First Time in Fiji 🇫🇯 FIJIAN STREET FOOD - Taro Leaves, Fish Kokoda + Market Tour!

Hey everyone, hope you're having an amazing day. It's Mark Wiens, I'm in Fiji. An archipelago in the South Pacific. And here people love to eat. Yes. Oh, wow. Sweet. Today, I am taking you on an ultimate Fijian food tour. We're beginning at the local market. We'll be sampling some local dishes. Oh, wow. This is the Fijian workout here. Taro. I think it's the biggest soursop I've seen. We're gonna go to some hole in the wall, some canteen restaurants. We'll be eating some seafood. And then we've been invited over to some local villages to sample some really special, local, authentic Fijian food. It's gonna be an incredible time learning about Fiji and its amazing Fijian, or as they say, itauke, food. And I'm gonna share it all with you coming up right now in this video. I'm meeting up with my friend, Andy Blake, a Fijian TV producer and host who's passionate about local food and just an all-around great guy to hang out with. Andy, bula. Bula, Mark. Welcome to the best market in Fiji. This is the Nasuri market, and it's located just about five minute walk from the Nasuri town. And of course, in the best province, Tailevu. Okay, and so this is where we are beginning. This is where we're beginning our food tour. And this market is famous for having some of the best-cooked seafood stores. We're gonna meet a very special lady called Sarah, and she does a signature clam dish in Fiji. We call it koubouke kwaso. Oh, man, just step into the market. Hello! And you're just immediately greeted by an abundance of all things Fijian, all the ingredients of the land. It's so colorful. People are so friendly. And I'm already loving this market. It's actually huge, all under one roof. Hey, Andy, did you say this was one of the biggest markets in the South Pacific? This is arguably one of the biggest markets in the South Pacific, yeah. Yes, correct? Cool. Wow, bula. What type of juice is it? This is all the fruits. I have to blend all the fruits. Oh, okay, a mix of fruit juice. Right. Wow. Okay, here we go. Fresh fruit juice. Oh, that's refreshing. That's sweet. Really good. Thank you very much. Thank you. Vanakka. You're welcome. Look at the size of this soursop. I think it's the biggest soursop I've seen. That's beautiful. Oh, man, the produce here, the fruits and vegetables are just vibrant. This gentleman is just saying that this taro comes from the province of Loma Ivete, Taro is one of the essential ingredients in Fiji, right? Yeah, it's pretty much like a staple. A staple. It's a staple, so most Fijian households will have taro. Oh, okay. We got to pick up this taro. Yeah, that's heavy. Oh, this is the Fijian workout here. Yeah, Fijian workout. Taro. Yeah, absolutely. Vanakka. Man, I'm just fascinated at this market. The ingredients are beautiful and vibrant and colorful, and there's such a diversity and variety. And, I mean, you immediately get to see what goes into the local Fijian cuisine, which these are ingredients that are so unique to the Pacific Islands. Oh, man, this is exciting. Wow. Yeah, look at this. Look at this type of banana. Oh, man, it's a sphere. Wow, that's so cool. But one of the ingredients that you will come to know in Fiji is called kava. It is a root, and it's very important ceremonially, culturally, in Fijian culture. And definitely in some upcoming videos, we're going to have a chance to have some kava ceremonies and enjoy the kava. And so we've come to the back section of the market here, where they have some stalls, kind of a cafeteria, canteen, where they're serving some snacks, serving some tea. Andy said there's a really famous place back here. That's famous, known for their buns and their tea, which we're going to try next. So these are the tea buns. Yeah, these are the tea buns. Okay. This is the tea. Okay. So everyone that comes to the nursery market, they always know to come to Tito Toker. So this is the place you get their famous tea buns. Tea buns. Yeah. Okay, Andy, starting off with a tea. Fresh tea. And what is the significance of the tea bun in Fiji? So in most households, especially if you go to the villages, because we buy in bulk, and so we buy flowers. And so the housewives or the moms and grandmoms, they're very skilled when it comes to making buns in the villages. There's two versions. One is just the traditional type, which is the tea bun, which is what we're having here today. And then the other type is the coconut buns, or lolo buns, as we call them. So this one here is really sort of like a signature bun at this particular place in the nursery market. And they serve it with egg. Oh, it's almost, well, it's really