morocco

Yummy Bites In Morocco

In Chefchaouen, we found this cafe serving freshly toasted bread with light Chaouen cheese drizzled with local honey.
This is followed by coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice to wash it down. Aaaa...hh is all I can say.
For the two of us it costs 60 Dh.
You can do it cheaper if you buy your own cheese, honey and bread and DIY.




This is Marcelo posing infront of our favourite joint for the above
breakfast place.
The cafe is diagonally opposite the post office on a slope. With your back facing the Post office, it's on the right.



In Rabat, we were excited that they have a similar pancake as what we eat in South-East Asia.
In Singapore it's called roti prata and in Malaysia, roti canai. In S.E. Asia it's served with curry but in Morocco, it is eaten with cheese, honey, a sprinkle of salt or a drizzle of olive oil.
This was the best we tasted in the Medina in Rabat. Locals were hanging out very early in the morning for them which was a good sign.



In Meknes, the olive oil is sooo amazing that it lifts the flavour of even the simplest of foods.
The fried egg swimming in the olive oil from olive trees that are over a hundred years old turned this into a gourmet dish.





A side trip out of Fes to escape the pestering kids in the medina, we went to Sefrou and this chargrilled chicken sandwich was the redeeming part of the whole trip. The chargrill smell on the juicy chicken pieces were so tender and flavoured with a sprinkling of salt and cumin.




The tajines in general have been good but the fries introduction to the dish must make this a fusion dish.?
We found Thami in Fes in the market area. I read about Thami on the net and this is another addition to his credit. We nearly miss the train for it. Marcelo looked disappointed in his much anticipated second serve of the dish after he voted the first serve as the best tajine in Morocco.
Then he realised lunch was too close to our train departure time but I assured him that we will make it. We made it with a sprint to the train, much to the amusement of the locals.
If you ever eat there, insist that he cooks it. Our second serve was prepared by someone else and not as impressive.
Some of the best foods were had through our conscious search for the real Moroccan foods.
We had this Tajine near the Hassan mosque in Casablanca.
Not happy just to eat at the restaurants close to the mosque, we ventured a little further into a neighbouring suburb and the table was messy and looked a little scary for the faint hearted but one of the customers quickly wipe the table clean for us.
This is one of the many times we experienced the warmth and hospitality of the locals outside the tourist area. We thought he worked there but he did this for us.
The dish was delicious and the orange juice stand next to it served freshly squeezed orange juice.

Marrakech is the place for food and shopping. I am not talking about the famous square. I'd give it ten for atmosphere but zero for taste at those stalls. The better dishes are found in the local restaurants pass the arch on the left side of the post office and cheaper too.
Marrakech is also the best place to eat chicken or pigeon pastilla which is a filo pastry pie with a savoury filling of meat, onions and almond and then a sprinkle of icing sugar and cinnamon at the top to add a twist of sweetness to the dish. Cafe Bahia near the square has a good pigeon pie but the place doesn't look very clean.


This one from Cafe Agdal in the Nouvelle area was DELICIOUS. and so was their creme caramel.







The creme caramel was part of a set meal which included a salad and a tajine for 60 Dh which is less than A$10.
They serve the chicken and pigeon pies too in Essaouira but they are over priced.







However, we did find a great Couscous place on our last day there. Cafe restaurant Chez Kherfa on Rue Laalouj served a dish called Royal couscous which would please any King or Queen.
It took awhile for the dish to appear which is a good sign - the tender beef and chicken with eggs, vegetables and a hint of sweetness from prunes, figs and raisins in the light couscous made us devour the whole thing in 5 minutes.





Fresh mint tea which is very sweet and so refreshing!

Bits and Pieces

To impress the Moroccans just tell them you have tried Mechoui. The innards and bits of a lamb's head.
The orange juice is to die for in Marrakech but always check your change they tend to short change you.
The fish place in the market of Essaouira overcharged us and we asked them to break down the cost and they had to return us some money. Fish is fresh but very salty.
Water is generally cheaper in the supermarkets than the medinas.
Magnum costs A$5 in the restaurants close to the desert but it was worth every cent in the 50 degree heat.
Coffee made with local milk is super tasty like really good hot chocolate because of the fat in the milk. Worth the calories. Nouvelle area in Fes is a good time out place for a coffee if the medina gets a bit too much.