By Yeo Ghim Lay, 02 April 2005
The Straits Times

TASTE OF HOME : Mr Ignatius Achugbu (left) and Mr Adima Christopher serving up African dishes at their stall.

THE reverberating rhythms of traditional African music are drawing customers to a Little India coffee shop, where three Nigerians have set up a food stall.

Here, customers can sample dishes such as suji, an African staple of flour and potatoes boiled together; ogbono, a spicy soup of beef or mutton made with the kernels of wild mangoes; and egusi soup, which mixes beef, mutton, prawns and pumpkin seeds.

'There wasn't a place selling our kind of food in Singapore so we decided to start one and help Africans here feel at home,' said Mr Ignatius Achugbu, 35, one of the owners.

The others are Mr Adima Christopher, 31, and Mr Aligwoekwe Emeka, 27.

All of them are permanent residents married to Singaporeans.

The trio, who met one another at weekend gatherings of the African community here at a coffee shop near Mustafa Centre, also share a second-hand electronics business.

They opened C.L.E. African Restaurant at Kim Leng Eating House, opposite Mustafa Centre in Syed Alwi Road (off Serangoon Road), because, explained Mr Achugbu, 'tourists come to Little India and Africans like to shop at Mustafa'.

The initials CLE stand for Chris, Loyd and Emeka, the names the three are known by.

Mr Achugbu, a former professional soccer player who arrived here in 2003, said they do all the cooking themselves.

They offer eight dishes currently, but hope to expand the menu in the future. Servings cost $2 to $4.

Their most popular dish, they said, is the cereal-like suji that is eaten with beef and mutton soups.

Said Mr Christopher, who came to Singapore in 2002: 'We import most of our ingredients from Nigeria so the food tastes authentic.'

The men are hoping to expand into a full-scale restaurant eventually.

'Then Africans will know it and treat this as their gathering place,' said Mr Achugbu.

C.L.E. African Restaurant
Verdun Road
Opens daily from 11:30am to 11pm.