FAST FOODS IN UGANDA

FAST FOOD IN UGANDA

Fast Food as we know it in Western Countries is basically unknown in Uganda.  For anyone that has been to Uganda and sat in a local restaurant, you know that the amount of time it takes to go through the menu (if there is one) and order is probably longer than the time it takes in Western Countries to finish eating.

That being said, there is a lot of fast food in Uganda, it is just a totally different concept than the classic definition. Typically, fast food is “mass-produced food that is prepared and served very quickly in a restaurant or to take out”.  From a western perspective, there are a couple of chicken outlets in Kampala that are pretty quick; there is even a few KFC outlets these days.  Drive-thru fast food does not exist in Uganda.  Most Ugandan fast foods are sold in urban centers, so if you are driving on a safari in Queen Elizabeth Park or Murchison Falls, you may have difficulty finding some; on the other hand if you are moving around Kampala, Jinja, Entebbe or Fort Portal, you will have no difficulty spotting fast food vendors.

The real Ugandan fast food is something totally different.  It consists of street vendors, each with a small charcoal stove, preparing a plethora of foods. These vendors cluster in very busy neighbourhoods on the sides of main roads.   Some of the foods  sold are: roasted maize, fried cassava wedges, chapattis’, rolex (a chapatti with an egg omelet and sliced tomatoes rolled up like a wrap), skewers of roasted chicken, goat meat, liver, beef and various organs of these animals, a variety of samosas and similar deep-fried snack foods.  There is fried whole tilapia and slices of fried Nile Perch, complete with french fries as well as cold smoked fish, usually tilapia as well. 

Most of these vendors set up for evening business; once it gets dark, people start roaming the streets for some food either to eat on the spot or take home.  These vendors start at dusk and cook and sell their foods until the wee hours of the morning.  In most cases, these foods are cooked and ready to eat when you arrive; occasionally, the vendors will warm the food up, which takes just a minute or two.  Either way, there is little doubt that these foods are fast.  Jewel Safaris always exposes their clients to these street markets; they are fun, reasonable and the food is great.

Another location where Ugandan fast foods are sold are the various taxi parks and bus depots.  Typically, these vehicles do not depart until all the seats are taken.  As people wait for the buses or taxis to fill up, vendors come around banging on the windows selling a variety of prepared fast foods.  These foods consist of samosas, chapattis, meals of an omelet with vegetables and fried cassava.  Each vendor specializes in one particular item, and so you may be asked by a half a dozen people, one after the other.

Similarly, there are highway stops on the major routes where buses, taxis and private cars will stop on the side of the road, and dozens of sellers will run to the windows of the various vehicles to sell their fast food items.  Two larger locations that are very popular are on the Kampala-Jinja road near the Kibera Forest, and on the Kampala-Masaka road at Lukaya.  Both these spots are famous for selling skewers of roasted chicken, goat meat, liver and beef.  In addition they sell gonja, a specific banana that is roasted with the peel removed and eaten plain.  Most of Jewel Safaris itineraries include passing on these two major highways....one to the east and one to the west of Kampala.  The foods are fresh and reasonable and the atmosphere for travelers is most entertaining.

Jewel Safaris incorporates a food component into all its itineraries; we understand that eating, especially tasting new foods when one travels, is a huge enjoyment for travelers.  Jewel Safaris enjoys introducing their clients to our version of Fast Food in Uganda; its a colourful, lively encounter for everyone and being that it is so fast, it does not take very long.