industrialshopspace,thisis a hipplace
tostarttheday.Thecoffeewasgoodand
strong,theOJfreshanda smallpequenina
(hamandcheeseona fluffyPortuguese
roll)setthetonefortheday.
Afterbreakfastwetooka wander
throughthestreetstothePraçados
TrabalhadoresorWorkers’Square,
tookinthepicturesqueEstaçaˉo deTRAVEL“Thecoffeewasgood
andstrong,theOJ
freshanda small
pequeninasetthe
tonefortheday”Jose Mateus). This converted house is
now a gallery and artists’ studio, with
a café and bar downstairs. Run by
talented twin sisters Nelly and Nelsa
Guambe, it’s a good place to sample
a Xilar, Mozambique’s newest beer.
We ended the evening at Restaurant
Lugar e Meio (710 Francisco Orlando
Magumbwe), a few blocks north, where
we doubled down on some seriously
good tapas served on slate tiles, and
lots of rum, mainly in the form of
caipirinhas and mojitos.
The next morning, music promoter
Jess White picked us up and took us
for breakfast and coffee at Ficka Café
(Rua Consiglieri Pedroso) in downtown
Maputo. Occupying an old semi-
Clockwise from top left: Graphic wildlife warnings at the Reserva Especial de Maputo; the busy Praça dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Square); honey and fire: peri-peri offerings at Mercado
Central range from mild to nuclear.Ter m, (central train station) and then
meandered up towards the Mercado
Central to load up on fresh cashews,
a range of peri-peri from mild to nuclear,
and an assortment of fresh fish, meats,
veggies, honey and tropical fruit.
By this stage, it was getting hot and
we were hungry again. We met old
friends Tiago and Pedro for lunch at
a local hot spot known as Coqeuiro
(Avenida 25 de Setembro). Situated in
the old amusement park, this place has
a well-earned reputation that revolves
around its frango aˉ Zambeziana (chicken
grilled the way they do in the region
where the Zambezi River meets the
Indian Ocean). We started with a few
cold Xilars to combat the heat and thenTASTE SEPTEMBER 2019 115