Mauritius - Food

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Eating in Réunion is a pleasure. There is such variety, with Creole, Chinese and French restaurants in almost every town. Surprisingly, Indian cuisine is harder to find.

Traditional Creole food is slightly spicy and includes elements from French and Indian culinary styles. The mainstay of Creole cuisine is the cari – fish, meat or poultry in a tasty sauce packed with spices. It is eaten with rice and grains (beans or lentils) and accompanied by rougail, a kind of spicy chutney often made with tomatoes, onions and chillies. Tuna, shark and swordfish make delicious cari, as do camarons (large freshwater prawns). Cari poulet (chicken cari) and rougail saucisses (a spicy pork sausage in a tomato-based stew) are a good inexpensive option. Cari ti-jacques (curried young jackfruits) is very traditional, as are duck with vanilla and cabri massalé (masala spiced goat stew). If you’re feeling adventurous, look out for cari tang (curried tenrec – similar to a hedgehog), although this is rarely seen on menus nowadays.

For traditional food in a family atmosphere, try a table d’hôte. If you’re on a tight budget, there is a very healthy population of camion bars (mobile snack bars) on the island, serving inexpensive filled baguettes, samoussas and other light meals.

Most towns have fish sellers on the seafront. If you have access to a kitchen, there is nothing better than cooking freshly caught tuna or shark. Try to buy it in the morning though, because the stalls are not refrigerated and fish that has sunbathed for eight hours is more than a little risky.

Whilst there are plenty of tasty options for seafood lovers, vegetarians are not well catered for on the island. Restaurants with a French flavour usually serve a variety of salads, whilst vegetarian Creole fare includes achards (spicy, pickled vegetables) and brèdes (a mixture of greens). If you would like a vegetarian meal, you may well have to ask for a dish to be prepared specially, and then politely decline when the waiter offers to add some ham to make it more interesting! The French for vegetarian is végétarien, vegan is végétalien.

On Sundays Réunion goes for a picnic. We’re not talking a wicker hamper filled with a few Scotch eggs and some cheese sandwiches. This is picnicking on the grandest scale, a real family affair. Réunion is equipped with excellent picnic facilities, not merely tables but also barbecue areas. From the beaches to the forests, people can be seen picnicking, some arriving as early as 10.00 to claim their favourite spot and prepare their cari. If you are ever invited to join in, don’t miss the opportunity.

As in Mauritius, rum – as a by-product of the sugar industry – is big business. Rhum arrangé is made by adding fruit and spices to white rum and allowing it to ferment for several months. You are likely to be offered a rhum arrangé at the end of your meal in most restaurants or alternatively a punch (pronounced ‘ponsh’), which also has rum as the main ingredient but is more fruity and less powerful.

When in a bar you may hear people ordering ‘une Dodo’. This is not as ridiculous as it sounds – the local brand of beer is called ‘Dodo’. It is usually the cheapest beer on offer and is very popular. Just take care not to order ‘un dodo’; not even the most skilled of barmen can produce one of those.

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Mauritius - Food

Reunion

Mauritius - Food