Eating customs in Vanuatu

Vanuatu's diet is Melansian style. Local specialty foods include laplapu and coconut crab. In the urban area of Port Vila, you can eat French, British, Polynesian, China, Japan, Vietnam and other dishes. The local beer is Tursky. Tap water can be drunk directly. However, it is best to drink mineral water from the market on the outer islands.

Specialty drinks: Kava has appeared in the South Pacific thousands of years ago. It is a drink made by mashing the roots of a pepper plant and refining it to extract the ingredients. Once exclusive to chiefs, this traditional drink has now become a part of local life and is sometimes used as a good medicine for pain and disease. After a hard day, after two or three cups of kava, all the pressure and worries were swept away. Kava in Vanuatu is said to be the most popular. The color of kava is similar to Beijing's bean juice, and its taste is similar to bitter traditional Chinese medicine. Drinking kava should be done in the afternoon or evening. It is difficult for travelers to find nakamals Kava Bar), ask a taxi driver to lead the way or ask hotel staff. In Port Vila, the price of a cup is usually between 100 and 150 Vatu, and first-time takers should not overdo it. On Tanna Island, women are prohibited from drinking and approaching kava.

Although kava wine is called wine, it is not actually wine because it does not contain any alcohol. It is made from the roots of a kava pepper produced in the South Pacific Islands. Vanuatu people serve kava wine in a split coconut shell to serve it to their distinguished guests.

The kava wine ceremony is a high-standard etiquette, which is indispensable for major occasions such as warriors going out, weddings and funerals, welcoming distinguished guests, and celebrating festivals. The color of kava wine is very similar to what we call Huangni soup. There is not much peculiar smell in the mouth when you drink it, but it is amazing that the tip of the tongue will slowly become numb first, and then the mind will calm and the whole body will relax, and you will experience a kind of satisfaction and comfort that has never been seen before. Some people once attributed the low crime rate in Vanuatu's capital to the sedative effect of kava. I don't know whether it is true or not.

Coconut crab

Vanuatu is rich in coconut crabs. Coconut crabs are oviparous animals belonging to the Hermit Crabidae that hatch in seawater. The larvae live in shells and live in the sea. After adulthood, he came to live on land, lost his ability to swim, and no longer lived in shells. Instead, he relied on his own strong "armor" to protect himself. It often hides under the shady woods, rocks and coral reefs by the sea during the day, and appears for food at night. Different from ordinary crabs, coconut crabs are huge in size and have a hard outer shell. Coupled with two strong and powerful pliers, they look very fierce. It is an expert tree climber, especially good at climbing straight coconut trees, and can use strong pliers to peel off the hard coconut shells and enjoy the sweet coconut meat inside. Such a powerful pair of pliers, what should I do if someone is pinched? Please rest assured that coconut crabs also have a weak point-they are ticklish. By scratching their soft abdomen, you can make them loosen the pliers obediently.

Coconut crab is a delicacy on the table and has a faint coconut fragrance. Humans hunted and killed them in large quantities, causing their number to drop sharply. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has listed the coconut crab as a species requiring global protection, but due to insufficient data currently available, it has not been able to list it as an endangered species. Currently, Vanuatu has stipulated a legal minimum killing size.

Local eating habits

Every noon, many local people can be seen buying a laplap*150VT) and holding a coconut *10-40VT), sitting on the grass in the park for lunch and chatting with friends.

Most of them are takeaway restaurants run by China, and the risotto is about 350VT. Western-style fish and chips are also common. CentralPoint Supermarket in the city center has a deli department with a wide variety of noodles, rice, burger sandwiches and pies.

There are many restaurants where you can enjoy delicious food. Seafood is the best choice. Lobster and coconut crab both cost more than 3,000 VT, and steaks are also very famous. Most of the menus are in French, and there are also English menus. There is no difference in consumption in general restaurants and restaurants at the Melodian Hotel, so you can choose different locations and atmospheres to try.

Laplap: Traditional food in Vanuatu. Grind and mix cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, etc. into dough, add diluted coconut milk, put a chicken wing or fish, pork and other meat on top, wrap it with banana leaves, and then cook it with stone. The taste and taste are different from one family to another, but the portions are sufficient and you feel full after eating.

Coconuts sold here are sold by using a knife to split or cut a small hole on the spot, which is not convenient to drink. It is best to bring your own straw or ask the boss to make the hole bigger.

Nangai: You can see in the market that about 25 nuts are strung together and sold at 100VT using coconut leaf mid-stalks. They are the seeds of the Javanese olive Canariumindicum. Peel off the outer membrane and you can eat the white seed kernels raw. They are as fragrant and delicious as coconut meat. The fresher the outer membrane, the easier it is to peel off. Local people will go to the wild to pick up fruits, crack open the flesh and stone with stones, and eat them. They can be used as a meal.