By Kansiime Amumpire and Agatha N. Biira
When you speak of a rolex, some people might rush to think of a watch. But no, that is not what a rolex is in Uganda. A rolex is the short version of rolled eggs, a commonly enjoyed street food especially in the urban areas of Uganda.
Rolex is a delicacy composed of an omelette, vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, and onions, sausages, and mayonnaise, all according to someone’s preference.
The streets in Kampala continue to be flooded with Rolex stands, mainly because of the high demand and ready market for this snack. Commonly eaten by university students and those that want something easy on the go, this very tasty snack takes only about 5 to 15 minutes to be prepared.
Since Uganda is known for its nightlife, it is no surprise that the rolex stands are more active at night. Any person that walks in their neighborhood at night, especially those in the suburbs, always notices how busy it can be with people waiting to place and pick up their rolex orders.
Mercy Milka Omoro, a first year student of Journalism, Media, and Communication at Uganda Christian University (UCU), describes her first experience of eating a Rolex as magical. Being from South Sudan, she says the rolex made her fall in love with Uganda. “I think for me, it was love at first sight in this case.” It looked juicy, and I felt like my soul left my body for a few seconds after tasting it,” she said.
Glory Chimwemwe, also a first year student of journalism at UCU, said she never regrets spending money on a rolex. “I usually buy a rolex of Ugx 3000/=. It is always delicious and worth the money, plus, it also keeps me going all day,” she added.
Although the rolex is enjoyed by many, it is also known that some people enjoy it even more because of the dust particles. There is a belief that dust is the secret ingredient which makes street Rolexes better than those that are home-made.
“I think what makes street food, especially the rolex, better than those we get from restaurants is the dust, which adds flavor to it,” Charity James, a first-year student of Journalism at UCU, said.
There are close to 20 rolex stands from Kauga to Bugujju, all owned by men. Shadick Lugolobi, who has been in the rolex business for close to two years, said he likes his job and, for him, making Rolexes for his customers makes him happy.
“Knowing that someone out there will enjoy a rolex I made makes me happy. I usually have at least ten people waiting to be worked on,”
He said that sometimes he leaves someone to work at his stand when he has other errands to run, but they omit some ingredients from the rolex, which makes customers unhappy. “I always use a lot of ingredients to make better Rolexes for my customers. So, when I am not around, they don’t like it. But regardless of the situation, I still have money coming in, “he added. Lugolobi said.