Do you miss the good old days?? I do. I miss the local contents easily available to us. The varieties of locally made food to eat. All you had to do was cross the road to get them.
When I was much younger, eating some locally made food was so uncool you know. You don’t want your friends knowing you eat amala and the likes. It was de-reping biko. My baby brother does same and I find it amusing because he’s really missing out.
Which was your favourite?? Was it ewa agoyin?? Kosh n dosh??? Ekuru?? Roadside Ghana puff puff?? Mine was/is Amala. Oh my lord, Amala, Gbegiri (beans soup, very common to the yoruba’s) with Ewedu is just to die especially when served hot with offals (simply put, orishirishi)
Thankfully, we still see a lot of Amala joints open for business on a daily. People don’t make it as much in their homes anymore. Here is a list of Amala joints in Abuja:
IYA OYO MATOSH, Wuye
This is an Amala hub. If you are yet to try Iya Oyo amala please hide your face. They sell Rice, Beans, Pounded yam, Eba as well. But who goes to a bukka joint to eat rice??? Well, I hardly. The Amala is served as e dey hot. The ambience is just perfect for the type of food they sell. The place is spacious so there’s enough sits and tables to accommodate the unending crowd. The service is very organized. You form a queue, order your food, pay then eat. I can say a lot of other Amala joints used their model to structure theirs. The drinks are always served chilled. There is no pause. It’s a fast movement, in/out type of setting. The food starts from ₦100. Consistency is key. We followed Iya Oyo from a tiny Container to a bigger space and we still get same quality. I’ve been eating here for more than 5 years so it’s safe to say Iya Oyo has been in operation for more than 10 years old. Impressive …..!!
AMALA PLACE, Jahi
Do you want Amala with stew that tastes close to home made?? Then you should go to Amala place. They don’t have the bukka taste. The organization and service is similar to Iya Oyo. The space is just ok. Not big enough to accommodate the crowd. Most times you would rather take away. The service is quite fast as well. I like the fact that they serve other drinks like zobo, kunu, fresh juice etc.
OJUELEGBA, 1st Avenue, Gwarimpa
There is a story to my discovery of Ojuelegba. I’ll try to keep it short. A friend that moved in from Lagos said we should go to Ojuelegba to eat. I gave him a confused look. Ojuelegba bawo?? Surulere ni (rolled eyes). He didn’t say much and he just took me there and I laughed hard. Ojuelegba in Abuja, this should be interesting I thought to myself.
I ordered Amala with Abula and it was fantastic, rich and well made. However, I went there another time, saw rice on someone’s plate and decided to order. I promise you, it was the best decision ever. The jollof rice tasted like party jollof. The fried rice is equally good. The ewa agoyin is standard. Like the type you find on the streets of Lagos. My gosh, this place is just burstling with varieties of deliciously made local contents. For the Yoruba pepper lovers, keep calm, the pepper isn’t from this part of town.
My favourite meal to order is jollof rice, fried fish, moi moi with sauce (SUPER DUPER spicy). Their food is a bit pricey for a bukka, However, the quality and quantity makes it all worth it. For example, lets break my order down
Jollof Rice – ₦400
Fried fish – ₦300
Moimoi – ₦300
Water – ₦100
All summing up to ₦1,100. A bit high for a bukka.
The place isn’t too big, but the ambience is above average for a bukka. The service is quite slow, poor and can be very unorganized even thought they use the same model as the aforementioned bukkas. They also sell kunu aya, fresh juice, zobo drinks. They even sell original Italian shoes for men and swiss materials for men. Issa business hub.
AMALA OYO PLACE, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2
This place is quiet hidden. It is very close to Apple boulevard. Amala joint in Wuse 2 sounds strange but they actually sell the local type of Amala. The place is very small, it can be tight and very hot. The meat is small and pricey. They sell for ₦ 200, whereas places with bigger size of meat goes for ₦ 100. The organization is very poor, service is also very poor. The ambience is wayyyyyy below average. The next batch of Amala takes a lot of time so you might need to wait. Regardless of these, the Amala is almost always on point,.
IYA IYABO, Kubwa
Chaiiiii, I don waka for this Abuja ooo.. Iya Iyabo like no other. Shes the most popular bukka joint in Kubwa. The ambience is top notch for a bukka. You dine on a glass dining table. The type most of us don’t have in our houses sef. The food is fantastic, cheap. It’s a very organized place. They use the same model as mentioned. It’s been such a while so I think it’s due for a revisit. The only problem is the parking space. The bukka is on the road side so parking can be difficult. While eating, you keep praying no one scratches your car. More so, kubwa roads are narrow. Minus these, Iya Iyabo is the place to be. The consistence is unparallel as this joint has been in operation for close to 10 years.
