There are foods that come and go, but in Kenya, our cravings can’t allow street foods to pass with time. Generations and generations continue consuming these street foods that have now formed part of Nairobi’s culture, as more inventions come along.
One street food that has stood the test of time is ‘mutura’. An all-time favourite for a majority of Kenyans. Instead of it being a piece of well-cooked meat from a restaurant, it’s street food. The kind of meat roasted beside the road in an open space with so much smoke. Let’s just say it’s better we don’t find out how ‘mutura’ is made. Many can run broke just buying this food.
Let’s not forget the smokies that continue to create a shift in the street food industry. Kenyan youth did not understand the increasing cost of living until ‘smocha’ hit an all-time high of Ksh 55 for one chapati and one smokie. With time, it has evolved from plain old smokie to smokies rolled in a chapati, to a smokie rolled in a chapati with avocado as an additive. It keeps on evolving, but the smokie is constant.
And we cannot forget the boiled egg ls that come on the same trolley stand as the smokies. A normal Kenyan would stand at that trolley, and first purchase a boiled egg with some ‘kachumbari’. Eat it at that same place, then order a ‘Smokie Pasua’ to ‘clean up’ the mouth. Rumour has it that a boiled egg can cause a bad mouth odour.
Last but not least, the all-time ‘Chipo Mwitu’. It has been changing over time, not the meal itself, but the packaging it comes in. Before the brown bags came in after the plastic ban, chips would be packed in plastic bags. People would sauce the fries, seal the top of the plastic bag, tear one end and enjoy. Just pulling the food from that corner and having the time of their lives.
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Street foods have always been a cheaper commodity to consume. Cheap and very well-made restaurants or homemade food can never meet its standard. No matter how well you make your fries at home, it can never beat that bag of fries made outside the estate.
With the rising cost of living, owners of these food stands are questioning whether people would still buy these foods. What made them stand out was that they were cheap and accessible. Now, with prices increasing and everyone jumping to a saving spree, will street food continue prevailing?
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