See these piles of adorable little fish? The ones with the googly eyes? I wasn't aware until our last night in Burundi that they can be deep-fried with a light, crispy batter, lime wedge on the side, salted generously and eaten by candlelight in the finest dining establishment along Lake Tanganyika! Our host for dinner was Herve's father, Gabriel. He returned from a work-related trip to France just before the end of our trip and insisted on treating us to a fantastic, lakeside meal, complete with live music and the hypnotizing sound of lake surf in the background.
I'm not sure if I would have known to order the tiny, crunchy fish and I'm not even sure what they are called, but I can say, without a doubt, not even one of them made its way into Dan's mouth. I wish I had taken a picture of my meal - it was absolutely beautiful. I started with a fresh, sweet corn, bean, tomato, & onion salad - it was perfection on a plate. Burundi has outstanding fresh produce. And my Sangala Meuniere (the freshest fish possible in a lemony, buttery sauce) was fantastic. I skipped dessert, but Dan ordered ice cream and said it was impossibly icy and creamy. The more I think about the googly eyed fish, the more I can't believe I ate them. My Omega-3 levels better still be sky-high - was I really crunching & munching on fish bones? Someone please tell me it was the batter that was crunchy!
