Rate My Chipsi-Mayai

 Chipsi Mayai: 

   Chips and egg - basically a chip omlette.  Second only to Ugali as Tanzania's national dish, chipsi mayai is sold everywhere.  On every street corner and in every village no matter how small there will be the ubiquitous wooden box with glass sides filled with pre-cooked chips baking in the sunshine and a tray of eggs on top.  The mpishi will be working the small cast iron pan over the charcoal jiko, adding extra oil to the pan just to make it even more tasty (and unhealthy). A firm favourite - nay -  staple food of the VSO volunteer, given it's availability, relative cheapness (between 2000 and 3000 shillings), and the fact it is about the only food you can buy in most rural locations.  Also it seems to be the only food available for vegetarians.  (Unless you don't count chicken as meat, which Tanzanians don't seem to!).  High quality chipsi mayai may be served with kachumbari (tomato and onion salad), chumvi (salt), chumvi pili pili (chilli salt), and should be liberally coated with "Redgold (R)" Tomato or Chilli sauce!

For a dish with only two ingredients, the quality of a chipsi mayai can vary dramatically, and so this page pays homage to some of the chipsi-mayai's I have eaten.

They are rated out of 10 in the following categories, with 1 being bad and 10 being good.

• Amount of chips              

• (more chips=good and scores high)

• Quality and cooked-ness of chips              

• fresh chips, cooked properly score high)

• Amount of Egg (Chip to Egg ratio)             

• (must have egg all the way through)

• Yellow-ness of egg                                  

• (yellow=good and scores high)

• Non-Greasyness                                         

• (non greasy scores high)

• Amount of cooked-ness                         

• (under or overcooked scores low)

•   Price

• (low price scores high) 

• Time taken to cook 
• (Short time scores high) 

• Accompaniments
• (tomato and chilli sauces do not count as should come as standard- extra points for kachumbari or pili pili )

To give a total score out of 90.  

Please feel free to send me pictures and rating of your best or worst chipsi mayai.  

There may even be a prize for the establishment with the best chipsi mayai I have eaten at the end of my 2 year placement!

Kula njema!!!

Location: Dar Slipway

• Amount of chips                        
•  6 - an average amount of chips
•  Quality and cooked-ness of chips
• 8 -  good thickness, well cooked, soft middle with slight crisp on outside             
•  Amount of Egg (Chip to Egg ratio)   
•  8 - probably a 3-egger
• Yellow-ness of egg 
• 3 - no yellowness of egg, using the eggs with pale yolks.     
• Non-Greasyness   
• 6 - average amount of oil used
• Amount of cooked-ness
• 4 - slightly overcooked, giving the egg a bit too much crispyness and causing drying of product   
•   Price       
• 3000 TSH  - 5 - located on Dar slipway, you pay for the view not the food!
• Time taken to cook 
• 5 - at least 30 minutes for food to arrive.

• Accompaniments 
•   0 - none 

~GRAND TOTAL  45/90  

Final comments:   Not the best CM I've had, but the view from the restaurant was nice !

Dar Slipway 45/90

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Location:  Corner cafe in Lindi

• Amount of chips                        
•  7 - an above average amount of chips
  
•  Quality and cooked-ness of chips
• 8 -  good thickness, well cooked, soft middle with slight crisp on outside             
•  Amount of Egg (Chip to Egg ratio)   
•  6 a bit thin on egg toward the centre
  
• Yellow-ness of egg 
• 7 - good yellowness improves the flavour of the egg    
• Non-Greasyness   
• 7 - not too greasy
• Amount of cooked-ness
• 7 - cooked well, even in centre   
  
•   Price       
• 2500 TSH  - 7 - a fair price, but not the cheapest around
  
• Time taken to cook 
•  7- only about a 10 minute wait.
• Accompaniments 
• 2- a pile of salt was added to the plate 



Lindi, corner cafe 58/90

GRAND TOTAL:  58/90.   a nice chipsi mayai although the chip:egg ratio could have been improved.  They also sell mishkakai at this place, I will try that sometime, maybe make a rate-my-mishkaki page! 

Location: Nyangao - "Old Trafford" pub

• Amount of chips                        
•  5 - not a huge amount of chips, but adequate
•  Quality and cooked-ness of chips
• 7 -  nice chips, not crispy but cooked right through with a firm texture            
•  Amount of Egg (Chip to Egg ratio)   
•  8 - egg all the way through, even in the middle
• Yellow-ness of egg 
• 8 - good eggs!
• Non-Greasyness   
• 9 - not at at greasy!
• Amount of cooked-ness
• 8 - pretty much spot on.. slightly browned on the outisde, eggs cooked in the middle   
•   Price       
• 8 - 2000 TSH.   A good price
• Time taken to cook 
• 6 -about 15 minutes

• Accompaniments 
•   8.  a pile of salt,  a really good kachumbari with tomato, onion, green peppers and chilli.  and of course the compulsury red-gold chilli sauce.  Served on a silver platter!

Nyangao: Old trafford

~GRAND TOTAL  67/90  
Final Comments:  A very good chipsi mayai, and definetly the best so far, although could be improved by a few more chips.