A Burkinabe Day - Troisième

Wow, so now I have a new wallet! Did I have money to put into the wallet? Yes. What to use the money for? "Let's go buy some bissap or sobolo to make this day fully Burkinabe!". Tatiana didn't have any in store, so I had to go on a hunt in Osu. I was also getting hungry. La Creperie Terrasse would have been closed by the time I passed by on my way home so that wasn't an option. I thought of a French restaurant near Honeysuckle and headed there. You know how much I love bissap already. The thrill of searching and finding bissap in Osu after 23:33pm was enthralling.

On another #sobolo hunt. Aka a #bissap hunt. This time in #Osu. Who knows where I can get some? Francophone restaurant in #Accra?
— Mighty African (@mightyafrican) April 18, 2013

While navigating Danquah Circle, it struck me. Bissap is cool, but Burkina is cooler. There is a drink sold in Ghana that is called Burkina. It would be 226 times more appropriate to have that than Bissap, on this day. I met a number of women speaking French at Grand Ecuyer but the restaurant had no bissap or Burkina. So I cut my losses and headed for Oxford Street, not sure where to pass. That's when I remembered that I had bought some nicely packaged Burkina drink (a yoghurt) at Freshers in East Legon on Sunday. Smoothies didn't have it, and Container didn't contain it. I ended up buying indomie from a nearby seller who told me to check around Danquah Circle. Anyemo! Ole seke ni woye!

I parked by Danquah Circle and picked the most probable seller of Burkina or Bissap. The lady told me all the sellers had closed and gone home, including one of her close friends. To Nima. Should I call up Dominique Werner? Maybe not. Should I call up that hot Gabonese chic who lives in Nima? Non. Should I drive to Nima and look for bissap or Burkina? Better idea but that's a little too far for right now. I decided to throng the shops at the petrol stations and buy the yoghurt - which we shall call "Burkina With Swag". The lady asked, "Are you sure you want to only buy sobolo or burkina?" "Yes, I am". I would not be swayed by what she was selling no matter how hard she tried because I am treading these parts for very specific reasons.

Okay, expanded the hunt to include what I really would love to have tonight burkina. Not the girl o, the drink. #Burkinafaso
— Mighty African (@mightyafrican) April 18, 2013

The Osu Total shop had a yoghurt made from millet. While waiting for Tatiana to verify it as Burkina, I googled "burkina drink millet". The Burkinabé cuisine Wikipedia had Bissap as the first "common beverage" with no mention of "Burkina". "I have to get Bissap then?" "Focus, focus". I went to pick up my Indomie and while heading towards to Shell on Oxford Street to get "Brukina With Swag", another policeman stopped me about my light. This time, he didn't let me scot free after I had bought the "Creamy Yoghurt Meal" but couldn't get the petrol I needed to shell into my #vimride. I found the nearest Shell station and bought the fuel. Fueled by my excitement, Tatiana also wanted some Burkina and sadly this other Shell station didn't have it though, though it had Yomi. Yummy but not correct.

After getting the second "Creamy Yoghurt Meal", I bypassed all police checkpoints till I arrived at OUWA again. That's when Tatiana informed me that the drink Burkina is really called "Degue". Yea, it's on this Wikipedia page, I just edited it 2:26 minutes ago. I gave the drink to Cecil and William to taste and enjoyed that with my Indomie. As you might know, Indomie is the prize that Ghana won at the African Cup of Nations after Nigeria won gold, Burkina Faso won silver and Mali won bronze. That's when I wondered, "Is there Indomie in Burkina Faso too?" Because if it is so, then I would have had a 'Burkinabe meal' too. Sadly, it doesn't exist in that market yet. I had met one gentlemen at OUWA called Tambi. I tried to guess his country, but while I guessed Benin, he was from Burkina Faso. Of course, the gods have aligned to make this day as Burkinabe as possible. Tambi wasn't a big fan of Indomie, he probably felt the same way I felt about McDonalds coming to Ghana. Except Indomie is a localized product that is not very different from the 'spaghetti-shito-corned beef' dish we'd have at Presec.

I spent the time typing up this 3-part series listening to Burkinabe songs and chatting with Tatiana, Tambi, William and co. After paying homage to Jonathan Pitriopa using this and that, we listened to a selection of Burkinabe songs from Yeleen, Sissao, Alif Naaba, Smockey, and Pamika. The next thing I would do is choose the name for my Burkinabe alter-ego. Watch this space. A bientot!