soft, fluffy, and almost biscuity at the same time. Nice and soft. It's so soft, yeah. It's so soft and fluffy. And it's just simple. You know what you're gonna get. It goes well with tea. Nice. Is it heavy? Sorry. On the inside of the market was mainly the fruits and the vegetables and the tea stalls. But if you come to the other side of the market, we haven't even seen the seafood. So we're getting ready to take a look at the seafood, the land crabs, and the seafood inside. When you ask them where the kai comes from, and they say Nakini, you know quality kai. And this is kai, it's like a... Freshwater mussels. Oh, freshwater mussels, okay. This is a very important part of Fijian food culture, kai, the freshwater mussels from the river. Bula. This is Sarah. Oh, Sarah. Nice to meet you. What are we going to eat, Andy, here? So this is Sarah, which is one of the most popular seafood stalls, cook seafood stalls in the monastery market. So today she's going to do Hakokoanda, or ceviche. She does the octopus with coconut milk. And then she does the signature kovu kai kosa, which is the sea clams. And it's baked in coconut milk. This is her signature dish. Fresh coconut milk. Fresh coconut milk is going in now to the octopus. Oh, yes. The baked sea mussels. Wow. Thank you, Sarah. This is really special. What an atmosphere, right in the middle of the market, surrounded by all of the ingredients. And these are Sarah's specialties here. Oh man, it's the vibrancy. Again, the seafood, everything marinated in fresh coconut milk. And then some of the sides, there's some of the sea grapes. Wow. Thank you very much. I want to start with your signature dish, though, which is the... These are these same clams, right? So it almost looks like a cockle. I'm going to try some of these. Oh, it's so rich. Oh, wow. Oh, Sarah. It's incredible. Thank you. It's so creamy. It's so rich. The sweetness of the cockles, and they have a nice texture, too. A little bit chewy. And the more you chew them, the more flavor comes out. But typically, would you eat this along with some of the sweet potato or some of the root? Oh, okay. This is taro. So maybe I'll try some of that. Some of the taro. Oh. And that you can use that to scoop up with the coconut milk. Oh, this is the yellow taro. Oh, okay. Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen yellow taro. Normally, what you see is the purple taro. This is yellow. It has the same texture and flavor as taro, but it's yellow. So let's do a little bit of seasoning. The lemon, some of the sea grapes. I love that texture. Bongo chili. These little chilies, which are similar to a habanero or a scotch bonnet. You gotta chase with that as well. Mmm. Oh, wow. Oh, that combination. Oh, the sea grapes are incredible. They provide this burst of salty, salty, briny seawater flavor. The freshness of that chili. Oh, that's delicious. Okay, I'm gonna try the octopus. This is the coconda. This is octopus. It's cooked. And then again, coconut milk, some carrots, some cucumbers, some herbs in there. Mmm. Oh, it's so creamy. And then the octopus, so meaty. Even the octopus is creamy. Salt and pepper, refreshing and rich at the same time. And then the next dish, the coconda. This is like the raw marinated fish. Oh, I'm gonna eat this with the chili. I'm obsessed with chili. Oh. Oh, that's incredible. Oh, man. Oh, that chili. The fish just melts in your mouth. It's just been cooked by the acid of the lemon juice. And then you've got the richness of the coconut cream coming in there. The crunch of the cucumber. Man, they're all just so good. You can chase every bite with some of the sea grapes. Oh, it's just, everything is good. Everything is local, fresh. This is outstanding Fijian food. Thank you very much. Thank you. Vinaka, vinaka. Fantastic market. I absolutely loved it. The people are so friendly. So many, such a diversity of ingredients. And meeting up with Sarah for her food was fantastic. We're actually walking right across the street to go eat the next food. So, Andy, tell me about the town of Nausori. So this is my hometown. As we say in the township of Nausori, in the province of Tailewa, it's Mbulamaleka. So this is a famous town. It's the best little town in Fiji because we have some of the most delicious delicacies you'll find in Fiji. They come from this province. And this is the hometown that has them in our market, which we've just come from. Okay. Okay, cool. And where are we off to next? So we are going to El Biscana Place. This restaurant is really famous for their, in Fiji, we call it roro and mutton, which is local spinach. They cook it with mutton and in coconut cream. Okay. So it's a real delicious treat when you come to