Street food is as essential to Lagos as salt is to caramel sauce — without it, a fundamental element would be missing. How else would the bustling population of this city be nourished? How many other places in the world can you claim to find fresh puff puff straight off the fire at 10pm?

One location that keeps the street food culture thriving in Lagos — particularly in Ikeja — is the Alade Avenue stretch, situated just opposite the Lagos Airport Hotel. Here, you'll discover what appears to be endless mounds of steaming fried rice, Jollof garnished with massive onion rings, fried fish, moin moin, and the most calorie-rich oil stew. This is a place where I spent a considerable amount of time in my past — when my partner and I were young, childless night owls (these days, staying awake past 10:45pm is quite an achievement). It's been a while since I last visited, so this week, I decided it was time to return for the sake of nostalgia.

Alade Avenue springs to life between the hours of approximately 8pm and 2am, catering to everyone from those who've just braved hours of traffic to hungry club-goers. It reminds me of a fusion between Camden Market after dark and my perception of Bangkok's nocturnal ambiance. Everything appears and smells like just what your stomach craves at that hour — carbs and oil. Numerous enthusiastic vendors line the street, each selling nearly identical meals, each claiming their grilled turkey surpasses the next vendor's, or that their Jollof rival across the street is, in fact, subpar.

I disregarded the competitive banter, overly assertive stall owners, and even the slightly precarious atmosphere, and navigated my way to the farthest stall. My real craving was for roadside Indomie and egg, but I settled for appetizing Ofada rice and stew. For N1000, I received a serving of rice, two of the softest shaki you've ever tasted (at N200 per shaki, 🤯, but so satisfying), and the essential boiled egg to top it off. Although the stew was a bit overpowering for such a small serving of rice, every spoonful was genuinely delightful.

Regrettably, there's no photographic evidence of the meal because I was attempting to take discreet photos and not appear like a JJC. 11pm is not the time to be fiddling with gadgets. On the 15-minute drive home, I devoured the entire meal, which reminded me why I appreciate that place so much. Beyond the food, it's what the hundreds of similar spots scattered across Lagos represent and contribute to our culture.

Things have changed and, as anticipated, inflation has significantly affected the prices of what should be affordable local cuisine, but that's the era we're living in. Ultimately, street food is all about making delicious food accessible; it provides us the opportunity to enjoy food without the pomp and circumstance of restaurants — and that's precisely what Alade Avenue embodies.