Moce Fiji

“Mummy, why is there not very much food?” whispered Lukie, leaning forward across the table. “Is this all we’re going to get?”

“No”, I whispered back, “don’t worry, we’ll get more”.

We had told the kids that it would be fine dining, that there would be no kid’s meals, no pizza or chips. But it was a bit later than our normal dinner time, and Lukie was starving.

The waiter finished pouring the water and left.

Four prawns lay beautifully displayed in the centre of a square plate, smothered in a masala sauce, delicately decorated with thin strips of carrot, cucumber and coriander. They smelled delicious.

“Mummy, can I please have a prawn?” asked Lukie. “Or maybe two, maybe I can have Matias’s, he doesn’t like prawns”.

“Let’s save the extra one for Daddy”, I said. “It’s his birthday we’re celebrating”.

We were at the exclusive ‘1808’ restaurant, at Castaway Island Resort in the Mamanuca Group of Fiji, splurging on a gourmet meal out to celebrate David’s upcoming birthday. His birthday is tomorrow but as we’re leaving Fiji today, we thought we’d have a meal out whilst having access to a nice restaurant.

And it certainly was an inspiring dining experience, fusion Asian Pacific cuisine executed over a camp-out kitchen set up in the sand, overlooking the sea, the dishes arriving as they were cooked, all locally inspired sensational bursts of flavour and texture such as seawater confit of pork belly, lemongrass tea chicken with coriander salsa verde, and sizzling Yagara pepper beef. We’d had a wonderful day at the island, snorkelling the pristine reef, watching superyachts and seaplanes whizz by, relaxing one final day. And now this incredible meal to round it off with, easily the best food we’d ever had in our lives.

We were on our way to Nadi, to provision for our upcoming passage before checking out. Originally planning to go to New Caledonia, we’d made a last minute decision to stop over at Vanuatu to see the famous active volcano at Tanna on our way to New Caledonia, making the trip three nights rather than four. The weather was looking good for a departure on 2nd October, steady winds, fast sailing on a nice beam reach.

Since Alexis and Cara left us we’d been relaxing in Blue Lagoon, swimming and snorkelling, and had watched Wales beat England in the rugby at the local yacht club. Huge super yachts had arrived there and anchored some distance away and we watched the kerfuffle as the resort staff got ready for the ‘cultural welcome’ for the owners. One of the huge ships anchored looked like a research or navy ship, decked out as it was with a helicopter and a crane. The staff told us that this was the ‘shadow ship’ of the other yacht, the vessel bearing the toys for the owner to enjoy – the water skiing boat, bigger than Bob, being the tender, the helicopter for the scenic rides, the sports equipment to ensure a great experience for the owner without him having the inconvenience of having to interact with lowly helicopter mechanics and kite surfing instructors during the remainder of his stay.
Different world – I wonder how much fossil fuel they burn up in a year, two huge vessels chugging along from one desirable destination to the next, ready for the owner to descend upon them whenever he or she gets a break in their busy schedule.

In any case, I hope they enjoy Fiji as much as we have. It has been an incredible place, full of beautiful islands and underwater treasures. But the best thing has been the people – the incredibly friendly islanders, the cultural melting pot mixing Indians, Fijians and on the mainland also Chinese, resulting in breathtaking diversity on the streets and buses, delicate Indian ladies adorned in sparkly jewellery and glittery silk saris next to huge Fijian mamas sporting the signature short cropped afro and sober church wear. The food at every street vendor is wonderful – delicious curry bites dipped in hot sauce, a street version of the Indo-Fijian fusion cuisine, without the refinery of the 1808 restaurant but still tasty and at a fraction of the price.

Oh, Fiji, we’ll miss you and are sad to leave – we have so enjoyed visiting here, getting to know the culture a bit, visiting villages on remote islands from east to west. Moce, and Vinaka for your hospitality.