Nausori. The center is bustling with businesses, so friendly. And what a really cool little town. So what do we have here? This is, in Fiji, we call this iwi, but it's a Tahitian chestnut. So again, this is in season. So every roadside stall, they'll be selling one of these. Okay. Must try when you come to Fiji, especially Nausori. All right, let's try it. Whoa, they're huge. Yeah. The biggest chestnut I've ever seen in my life. Oh, wow. It's so dense, so hearty, so nutritious. Wow. So packed full of nutrients, but that's like incredibly dense and filling. Oh, it's really good. What do you think, Andy? Yeah, really good. So you can get this, you can eat it this way. There's another way, you can just grate it. Oh, okay. And then they mix it with coconut and they sort of like steam it. And it's sort of like a pudding. Amazing. And the taste is quite neutral, slightly sweet and really starchy, really dense. People are just so incredibly friendly. Oh, I'm loving Fiji. So you come off the main street into this kind of courtyard hallway. The restaurant is called Elvis Kana. And we're here to eat Roro. And we're going to see the entire process before we eat it. This is the garlic and the ginger. And this is a Chinese salt, let's say. Okay. And salt, just a little bit salt. Soy sauce. A little bit sugar. Then, This is mutton, is it lamb meat? Lamb meat or goat meat? Lamb meat. I'm going to put the oil. Is that salt? You're adding salt, okay. That's a really unique technique there, adding salt to the oil to temper down the onions and garlic. That really makes them just brown and crispify. And brings out the fragrance. Okay, all of the lamb meat goes in. That technique really brings out the smoky, toasty fragrance from the pot and from that oil. Just sauteing down with salt. After this, after the thing fry, then we're going to put a little bit water to make it boil so that the thing can cook. Then we're going to put on a side. Okay. All right. Oh, and you're peeling the cassava? Yeah. The purple one. Okay. So if you look at it, it's got the little purple. That's, it has a more sweetness to it. Okay, that's the the roro that we're going to be using, okay. That will be going in. Okay. I think the ladies have already washed the ones that will be cooked in today. So the roro is actually made from a type of Fijian taro leaf, which is called dalo. And so those are the leaves that are going to be made. So as that lamb simmers, we're going to get started on the dalo, the roro. I just put the onion together here. Garlic and ginger. A little bit of salt, because salt is already there. Okay. Chinese salt. Drop a little bit of oil inside. Okay. So when the roro cooks, it looks like gold. Okay. And I'm going to keep on turning. Oh, so it really boils down. Those dalo leaves go into the pot. It's amazing how much they boil down. That's like a whole, an entire bag full. And it just boils down into this pot here. That's how much they boil down, simmer down when you cook them. And you can smell the aroma of the ginger and onions that are just going to infuse into it. Okay, sure. One of the things about dalo leaves or roro is if you don't cook it properly, if you don't cook it long enough, you'll get itchy. It has like, you get a reaction to it. So it needs to boil down for about 30 minutes now before it's ready to be consumed. So you don't get itchy when you eat it. So those taro leaves, once they've been cooking for 30 minutes, they just like completely disintegrate into a sauce. That's not blended. That's not chopped up at all. Those, she put in the whole leaves, but they just boil down and kind of disintegrate into a gravy. It looks incredible. And it tastes incredible. Oh man, I bet, I bet. The aromas, the freshness, cooked hot and fresh. Andy, can you show us how to eat this? Sure. So when in Fiji, do as the Fijians do. For sure. We have chilies in your bowl. Okay. So we're going to season our bowl first. These are the bird's eye chilies. So you're going to smash these into your bowl. Then after that, you squeeze the lemon juice. Okay. Maybe I'll start with these chilies and we can add more chilies as we go. Put a little bit of salt. Okay. I'll add a little bit of, a little bit of salt to my mixture. Yeah, get that big piece of mutton. Big chunk of mutton and some more of those, the roro. Take a piece of that boiled cassava and then just get into that. Oh man, before even going into that mutton, I just want those taro leaves that, oh, I love the taro leaves. And just look how soft and tender those taro leaves are. Literally, they just disintegrate. There we go. Cheers, Andy. How's that? Oh wow. Yes. Oh man. It's so simple, but it's so much flavor. So much flavor. I