Last weekend, couple of us friends were in the mood for something different to feast on — so we thought of giving Ethiopian cuisine a try. I had earlier tried (and loved) Thai, Italian as well as Korean cuisines. But I was not sure what to expect on the menu at the restaurant, even though I was eager to find out what makes for this ethnic African cuisine.
Cafe Lalibela, the Ethiopian restaurant we went to, is among the city’s best Ethiopian restaurants. The restaurant was quite fancy yet cozy, and the ambience was refreshingly different. Taking time to go through the menu, I ordered a sauteed lamb dish with the trademark Ethiopian flat-bread called Injera. While we got busy chatting and enjoyed a glass of beer, the food arrived. It looked mouth-watering to say the least and smelled great. The best deal was that it tasted even better than I had imagined! The Injera bread resembled the South-Indian rice flat-bread called Dosa. However, Injera which is made out of sour-dough, was a bit moist and had a unique taste to it. It made a good combination with the lamb dish. The quanity was also quite good and by the time I finished my meal I was equally satisfied.
I also believe that besides delicious food and good customer service, the music plays an important part in the making of a truely special dining experience. At Lalibela, the atmosphere was quite ethnic and so was the music, with much of it being purely Ethiopian classical sounds. I fancied this one song in particular, which the restaurant manager revealed was sung by an Ethiopian artist named Teodros Makonnen (nicknamed Teddy Afro). I later searched the internet for that one song but all I could find out was that its called “Zimita” (meaning Silence in Amharic language).
I thoroughly enjoyed the food, and I’m sure to return to Lalibela soon.