Mama Jacky's: a little bit of Kampala in Kigali

Its real name is Murisanga Restaurant, but nobody seems to care about this name. Patrons instead refer to it fondly as Mama Jacky’s. And what Mama Jacky has done is to literally import a bit of Kampala into Kigali –food wise. But more about that later. Located along Remera’s Boulevard de l’OUA, Mama Jacky’s is the kind of place that you will hear about almost strictly by word of mouth, and usually from a Ugandan, or someone who has been to Kampala and sampled the food there. This modest eating place has distinguished itself as the place to be if you want to eat Ugandan, by which I mean mashed bananas, or umunyigye, and something the Ugandans fondly refer to as luwombo, a mouth-watering traditional delicacy in which a stew of chicken, beef, mushrooms or fish is steamed in banana leaves. When we visited for Friday lunch, all we wanted was omunyigye and luwombo –(luwombo goes by the name Ka box (small box) at Mama Jacky’s. several minutes later when our orders, arrived, we realized why it’s called ka-box; it comes in a tiny, box-like aluminum container, as opposed to the Ugandan mode of preparation, where the stew is steamed in fresh banana leaves. (I must add that this ka-box takes away some of luwombo’s fresh aesthetic appeal). We accompanied our chicken luwombo with mashed plantains, yam, and some sweet potatoes, and on the suggestion of one of the waiters, complimented this with a side dish of G.nut sauce, which cost RWF 200. The chicken ka-box goes for RWF 3,000, and since it’s half of a chicken you get served, we opted to share one. The other options under this category are meat, G.nut sauce, and fish. They do breakfast, which comprises mainly of katogo, with the options of chicken, beef, and fish.

Lifestyle

Mama Jacky's: a little bit of Kampala in Kigali