mean, it's, the ingredient is those leaves, the taro leaves. They're nutty. They're almost a little bit fruity. The texture of them is so silky soft and tender. And again, just like when they're cooked down, they disintegrate. They just totally dissolve on your tongue as you take that bite. And then you've got that flavor of the lamb, which is infused in it. The onions, the garlic, the ginger. Yeah, the ginger. And then you have the lemon and chili right at the end. And that just kind of like contrasts, just kind of like brings out the acidity. Yeah, absolutely. Man, I'm blown away by the flavor. And let's move into that lamb. The lamb should be tender, boiled. Oh yeah, grab some of that lamb. Mix it with the cassava, with the roots, with the roe roe. It's amazing. Good. I love the taro leaf as well. And it's got a little bit of coriander as well. Oh yeah. Tender lamb. This is a landmark. This is an institution for Fijian food in Nazari. Yes. Oh man, that was an incredible lunchtime at the market. Seafood and then lunch. The roe roe was outstanding. We are now continuing. And where are we off to next, Andy? We are off to the village of Namuka in the Nakiala district. And this village is very famous for the angalu, which is a traditional Fijian dessert. And we're going to learn all about it when we get there. But it's very, very special. Welcome to Namuka village. And that was just about a 15 minute drive from Nazari. It is so green, so lush, so peaceful here. Bula. Bula, Bula. Bula, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, Bula. What's your name? Micah. Your name? Micah. His name is Micah also. Mr. Micah, very nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too, bro. Could you tell us a little bit about what we're going to be preparing here and the history of it? Yeah, what we're preparing today is, we call it a wagalolo. It's sort of like a delicacy for this region. And also, it's like a dessert made from taro, cassava, and coconut all together. And oh, it's like a caramel taste. And this region is well known for this. And we have certain relationships that are sealed by this. Like for us in this village, when we have in the olden days, when we have our warrior clans that always fight for our region. There are certain villages in this region that will fight our battles. And in a way to thank them, we do this for them. That's some cassava. Put some cassava, and we're grating some cassava at the moment. As well as dalo or taro. Okay. We grate it on this grater. Okay. So we try and get it to a small piece. We don't grate the whole thing. We just leave the middle part out. Okay. It's really an honor to be able to have this chance to see the process of this delicacy. And to watch how it's made, how it's been passed down from generation. And then finally, to be able to taste it. It's so juicy. Creamy almost. Like it's almost milky. Yes. Yeah. Is it more of a dessert, or is it eaten like a main dish? It's more or less like a dessert. At the same time, it's also like when people come in here. This is the first thing we present to them. Oh, and taro. Okay. So the purpose for the taro is to hold everything together. Okay. Because it has that gluten or stickiness. The taro is kind of starchy. It takes a lot of time just to get this done. You have to prepare all the ingredients. Get it cooked. It can be cooked overnight. Oh, it has to be cooked overnight. Wow. Get the coloring done. Okay. Use the sugar as well. Okay. Get the coloring for the paste. Scraping the coconut. So we just want to melt it down. It's kind of like a brown sugar that goes in? Yes. Okay. And that's just only brown sugar that you're going to use just to melt down into a syrup? Yes. As you melt it into the syrup, you add a lot of hot water to it. Okay. Melt it down enough, and then to get water in. All right. Oh, it's like lava. Yeah. Wow. Once the water just added all into it, just want to melt that down. Okay. We want to mix it while it's still hot. Okay. Hot, so it can integrate, mix with cassava and dalapu. Mix it all together. So the coloring, you just check. If you need more coloring, then you pour some more. All right. What type of a leaf is that? Is that a taro leaf? Same family, but it's a bit stronger. Bigger one. Okay. And it's like waxy. You call it a veal leaf, yeah. And it's quite waxy too, right? Yes. Like a waxy. Wow. You want to tie tightly so nothing comes out. You can see the water boiling. Yeah, okay. We should put it in while the water is boiling. All right. So these leaves are really strong. Yeah, they won't break. Okay. Even when you boil them in water, they're very durable. So that boils for four or five hours, depending on the volume. Wow, so