Some people travel to take photographs. Others travel to visit monuments, explore museums, or tick famous landmarks off a list.
And then there are people like Goldah and Vikram.
For them, one of the first things to do when arriving in a new country is simple: try the local food.
Honestly, I think they are onto something. You can read about a country in books, watch documentaries, and listen to people explain its history. But there is something special about sitting down at a table, tasting unfamiliar dishes, and discovering the stories behind what people eat.
On 18 October 2026, I had the pleasure of guiding Goldah and Vikram, a lovely couple from India, on a Maputo Food Tour organised through a collaboration between Nenane Tours and Maputo Trips.
And from the moment they stepped out of the car, I had a feeling this was going to be a good day.
Two smiles, one beautiful energy
Goldah and Vikram arrived smiling. They greeted me with so much warmth that the atmosphere felt friendly before we had even started the tour.
They were also perfectly on time. The tour was scheduled for noon, and we started at noon. No chasing people through WhatsApp, no wondering whether someone had confused 12 p.m. with 2 p.m. Just two travellers ready to eat, explore, and talk.
Now, I have to make a small confession. Goldah and Vikram did tell me which city in India they came from, but I’m terribly sorry to say that I can’t remember it! The only places in India that immediately come to mind when I try to recall Indian cities are Gujarat and Mumbai. All I remember is that they said they came from a city somewhere near Mumbai. Perhaps the Universe is trying to tell me something. Maybe it’s giving me a not-so-subtle sign that it’s time I finally visited India!
But what I did not know at the beginning was that I was about to spend three and a half hours with a couple who had visited more than 84 countries.
Eighty-four!
I had to process that number for a moment. I have met plenty of travellers, but hearing about a journey across so many countries makes you wonder how many airports, hotel rooms, unexpected meals, and unforgettable encounters are hidden behind that number.
Interestingly, Goldah and Vikram told me that they regretted not starting their travels earlier.
That thought stayed with me. We often imagine that we will begin doing certain things when the time is right, when we have more money, more time, or fewer responsibilities. Yet, even people who have travelled to more than 84 countries can look back and wish they had started sooner.
Stop One: A Mozambican table at Restaurante Graciana
Our first stop was Restaurante Graciana, where we began exploring some of Mozambique’s traditional flavours.
The table brought together matapa with crab, okra with prawns, badjias, matoritori, mucapata, and a very cold 2M beer.
If you are unfamiliar with these dishes, allow me to introduce you to a few of them.
Matapa with crab brings together matapa, a preparation commonly made with cassava leaves, and seafood. It is one of those dishes that helps tell the story of Mozambique’s relationship with its land and coastline.
Okra with prawns brings another combination of coconut milk and seafood to the table.
Badjias is a famous Mozambican street food—deep-fried fritters made from soaked and peeled black-eyed peas (feijão nhemba) and served traditionally as part of matabicho (breakfast), often stuffed inside a fresh pão (bread roll).
And then there was mucapata, a traditional dish associated with Zambézia, commonly prepared with rice, beans, and coconut milk. It has a character of its own, with a comforting texture and a flavour that makes you want to take another spoonful.
Judging by Goldah and Vikram’s reactions, I suspect mucapata may have been the star of the meal.
Of course, food tours are not simply about identifying ingredients. They are also about discovering what a dish means to the people who eat it. Recipes carry memories, family habits, regional identities, and stories that do not always appear on a restaurant menu.
A meal can be an introduction to a place in a way that a long explanation sometimes cannot.
And our first stop had already given us plenty to talk about.
Stop Two: The fish market, where lunch begins with a choice
After our first tasting, we made a quick stop at Maputo’s Fish Market.
The idea was to show Goldah and Vikram a different side of the city’s food culture: a place where choosing your meal can be part of the experience itself.
At the market, visitors can select the seafood they want and arrange for it to be prepared by a cook. Instead of choosing only from a fixed menu, the meal begins with looking at the catch and deciding what looks appealing.
For travellers who love seafood, this is a particularly interesting experience.
Mozambique has a long coastline, and seafood is an important part of the food culture in many coastal communities. The market offers a glimpse into the relationship between the sea, local trade, cooking, and everyday life in Maputo.
We did not stay long enough for a full meal there. This was a brief visit, an opportunity to look around and understand how the process works.
Still, I believe these small stops matter. A city is not only its monuments and grand avenues. It is also the places where people buy, sell, prepare, and share the things they eat every day.
Stop Three: Bar Xima and the flavour of local life
Our third stop took us to Bar Xima, one of Maputo’s iconic neighbourhood spots.
There is something I enjoy about including places like this in a tour. They offer a different atmosphere from a conventional restaurant and help visitors see another part of the city’s social life.
