Chips mayai (also known as chipsi mayai) is one of the most widely available and popular Tanzanian street foods in the country.
Chips, is of course another word for French fries, and mayai is the Kiswahili word for eggs.
Together it’s French fries and eggs, or to put it more clearly, a French fries omelet.
In Tanzania, anytime you see that black wok sitting out front of a restaurant or street food stall, hovering over flames, with yellow oil bubbling up, you can be pretty sure they serve chips mayai.
You’ll find it everywhere from Dar Es Salaam to Arusha and even in small little village dining establishments.
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I’m going to be honest, for myself, chips mayai is not the most exciting thing in the world.
It consists of a handful of French fries that are tossed into a frying pan and a few eggs are cracked on top to create a hearty oil and potato filled omelet.
Sure, it tastes pretty good, but it tastes exactly like you’d expect it to: French fries and eggs combined.
One thing you can be certain of is that any plate of chips mayai will be greasy – no way to avoid oil!
Some of the French fries in chips mayai are crunchy while others are soft with only slight crunchiness on the edges. The egg, also fried in a little more oil, sometimes gets a little crunchy too.
This particular plate of chips mayai I ate was served with a side of kachumbari (tomatoes and onions), hot chillies, and the all necessary bottle of East African style tomato chili sauce – kind of like ketchup, with a little extra spice, and a little less acidic.
Adding lots of tomato chili sauce, kachumbari, and chili peppers improves any plate of chips mayai.
Overall, I much prefer to eat a full Tanzanian food meal of rice or ugali with fish and beans, but chips mayai has its place in the repertoire of Tanzanian food and makes a tasty and filling snack.
Price – most places should cost 1,500 – 2,000 TZS ($0.90 – $1.21)
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KL Princess
3 months ago
Chips mayai, the Tanzanian street food dish, is a humble omelet consisting of chips (fries) and mayai (the Swahili word for eggs). The combination of vegetables can vary, sometimes prepared with just chips and eggs, or the addition of aromatics.
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Fam
2 years ago
Love this idea. Feel I’ve missed out as I’m from Tanzania, Zanzibar really and never had one but I did leave over 50yrs ago!
Ruhi Singh
2 years ago
It looks very delicious.
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sankar singh
2 years ago
spicy breakfast ….lol
Terrance Buchanan
2 years ago
Yes, if you are travelling so far, then you should be eating the traditional meals of the place. And fries and omlet are pretty much available anywhere.
Lily La
9 years ago
I’ve never thought about putting together the egg and chips into an omelet.. even if I eat them separately on one plate. I did try putting them together into an omelet after seeing your YouTube video on this, and it was great! (although probably not as great with the Tanzanian ingredients and sauces).
Mark Wiens
9 years ago
Hey Lily, awesome to hear you made it, glad you enjoyed it. I’m sure it was delicious!
Raj kumar
9 years ago
I love eating omelet cooked in different methods…………….. I always at home try to make omelet with different things…………. Even I love sweet omelet which will be very tasty.
Mark Wiens
9 years ago
Hey Raj, that’s great!
Renuka
9 years ago
Wow…looks like a great breakfast option! Yummy, even though it’s oily!
Mark Wiens
9 years ago
Hey Renuka, yup, oily but tasty!
Zara @ Backpack ME
9 years ago
It looks yummy!
It reminds me of Spanish Omelet in Spain, which is basically slow fried potatoe cubes omelet – sometimes with onions too. I don’t know why “Spanish omelet” abroad always includes tomatoes, bell peppers and a bunch of other stuff..
Anyway.. I’d totally give Chips mayai a go!!
Anwesha
9 years ago
I am not a big omelette person, but something about the pictures sets my stomach a-growling…
Mike | Earthdrifter
9 years ago
Interesting to read about a staple street food. I’d try it, eat half, then probably give the other half to a homeless person.
Love those huge street woks.
Adrian Fleur
9 years ago
Ughhhh! Nooooo! I haven’t had lunch and I’m sitting here drooling over this! Why does it look so terribly good? =)
Mark Wiens
9 years ago
Haha, thanks for checking it out Adrian, hope you had a good lunch!