that's got to boil for a long time. In the meantime now, we're going to get started squeezing the coconut milk, fresh coconut milk. That's the workout. Yes. And that takes so much muscle to squeeze it out, but you can just see how rich, how creamy, how buttery that coconut is. You appointed to come and do this work? No, of course. I mean, when you are, when I was talking to Mark, Mark was like telling me, like, unique food experience. And I was like, well, we have made it, you can visit us over. Thank you. Mark, can I take that to his business? And we are done. So that's just straight sugar melted coconut cream. Because that takes four to five hours to boil. Luckily, they have pre-boiled a couple. So we're going to be able to see it immediately. It's the outcome. So this has been four hours boiled. Look at the green leaf. Yeah. Okay. All right. Okay. And so another, another fact of making this is that the syrup with is just the sugar boiled down with coconut milk. That takes another two hours to slowly simmer because you want it to evaporate to thicken. So two more hours stirring. So again, they have already some prepared. Thank you so much. So actually, it's almost ready to eat. Yes. Excellent. Oh. You could see how sticky and rich it is. Oh, and naturally oily. The food coloring that we did before. Okay. And that's from the roasted coconut. Yeah. Roasted sugar. I mean. You're going to cut it like into small ice cubes. Okay. It's thick. Get the juices flowing. Yeah. The juices flowing. Get all the corners of those small cubes. Okay. Juicy. Enjoy. Thank you very much. Let's try it. Okay. Oh. Oh, so juicy. So much syrup. Thank you, guys. Oh, wow. Oh, it's so good. Like the fingers. Finger licking good. Oh, that's so good because the texture is kind of a little bit jelly, a little bit starchy. And then you really taste the smokiness of that brown sugar that was melted down. The coconut milk has been caramelized and boiled. So it has that molasses-y richness to it. Smokiness. Oh, man. And it's like not too sweet, actually. Yeah. But like a perfect balance of sweetness and a little bit of a like sourness, acidity. Maybe coming from the cassava or just the process of making. And the taro gives it a little bit of that sourness that contrasts the sweetness. Oh, it's awesome. We need to go in again. Let's go. Oh. So normally you can eat like a lot of this because you eat it like as part of the meal, even. Mmm. Once you taste this and you're in Fiji, now you've stepped in the Kelo. Thank you. Thank you very much. So you are a Kelo-born. Oh, awesome. Once you taste this. Awesome. Mmm. You will immediately start licking your fingers. Yes. That's. Yes. Do you like it? Gone. That goes so fast, but it like amazingly goes down so fast. And because it's kind of light. I mean, it feels you think it's going to be dense, but it's really fluffy. And just so easily goes down. Oh, that was spectacular. Oh, that was an incredibly special time learning the process and the significance of Vakalolo. And thank you to Micah and his family for showing us that tradition here in this village in Fiji. That was incredible. From here, we're continuing on with this Fijian food tour. We're on our way to eat more. And we're on our way to the next village. Andy, what's next? This is Mokani village again in the Talebu province. Now, there's a lady here. Her name is Anna, and she is known for making the tastiest fermented bread, which we call Mbila. It's a delicacy in the Talebu province. So today you're going to try the one of our delicacies of the Talebu province, which is the Mbila. Mbila. Anna. Mbila. Yeah, this weather here is just so peaceful, so relaxing. Fiji time. We're on Fiji time here, and we're having some lemongrass tea. Oh, that's soothing. That's going to help in the digestion. Anna is going to get started making it immediately. And this is something that makes use of fermented cassava into a type of bread. And we're going to watch her as she makes the process now. This is the cassava? Yeah. Yeah, there's a very sour aroma to it. When people buy, they need that smell. You can immediately smell that, and you know. How long has it been fermenting? Four nights. Four nights fermenting. Okay. I have to squeeze the water out. Okay. Oh, nice. Okay. Sugar, then mix it in. Coconut. Oh, that's grated coconut? Yeah. Oh, and what did you say the name of this type of leaf is? Wasili. Wasili leaf. Yeah. And that's wrapped and ready. Yeah. You can tell how much experience Anna has. Anna, how many years have you been making this? 20 years now. 20 years of experience. You're so fast. You know exactly how to roll it. And I mean, it's just, it's that fermented cassava. It's