A food tour should not feel like a checklist of dishes consumed in carefully timed intervals. It should allow room for conversation, observation, and those unexpected details that make a place memorable.
By this point, our discussions had travelled well beyond food.
Goldah and Vikram are passionate travellers, and their experiences gave us plenty of subjects to explore. We talked about the challenges of life in Mozambique, the effects of population-control policies in India, and the many questions that arise when people compare how societies develop.
“Mozambican food doesn’t use that many spices”
During our conversations, Goldah observed that Mozambican dishes do not seem to use as many spices as she might have expected.
Coming from India, where spices play a prominent role in many regional cuisines, she naturally brought a different culinary reference point to the table.
I found the observation fascinating — it is one of the most interesting comments of the day.
Mozambique and India have long-standing historical connections, including connections shaped by Indian Ocean trade and Portuguese colonial rule. It is tempting to assume that these links must have produced similar cooking traditions. Yet, the ingredients, techniques, and flavour profiles found in different places can be remarkably distinct.
There is also an interesting historical contrast here: Portuguese maritime expansion was closely connected to the search for valuable spices, including those traded across the Indian Ocean. But that does not mean Portuguese cooking, or the cuisines influenced by Portuguese rule, adopted Indian spice practices in the same way.
Mozambican food has developed through its own regional traditions, local ingredients, trade networks, and many layers of cultural exchange. The result is not one uniform cuisine, but a rich variety of dishes and cooking styles.
Goldah’s observation was a useful reminder that what feels ordinary to us can be surprising to someone arriving from another food culture.
Stop Four: Coffee, an unexpected disappointment, and a lesson in hospitality
Our final stop was Tasca da Nazaré, where we planned to finish with two Petiscos, one made of Ox Tail and the other made of Clams.
Unfortunately, this was the least successful part of the tour.
The atmosphere at the establishment was rather subdued that day, and the stop did not deliver the lively ending I had hoped for. My sincere apologies to Goldah and Vikram for that particular moment of the experience.
A guide can plan a route, choose the stops, and try to create a memorable day. But the atmosphere of a place is not always something we can control.
The important thing is to acknowledge it honestly. We just had some coffee to refill some energy — after all, Goldah and Vikram had not unpacked their bags yet; they came straight from the airport to do the tour and still had a three-hour walking tour to do later.
Fortunately, the rest of the tour had given us plenty to enjoy, and the conversation continued. A less-than-perfect last stop did not erase the warmth of the experience as a whole.
Besides, if every tour were perfect, I would have fewer stories to tell in this blog!
The real flavour of a food tour
When people hear the words food tour, they may imagine a guide taking them from one restaurant to another, explaining dishes and listing ingredients.
Of course, that is part of it. But for me, the best food tours go further.
They create opportunities to discuss culture, history, family traditions, and the small differences that make one society distinct from another. Food becomes the starting point for a much bigger conversation.
Goldah and Vikram reminded me of this throughout our time together. Their curiosity was not limited to what was on the plate. They wanted to understand the place behind the food and the lives behind the traditions.
And because they have travelled so extensively, our conversations also became an opportunity to reflect on travel itself.
Visiting more than 84 countries is an extraordinary achievement. Yet their regret about not beginning earlier was perhaps just as interesting as the number.
Travel is not only about how many borders you cross. It is also about the attention you give to the places you visit, the people you meet, and the experiences you allow yourself to have.
Sometimes, the most memorable part of a journey is not a famous landmark. It is a meal shared with strangers who gradually become familiar faces, a conversation that changes your perspective, or a local dish you had never heard of before arriving.
Three and a half hours that felt too short
Our Maputo Food Tour eventually lasted three and a half hours.
By the end, we had shared traditional dishes, explored different food settings, discussed life in Mozambique, exchanged perspectives, and enjoyed the company of two travellers whose curiosity made the day particularly rewarding.
And somehow, it still felt as though we could have spent more time together.
That is one of my favourite feelings at the end of a tour: when the scheduled experience is over, but the conversation could easily continue.
Goldah and Vikram came to Maputo looking to experience local food. I hope they left with more than a list of dishes they had tasted. I hope they manage to recreate the dishes when they go back to India.
Goldah and Vikram, thank you for bringing your warmth, curiosity, and adventurous appetites to Maputo.
And to everyone planning a visit to Mozambique: come hungry, ask questions, try something unfamiliar, and leave room for the unexpected. The best experiences often begin when you are willing to taste something new.
This was another reminder that Maputo is best experienced not only through its streets and landmarks, but also through its flavours, conversations, and people.
Where culture meets adventure, there is always another story to discover.
A Luta Continua.