1. Posted on Tuesday 23 December 2008 - 11:38

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   mysmallvoice

   

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   Hakeem Babalola, AfricaNews contributor in Budapest, Hungary

   To the invited guests, the place may be about partying, eating and drinking. But to her, it's much more than that. It is her dream; something she had been searching for - all her life. The place has become part of her root she had missed all along saying, "I've found what I had been searching for".

   

   Mariam, who is in partnership with her Nigerian husband, could not hide her joy as Savannah African Restaurant, Café and Club was re-opened on Friday December 12 at Teréz Krt 36 in down town Budapest where African cuisine will be served to Africans and Hungarians, even tourists.
   
   Although the restaurant is not new to most guests, the present location is bigger, accessible, and good for patronage says Mariam who confides that she grew up without knowing her father talk less of where he came from.
   
   “We felt it was time to move to a bigger location where Africans can feel at home, and where Hungarians can taste African foods in a relaxed atmosphere. This is not going to be Hungarian foods with some African specialties. It is a real African Restaurant with 80% typical Nigerian foods while the remaining 20% is shared between other African countries and the Caribbean.”
   
   Foods to be served include pepper-soup. Egusi, Ogbono, groundnut and vegetable soup are also available. Others are chicken, goat, beef, lamp, dried fish, meat pie, moin-moin, akara, chin-chin, amala, eba, dodo (plantain), yam, fried yam and sweet potato. Palm-wine and other drinks like guava, mango, guinness, malt and tropical cocktails are also in stock.
   
   The Savannah African Restaurant is said to have about 20 workers, most of whom are Nigerians, African-Hungarians and Afro-Caribbean.
   
   Bond with Africa
   
   As she explains her bond with Africa and Nigerian culture in particular, Mariam says she is proud because she could now pass on the heritage to her two children by teaching them African culture, which means the question of where she hails from is out of the problem.
   
   "I can actually say that I grew up among Nigerians, so I am used to the Nigerian culture, heritage, food, language all of which contributed my closeness to Nigeria. I feel at home mostly with Nigerians. Besides that, I think every culture has its unique values which others could learn from. Africa is one in the eyes of Hungarians, for they never say this thing comes from Ghana or Nigeria or Ivory-Coast. Even if it is from the Caribbean, they would still categorize it as Africa."
   
   There is no doubting the fact that such restaurant is what majority of Africans living in Hungary have been waiting for.
   
   "It's good because Africans can come here and eat authentic African food,” says Adison Oji, a professional cook. “Even non-Africans can as well try African cuisine. This is what Africans here have been looking for all along and I hope it will continue."
   
   John Sessi agrees with him. "I always go to the former restaurant and I am still here today to eat. I am a Nigerian and I have to support my people. And the way to support is not only by talking but patronage."
   
   Even Hungarians at the event share similar sentiments. Daniel says, "I am happy to be here and I really appreciate all the stuff. The food is great, even awesome. I never thought that African food could be so good. This is the first time of trying African food and it's just lovely. I tasted this very hot chicken called pepper chicken. The rice is also great".
   
   Although Tibor and Judit say they won't be attending the disco which features every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, nonetheless they both assert that the place, food, especially the people are exotic.

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Reactions

1. Posted on Monday 25 January 2010 19:22

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   MrWashington

   

   
   511 berichten
   Lid sinds January 2010

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   hello

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   la chava

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