sugar. It's grated coconut. But then just the way she kneads it into this perfect dough, kind of like a dough or a batter, and then into the leaves, wraps it in long cylinder shapes. And then after that, it will boil? It will boil. Okay. Boil it for 30 minutes. Okay. So they've been boiled. You can see the leaf has wilted down. And then on the inside. Oh, wow. It's like a, it's a, like a string. Thank you. Thank you very much. Now, typically, would this be eaten on its own or as a dessert or as a main dish or as a, with tea? You can have it on its own if you wanted to as a snack. When I have it, I like to have it with a nice cup of sweet tea. Ah. I cannot wait to try it. Okay. Mmm. Oh, yes. Oh, it's so good. It's, because of that fermentation, it has this little bit of a sourness, but that's a really good thing. The texture is really gummy and sticky. Yeah. Just a little bit sweet, but not overly sweet. And then you, oh, you've got the crunch of the coconut in there as well. The crunch of the coconut. That's what's giving it that extra texture from the gumminess and the starchiness of the cassava. Oh, it's really good. And it kind of like, when it boils, it kind of gets quite, quite dense. Yes, quite dense. Quite dense and hard, so it's kind of filling. Really good. Yeah, it's like amazingly dense and filling, yet it goes down quite easily. It's addictive. A Fijian delicacy made by Ana. Oh, it's amazing. With a cup of coffee, it would be really good. Gundibak Soto, which is a dessert. The ripe gundi with the syrup. Oh, wow. These are the plantain bananas? These big bananas. Oh, and so this was totally unexpected. But Ana has made, what is it called? This is Gundibak Soto. Gundibak Soto. Correct. These are big bananas, kind of candied. Is that like a syrup in there? Yep, it's like a syrup. A syrup, okay. Gundibak Soto, what a cool name, too. I love it. Okay. Wow, good? Oh, wow, that's amazing. Yeah, because you've got the sourness of the banana. Oh, that's delicious. It's refreshing. Yeah, refreshing. Sour, cool, sweet. I love that sourness. Oh, what a fantastic place. To continue with this Fijian food tour, Andy, where are we at next? We are going to dine at Babel. This is a hole-in-the-wall sort of food establishment which is located on Lavala Bay. It's right next to a gym, and they are famous for their seafood. And so to get to this restaurant, it's quite a hidden gem. You walk your way around the stadium, around the sports complex and gym, and you get National Fitness Center, and this is the restaurant. This is the famous Babel restaurant. So you gotta know about this place. You have to know about it. If you come to Suba, this is the place to come and get fresh and delicious seafood. Bula, Bula. We're in the kitchen now here at Babel, and they're gonna prepare a couple of signature dishes. But already you can see the freshness of the ingredients, fresh seafood. I love how everything is fresh coconut milk, no compromise, freshly squeezed. All right. With chilies, I know you like chilies. Thank you, yes. Oh, extra chilies. We're sitting down for our next seafood meal. Vibrant, colorful, and a lot of coconut milk is used in the recipes. What should we begin with, actually? You wanna start with the mud crab? Yeah, let's start with the mud crab, yes. This is a kind of mud crab. It's called mana. Okay, so it's already been deshelled. It's already been deshelled, and it's cooked in coconut cream. Okay. So the mana is a delicacy that comes out of the province of Rewa. So I'll get you to do the first serve, do the honors. I see big chunks of crab, oh, with the roe as well, the ferns underneath, and just saturated in coconut cream. Oh, yeah. Is it best to eat a little bit of everything together in one? Yep. All right. Good? Oh, yes. So creamy and milky from the fresh coconut milk. Yeah, fresh coconut milk. I was just gonna say the taste is very different with the coconut milk. And then you've got the sweetness of the coconut milk as well. You've got that fresh crunch of the fern, which is really snappy and really bright and fresh. And then the crab is nice and stringy and sweet. Stringy and sweet, yes. But that fresh coconut milk is what? No compromise here. I mean, Fiji coconuts are so, as we've already seen, are so important in the cuisine, and they don't joke around when it comes to the coconut milk. It's all fresh, hand-squeezed. So this is what we call nama in Fiji, but this is sea grapes. All right. This is a superfood. Oh, so you think it's already seasoned with lemon? Yeah, it's already seasoned. Good to go. That's good to go. Oh, I'm gonna, and I'm gonna go in for that chili on this bite too. And you'll feel the crunch as well when you start