All I knew about Sambaza is that it is a rare fish delicacy for the fishing communities around Lake Kivu, where the species occurs abundantly. 

On a recent visit to Gisenyi, the home of Lake Kivu, I came face-to-face with the tiny fish species for the first time.

But what is sambaza? My quest to get answers to this question brought forth several definitions from the various people I asked. One described it as "small fish that look like sardines but are not sardines,” while another called them "small fish that are common in Lake Kivu”. "Small lake sardines”, and "Small silver fish” are some of the other descriptions I got.

From the wait staff at the hotel where I was staying to boatmen at the nearby lake, people asked if I had tried one of the best things to come out of Lake Kivu.

I gathered from the boatmen that the locals prefer their sambaza stewed as sauce, and best accompanied with ubugari bw’imyumbati (cassava flour meal), or rice. I did not get a chance to try that option, but luckily, a better treat was in waiting.

After feasting on whole tilapia two times at the Paradise Malahide Resort where I was staying, Emma, one of the waiters saw the need to remind me of sambaza one last time.

My food came as I had a quiet evening drink by the beach after a hectic day. It arrived on a wooden platter, complete with wooden cutlery (forks, spoons and knives), and laced with lemon and white onion rings, which was good optical nutrition in itself.

The sight before me was that of neatly aligned little sparkling fish that had been deep-fried to perfection. Actually, it was upon munching one of the fish that I confirmed it was actually deep-fried, not sun-dried.

Well-salted and crunchy to the teeth, the fish seemed to be the perfect accompaniment for my chilled evening Primus.

When I started catching a cold by the beach, I relocated to the bar in the lobby, of course with my little fish, something I would have considered gross if I were digging into whole tilapia. The thing with sambaza is that you can actually just wipe your fingers after a meal and move on, like as is done with snacks like samosa.