African TikTok trend lands in Augusta
From left to right; fufu, pepper sauce, and Egusi soup. (photo by Christian Osborne)
By Christian Osborne | Staff writer
Viral videos of people indulging in Egusi soup and fufu on TikTok have reached Augusta’s only African restaurant, Timbuktu.
Timbuktu located at 1944 Walton Way became swamped with eager TikTokers wanting to indulge in the Egusi and FuFu hype.
In these viral videos, people are seen eating Egusi soup, a west African soup made of pumpkin seeds and various meats and fufu, a pounded root vegetable shaped as a cloud.
Tantamount to American’s bread or mashed potatoes, fufu serves as a carb filler and is traditionally served with soups.
Co-owner Omar Sangare shared that before the trend, Timbuktu was used to a maximum of 15 orders of fufu per day. Currently, fufu orders are up to 80 per day.
“TikTok brought me here, I’m excited to see what my heritage’s food tastes like,” said Wihelmina Williams, an Aiken native who drove 30 minutes to join the trend at Timbuktu.
Egusi soup has a fishy taste and fufu has no taste at all. Some might say the dish is for esteemed pallets. Some Tiktokers have been seen spitting out the food in disfavor.
Sangare suggests that people unfamiliar with African cuisine should try chicken and jollof rice if they are too intimidated to try Egusi soup and fufu. “Everything we offer on the menu is good,” Sangare added.
Sangare feels the new trend is great because people want to try African foods.
Contact Christian Osborne at NEOSBORNE@augusta.edu.
