Tahitian Cuisine

[kiwigirl]

After reading some posts on the Princess board I started to wonder what kind of food is served in Tahiti and on the Tahitian Princess in particular.

 

For instance - do they have a lot of seafood or shellfish?

 

 

Thanks!! :D

[Spikesgirl]

What they did serve was lots of fresh fruit - the bunch of bananas at the end of the buffet was my favorite. You could literally just pluck on off. They are the smaller custard bananas and are a little sweeter - quite yummy on cereal. Of course, the dining room offers lobster, clams and the like, but the food was pretty much the same as other cruises. There is a pasta dish every night, alway a beef, pork and chicken dish offered.

 

Okay, ashore is a different story, but you can pretty much find anything you want either in town or at Les Roulettes on the dock. Lots of French cuisine, but of course, but also McDonalds, Pizza Hut, etc. You can certainly find lots of seafood, but since I have a shellfish allergy, we tend to avoid it.

 

I would certainly not worry about the food, unless like me you ahve an allergy to something, then be careful, and you;ll be find. If you have a specific question or concern, let me know and I'll try to help.

 

Charlie

[laurieb]

the food is pretty much standard cruise fare, but the two times we have bee onn I thought that there was quite a bit of seafood at the lunch buffet. I had hoped for more south seas fare but it just wasn't there.

[Oregonian]

You can check http://www.geocities.com/tahitiaug/index.html for the menus during our TP Cook Island cruise last September (just follow the Menus link). As Charlie said, pretty much standard cruise fare.

[kiwigirl]

Thanks everyone. I will definitely take a look at those menus, but maybe I should wait until after lunch. :p

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If you like seafood, try to arrange a meal that includes "poisson crue". This is a raw tuna salad that's a bit like ceviche, the fish is marinated in lime juice and coconut milk, and usually has some garlic and onions in it as well. It is delicious, and I wish I had some right now.

[cwc]

Moonfish with Tahitian vanilla sauce:D

[kiwigirl]

If you like seafood, try to arrange a meal that includes "poisson crue". This is a raw tuna salad that's a bit like ceviche, the fish is marinated in lime juice and coconut milk, and usually has some garlic and onions in it as well. It is delicious, and I wish I had some right now.

 

I like seafood, but am not a real adventurous type and eating something with the word "poisson" in it usually isn't my thing. :o I think I'll let my DH try that one. :p

 

Moonfish with Tahitian vanilla sauce:D

 

OK - I know vanilla sauce, but what is Moonfish? I've never heard of it before.

[calikak]

I am totally not an adventurous food person and raw fish is usually not my deal, but the poisson cru we had on Bruno's tour was delicious! The lime juice in it seemed to "cook" the fish a little so it wasn't really like eating raw fish. Poisson is the French word for fish, so don't be too scared to try it! :D Baguettes also seemed to be everywhere in Tahiti. We stayed at a B&B-type place and they gave us a fresh baguette every morning, with butter and strawberry jam. That and coffee made a perfect breakfast for us! :)

 

I'm not a beer drinker but DH said the local beer, called Hinano and available everywhere in Tahiti except on the ship, was really good. There's also a beverage that's sold in what looks like a half-gallon milk carton called something like Tahiti Drink, it's a fruit juice with a little booze in it. Yum! It's made in Moorea and if you do the circle island tour, they'll probably take you to the pineapple factory where it's made. They do free tastings there as part of the tour.

[Spikesgirl]

of the local honeys. My DH is not fond of honey and he fell in love with some of the flavors. The acid in the lime juice actually causes a chemical reaction within the flesh of the fish so that it is, for all intent and purposes, cooked. It's safer than sushi, which our chef friend calls bait. Please don't go all the way to Tahiti and not try some of the local cuisine. It does its French inheritance proud!

 

Charlie

[cwc]

Moonfish

 

A fish found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, having a large round profile with raw flesh that is multi-colored. Behind the head and along the backbone is orange, the belly is pink, inside the breastplate is bright red, and the cheeks are dark red. When the fish is cooked, all the flesh turns white except the bright red breast area turns brown. The moonfish's flesh has a firm coarse texture. It is also referred to as Opah.