Rwanda through food: F--Fresh Fruit Juice

Passion fruit juice is exquisite; papaya juice, not so much; watermelon juice is better than expected. On Sunday morning Lumbe, Julia and I went to the Kigali Serena Hotel for their brunch buffet. It's actually more appropriately called the breakfast buffet since they pack it up at about 10:30 (seems to me that many brunch places in the U.S. don't even start serving until 11 on Sundays). But man-oh-man was it worth it! I didn't know where to start, there were so many delectable selections to choose from... breads and pastry table, omelette and crepe bar, the healthy options section (yes, I did forgo that table but i did at least consider it!), all the heated dishes, the cheese plate and selected cold cuts... all illuminated with a heavenly glow of mid-morning sunlight streaming into the semi-covered, yet open-air, dining area. I think the soft, blue cheese was worth the price of admission alone.

But the fresh juice bar is the real show stopper--Lumbe rightly recommended the passion fruit juice. It's not quite as thick as you might picture, not a nectar but also not as fluid as apple juice. More like a pulp-free orange juice in consistency, sort of the color of Sunny-D drink, with an amazing flavor. If you order a glass from the bar, it costs 3500 RwF (just over $6) for a single glass. Just 3 glasses of juice at the unlimited buffet and you already have more than your money's worth. Not that filling up on juice is advisable since you'd miss out on the rest... My plate(s) featured in no particular order: chocolate croissant, mixed berry jam, chevre, salami, bacon, onion, and cheese omelette, cashews, olives, whole grain bread, blue cheese, orange jam, brie, fresh pineapple and orange slices, as well as African tea and at least 2 glasses of passion fruit juice. That listing barely scratched the surface of possibility. So decadent!