While far from as eclectic as neighboring Ethiopia or Kenya, there is still some semblance of a street food South Sudan scene, as well as enough decent restaurants to keep you fed.
So, here’s our guide to where to eat and drink in South Sudan, as well as of course what street food dishes to try and where.
What the South Sudan?
South Sudan, the world’s youngest country (as things stand), since breaking off from Sudan in 2011, hasn’t exactly had the easiest of times. Independence, instead of being a time of hope, has largely been one of civil war, ethnic strife, and an awful lot of plunder.
Sadly, you see, there’s a lot of oil, cattle, and indeed tribal politics going on, which has left the country fractured and almost perennially on the brink of a new civil war and the sanctions that come with it.
This has created a Juba today that is largely the playground of NGOs, journalists, the United Nations, and well, the whole goddamn Peace Industrial Complex! Yep, that means tin hats, hookers, and overpriced beer.
The food scene in South Sudan
I won’t go into huge detail about South Sudanese cuisine as it’s been covered in other articles, but it is best summed up as a creation of its environment. This means that in a place besieged by war and food safety issues, there’s a lot more emphasis on survival than stuff tasting good.
This, though, is where probably the one good thing about the foreign influence comes into play, as rich foreigners need to be fed. This means that there’s actually a pretty decent restaurant scene, with places such as Afex and Notus offering not just great food but also service. Now, while this means the scene here is much more robust than in even Khartoum, that’s not to say there’s all that much South Sudanese food on offer.
Street Food South Sudan and Juba
As a developing country, street food in South Sudan plays a key role in keeping the masses fed, but is light years away from the robust and entertaining street food scenes of Nairobi or Addis, for example. This largely means that as a foreigner in Juba, you will largely be shielded from local cuisine unless you go seek it out.
In Juba, one of the best places to try some street food is in the Central Market, which not only offers a bunch of stuff to eat right away but also a number of delicacies that can be tried later. I had some really good fresh juice (with added sugar) here, as well as getting some South Sudanese Peanut Butter. Yep, you heard that right, and this is something I’ll write about more in detail later, but yeah, South Sudanese peanut butter is a thing. Typically, this is had with dried fish and is called “Luka,” which we got to try when we camped out with the Mundari.
Other South Sudanese street food dishes worth trying include fried fish with rice, sambasa (deep-fried pastry with meat), Full Medames, and Chinchinga, which are basically South Sudanese BBQ skewers.
Comrades Restaurant
Right in the middle of street food South Sudan and the high-end restaurants of Juba is Comrades Restaurant, which is rather less communist than it might sound. This place has a bit of Western fare, but also specializes in South Sudanese cuisine in a local setting.
A few standout dishes here included the Nile Perch, one of the most renowned dishes, as well as jabena, which is the South Sudanese take on a meat stew (particularly good with goat). And there were lots of chicken dishes too, although I think it’s just regular chicken rather than a particularly South Sudanese take on the flightless bird.
Eating With the Mundari
The highlight of a trip to Juba and South Sudan is without doubt camping with the Mundari, which of course necessitates needing to eat with them too. Alas, this is only done to a certain degree, as the Mundari keep to themselves, while the chefs provided are from the Dinka tribe. The meal, though, was fabulous and included the aforementioned dried Luka fish with peanut butter, as well as chicken and meat stews.
Me being me, though, I wanted to try some Mundari food, which for the most part does not mean food, but merely milk! After some gentle persuasion, I was allowed to try some milk that had quite literally been milked fresh from the teat of a cow that had just pissed on a local. It was very warm and very unpasteurized, but it had a freshness that was truly unparalleled for a milk lover such as myself!
Street Food South Sudan
So, that is the overall take on the Street Food South Sudan scene. Yes, it is not exactly robust or eclectic, but there is enough on offer to step out of your comfort zone when you do visit South Sudan.
Click to check out my South Sudan Tours with YPT.