The ultimate Christmas feast

As in Australia, food is a large part of the Christmas celebrations in most Fijian resorts. Huge
buffet lunches and dinners are available for guests featuring an abundance of fresh seafood, a
mix of cold and hot meats, salads, fresh fruit and pudding for dessert.

Fijians traditionally celebrate Christmas with a huge lovo feast comprising garlic spice chicken,
beef, pork, fish, cassava and Dalo. Another special dish often served at Christmas time is
Palusami, spiced mutton wrapped in leaves and cooked in coconut cream.  Many resorts make
a special lovo Christmas feast available for guests on Christmas Day.

As with any Fijian celebration, kava is an integral part of the Christmas festivities.

Alone at Christmas? Why not enjoy some Fijian hospitality?

For many people living alone or away from family and friends, Christmas can be a time of
isolation and loneliness.  Fiji resorts are a-buzz with activity and people.  If travelling alone, we
can advise what resorts make it easy for singles to mingle with other guests.  Some resorts set
up huge tables where guests can sit together and celebrate with new found friends.

Afraid sentimentality will get the better of you?

If you’re thinking you’ll get too sentimental (or feel guilty) spending time away from family at
Christmas, rest assured most resorts have Wi-Fi suitable for Skype streaming.  Best of all you
can connect with family and friends without the dramas of being there in person.

Or, if you can’t bear to spend the festive season away from family and friends why not take
them with you?  We can organise a group holiday so you can celebrate altogether.

And finally, just imagine waking up on Christmas morning and taking a leisurely stroll along the
beach.  Then spending a few hours by the pool before dressing for a decadent Christmas feast
where you don’t have to do any of the cooking or cleaning.   Then back to your bure for an
afternoon nap before doing it all again at dinner. Sounds enticing doesn’t it?
kirabsti

As an island nation, Kiribati lacks access to a number of food items that might
be more common or easily obtained in the rest of the world. Additionally, this
island is a coral atoll, which means that the soil is nutrient deficient. These
harsh conditions make growing any sort of agricultural crop here quite difficult.
Due to this factor, fishing has become a mainstay of the economy and of
survival for the population here. Therefore, seafood is the primary component
of traditional Kiribati dishes. Seafood may be prepared in a number of ways,
including: baked, fried, and steamed. Bananas and coconuts are also able to
survive here and so these two ingredients also make their way into traditional,
Kiribati cuisine.

During the tropical months in the island of kirabati,  

At the end of the day, if I had to sum Kiribati’s cuisine up with one word, it would be
FISH.

Lots and lots of fish. Nicky says the most popular seafood is: “lobster,yellowfin or
skipjack tuna, but also other fish (fried, boiled, battered and deep fried, baked…
anything you can think of). […] Kiribati is a coral atoll (not volcanic, fertile soil like most
of the Pacific), so not much grows here. Coconut, breadfruit treas and pandanus are the
main things that grow. Things like pumpkin, cabbage and cherry tomatoes have been
introduced, so they grow too. […] little bananas are everywhere.”

She adds that curry powder, rice and canned goods – such as corned beef (something
that also showed up nearby Fiji’s menu)  – are all popular, although in each case they’re
imports. Exotic items like ginger, garlic, and chili peppers are all imported and not used
in daily cooking. A basic meal might include fish or lobster with coconut milk & curry
powder [Recipe], finished with sweet pumpkin and pandan leaves  [Recipe]. Boiling and
underground roasting is kept plain and simple. Try some of the evergreen and colorful
fruits that taste very sweet and refreshing.