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The public beach at Pereybere, Mauritius
Black Eagle Xtra beer, Mauritius
Chicken in Creole Sauce at La Jonque
Chun Kian Beef and fried rice at Palais de ChineInternational food in the heart of Grand Baie
La Jonque is a large restaurant in the heart of Grand Baie, located on Royal Road, opposite the beach and beside the main bus stop for express buses to Port Louis. I ate there one evening during my stay in Mauritius in February 2008.
The restaurant has a large and airy dining room, it is open-fronted with no glass in the windows and it contains dozens of large tables.
Chinese cuisine features prominently on the menu, but there are also a selection of Creole and international dishes. Having already enjoyed Chinese meals at the two neighbouring restaurants of “La Pagode” and “Palais de Chine”, I was determined to try Creole cuisine on my visit to La Jonque.
In common with most Chinese restaurants that I have visited, most of the dishes comprised of some form of curry or stir fry with either chicken, beef, prawns, pork, seafood or vegetables, with some form of sauce (oyster, garlic, sweet and sour, black bean…) and accompanying rice or noodles. I opted for:
Crackling Spicy Prawns - Cost: 130 Rupees / 2.40 GBP
About 10 prawns in spicy batter, with lots of hot red and green chilli peppers. They were excellent and reminded me of the spicy prawns that I often have at my favourite Chinese restaurant back home in Sheffield.
Chicken in Creole Sauce - Cost: 150 Rupees / 2.80 GBP
I probably should have checked what Creole sauce was before I ordered this meal, but I was determined to sample a Creole dish, so I ordered blindly. It turned out to be chicken (pretty average meat, not as good as the meat that I enjoyed at other restaurants in Grand Baie) in a predominantly tomato-based sauce with onions and various herbs and spices. Not being a big fan of tomato (although I’m usually happy enough to eat tomato sauces), I didn’t particularly enjoy this meal.
La Jonque fried rice - Cost: 110 Rupees / 2.00 GBP
A large plate of egg fried rice with a generous helping of shrimps, pork, chicken, sweetcorn, onions and other vegetables.
2 Phoenix beers - Cost: 65 Rupees / 1.20 GBP per 500ml
In common with many restaurants in Mauritius, the prices on the menu (and those quoted above) do not include the 15% VAT charge.
A good selection of Chinese, Creole and international dishes in the heart of Grand Baie.
