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| - After a long day of driving around Tonto National Forest, my fiance and I decided we wanted dinner...and wanted something different. We were throwing ideas around, and he suggested African. That was the beginning of a wonderful experience at Fu Fu Cuisine!
We walked into the restaurant wanting some takeout. It was early in the evening, and we were the only customers. The interior of the restaurant was simple, straightforward, with some African art on the walls and some Nigerian pop music playing the background. It felt comfortable and welcoming. An African woman came out of the kitchen and greeted us warmly, introducing us to her menu and sticking around to explain dishes and to suggest good options.
I went with the special for the day: tomato stew with rice, and my fiance chose something that surprised the woman: egusi. She responded with a pleasantly surprised look and said, "You guys must have lived in Africa!" Neither one of us had, but enjoyed trying different things, and the menu's description of the dish didn't turn us off. Because we seemed like such adventurous eaters and since the restaurant wasn't busy, the woman was kind enough to give us a sample of the pepper soup, which she described as similar to menudo. It was a very peppery soup, probably contained both black and white pepper, but it was also bursting with flavor from the spices. She gave us some fresh made habanero pulp she probably made that day. The soup had pieces of tender goat meat and delicious tripe. I'll more than likely order this soup next time I go in.
After about 15 minutes, she came out with our food, opening each container to identify the dishes we had ordered. She was extremely grateful for our business. She then introduced herself as the Esther whose name is all over the menu, chef and owner. She had just opened the restaurant about 6 weeks ago, and we were happy to have tried this new little hidden gem.
When we got home, we dove right into eating. My tomato stew that contained chunks of goat meat was exactly what I wanted. Tomato-y stew mixed with very fragrant spices and chunks of goat meat with white rice. It was like soul food. It reminded me of certain Indian dishes I had eaten. As for the egusi, it was not as familiar. It was on a very different flavor spectrum than my tomato stew. The flavor is actually very difficult to describe; it's something you'll just have to try. I stuck to my tomato stew, whereas my fiance ate his egusi contently, especially with the pounded yam, which tasted very similar to a very thick, well formed mashed potato. It worked well with the egusi. I would suggest that if you ever go in with a few friends, order the egusi to try as a group, so each person gets a taste. I would have to say that the egusi is not for everyone, and if you are not an adventurous foodie, order something else.
All in all, we were extremely satisfied with our meals and the experience. Esther was a lovely woman, and we look forward to trying the other dishes on her menu! I hope she continues to do well!
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