What kind of food in fiji

Kokoda : Just like the Peruvians have ceviche, the Fijians have kokoda - a delicacy made of raw fish marinated in coconut cream, onions, tomatoes and lime. Kokoda is now a staple in any resort restaurant with access to fresh mahi mahi fish also known as dorado or dolphin fish. Just like if you were eating sushi or sashimi, travellers should make sure that the fish used in kokoda is freshly caught and prepared hygienically.

Some unlucky travellers to Fiji have suffered intense food poisoning requiring hospitalisation due to resort food. Kava : Like many other traditional dishes in Fiji, Kava drinking is a ceremonial activity.

Kava is made from the root of yaqona related to the pepper plant , which is ground and strained with water into a large wooden bowl. Kava ceremonies are celebrated to bring two groups of people together, which is why visits to local villages often begin with a kava offering. The drink is famous for its numbing effect. Arriving to Fiji, you may be surprised by the fragrant and familiar scent of curries, naan bread and roti wafting on the tropical breeze.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Indians were sent to Fiji by their British colonial rulers to work on sugarcane plantations. Suva and Nadi are the epicentre of the Indian population in the country, and as such, they boast countless options for food lovers with a taste for spice.

Just note that many of the Indian restaurants in Fiji do not serve alcohol. Fiji also has a small but influential population of Chinese, which is evident with a number of popular Chinese restaurants in city centres. The street food scene in Fiji is far from the famous bustling markets of Thailand or Malaysia. Nadi Market is a fairly relaxed scene where local produce is sold without fuss and very little haggling.

Resort food often has a reputation as poor quality, unhealthy and unhygienic. Food poisoning has been an unfortunate theme in Fiji, with a number of travellers reporting violent sickness after eating contaminated food at their resort.

Buffets can be open-air, making food vulnerable to contamination by other guests or by standing for a long time following cooking. When eating food from the resort buffet, remember to:. Despite some unfortunate cases of sick travellers, most of the resorts in Fiji strive to deliver great quality food to their guests.

Image credits: eatwhatyoukill. Palusami is popular in Fiji and is made of boiled Taro leaves mashed into a curry and has a stewed spinach flavour.

Little to no spices or chillies are used in this dish which is garnished with coconut cream. The fish most often used when making Kokoda, Mahi Mahi is a fish from the deep waters around Fiji. It is very popular and usually grilled or cooked in a frying pan and served with vegetables. Kava is described as a drug made from ground-up roots of a South Pacific plant, the Piper methysticum, a member of the pepper family and is taken as a drink.

Kava is traditionally made of crushed, ground, or powdered root soaked in water and drunk as a tea and has been used by Pacific Islanders for hundreds of years.

Kava is used in traditional ceremonies and cultural events in the Pacific region. Kava is restricted to medicinal purposes only in Australia. Traditional kava made especially for you. Image credits: takimaikava on Instagram. Cassava is a root vegetable similar to Tapioca or Sago, familiar in other parts of the world, and is similarly used in sweet desserts.

Cassava cake is a sticky cake-like sticky rice consistency and served as a dessert dish with butter, preserved fruit or fresh fruit to accompany it. Rourou is made of Dalo or Taro leaves and tastes similar to spinach.

Served in different ways, Rourou, when cooked down, is similar to creamed spinach. In traditional Fijian cooking the leaves of Rourou are cooked in a Lovo or underground earth oven. A popular way to serve Rourou is Rourou Peti, where the Rourou leaves are stuffed with chilli, onion, coconut milk, and tuna mixture.

A Fijian delicacy, Lovo is a cooking method used to prepare traditional Fijian food for large social gatherings like weddings or festivals. After the husks are set on fire, stones are placed as a cover. Like a barbeque, Lovo is used for cooking meat, fish, and vegetables wrapped in banana or taro leaves and hot rocks, only to be opened a few hours later when everything is cooked to perfection and is tender and full of flavour.

How about creating some dishes at home? Image credits: turtlefiji on Instagram. For travellers on a budget, the two lists below provide a few examples of the costs of foods in Fiji. Recommended For You. Things To Do. Fiji's most famous drink is yaqona kava , followed by the internationally-branded Fiji Water, a mineral water sourced from a deep aquifer in northeast Viti Levu.

Fiji's rainy, mountainous terrain also makes it ideal country for growing coffee — look out for the rich, dark blends from Bula Coffee. Fiji Gold and Fiji Bitter are the country's two leading beers.

Despite the latter's name, both are lagers, as is the premium Vonu brand. Local rum is also freely available, originally produced as a by-product from the sugar industry.

Refreshing coconut water is widely available, especially in markets where vendors just slice off the top of a nut. If you've got a sweet tooth, look out for freshly squeezed sugar-cane juice or pineapple juice. Every large town in Fiji has a fresh fruit-and-vegetable market and at least one supermarket where you can buy basic groceries. Those like the central market in Suva are visitor attractions in themselves, with stalls piled high with fresh produce, and areas reserved for bundles of yaqona roots and sacks of aromatic spices.