Kampala — It is hard to compel a Ugandan audience to listen to their traditional music all night long but during the opening of the Eritrean Space Pub and restaurant on Acacia Avenue, we all had to bite the bullet.

And it was not Ugandan folk music either; it was piped Eritrean sounds and cultural dances. The upside however, was the beautiful Eritrean dancers who intoxicated the guests with shoulder and waist gyrations.

Clad in their traditional regalia of white tunic for the men and long gold and black dresses for the women, the night was purely one to remind guests of Eritrea. Space restaurant, former Fusion 9, hosted an esteemed clientele of honourable consuls, ministers and businessmen to a sumptuous Eritrean dinner with dishes served out of clay pots.

The much sought after delicacies like the Enjera (famous rice pancake that is a staple) and the freshly ground coffee were the highlights of the buffet. Tesfalem Gheranth, the honorary consul to Eritrea, put aside his grandeur and pulled it off as master of ceremony.

The surprise appearance by Abraham Hadgu (an Eritrean singer) had the Eritrean community go amok as he spun webs of musical nostalgia through his Kirar (famous Eritrean string instrument).