Angolan cuisine is a genuine fusion -- African ingredients and techniques layered with four centuries of Portuguese influence and flavors borrowed from Brazil. The result is hearty, flavorful food built on palm oil, cassava, beans, fresh seafood, and chili. It is one of the most interesting food cultures in southern Africa, even if you will need to seek it out beyond the international restaurants that dominate Luanda's expat scene.
Muamba de galinha is the national dish and the one you should try first. Chicken is slow-cooked in a thick sauce of palm oil, okra, garlic, and chili, until the flavors merge into something rich and slightly smoky. It is served everywhere, from street stalls to proper restaurants, and the quality varies enormously. A good muamba is one of the great chicken dishes of the world.
Calulu is a stew of dried fish (or sometimes fresh fish) cooked with tomatoes, onions, okra, and greens in palm oil. It is the dish Angolans argue about -- every region and every family has a definitive version. The dried fish gives it an intense, savory depth.
Funge (also called funje) is the staple starch. In northern Angola, it is made from cassava flour cooked into a smooth, stretchy porridge; in the south, it is more often made from corn flour. Funge is bland by design -- it is there to carry the sauces and stews. You tear off a piece, shape it with your fingers, and use it to scoop up whatever is on the plate.
Seafood is outstanding along the coast, especially south of Luanda. Grilled fish served with palm oil rice is a daily staple in Benguela, Lobito, and Namibe. On the Ilha de Luanda, informal restaurants grill whatever came off the boats that morning. Prawns, lobster, and grouper are common. The quality is high and, outside Luanda, the prices are reasonable.
Portuguese influence shows up everywhere: grilled sardines, pasteis de bacalhau (salt cod fritters), custard tarts, strong espresso coffee. Luanda has plenty of Portuguese-style restaurants, and the bakeries are excellent. Angolan coffee, grown in the highlands, was once among the best in Africa and is slowly making a comeback after the civil war destroyed most of the plantations.
Gindungo is the hot chili condiment that sits on most Angolan tables. Made from small, ferocious chili peppers, it adds serious heat. Use it cautiously until you know your tolerance.
Street food is worth exploring: grilled corn on the cob, roasted peanuts, fried plantains, and kitaba (a peanut-based snack). In markets, you will find women selling plates of rice and beans with grilled chicken for a few hundred kwanzas -- filling and good.