Menus in the best hotels offer international food and Addis Ababa also has a number of good Chinese, Italian and Indian restaurants. Traditional restaurants in larger cities serve food in a grand manner around a brightly colored basket-weave table called a
masob.
Things to know: Traditional Ethiopian food does not use pork because most Ethiopians are Muslim or Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Before beginning the meal, guests will be given soap, water and a clean towel, and the right hand is used to break off pieces of bread
with which the rest of the meal is gathered
up. Cutlery is not used.
National specialties:• Ethiopian food is based on dishes called
we’t (meat, chicken or vegetables, cooked in a hot pepper sauce) and served with or on
injera (a flat spongy bread).
•
Shivro and
misir (chickpeas and lentils, Ethiopian-style).
• Tibs (crispy fried steak).
•
Kitfo (raw or very rare ground beef marinated in a very hot chilli powder).
• There is a wide choice of fish including sole, Red Sea snapper, lake fish, trout and prawns.
National drinks:
• Ethiopian coffee from the province of Kaffa, with a little rue (a sweet herb) added for extra aroma, is called ‘health of Adam’.
• Local red and dry white wines are worth trying.
•
Tej (an alcoholic drink based on fermented honey).
•
Talla (Ethiopian beer).
•
Kaitaka (a pure grain alcohol).
Tipping: In most hotels and restaurants, a 10% service charge is added to the bill. Tipping is usual, but amounts are small.
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