Prawns are not an everyday sighting in Kigali, and that is for quite obvious reasons. Rwanda being land locked means the closest we can look for the famed sea creatures is Mombasa, in Kenya, considered the region’s sea food capital.

What are prawns anyway? It’s a term used for any large swimming crustaceans or shrimp, especially those that are commercially viable in the sea food industry.

On first sighting, it looks like a plus-sized grass hopper with more legs and an armored and elegant protective shell.

Unfortunately, prawns are not within the financial means of the average Rwandan, let alone East African, in that one would need to fork out about Rwf 25,000 for a single plate at the upscale Century Park Restaurant in Nyarutarama from where I had my treat.

I was lucky to get a complimentary treat from the manager, Rowland, otherwise who would want to fork out Rwf 25,000 for a light fancy meal on a journalist’s meager pay?

The first thing I learnt from Ahyun, the chef was that one can choose to have their prawns with or without the shells.

I asked for the ones without shells, which arrived about five minutes later, and which brought me to my second realization; that if you must eat prawns, especially expensive prawns, then have the foresight to ask for your order with the shells intact.

The thing is that nobody ever gets to know if indeed you are eating prawns unless they come with the shells intact. Personally when my order arrived, one could easily have mistaken it for a plate of noodles.

I quickly swept my plate clean, upon which it was unanimously agreed that I try the real deal –the prawns with their shells intact.

When they eventually arrived, the sight before me presented good optical nutrition even before I dug in. I looked over my shoulder at nearby tables and all I wished for was for other diners to see my plate and envy me.

On my plate were ten fresh and glistening prawns that had been steamed to perfection, lined with decorative slices of tomatoes and cucumber.

To eat them, you rip off the head, gently shell the rest of the body, dip it in sauce, then munch away.

The fact that I had two plates of prawns in a space of about fifteen minutes should only attest to the small and fanciful nature of this dish.