Dining

You are bound to come across restaurants on the island that serve International cuisine. However, the local cooking flavor remains largely Fijian and Indian.

You will find many restaurants that offer elaborate buffets during lunchtime.

The regional dishes considered as delicacies include:

- Rourou: a dish made with Taro leaves

- Kakoda: steamed fish served with coconut cream and lime.

- Kassaua: tapioca, which is often boiled, baked or grated and cooked in coconut cream with sugar and mashed bananas.

- Duruka: this is an unusual asparagus-like vegetable that seasonal, usually blooms during April and May.

National drinks:

An extensive range of drinks is available in Fiji including the traditional kava.

- Carlton is a local beer brewed in Suva.

- Fiji Bitter brewed in Lautoka.

- Meridan Moselle and Suvanna Moselle are local wines.

- Other drinks include: Booth's Gin, Bounty Fiji Golden Rum, Cossack Vodka and Old Club Whisky (produced by South Pacific Distilleries).

Most of the restaurants are situated in private locations or on deserted islands. However, you might find some others that are scattered around downtown but it is the restaurants inside hotel complexes that you would prefer to opt for.

There are a few hotels, particularly the upscale resorts that provide their visitors with a stunning choice of dishes prepared by high-quality international chefs.

If you happen to taste the local food, you will realize that it is quite bland and hence the cuisine in most restaurants catering to travelers is based on an international flavor.

Fish is the most important part of the menu and can hardly be resisted by the locals and visitors alike. Fruits are also commonly obtainable but are sometimes limited to specific seasons.

Nadi Town has some excellent restaurants, which are quite moderately priced. These restaurants include Indian curries and Japanese dishes. You will come across the finest restaurants in Nadi on Denarau Island.

A. Top Restaurants

BANYAN RESTAURANT

Royal Davui Fiji

Tel: 330 7090

Fax: 331 1500

This restaurant is known as The Banyan restaurant as a flowering banyan tree surrounds the open-air dining pavilion. This restaurant overlooks the Bega Lagoon and the sight could not get better than this for a tired traveler looking to unwind. The menu is a blend of European and Pacific Rim cuisine.

DOLPHIN ISLAND

Tel: 64 7 378 5791

Fax: 64 7 378 0427

You could visit this restaurant to experience the perfect taste of fish and chips, and on another day, you could choose to have curried prawns along with roti. In this restaurant, the meals are served in a traditional Fijian style.

NUKUBATI ISLAND

Tel: 881 3901

Fax: 881 3914

If you are visiting this restaurant, you must try kokoda, which is a dish of raw fish marinated in lime and served in coconut cream.

PALM GROVE RESTAURANT AT THE WAKAYA CLUB

Tel: 344-8128

Fax: 344-8406

The menu consists of international preparations, which include lamb with roast pumpkin and hummus, Thai chicken and peanut salad, and spicy Indian prawn curry.

TURTLE ISLAND

Yasawa Island group

Tel: 360 256 4347 or (from U.S.) 800 255-4347

Fax: 360 253 3934

This restaurant serves excellent lobsters with buckwheat noodles and a Mongolian barbeque of grilled fish and meats flavored with Eastern spices.