Tonga/Vava‘u: Tongan Food Decap
Every country in the Pacific has its variation of raw fish marinated in lime juice and coconut milk – in Tonga it’s called ota’ika and it’s the country’s national dish and absolutely delicious. Lots of grilled fresh fish – barracuda, tuna, red snapper, wahoo – all fantastically prepared by seemingly upscale restaurants with good chefs (Vavau has several fantastic restaurants mostly catering to visiting whale watchers and tourists and serving awesome local dishes). The best tier down serves mostly Chinese/local mixture, like crab dumplings or local pork – still fantastic. The local Vavau-grown pineapple o absolutely to die for. And to top it all off – great brisk fresh beer.
