No bitching just beaching at this coastal café restaurant
Maputo is an awfully agreeable city. It is fairly easy to navigate if you're familiar with the grid system the streets follow. The locals regard tourists with an unjaded sincerity rare for a place so heavily populated with foreign faces. Jackets are optional - even in the thick of what Mozambicans consider winter, a cardigan or shawl provides adequate defense against the merciful chill.
Anyone who finds fault with this charming city is uptight and frankly intolerable (all who've taken offense to this have only proven my point).
I'm all smiles as I spill out of a taxi cab with my lunch date. Our driver reverses out of the unassuming alleyway shaded by nosy palm trees. Squeezing my hand, my date leads me through a gate and into Dhow.
The terrace is decorated with families seated round platters of food. We spot an open table close to the bar and make our way towards it. After greeting a friend, my popular companion joins me. "We should start with the cheese samosas, they're supposed to be really good," he suggest. Always up to try something new, I agree, and look through the Mediterranean-meets-Mozambique menu for my main.
I've had traditional chicken piri piri enough times that the poultry options don't excite me, and I certainly haven't come to Mozambique to have a lousy burger.
Seafood in Maputo is fantastic. With the Mercado Do Peixe a few kilometers away, I'm certain any fish dish I pick will be naturally salted from the ocean it was swimming in last night. I order the grilled prawns as an etrée and my friend goes for a portion of Athenian chicken.
The pair of us are quenching ourselves with a glass of wine and bottle of local beer, respectively, when the starter arrives.
The first delicate pastry parcel crunches under my knife before letting out a generous ooze of melted cheese. The saltiness of the cheese is balanced out by some honey drizzled to finish the dish. Every mouthful reinforces a harmony of the flavour and texture combinations. A perfect starter to share, the amuse-bouche is far too rich to have more than two of. The buttery Chardonnay I'm drinking works well with the taste of the pastry, and the acidity cuts through all the rich flavours.
Not after long, the main course arrives.
"What is up with Mozambican portions," I gasp.
I have 12 tiger prawns, a mound of fries and a colourful salad stacked up in front of me. My lunch date has a half chicken and what looks like 4 potatoes cut into wedges that he has to tackle. "Eat what you can," my companion laughs, realizing my dismay. "Start with one (prawn) and then eat another," he says.
Still quite overwhelmed, I decide to start with the interesting-looking salad. Though I've tried my fair share of fusion salads, and even joked about putting tomato in my morning fruit cups , I've never considered adding more fruit (other than an avocado pear) to a typical garden salad. Dhow pushed the envelope by serving papaya and apple along with lettuce, cucumber, tomato and avo. After a few forkfuls, my very confused palate implored me to try something else.
After adding a dollop of chopped chilli to my garlic butter and drenching my prawns in it, I do as my date had advised. Bashful at first, my feeding quickly becomes messy. I'm ripping the tender flesh of the prawns from their shells and funneling them into my mouth. Every so often, I grab a few fries to soak up the resting juices from my fishy feast, but they are not the main attraction and I treat them as such.
In all my gluttony, I've completely neglected the panoramic view of Maputo bay and the smooth jazz floating over the chatter of each table's conversations. I haven't checked on how my date is enjoying his meal but the melody of munching away is a good sign.
We get through what we can but both admit defeat. The portions are family-style and we are grateful. We drain our glasses and agree that it's time to leave. Neither of us get up. I fear that I might rip at the seams if I do and I suspect my date feels similar. ---
If you want the insider's guide to Maputo Province's vibrant markets and inspiring art spaces, click here.
Whether you've chosen this coastal city as your vacation destination, or you're a Maputan born and raised, a stay at Catembe Gallery Hotel is a must. My piece tells you why.
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