From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Aug 24 2009 - 13:04:15 EDT
http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/newwestminsternewsleader/business/53067787.html
New Westminster News Leader
>From the horn of Africa to a home on 12th Street
Paulos Abrham shows off a plate of Eritrean and Ethiopian food served
at his family's new restaurant, Ziada, as he's framed by a mesob, a
traditional woven basket used to keep flatbreads fresh.
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
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By Mario Bartel - New Westminster News Leader
Published: August 12, 2009 3:00 PM
Updated: August 12, 2009 3:04 PM
0 Comments Eritrea fought for its independence from Ethiopia for 30
years, finally gaining its liberation in 1991. But a new restaurant on
12th Street in New Westminster is bringing the divided cultures back
together again.
Ziada Restaurant, run by three brothers, Paulos, Dawit and Girmay
Abrham, serves Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine. The only war being
fought is for your taste buds.
And with dishes like spicy lentils, cabbage, carrots and potatoes in a
curry sauce spiked with a dash of mitimata, and berber chicken, it’s a
war they’ll likely win.
Ironically, for two cultures divided by a civil conflict, dinner time
in Eritrea and Ethiopia is all about bringing people together. Meals
are eaten communally as families gather around a large plate lined
with injera, a gluten-free flatbread, that is dabbed with the main
course and side dishes.
There’s not a fork or knife to be found anywhere; everyone tears
strips off accompanying rolls of injera and then folds the various
spicy concoctions into them with their fingers.
“It’s a shared experience,” said Paulos, who came to Canada with his
family nine years ago. “It’s about making friends, eating all
together.”
Frustrated that the growing African community in suburbs like New
West, Burnaby and Surrey often had to travel all the way into
Vancouver to enjoy their own cuisine, the Abrhams are thrilled with
their 12th Street location, even though the roadway and sidewalks have
been under various stages of destruction and construction for much of
the past year.
But diners resilient enough to endure the lane closures and gravel
remnants underfoot are immediately transported to Africa, without the
jet lag. Ethiopian music plays over the sound system, the
freshly-painted walls are decorated with colourful woven bowls and
cheerful tapestries, one of which depicts a traditional Ethiopian
wedding scene.
Tucked away in the back corner is a display of items and trinkets from
the Abrham’s homeland, including a gapena, a traditional Eritrean
coffee pot made of clay.
On Saturdays and Sundays, at 6 p.m., the pot is removed from the
display to be used in an elaborate coffee service by women in
traditional dress that has been passed down through generations.
Ziada Restaurant is located at 808 12th St.
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