Kwa Mai Mai: Our Experience at one of the oldest Markets in Johannesburg
Kwa Mai-Mai is a heritage site that offers cultural and Traditional healers/ African medicine with the best flame grilled meat. Our first impression of the place was that it was more on the rustic side of life, the building has clearly been around for many decades. Kwa Mai-Mai is situated in johannesburg, just a few blocks from Maboneng.
With that being said, the ambiance was pretty welcoming, offering a more relaxed vibe. The vendors selling all the traditional South African street food at the market were very friendly and eager to serve. On walking into Kwa Mai Mai, we noticed that the set up is simplistic, we talking plastic chairs and tables with food served on plastic plates or wooden platters.
Who goes to Kwa Mai Mai
It was pretty incredible seeing how people from from all walks of life, socio economic background, age and so forth could just find joy from being in the same space like that. I mean, unlike other markets…there were much older men there such as taxi drivers, family men chilling and enjoying their braai meat.
Then more younger, hip and cooler men listening to their music such as “amapiano” from their cars whilst enjoying their meat, then of course beautiful women of all ages just vibing in a safe space with great food. In a nut shell, everyone is welcome without prejudice Kwa Mai-Mai, which we loved.
The Food at Kwa Mai Mai
Sadly Vegetarians are not catered for….but, it’s definitely a Meat lovers heaven. All the Vendors basically sell the same type of food so its up to you to choose where you want to buy.
The platter consists of beef steak, wors, ox liver served with uphuthu (Krimmel pap), the sides are fresh tomato with chilli and onion. As for drinks, we had taken our own drinks, so there was no need to buy drinks there.
The way the food was served to us reflected an authentic South African Street food culture that is so under rated. We shared a meat platter between the 3 of us and it cost just under R100, which is such a bargain. We love how the women give you clean water in a dish and a dish cloth to wash your hands prior to eating.
We also ordered “inyama ye nhloko”, which is basically cow head, which was a bit more stewy which was refreshing as iphuthu is dry nd the braai meat does not come with gravy.
The food was simply delicious.
What to know about Kwa Mai-Mai for your next visit
- Arrive early to secure parking or rather Uber there if you can
- Try not to over dress, just casually dress. It is a very relaxed environment and most vendors and the crowd are more conservative
- Even though is is relatively safe, do keep your belongings close to you..It’s still Joburg.
- Kindly ask the Vendors before taking a photo or video, some of them are sensitive
- Relax and have fun at one of the most unfiltered experiences in South Africa
- Cash is king, there are no swiping machines, so make sure you bring enough cash for the food, and extra if you are looking to purchase extra things from the market.
Final Thoughts
Kwa Mai Mai displays explicitly how a regular South African lives, do not go there with a bougee mindset.
Don’t be intimidated by the hostel or the people there, we found them to be very friendly, helpful and delighted that we were there to experience their environment.
