Before
moving to Luanda, I naively thought that moving to a third world country meant
I would be losing those extra few pounds that I had managed to put on over the
years. I was in for the surprise of a lifetime when I learned that, instead, I
would get to relive the whole “freshman 15” college experience all over again.
After two
days of travel, a rowdy plane ride followed by shacks and dirt, and relentless
traffic, Adam decided that I needed to see a few of things that made him fall
in love with Luanda. First on the list: the
food! Adam took me to one of his favorite restaurants on the Ilha, a small man-made
peninsula off the coast of Luanda. I couldn’t believe my surroundings. In a
matter of hours the city seemed to have transformed from a sea of shacks
surrounded by dirt and trash to a gorgeous city surrounded by beautiful sand,
blue water, white waves, and open air. I couldn’t understand how ONE city could have so many different
faces.
After looking over the menu, and I do mean looking considering there wasn’t much
reading going on seeing as everything was in Portuguese, Adam and I decided on
a pizza. When our meal came out, it wasn’t anything that I had expected. It
didn’t look like the unhealthy pile of greasy ingredients that Americans slap
on a thick layer of bread and call pizza. Instead, it was a thin, lightly
powdered crust topped with fresh veggies, fish, and cheese. I wasted no time
sinking my teeth into a slice and was not disappointed. The taste was even
better than I had imagined.
My first
run in with Luanda food was amazing, but I was still a little skeptical. Adam
did take me to one of his favorite restaurants where the food was known to be
delicious. But with each new restaurant I tried, I learned that delicious food
was a standard in Luanda. My love for food, which had been dormant for years, began to
come alive again.
Every restaurant in Luanda has its own menu,
but one consistent item that no menu is without is seafood. Growing up in the Midwest, I didn’t have access to fresh
seafood like people on the coast. But despite this geographical limitation, it
didn’t keep seafood from making it to the top of my favorite food’s list. Moving
to Luanda, a city on the sea, has given me the opportunity to experience what
so many Americans living on the coasts get to do everyday. Whether it is a pot
of black spaghetti with a variety of seafood mixed in at Clube Naval de Luanda,
a grilled lobster at Coconuts, or fresh sushi at Cais de Quatro, my taste buds
are always in Heaven.
Although seafood steals the show,
the beef in Luanda has certainly made a name for itself. One evening, Adam
ordered a steak for dinner at Coconuts. I was confused when the waiter brought
out Adam’s silverware because it consisted of a spoon, fork, and butter knife, no steak knife. Little did I know at the
time, but the steaks at Coconuts are so tender that a butter knife was all that
Adam needed to cut it. A steak knife would have been overkill.
The delicious hamburgers also must
take responsibility for the role they played in my “freshman 15” experience. I
never imagined that I would be one to order a hamburger with an egg on the top,
but now, I can’t imagine ordering one without it. The warm yolk of the egg adds
a little zing to each and every bite.
If you haven’t tired it, I highly suggest you add it to your list of things to
do.
My original plan of shedding a few
pounds while living in a third world country went out the window the very first
day that I started my new life in Luanda. They may not know anything about
plane etiquette, proper driving, or appropriate trash disposal, but one thing
that they do know is FOOD. Looks like I’ll be putting a few extra miles on the
treadmill this year.
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