My last night in Kenya's port city of Mombasa, I went out with old friends from high school days for "quality best Swahili dishes" at a roadside eatery in the middle of town.
The food, as the sign promised, was indeed "quality best," replete with chapati mayai (the Indian cum Kenyan flatbread stuffed with spiced, scrambled eggs), grilled tilapia (severely overcooked by Western standards, but perfectly crunchy on the outside and meaty on the inside by Kenyan standards) and an abundance of seasoned and grilled meats, fresh salads and more mandazis (fried, slightly sweet, Kenyan dough puffs) than anyone could ever ask for (though we did ask for an extra serving to take home).
Wash it all down with a Bitter Lemon (or two) and finish with some late-night shisha in the company of wonderful friends and you've got the makings of a perfect evening.
As a side note, upon seeing my pictures, my sister-in-law Rachel wisely asked how one could have "Swahili" food. Swahili (or Kiswahili), the national language in Kenya and a number of other East African countries, comes from the name of the people (Waswahili) that live along the coasts of Eastern Africa. The word "Swahili" comes from the Arabic "sawahil," meaning "coasts."