Fiji - Dining

You'll find a wide variety of food in Fiji, including French, Asian and Indian. The local food consists basically of pork, chicken, fish, vegetables and fruit. We also liked the local version of Indian cuisine. Attend a lovo (Fijian feast), which offers roast pig, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and dozens of other dishes. Among the local specialties are kokoda (raw fish marinated in vinegar and served with coconut milk), dhal (a thick and spicy lentil soup from India), fish in lolo (coconut cream) and a variety of curries. The private island resorts usually serve Western-style food.

Yaqona, or kava, Fiji's national drink, is part of a ritual. It's made from a mixture of pulverized dry roots of a pepper plant, soaked in water - it looks like muddy water. For the ritual, everyone sits cross-legged on mats, with the master of ceremonies facing a wooden bowl (a tanoa) filled with yaqona. The master of ceremonies dips a coconut shell (the bilo) into the liquid and passes it to the guest of honor, who drinks the entire cupful in one gulp. The bilo is then refilled and passed to the next person. The ritual continues until everyone has had a drink. Yaqona is a mild narcotic, but you would need to drink a lot to get much of an effect. (Those who drink a lot of it on a regular basis may get dry, flaky skin.) Mostly it will leave your tongue with a numb, tingling sensation.