Is that it? I looked at my plate. I looked at the buffet spread. I had already scanned it twice, helping myself to every available salad, roasted, stir-fried and boiled vegetables I could find. Potatoes, taro root and cassava, local spinach (shoots and leaves of taro plant) and corn on cob were among the things I could find. The rest was seafood and meat, out of my bounds. We had just checked into a resort along Pacific Harbour and this was a Fiji-themed lunch, ruling out the hope of cheese-laden pasta emerging from somewhere. This was my second day in Fiji and I had six more to go. I wondered how I’d cope with kayaking, river safaris and eco tours.
On day one, after a hurried meal of fruits and sandwich, we were rushed into a zip line activity. We had barely set foot in Nadi. The long journey, lack of sleep and a meal of soy milk, a tiny baguette and boiled vegetables on the flight meant that I went spinning in all directions on the zip line, wondering if the lack of coordination was due to jet lag, restricted food or both.
I was the lone vegetarian in the media group and didn’t want to be a sore thumb. I put on a brave front, determined to make the best out of circumstances. I was fine eating eggs and told myself I shall breakfast like a king and that should see me through. Added to that, the eagerness to sample local cuisine and thereby understanding local food cultures wherever I travel, kicked in.
Luckily, things got better. Mushroom cappuccino, a hearty pumpkin soup, rice noodles with stir-fried vegetables and coconut milk, Vegetables en Papillote (vegetables baked in parchment paper with herbed lemon butter sauce) and a vegetarian version of Palusami greeted me over the next few days. To top it, there was delicious Cassava cake and the many tropical drinks flavoured with coconut milk.
A pleasant surprise was at Koromakawa village on Navua river. A traditional lovo cooking had my companions licking their fingers for the succulent meat. Think of it as an underground barbecue. Food is cooked for hours on hot stones, wrapped in banana leaves under the surface. Noticing that I whizzed past meat preparations, an elderly village woman served generous portions of vegetarian curries on my plate. Stir-fried taro leaves, pumpkin in coconut milk and a flavourful brinjal dip where among the things I devoured.
Elsewhere, at Flavours of Fiji Cooking School, the chefs handed me extra helpings of taro and potatoes to compensate for the lack of fish and chicken. At the end of the session, I had stir-fried Rourou, spinach cooked in coconut cream, and Tavioka Vakasoso or steamed cassava balls coated with thick syrup of palm jaggery.
Fiji is a haven for seafood lovers, but there’s plenty to go around for vegetarians as well. The freshest of produce from the valley of Sigatoka lend themselves to an array of preparations. There’s also the undeterred love for coconut. Wherever you travel, there are demonstrations of how to peel, break and grate coconuts. Coconut milk and cream are generously used in Fiji cuisine, not to mention organic beauty products.
Over the next few days, we had tried a variety of Fiji dishes, with Mahi Mahi fish and Cassava Cake emerging favourites.
At Port Denarau, on a balmy afternoon after water activities, our small group looked around at the options for dining. The majority veered towards a seafood joint, before glancing in my direction and hesitating a wee bit. Then someone scanned the menu and exclaimed, ‘There are avocado rolls and risottos. She’d be game.’ I was!
(The writer visited Fiji on invitation by Tourism Fiji)
