ON THE GRILL: Daniel Gezawez, the Ethiopian assistant chef for barbecue in Hakuna Matata Restaurant, Shanghai World Expo (WANG XIANG)

TIME TO EAT: Beninese chef Orou Yerima Baudouin Euloge promoting his takeaway food (WANG XIANG)

For most people, delicious food is an irresistible temptation. Wu Jianhong, a mother from Beijing, counts herself among this group. Taking her 12-year-old son to the Shanghai Expo, Wu hopes to broaden his horizons and enjoy international cuisine at the same time. "We'd like to try some new kinds of food – for example, African food. It'll be really an interesting thing to eat food from across the world within a couple of days," she said to ChinAfrica.

Food in Chinese culture has a very long history. As it developed, Chinese cuisine divided into different genres based on region and ethnicity. These are now typically recognized as the "Eight Cuisines." As a core feature of Chinese cuisine culture, the eight branches of cuisine can all be found on Chinese Delicacy Street in the Expo Park.

Besides this, in the Expo's public dining area, 128 catering units and six bakeries, most of them well-know brands such as KFC and Pizza Hut, serve set meals priced from 30 to 100 yuan ($4.4 to $15). Among the 109 Expo pavilions there are over 60 restaurants providing unique and authentic traditional food from all around the world, ranging from couscous, a staple food of North Africa, to Japanese and French cuisine, costing 100 to 500 yuan ($15 to $74) per person.

Hakuna matata

Unlike the Japanese and French restaurants scattered everywhere on Shanghai streets, it is more difficult to find an African establishment beyond the confines of the Expo site. There, the Hakuna Matata Culture Restaurant & Pub affiliated with the Africa Joint Pavilion is bringing in the customers.

"Hakuna Matata" is a phrase from the Disney animated movie The Lion King and the name of one of its songs. "It's our problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata," the film's characters sing. "The restaurant's name reminds me of a beautiful African savannah. I hope the restaurant can be decorated as in the movie," a Chinese netizen wrote on Dianping.com, an influential Chinese lifestyle website. Cheng Hui, Chief Architect of the Africa Joint Pavilion, explained, "Hakuna matata is a Swahili phrase that is literally translated as 'no worries,' and now it's commonly used as a catchphrase to mean 'no problem'."

With a total area of 1,275 square meters, Hakuna Matata covers two floors. African fast food is served on the first floor, and the set meal of stewed rice with ostrich and salad is very popular. According to the restaurant operations manager Yang Guozhen, some days all 3,000 servings of the meal sell out.

A buffet on the second floor is cooked by three alternating African chefs. There is Ethiopian coffee available, along with Nigerian "five-color rice," South African red wine, North African couscous, Ugandan "banana rice," and a wide selection of grilled meats. "Though the price of 198 yuan ($29.2) per person is not cheap, it's worth the cost. There are African singing and dance performances to watch while eating," said Yang Jie who hails from Chongqing, southwest China.