Every foodie should eat at this night food market in Zanzibar

Every morsel of cooked food you’ll eat in Zanzibar is a reminder that it’s also known as the spice islands. Eating here is a pleasure.

Sunset at Forodhani Gardens - this is why I love Stonetown. For the boys who put on a dazzling show of leaping into the sea, the couples strolling side-by-side and children dressed in their Sunday best, the tourists walking around with huge smiles on their faces and the garden’s daily transformation into the night food market, when table upon table of food is laid out.

They are laden with all kinds of seafood - tuna steaks, kingklip, octopus, calamari, prawns, even shark. They’re served with thick chips, fresh chapatis and fluffy coconut breaks sprinkled with white sesame seeds. Then there are the kebabs (mishkaki) - beef, lamb and tandoori chicken - juicy and like every morsel of cooked food you’ll eat here, reminds you that Zanzibar is also known as the spice islands.

Eating in Zanzibar is a pleasure.

The night food market at Forodhani Gardens is the cherry on top of the culinary feast. The air is thick smoke from grills and the smell of food. Conversations rise above the sounds of the waves. Sellers leap out from behind their tables to entice us with their fares. Not buying anything? Hakuna matata - no problem. The conversation changes from seafood or kebabs to where I’m from and how long I’ll be on the island. These conversations end with a “Karibu sana Zanzibar”.

Welcome to Zanzibar. It’s one of the most delicious places in Africa. The night food market at Forodhani Gardens offers the perfect place to sample the island’s menu.

You must try:

Urojo.The tangy soup is made by cooking chickpea flour with turmeric and garlic (among other spices) and topped with potato cubes, bhajias, coconut chutney, mishkaki and a sprinkling of potato shavings.
Drink sugar cane juice, freshly pressed with ginger and lime juice.
Zanzibar pizza is closer to a crepe than it is to pizza. There are sweet and savoury versions.