The food of Oceania
We found this food gem in East Tamaki by accident. I had forgotten to book at the restaurant we actually came for, and the wait to be seated there was going to be an hour or so and we were too hungry to wait. Soooo we were like… hmmm… where else could we go in this...
I’m super late to this game, especially since Whittaker’s released their artisan ‘Cocoa Lovers Collection’ way back in 2020… but I had to find out (properly): Does the Whittaker’s Cocoa Samoa Chocolate actually taste like Koko Samoa? In case you didn’t know, cacao...
![How to choose a good taro [with video guide]](https://manaui.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/taro-400x250.jpg)
So I only learned this skill recently….and I’m old. My excuse is that, for a Samoan girl, I’ve never reeeeaally been a fan of taro. But apparently, as us Samoans start to age, our primal instincts rise more to the surface and we begin to crave the food of our elders...
I spent several days looking online for a local seafood restaurant that had good food (ie. great reviews) but in a reasonable price range because... well... the budget. It was a bit of a mission, and I almost resorted to dipping into my savings to satisfy my seafood...
Taro, green banana and breadfruit are some 'official' staples in the Pacific, but we love our rice, too! Samoans have several rice-based favourites, including koko alaisa and alaisa fa’apopo, but sua alaisa is probably the simplest to make. Alaisa (or araisa) is the...
In my culinary fantasies, I can walk into any café and ask for a fresh brew of sweet, black koko Samoa. That world is not reality just yet (at least not in New Zealand) but I know connoisseurs of this 'black gold from Samoa' have been talking about it for years, and...
Every now and then, the stomach craves the foods of my childhood. Among the many – Spam musubi is ranked in the top three. This Hawaiian snack (with Japanese origins) is made in a variety of ways depending on the salivating taste buds of the consumer. Spam was a main...
I’ve been told so many times about the deliciousness of the Niuean takihi and that it is a crime that I hadn't tried it already - ekkk! So naturally, I messaged my Niuean faves and asked them if they could demonstrate how to cook Niuean Takihi. In true Pacific people...
For first-timers, a pink potato salad combined with mixed frozen vegetable can look weird and borderline ewww. But actually, this is one of the most well known salads in the Polynesian community... it's so yummy, you can never get enough of it. What was tricky about...
Lots of Asian countries do a coconut and rice dish, but they don’t do it like Samoans do. (As far as I know.)
Alaisa fa’apopo literally means rice that’s been coconut’ed, which of course means that we’ve done something very coconut-y to the rice.
(I’m cracking myself up right now).
It’s all true, though.
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