Places to eat in French Polynesia

I've got to admit, I have never tried this food, and I am not about to start trying it either. It probably has more kick than the hottest curry you will ever eat!

This really belongs in the nightlife/things to do section I suppose, but there's nothing to stop you trying this sort of dish if you are crazy enough, just don't blam mee for any consequences if you do!

Very close to the Moorea Ferry port is a little harbour area where you get quite a few street sellers all congregated together. They range from selling Chinese type food to French style crepes (pancakes with either sweet or savoury fillings).

It is much cheaper to buy and eat here (most have picnic style tables and chairs) where you can sit and eat your food. I can certainly recommend the crepes - they were excellent!

Favorite Dish: The crepes - especially the sweet ones!

Les Tipaniers is a restaurant bolted on to a hotel of the same name. They do excellent fresh fish - a Polynesian speciality. The Polynesian deserts are great too with fresh fruit cooked in various ways.

By Polynesian standards the prices are quite reasonable too.

Service was very friendly, but we did find we had to wait a long time to be served.

Favorite Dish: Fresh Fish!

On the way back, Lionel gave us a choice of going back to the hotel straightaway or getting off in downtown Papeete, returning later on our own steam. Everybody opted for getting off there. We ate supper in a parking lot full of roulettes (truck-restaurants). I have to give the Tahitians one thing, they sure enough are inventive with their trucks. I chose the truck-restaurant with French food. I had escargots (snails) in herbed butter and served with French bread. Mama and Grandma went to one selling Chinese food. Daddy and my brother went to one selling pizza. I don't know what the rest of our group, or, for that matter the rest of the busload did for supper, except I'm sure Brian Baker of Westminster sought a McDonald's in Tahiti. I felt like shaking a little common sense into the old boy! After supper, it was up to me to flag down a truck to take us to the hotel. I wrote my postcards, stamped them, and turned them into the lobby for Monday mailing.

Favorite Dish: Because Tahiti is part of French Polynesia, I stopped by the truck serving French food for some escargot. Some folks might think it is great and creative that the locals would make restaurants in the back of trucks, but, at the same time, think ill of it if it were tried in Texas or North Carolina. The truck restaurants are innovative and quite good.

Don't leave the islands without trying the local style home cooking. The food is usually delicious and inexpensive.

Most popular meals consist of rice with chicken or fish (tuna, mahi mahi), coconut milk, curry or vanilla sauce and local vegetables.

If you don't want to spend too much money on food, try out "Les roulottes". These are mobile diners usually found near the main road, where you can order a good and cheap meal (depending on what that roulotte is selling).

To me personally, food is not cheap in French Polynesia. And when you are on an island paradise and surrounded by tourists hotels, you certainly cannot expect to find bargains. Instead, you will see a lot of multi-ethnic expensive meals geared for tourists’ tastes.

Still, you cannot go wrong with the cheapest snack available : long, crispy French baguette cut open and stuffed with salad, tuna, ham and cheese or whatever you have ordered. Costs between 300 to 600 Polynesian Francs.

Alternatively, run to the supermarkets and stock up on French baguettes, canned food, spaghetti, cookies and other items and cook your own meals in the kitchen of the hostel. Not the cheapest groceries ever but saves you big bucks.

In Moorea, there is a supermarket at Le Petit Village in Hauru Point and a bigger one when you come out of the village Paopao at Cook’s Bay (if you did the trek from the Ferry Point to Paopao).