Best Restaurants: Alt München

While the main restaurant is indoors (at left) they also have an outdoor seating area.

Coming from German heritage, one of the most pleasant surprises was to hear about a German restaurant in Togo. 

Alt München, situated near the port just next to the Seamans Mission, definitely helps fill the craving for German cooking. 

From the European styled facade, to the booth seating and selection of German beverages -- Alt München is the place to go if you're looking for German food. It's also the only place in Lome. 

To be honest, we've both got our favourite dishes and don't stray far from those.

The cote de porc forestiere (Jägerschnitzel) is smothered in a mushroom gravy and served with spätzle and red cabbage. Yum.

N's favourite is the cordon bleu. It's a huge portion and best of all the meat is soft and chewable!

Deserts are also very tasty (try the flambeed cherry ice cream -- no idea what it's called on the menu) but usually we are too full to order. 

And if you're not itching to go yet: they've got free wifi. 

Cote de porc forestiere.

Talk to the owners about whale watching (September through November) and deep sea fishing opportunities. 

Notes:

Closed Wednesday. 

Telephone: 22 27 63 21

And at this point in our restaurant reviews it's worth noting a few things: This is Togo. We're not giving reviews by western standards. Food at all the places we review will be edible, tasty and not make you sick. We're not promising perfect presentation, or even the best cuts of meat.  Also, many restaurants employ several chefs -- and sometimes one is much better than the other, so going at lunch may yield totally different results than dinner for the same dish. 

Get to know this man

One of the most helpful people we've met here in Togo is a carpenter. 

Depending on your living situation here, you may need a dining room set, a bed, a rocking chair, patio furniture, a bread box or a picture frame. 

And Elias Nyakpor is definitely the one to ask. He regularly works with embassies and expats and his quality of workmanship is very high. 

Our house came furnished, but Elias' wood bowls, bread box, spice rack and shoe rack make our home a much nicer place. He also made the backings for all our wall hangings.

Folding chairs, just one of the many things Elias makes.

It's worth mentioning that Elias can make practically anything from a drawing or a photograph. Just give him the measurements and tell him what type of wood you'd like used and it will happen. 

Sure, there are people out there who will give you lower prices, but guaranteed -- the quality will not be anywhere near his.

We know a woman who had a closet built and three months later it was reduced to dust by termites. It turns out the carpenter skimped on supplies while treating the wood. 

You may buy a table, only to have it split down the middle because the wood was improperly dried. 

Save yourself the hassle and talk to Elias. 

He's got a Facebook page set up which showcases a few of his creations: http://www.facebook.com/pages/LEbeniste-Africain/293472607350311

His number is: +228 90 11 43 09

(Elias can also direct you to the best  safe-for-yovo-consumption fufu in Lome. It's somewhere under a big billboard in the Tokoin neighbourhood.) 

Restaurant review: Cote Jardin

The spacious bar and dining area at Cote Jardin provides a relaxing atmosphere

 There are a few places in Lome that can make you forget where you are. 

And no matter what kind of day you've had, going to Cote Jardin and eating a scrumptious meal in their nicely decorated restaurant makes it all a bit better.

Tucked on a side street just off of the circular (officially Blvd 13 Janvier) near the beach, Cote Jardin is definitely on the upscale end of restaurants in Lome, but when you compare it to western restaurants: paying $15 (approx 7000 cfa) for a main dish still isn't that bad at all. 

Charcoal grilled chorizo

The food is tasteful and can also be on the creative end of things. Deep fried baby barracuda and antelope stew can be had along with more 'normal' dishes like charcoal grilled chorizo and steaks. 

Cote Jardin is also the place where we accidentally ordered cows tongue. It's a long story, but lets say we were tired, we felt pressured to order quickly and in a panic we pointed to an item from the beef menu. A moment after the waitress left, our French brain kicked in. Langue. What is langue. Tongue. Ahhhh! 

Let's just say that we're glad we ordered it at Cote Jardin, because they still managed to make it taste quite good. 

Directions:  5 Rue Simone-Dogbe, Quartier Ocam.

Telephone: +228 22 22 02 20 or +228 98 48 49 04

Website: http://www.cotejardin.tg/

Fly on the wall

This week, we had the opportunity of sitting through a four hour piano recital (without an intermission), and one thing that became abundantly clear to us again is that the media here are not as discreet as we were used to in Canada.

D tells me this is not how media normally acted back in Canada. I guess the fly on the wall concept has yet to take hold here.

Media: front and centre. Where's the kid playing piano?

Togo-Benin Border Crossing

If you've read our blog, you know that we have a special dark place reserved for crossing the Ghana border.

It's just not fun. Even when things run smoothly, the guards are unfriendly, abrupt and sometimes just plain mean.

We recently witnessed a Togolese border guard at the Aflao crossing (Ghana) demanding 15,000 CFA ($30) from a traveller because he made an error on the customs immigration form. That's the normal form handed out freely like candy.

Lorries waiting to be processed by customs near the Togo-Benin border.

But having just crossed the Togo-Benin border with a vehicle we can confidently say it is much easier to cross.

The layout at the border is a lot more straight forward for and follows a relatively straight line!

Show up, park the car under a shady tree, get exit stamped out of Togo, show yellow fever vaccination card, cross border to Benin, fill in Benin paperwork, get entry stamp into Benin, get car paperwork. Hit the road!

Time: approximately 30 minutes.

