Friday’s Featured Food: Bissap Juice And Tieboudienne At Chez Ndioufa, Dakar, Senegal

When travelling in Senegal in May 2016, I was not backpacking there. I was there as part of a Money Supermarket lost luggage challenge and therefore, I had NO luggage. It was a 12 day adventure which took me from Dean Court to Dakar! I attended AFC Bournemouth v. West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League at 3 p.m. on the Saturday at Dean Court in Boscombe. Then I headed straight to Gatwich Airport (direct bus from Bournemouth) to fly to Istanbul (Turkey) then to Nouakchott (Mauritania) and finally to land in Dakar, Senegal.

I get quite emotional thinking about this trip as I had fallen in love with a girl just before it, and this later led to my decline and depression. Despite this, I loved my time in Senegal, visiting Lac Rose, backpacking Dakar, crossing into The Gambia to stroke crocodiles, backpack Banjul and stay in some class hotels including the Hotel Baraka in Dakar, the Maison Abaka, the Coco Ocean Resort in The Gambia and The Banana Lodge in Brufut.

On my last few days there, I also picked up weird spots on my head and relaxed in the Hotel Baraka as well as watching Mina the Dancer. I headed to the Restaurant Chez Ndioufa to try the traditional Bissap Juice and Tieboudienne.

What is Tieboudienne?

Tiep or Tieboudienne, is a traditional dish from Senegal and an intangible cultural heritage of humanity that is also consumed in Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Gambia, Mauritania and other West and Central African countries. It is the national dish in Senegal so of course I had to try it. There are two options – in a pot or on a plate and I went for the plate option, with a purple Bissap Juice of course.

I headed to Restaurant Chez Ndioufa to try Tieboudienne and it was excellent. The version of tiep called thieboudienne is the one I tried in Dakar. It came with fish, rice, vegetables and sauce.

Just after that, I headed to the bar to watch Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth but there was a bomb alert and the match was postponed – this turned out to be a hoax and I watched the drama unfold in a wee bar in Dakar!

Friday’s Featured Food: Bissap Juice And Tieboudienne in Restaurant Chez Ndioufa, Dakar, Senegal:

Eating Tieboudienne in Restaurant Chez Ndioufa, Dakar Senegal May 2016: