Liberia Eating

Eating

Eating Like anywhere, travelers can find meals in Liberia to be either surprisingly expensive or enjoyably cheap. It all depends on where and what one eats. For Western-style or Middle Eastern food at restaurants in Monrovia like Diana's, Plaza Pizzeria, Beirut Restaurant and others, a meal will cost about US$15 per person. Eating at the Mamba Point and Royal Hotel restaurants can be even more expensive, although one can also find inexpensive items on the menus (falafel sandwiches and burgers can be had for US$5). The Royal Hotel in the Sinkor neighborhood is also home to Liberia's only sushi restaurant, The Living Room. It has the ambience of a classy, New York-style sushi bar, but the sushi, despite abundant local fish, is merely average. A meal there, with a drink, will set you back around US$25. A less expensive option is the Bangkok Restaurant in Congo Town (up Tubman Boulevard from downtown Monrovia, on a turn-off to Old Road). The Thai food is good and relatively cheap (e.g., a plate of pad thai is only US$5). A few Chinese restaurants can also be found on Tubman Boulevard in Sinkor. Eating African can be enjoyable and easy on the pocketbook. Liberian meals like palm butter, casava leaf, potato greens, chock rice, and jollof's rice will barely leave a dint in your budget (US$2-3 with a soda). Portions are usually enormous. Another popular local dish is fufu (fermented dough made from the casava plant) and soup (the most common are goat soup and pepper soup). Fried or roasted fish, especially snapper, can be delicious. And for those who like to eat on the go, fruit and snacks can be bought from street vendors throughout Monrovia. Peanuts, fried plantain chips, roasted ears of corn or plantains, bananas, mangos, and other fruits can be had for LD$5-20 (or US$0.10-0.30). Drinking Club beer is the staple drink, served everywhere. Local gin is also available.