eating. Crunchy, fresh. And what's amazing about that is you've got that salty brininess of the sea grapes, and that's contrasted by the rich butteriness, sweetness of the coconut milk. A fish that's marinated overnight in lemon juice, and then it's seasoned and dressed with coconut milk. We've got onions, carrots, coriander, and vinegar, lemon, and chili. Oh, yeah. And I gotta top it with one of these, one of these chilies. All these chilies are, bump it up. Bongo chilies. Oh, wow. Good? Yep. That fish is so soft and tender. It just melts in your mouth. And then again, the sweet coconut cream. Oh, man. Coconut after coconut. So rich and flavorful. Oh, that's, that is amazing. And we've got the next, the next dish here, which is also a similar preparation, it looks like. But yeah, this is, this is what we call a sivi. I think it belongs in the clam family. It's cooked in coconut milk. And again, this is a delicacy. This clam comes all the way from the province of Bua. Okay. Wow. Oh, that one is amazing. Wow, yeah. That's really good. That one, you taste the flavor of the onions in there as well. And the chewiness of the sea clam. Yeah. Wonderful texture. Again, rich coconut milk. Andy, what's next? So this is the freshwater mussels, or what we call kai valatamba. It's like the clams that's chopped up, mixed with onions and tomatoes and coconut cream. And then it's baked on a shell. Good? Wow. Coconut cream, but more thickened, rich, that salty, like, peppery flavor. Tiamak is what we call lumi. It's seaweed cake. So it's seaweed that we get out of the ocean, we clean it, and then we mix it with coconut milk. And then we sort of like steam it on the stove. And so that turns into kind of a jelly or pudding? Yeah. With seaweed, coconut milk. Oh, yeah. And it's seasoned with onions as well. Yeah, lots of onions, and they're giving it a crunch. Oh, man. It's just coconut milk in all forms and shapes and textures, which is so good. And the freshness of the seafood. And we're gonna move on now to another main dish here, which is a stack of snapper, which they seared off all the ingredients. I think there's some cassava under there. There's some carrots. The fish was marinated and then seared. And then she finished it off with a lot of decoration with ferns, with more of the sea grapes, with bongo chilies. Try that fish. Oh, man, these bongo chilies are just outstanding. Get a little bit of everything with some of the sea grapes. Yep, fresh snapper. Again, this is caught in the northern part of Fiji, where they say the best fish and seafood come out of. A squeeze of lemon. Fiji bongo chilies are really delicious. Yes, they are. And very spicy. Yes, they are. So good. Awesome. Really gourmet seafood, but in a laid-back, really friendly, open-air, just fantastic environment. Okay, and we've already had this dish, but this is without meat. This is without meat, and this is the Babel's version. So this is roro, which are the taro leaves. Yes, taro leaves, and this version is prepared with coconut milk. Okay. Oh. Good? Yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah, that is so good. Oh, man. You taste the onions in there, and then the creaminess of the coconut milk, along with that nutty flavor of the roro, of the leaves, the taro leaves. Two different starches that are mainly commonly used on the plates here today, cassava and plantain. With the coconut milk, with the sea grapes, and the bongo chili. The first one is what we call vundi vacasoso. So these are the plantains that is cooked with coconut milk, and because the vundi is already sweet, it already adds that sweetness to the dessert. And then it's cooled down after it's cooked, and then we serve it cold. And then we also have the lotte. Again, this is plantain, which is vundi, and it's cooked with cassava to thicken it, to give it a thick consistency. And then we have the coconut pie, which is the signature pie of Babel. Now, this is a family secret recipe, so they will never tell us what's in this pie, but it tastes really good. Coconut milk. Oh, wow. Hot. Good? Sweet, with coconut and sugar combination. Caramel-y taste with that coconut. Also a bit of sourness from the banana as well. Yes, this is the lotte. Oh, creamy again. Very creamy. And the real banana flavor to that. Finally, the legendary. Found only in Babel. The legendary family recipe, coconut pie. Oh, you can see how jiggly it is. Oh yeah, the coconut pie is amazing. Oh, creamy, like coconut pudding on the top, and this crumbly base. Great way to end an amazing meal. And just the freshness, the vibrancy, the coconut overdose, but really a cool place. Laid-back and gourmet Fijian seafood. All right, Andy, next up on this