Emmanuel and I were not amused when my young pal, Nana Yaw, opted for a chicken and rice dish for breakfast the other morning while we were in Ho.
I mean, where did we go so wrong as a country that our young no longer salivate upon seeing our delectable fare, like the Keta schoolboys (anchovies) and fillet Tilapia and vegetables infested Bobitadzi stew, and workple - something like banku, but made with fresh corn dough and not the fermented one, making it lighter - that we were enjoying.
It’s like me going to Abidjan, and asking for rice when there is Atcheke and juicy crabs on the menu! Or in Europe somewhere, when there is some authentic traditional fare, and I ask for rice that I eat so regularly. Commonplace rice, such pedestrian fodder! I really wish more people would understand the import of eating more variedly, trying other things, especially our traditional Ghanaian fare.
Not only are they delicious, they actually help make our economy also grow! Because the more local fare we eat, like cocoyam, and koobi, the more our farmers will have to produce.
As opposed to the rice, which is often imported and making another country’s economy grow, eating more traditional food helps more families in Ghana sail through life, not to talk about the nutrients we get from the very fresh ingredients that make up our traditional fare. Like Abom, either the N’kontomire or N’trowa variety mashed with that stinking fish! Such delightful fare!
My dining partner this morning, Emmanuel, owns and runs Chances Hotel and Shopping Mall in Ho. After two nights here, having been so well looked after by Angela in the kitchen, and Robinson the waiter and the two Daniels and the other girls, and Esther and co at the Front Office and Modestos, the all-round helper, I feel so at home and relaxed enough and now look forward to going home.
But, I was going to miss this very nature of Ho, the green hills in the distance, that help calm me in the mornings, and the real soul food made with fresh ingredients. I am looking at the grounds of the hotel and I am mighty impressed that the lawn and shrubbery here are still in pristine condition from when I first visited this hotel and saw them some 10 years ago!
What is new here, which has piqued my interest on this visit, however, is their new Shopping Mall, whose hardware department stocks some very exciting fitness equipment and things like that that make me want to stay on to shop, but alas, for the lack of money.
I shall have to come back! I can’t believe that I am thinking of Ho in such a manner; that I will go to Ho to shop. The clothes department stocks such clothes as you may find at Neimann Marcus stores, I kid you not. Everything is authentic, even the electronics! I dare say, you will not find it a waste of time that you actually drive two hours to this shop for what you may fly 10 hours for from the States!
I knew it was coming but, good Lord! Accra’s transition into a retro cosmopolitan city is now so upon us, and while ‘I am loving’ the transformation, the filth you see when you look around, with gutters still choked with debris, and choking cars still spitting exhaust fumes filled with pollutants, does not make for progress but I still love my city and the “how” it is becoming.
But, of all the stirrings taking place in the city, it is Accra’s current culinary landscape that excites. The Republic, a bar in Osu, is one of the hippest joints in town today. Never mind that my cousin found it a bit too touristy for his liking when he visited the other day and I took him there. He even still loved the vibe, the energy of the place, the people, the music, and above all the food!
Another facet of the city that is becoming rather hip is the many design brands surfacing, from the Christian inspired Monarki T’shirts to mSimps range of fabulous bags and accessories. And then there are all the sale events that happen within the suburbs in eateries and such places.
One that is happening today is RetroFab Boutique Sales, where one can enjoy discount sales and affordable high-end fashion pieces and accessories from the swankiest boutiques in the city all gathered in one place featuring among many others, Monarki, SO Aesthetic, Diva Delicious, Kayobi Clothing, Chic Accessories, Muran Leather & More, Aya Morrison, The Body Butter Company, Siatta Jeans. It all happens at Felibees, East Legon, (behind Media Pharmacy) and powered by Ebony & Ivory Productions.
Bentifi's Tattle/The Mirror/Ghana/graphic.com.gh
