Holidays in Mauritius – What to Eat and Drink
Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean, to the east of Madagascar. While this island is beautiful and filled with resorts attracting tourists to the islands pristine beaches, sun and sand is not all this island has to offer.
Mauritius will surprise you with its exquisite mouth watering cuisine and this is something that you certainly must try if you visit the island. Due to its many settlers, the island’s cuisine has been influenced by the French, Chinese, Indians, and Africans. Therefore, its food will spoil your taste buds, and you will discover a selection in the flavors available to you.
Mainly meals are served with rice, flat bread, (chapatti) or roti (paratha). These are eaten with the numerous kinds of curries you can find in restaurant. The food is full of spices that include cardamom, cloves, and herbs like basil and curry leaf. So, prepare your system to go through a little shock in the start.
There are a lot of lentil dishes available including lentil soup (dal), and you should try the vast variety as you will not find this vast variety of dishes based on lentils in any other country, unless you’re in South Asia. You will also find Indian delicacies like Dholl puri on street corners which is a common snack to eat during the day.
Biryani is another delicious dish that could not be missed. This is rice with meat and potatoes, but involves the use of a massive amount of spices which are layered with the meat, potatoes, and rice on top of each other in a huge pan and then cooked on a low heat. The resulting flavors are so good, and work so well together that you will be ordering this Mughal dish in your local Indian/Pakistani restaurants every time you visit these restaurants.
Like Dholl Puri, you can find other snacks on the roads as well. The infamous Gateaux Piments, samosas, and octopus curry are all commonly found, and well worth trying out.
The local drink is Cane Rum. It is cheap, and very nice with a Coca Cola and ice. Rum is a great drink to have on the island, and look out for a coconut water drink with lemon and rum on ice as well. Rum that you buy should be at least five years old to be worth the money. The local beer Phoenix, is not only very cheap (less than a pound), but also very famous around the world. So, you should definitely try it in its local habitat, but make sure it is served to you cold. Black Eagle beer is another brand you should watch out for.
So, when in Mauritius make sure you not only see just the beaches and landscapes, but also take some time out to enjoy the local cuisine and drinks. The perfect method to see any country is by learning more about its culture, and the best way to do that is through its food.