by You’re going to notice a lot of sandwiches here. That’s because Congo still has a lingering French tradition of eating baguettes. Every store sells fresh baguettes and there are many bakeries which sell baguettes that are better than the ones in Paris.
1. Beignets and bissap
Beignets are small sugary fried balls of dough that taste delicious. They are really good and give a good boost of energy at any time of the day. Beignets are best accompanied with some refreshing bissap (a sugary hibiscus drink). At the end of our lessons with our younger investigators, we would celebrate with a round of beignets and bissap for all!
2. Bissap
I wrote about bissap in my article favorite foods I miss from Africa. Bissap is a drink made from boiling dried hibiscus leaves and adding LOTS of sugar. It’s a very simple and refreshing drink. On the street they sell them frozen in little plastic packets. You tear off a corner and drink it.
3. Chocolate sauce/Peanut butter sandwich
These chocolate sauce/peanut butter sandwiches are everywhere in Congo. They are sold in every store. Ask the store for a baguette and then tell them to add chocolate sauce and peanut butter. It’s very good and gives a nice boost of energy at the end of the day or for lunch.
4. Avocado sandwich
You can find these sold in certain quartiers in Brazzaville or you can just make them yourself. You just buy an avocado which is like 20 cents, mash it in a bowl, put either salt or sugar on it, and then put it in a baguette.
5. Ice cream and popsicles
You can find “ice cream men” in almost every quartier. Some walk around with bikes and a freezer and ice cream cones on the back and they honk a horn to attract kids similar to an ice cream truck. Some walk around with a freezer on their back and have popsicles. The ice cream and popsicles are SO GOOD. It is literally the best. I could literally eat it everyday.
6. Sandwich saucisson
A very simple yet delicious lunch while out teaching is a sandwich saucisson. It’s a baguette with butter spread in it and sliced up sausage and you can also add eggs and hot sauce. It usually costs like 400 francs or 80 cents for a whole baguette. Very good.
7. Tangawiss
Tangawiss is a sugary ginger drink that they sell everywhere in Congo. It’s pretty good but it’s very strong and some people don’t like it. During the rainy season I would sometimes drink a sack of tangawiss and a sack of Bissau at the same time because it was so hot.
8. Spaghetti/bean Sandwich
There was a guy outside our apartment who would make the best sandwiches ever. He would get a baguette, slather in some mayonnaise, then put in some beans with this amazing sauce and spaghetti. One of the best things ever
9. Fruit smoothie
This isn’t something you can find on the street but it was a fun, refreshing drink we would make at home. We would go to Marché Totale after cyber in town and buy a pineapple, some oranges, some passion fruits and whatever fruits we wanted for like $5 and have the best fruit smoothie that you could ever have.
Shopping for fruit in Marché Totale
10. Bulukutu/ Kinkeliba
Bulukutu isn’t a street food but it deserves an honorable mention here. It’s an African herbal tea that is amazing. You can buy a large bundle of leaves for just 200 francs or 40 cents. Then you make it by boiling the leaves in water for 5 minutes then letting them steep for 10 minutes then pour a cup and add milk. You can actually find the leaves in African stores in the US and I still enjoy it to this day.
Bundles of bulukutu leaves
11. Fumbwa
Fumbwa isn’t a street food either but it’s a delicious Congolese dish. Ask your Congolese companions if they know how to make Fumbwa. If they do, make sure that they make it often. It is literally the best. The main ingredients are spinach and peanut butter, which you can find a lot in the markets in Congo.
