Stepping out of the comfort zone

Apparently there is no place like home, and downtown Johannesburg's Ethiopian community seems to agree. Instead of wallowing in nostalgia though, they have built themselves a small slice of home without the war, famine and other stereotypical ideas of Africa right in the middle of the city.

It's called Little Addis, not to be confused with the restaurant of the same name in Maboneng, and it's a big, healthy leap out of our suburban comfort zones.

Located in and around what used to be the old Medical Arts Building, Little Addis offers a cultural experience that could only be bettered by getting on a plane. It is in a part of the city as yet unscrubbed by the sanitising fingers that have cleaned up Braamfontein and Maboneng.

As you walk up Jeppe Street you are greeted by the sights, sounds and smells of an African city. Hawkers flood the walkways selling everything from R5 haircuts to questionable Chinese suckers and loose cigarettes, and it's not unusual to see someone pushing a trolley full of freshly severed cow heads towards some unknown destination.

A change from English to predominantly Amharic signage welcomes you inside the Little Addis building, where the only wall and floor space left unadorned reveals the bland cream and brown that would have pleased the administrators of a Medical Arts Building. The walls are hardly glimpsed behind the riotous colours in the shelves that hold everything from caps to batteries and superglue.

It quickly becomes clear that this enclave was not built for the fleeting amusements of suburban tourists. Ethiopian jazz blares from mounted speakers that guard the stairwells, and the only South African element is the occasional mangled Zulu word, conspicuous in a sea of Amharic.

The indoor market is held on many levels. Trying to explore it is like trying to unravel the mysteries of Alice's rabbit hole. Each floor - there are five including a basement - is a hodgepodge of barbers, coffee shops, restaurants, tailors and general stores. The intoxicating smells of coffee mixed with chemically treated hair and Ethiopian flavours fill each floor with a grim but oddly alluring odour.

Among this cacophony of sights, sounds and smells is some of the best authentic Ethiopian food in the city, but the dining experience is different from that of other restaurants. I walked into three restaurants before finding one where someone asked what I wanted. Its name may have been March 8th - those were the only English words in the restaurant. The absence of a menu, and my inability to speak Amharic, led to my first experience with kitfo.

Consisting of raw minced beef marinated in spicy chilli powder, kitfo is served with injera, a type of thin spongy flat bread, ground spinach and cheese. The meal is eaten using the injera as cutlery, and tastes as though the god of fire is bestowing blessings on your tastebuds. Be warned - it's hot.

Visiting Little Addis is nothing if not an adventure. It has a vibrancy that shakes perceptions and an authenticity that no other part of the city can match. While the wares in the market are not as authentic as the area itself, they are dirt cheap, and that has to count for something.

Little Addis is on the corner of Jeppe and Troye streets. For information about a guided tour call 082-894-5216.