This post is dedicated to Shail, Srey & Sunil - the 'Rice Bowl' gang. Boy!! I miss those trips. Spicy fish red chilly, butter prawns, dragon tail & the schzewan rice had become familiar words in our vocabulary. Anyways, i have carried this love for some good grub all the way to Mozambique. Quelimane was a bit of a dampener in terms of eating joints but Pemba turned out to be otherwise. A choice of eating places but yes most of them a tad expensive. Let me pen down some of these for my hungry memory.
Lets begin with 'CLUB NAVAL'. The best and most expensive among the lot. This joint is attached to the Pemba Beach Hotel, the best & costliest hotel in Pemba with the cheapest room costing only $250 per night. On placing the order they initially serve you bread, butter and a 'chutney' which tastes like its made from fish. This combination (bread+butter+chutney) is just awesome - simple but tasty. The chocolate milkshake here is the best i have ever tasted.The Sea food salad is something that i will always remember. This dish reminded me of those huge prawns i had on sticks at rice bowl. The difference here was that the stick were much longer and it addition to prawns it also had three varieties of fishes roasted in some sauce. The seafood pizza too is wonderful. The best thing about this place is that the tables at on the beach. The shore is just 10 feet away from where you sit and enjoy your meal. I never even dreamt of eating at such a place.
My next favourite is the 'DOLPHIN'. This place too is situated by the sea. The fish fillet they serve here is what i enjoyed the most. This fish delicacy is a dish of roasted boneless fish served with fries & salad.
'NAUTILUS' is another prominent lodging & boarding place in Pemba. It is the whites who are found here in more numbers compared to the locals. The service her is bad but the food is ok. The fish fillet with prawn sauce is what i tasted here. Hmmmm... The only reason this place gets some crowd may be the live music they play regularly and the fact that this is one of the few restaurants in Pemba!!
The South African owned '556' is another delightful place. I found a large number of families dining here and all of them were white. (Not sure if there exists some sort of a racial divide out here) Kids running round the place and having a ball. The official colours of quite a few football clubs were hung around the bar. The presence of a TV also suggested that this might be the place where people hang out to watch some popular matches. This country is soccer crazy for sure. The roasted chicken here is great.
'RUSSEL'S PALACE' is a Portuguese owned place and has a buffet system. You pay at the counter and then go to the table and help yourself. No coupon system and stuff to keep a track of what you do. You are supposed to be honest!! Mutton curry, rice & salads was what i had here. This place is locally known as a boarding house for the poor tourist. Tents are available for them to crash for the night.
Ravioli, pasta & the best pizza in town is served at the only 'ITALIAN RESTAURANT' here. The thin crusted pizza topped with fish and prawns is served steaming hot. I still remember this so clearly as if i have just eaten it. I discovered this place quite late all thanks to an Indian friend Niraj Joshi. There are some items on the menu that i definitely have to try before i get back to India.
'PASTELERIA' is a fast-food joint very close to home. Burgers, pizza, cake as well as a typical meal - you can have all of it here. An overpriced joint but closest to my place which i visit only if nothing else is available
The last option that i always have is the 'Chinese Restaurant' around the corner. Ok food at reasonable prices. The prawn curry with rice is amazing and so is the roasted chicken.
Right now its 6:10 pm and going out to eat. Which restaurant, you may ask. Well, i am going to none of the above mentioned places. I am off to a friends to to have some hot rotis made in ghee and khichidi with brinjal & potato - all made in the Indian style. Happy eating!!
Lets begin with 'CLUB NAVAL'. The best and most expensive among the lot. This joint is attached to the Pemba Beach Hotel, the best & costliest hotel in Pemba with the cheapest room costing only $250 per night. On placing the order they initially serve you bread, butter and a 'chutney' which tastes like its made from fish. This combination (bread+butter+chutney) is just awesome - simple but tasty. The chocolate milkshake here is the best i have ever tasted.The Sea food salad is something that i will always remember. This dish reminded me of those huge prawns i had on sticks at rice bowl. The difference here was that the stick were much longer and it addition to prawns it also had three varieties of fishes roasted in some sauce. The seafood pizza too is wonderful. The best thing about this place is that the tables at on the beach. The shore is just 10 feet away from where you sit and enjoy your meal. I never even dreamt of eating at such a place.
My next favourite is the 'DOLPHIN'. This place too is situated by the sea. The fish fillet they serve here is what i enjoyed the most. This fish delicacy is a dish of roasted boneless fish served with fries & salad.
'NAUTILUS' is another prominent lodging & boarding place in Pemba. It is the whites who are found here in more numbers compared to the locals. The service her is bad but the food is ok. The fish fillet with prawn sauce is what i tasted here. Hmmmm... The only reason this place gets some crowd may be the live music they play regularly and the fact that this is one of the few restaurants in Pemba!!
The South African owned '556' is another delightful place. I found a large number of families dining here and all of them were white. (Not sure if there exists some sort of a racial divide out here) Kids running round the place and having a ball. The official colours of quite a few football clubs were hung around the bar. The presence of a TV also suggested that this might be the place where people hang out to watch some popular matches. This country is soccer crazy for sure. The roasted chicken here is great.
'RUSSEL'S PALACE' is a Portuguese owned place and has a buffet system. You pay at the counter and then go to the table and help yourself. No coupon system and stuff to keep a track of what you do. You are supposed to be honest!! Mutton curry, rice & salads was what i had here. This place is locally known as a boarding house for the poor tourist. Tents are available for them to crash for the night.
Ravioli, pasta & the best pizza in town is served at the only 'ITALIAN RESTAURANT' here. The thin crusted pizza topped with fish and prawns is served steaming hot. I still remember this so clearly as if i have just eaten it. I discovered this place quite late all thanks to an Indian friend Niraj Joshi. There are some items on the menu that i definitely have to try before i get back to India.
'PASTELERIA' is a fast-food joint very close to home. Burgers, pizza, cake as well as a typical meal - you can have all of it here. An overpriced joint but closest to my place which i visit only if nothing else is available
The last option that i always have is the 'Chinese Restaurant' around the corner. Ok food at reasonable prices. The prawn curry with rice is amazing and so is the roasted chicken.
Right now its 6:10 pm and going out to eat. Which restaurant, you may ask. Well, i am going to none of the above mentioned places. I am off to a friends to to have some hot rotis made in ghee and khichidi with brinjal & potato - all made in the Indian style. Happy eating!!
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