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Wednesday 2007-04-11 - Al Mukalla, Yemen
Fresh fish for lunch
Having arrived on the main road along the south coast, suddenly we’re in a different world again; it’s a wide road with street lights, a strip of greenery, later even grass (obviously daily watered), in the middle: it’s clear we’re nearing a major city again.
Al Mukalla’s fish market is (logically) near the coast, in the new city; between it and the sea is a popular restaurant with a view of the sea. We’re going to have fresh fish for lunch here — as fresh as possible, but the procedure is new to me: first you go to the fish market, and select and buy your own fish, which is chopped or filleted to order; it’s packed in a little plastic bag (the ubiquitous plastic bag), and take it to the restaurant where they prepare it for you, and it’s served with bread or rice, drinks, or whatever you order. You can eat your fish with a nice view of the sea, seagulls, and camels roaming a little sandy land tongue, a surprising combination. My fish — I have no idea what it is, I selected it on sight because it looked interesting: beautiful slate gray with sines on its belly, and yellow eyes — turns out to be delicious, nicely prepared with some spices and served with a delicately seasoned sauce.