 Not bad, not bad at all.

There were no people insisting they be our guide or trying to be 'helpful' by grabbing our hand bags.

The only place where guides exist is by the Benin car paperwork post, which they will run and fill for you for a small fee (1000 cfa or less). They can sometimes be helpful, as the location of the paperwork post is not always as advertised! (We found the border guard hanging with his buddies in a different shack.)

The only visible sign of corruption was rather benign and also helpful, should you have forgotten your yellow fever vaccination card!

If you forgot your yellow fever card it costs 500 CFA ($1) to pass without it, though the European (Yovo) price may start higher.

We should note that our visas were processed before arrival. If you get your visa at the border, it will take longer!  On some days, border officials may run out of visa forms, or simply not want to process them unless a 'gift' is given.

Impromptu Guides

For those of you who would like to visit West Africa someday, one of the first things you will notice is that you stick out like a sore thumb.

And as you go exploring, it is inevitable that a few men or youths hanging around the neighbourhood will casually accompany you.

They may not speak English or French, but will attempt to point out an interesting building or a strange tree.

As you continue walking, you may find that you know more than them, simply because you read Lonely Planet.

However, as you explain to them the significance of the building they attempted to point out to you, they will ask you for money. Since they are your guide.

How they became your guide, you will never find out. Well, actually, you never asked for a guide.

Tourists visiting a slave castle in Cape Coast, Ghana. 

Once, we visited a picturesque abandoned Portuguese fort in Ghana. Lonely Planet tells us that the difference between the renovated and abandoned forts is quite striking and well worth a look.

We packed a picnic lunch, and planned to enjoy the lovely views.

The gate to the fort was locked, and once we found the woman with the key, we wandered inside. A few moments later, a very drunk man attached himself to us.

His less-than-helpful comments included:
This is a door.
The floor is wooden.
The walls are stone.
This is where a cannon was.
The ocean is there, and people go fishing for fish in boats.
Boats are made of wood.

While we had point-blank told him we had no money to give for a tour, he persisted. So, to try and assist him in his attempt at tour guiding, N kept prodding for deeper answers by asking what type of fish locals were looking for. (answer: big ones.)  What type of trees were used in the construction of the flooring? (Answer: wooden ones.)

After 10 minutes of this, we decided this would not be the calm, relaxing picnic at the fort we envisioned.  And we decided to leave once the man turned to me and asked for a ridiculous amount of money.

And when I declined his offer, repeating my earlier statement of 'we have no money for a tour today,' he suggested that our wedding bands would be a good form of payment.

Naturally, that did not impress N, who knew more about the fort than this 'guide.' So we gave money to the woman for opening the locked gate, and suggested the drunk man learn a bit more about the history of the fort before trying any more guide attempts.

Best Restaurants: Chez Fanny

How many restaurants are worth driving over 100 kilometres for?

Well, we've found one in a lovely mountain town, Kpalime, which lies just over 100 kilometres north of Lome.

In our opinion, it's one of the best restaurants in all of Togo.

Chez Fanny, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, also has a selection of excellent (SPOTLESS), air-conditioned rooms.

Avocado Shrimp Salad

While rooms do cost more than other hotels in Kpalime (18 000cfa+) the whole compound is meticulously clean --  enough to satisfy the scrutiny of any German oma. Beds also have springs, and pillows do not feel like hardened sacks of concrete.

The French-Togolese couple who own Chez Fanny are warm and welcoming and their menu boasts scrumptious selections of beef, lamb, chicken and fish as well as a set of daily specials.

Wines are chilled, tablecloths are clean, waiters are very attentive and often bilingual and the cost-per-plate is reasonable compared with your other options in Kpalime. (Entrees range between 4000 - 6000 cfa)

We recommend the avocado shrimp salad as an entree starter and the chicken brochettes, ginger shrimp or lamb as your main course. For those who like steaks, they're supposedly really good. And while we have yet to try it, the French Onion Soup is supposedly amazing.

Beef, ham and cheese roulade special. I wish this was always on the menu! 

It's worth noting that they serve something other than plain omelettes or 'petit dejeuner complet' for breakfast. Tuna, ham and cheese or chicken sandwiches can be had as well as a variety of other egg based dishes. We highly recommend the Bacon and Eggs.  While crepes are technically on the dessert menu, they can be had for breakfast as well!

Additional notes:
Chez Fanny is located at the south edge of Kpalime, on the right hand side of the street if you're coming from Lome. Look for a compound wall covered in flagstones.

Phone number: 24 41 05 79

Chez Fanny closes for the month of June.

The Shortest Performance Ever

As a music director at the school a big part of my job is organizing performances and concerts.

Unfortunately performances don't always go according to plan and when this happens one tries to adapt or modify what has been planned.

Here in Togo one can not always rely on the weather to co-operate as was the case this past June with the last major performance of the year.

Some days the rain here may last a few minutes, other times it may last hours.

The afternoon of the final performance everyone could see the dark storm clouds looming in the distance. We all hoped and willed the clouds to stay there on the horizon, and they did.

However, a problem with weather here is that it can move very fast and sneak up on you.

As the concert started, a few drops began to fall but we carried on hoping that it would pass quickly.

The two year olds marched on stage for the second number of the night and began singing their little hearts out. Their parents may have heard 10 seconds of singing before an absolute deluge of pouring rain drowned out the rest of the song.

And thus the shortest performance came to an end.