Fijian food tour. So you're going to try the Fiji-style barbecue. So we are in the village of Nandali. This is the tasty barbecue stall, very popular in Nosori. Their barbecues are, in my opinion, the best in Nosori. So you gotta try the barbecue here. Okay, you can already smell the grills going, the smoke pouring out of the stall. We're right along the main road here, but surrounded by the lush greenery, and it's time to eat Fijian barbecue. It's a really cool setup here. The fire is burning, and then they have a hot griddle grilling up the sausages, lamb sausage and lamb chops, and all of the fat just melting. So it starts to cook and starts to sizzle in its own fat. Oh, it smells so good over the hot fire. And the sauce, I can't wait to try the sauce. What is the popular barbecue that you make? It's just because of the sauce that people come. Oh, really? Okay, it's the sauce. But then what types of meats do you have? We just have lamb. Oh, okay. Lamb chops and lamb sausage goes with the salad. Oh, okay. So the way they make it is they pre-grill everything, but then when you order it, then they put it back on the hot plate, then they brush on the sauce before then it's ready to be eaten and served. Ah, this is the marinade. What is the marinade? Soy sauce? Is it? Yeah, we have ginger, garlic, like the juice, powdered juice. Oh, okay. With water and then ginger, garlic with the soy sauce. Okay. Okay, so that's actually not the sauce. That's called the marinade. You smell that soy sauce caramelizing the ginger, garlic in there, and then that's gonna go on to the root crops, and then the sauce will come next. Oh, yes. Okay, famous sauce. A little bit here so you can taste it. Thank you. Okay. Have a taste. Okay. Okay, so we're stepping outside of the smokehouse. We've got a beautiful lush backyard, but we can't wait to dig into these lamb chops, that sizzling move, and then she just sprays on that sauce, which is their signature sauce, which they said that's the secret to their barbecue here. Seared on the hot plate with the fire. The aroma of the soy sauce and that sauce, which we got to find out and taste what it is. Fiji barbecue. Wow. Oh, wow. Oh, that's really tasty. The sauce kind of has a fruity flavor to it, maybe like a pineapple. I was just gonna say, it's got pineapple in it, pineapple. Then you taste the marination, which is soy sauce and ginger, garlic, just kind of caramelized onto the lamb, and the flavor of the lamb comes through. Good. So tasty. I'll take a piece of the lamb. Let's move into that sauce at the bottom. Oh, and below here, there's pineapple, there's an egg, and there's a cassava as well. Yes. And all that sauce. It's normally what you get in a traditional Fijian barbecue. The whole package. Yeah, the whole package we get from a roadside barbecue. Okay. The fruity pineapple flavor with the lamb. And then these, we got fresh bird's eye chilies, which they went and picked back at the house, right off the bush, as fresh as possible. Oh, yeah. Oh, with those chilies to bump up, that's just a little burst of heat, and a little poof of chili. Let's try the sausage, Andy. That's lamb sausages. Break it in half, snap it. Oh, lamb sausage. Make sure you re-juice and re-dip. All right. Wow. Oh, yeah. Salty. Smooth. You really can taste the marinade. Yeah, yeah. Of the barbecue, the meat. Definitely. And it goes well with that fruity flavor. Definitely. Chase it with some of the bird's eye chilies. Every bite. I'm not as brave as you to have chilies. That's okay. So that's the winning combination. The lamb chops with the lamb sausage, drenched in the sauce. Sausage is good, but the lamb chop is where it's at. And we got cassava as well to eat it with. Everything must be dunked and drenched in the sauce. Oh, that's good. That sauce. They were not joking about that sauce. It's a signature sauce. That is the signature sauce. It's called tasty barbecue for a reason. It really is tasty. But what a time here in Fiji. People are extremely friendly, and I've just thoroughly enjoyed learning about the unique ingredients that go into local, authentic Fijian food. And, oh man, I'll have all the places that we went in the description box below. I want to say a huge thank you to my friend, Andy Blake. He, again, he does TV here. He's a local host, and he loves Fiji and loves the culture of Fiji. So go check out Andy. Thank you, Andy. And that's gonna be it for this video. I want to say a huge thank you for watching this video. Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you. And if you're not already subscribed, make sure you subscribe now for lots more food and travel videos. Thank you again to all the amazing people of Fiji.