soup dish is a rich mashup of flavourful and spicy ingredients designed to give an unforgettable mouth-watering experience with each bite! The dish is a notable Stone Town favourite and is sold by many street vendors in that region.
Price: depending on where you buy it and what’s included: the price can start from US$ 1.
2. Chipsi Mayai (French Fries Omelette)
Chipsi Mayai, also known as Zege, is a popular street food found almost everywhere in Tanzania, it’s literally a potato-egg omelet. Chipsi Mayai is in Swahili, where Mayai means Eggs and chips are French Fries.
Chipsi Mayai is cheap & simple and can be served as a snack or street food for breakfast, lunch, dinner or any time of the day and it’s often served with a side salad known as Kachumbari.
3. Mishkaki (bbq meat)
This next one’s for all those meat lovers out there – Mishkaki is a Zanzibar street BBQ. Meat is skewered, covered in spices, and then flame-grilled on open charcoal and sold to busy commuters and hungry locals and tourists.
Beef and chicken are the most popular, but fish is also occasionally available and the dish is often complimented with chips or butter naan bread. Mishkaki tastes as good as it sounds!
4. Samaki wa Kupaka (Grilled Fish in Coconut Sauce)
Technically, this is not street food, but I couldn’t leave it out, prepare to have whatever ideas you had of seafood rocked out of this world with this exquisite fish dish. This is one of my favourites by the way – Samaki wa kupaka, a delicious Tanzanian dish consisting of smoky flavourful grilled fish which is then coated with a rich, thick and creamy tamarind-flavored coconut sauce. The dish is often complimented with Coconut Rice or naan bread and maybe a side of spinach.
5. Zanzibar Pizza
For those of you who STILL thinking about Italian pizza, we’ve conjured up a worthy alternative. Meet the Zanzibar Pizza, or as you may call it, a stuffed grilled pancake filled with anything from meat such as chicken, seafood or beef, various vegetables, cheese, mayonnaise, or eggs for the salty versions with a possibility of having a sweet version which often consists of different combinations of bananas, chocolate spread, mangoes, or peanut butter.
Zanzibar pizza is a popular one all over Zanzibar Island and in some areas of Dar es Salaam.
6. Chapati (flatbread)
Chapati, a flatbread made with wheat flour, is popular street food in Zanzibar and many regions of east Africa. We definitely love a warm and soft puffy chapatti with a hot cup of Zanzibar tea.
7. Vitumbua (Coconut Rice Pancakes)
This is another one of those sweet Zanzibar street foods everyone should try (I like them warm). Vitumbua is a coastal east-African street snack made of rice or rice flour, coconut, sugar, yeast and aromatic spices, fried into coconut rice balls with a slight exterior crust and a fluffy interior that will definitely melt in your mouth.
Vitumbua are fluffy, full of flavor, gluten-free, completely vegan and delightfully delicious!
What is street food without a drink?
Now we know what you’re thinking, we’re well aware a drink isn’t a food, but to some of us it is as good as, and besides, Zanzibar has lots of refreshing healthy drinks you ought to give a try. If you’re thinking to cool off from the Zanzibar heat, ask your food seller to recommend a drink to go with your meal.
8. Juice ya Tende – Date Juice
You have to look for it to find it; this is a sweet-tasting date fruit smoothie with a twist. You can mix it with yogurt, honey, black cumin powder or ground nuts. This is definitely a summer power drink!
9. Zanzibar Tea – “mixed-spice tea”
This one is a bit of a cheat as there are many different varieties of this tasty hot drink in Zanzibar. Chai Masala tea is one of my favourites; the combination of the Black Tea, milk, and spices such as cardamom makes this drink so comforting no matter the season. On your trip to Zanzibar, you’ve got to try out the different types of Zanzibar spice teas and experience the traditional tea-drinking culture of Zanzibar.
10. Sugar cane juice
Sugarcane Juice is a refreshing drink in Zanzibar. The juice is extracted from sugarcane and mixed with lime and ginger. You’ll find several vendors at the Forodhani Gardens or the local markets.
11. A coconut a day keeps the docs away
With coconut trees, aplenty, sipping on fresh coconut water every day is a reality in the Zanzibar (without the £££ price tag).
| There you have it, our top 11 favourite Zanzibar street foods and drinks to try while visiting Zanzibar. Have we tempted you to pack up and head to Zanzibar and try these for yourself? There are plenty more fantastic street foods in Zanzibar that were missed out, let us know which ones are your favourites! |
