This blog on New Caledonia is for those of you who ever wondered what life on a tiny island in the South Pacific might be like. Tired of bracing winter winds, the stress of an inner city or simply dreaming of a life change? This is a blog about what happens when, in the words of Yogi Berra, "you come to a fork in the road, [and] take it".

09 November 2006

What Culinary Delights Follow Shark?

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2006.

Some of you may recall mention of our tasting shark unbeknownst to us whilst on this fair island. By us, I mean Sophie. And the guilty party was Laurent. A few weekends ago, we ventured a bit further. While on Ile des Pins, we decided to partake of the lovely dish buried in the ground above: bougna. Bougna is one of the Kanaks' traditional feast dishes. It generally contains taro, yam, sweet potato, banana and either pieces of chicken, fish, crab or lobster. All of this is wrapped in banana leaves and buried to cook in the ground under hot coals. Above, our Kanak friends are uncovering the meal we later ate, below.

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2006.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Julie- I sure am enjoying your blog! My mother was born in Canala, NC in 1924! In 1946 she traveled 3 weeks by ship, to San Francisco to meet my Wisconsin born father who had been stationed there during WWII. What an adventure! In 2000 my sisters and I were blessed to visit our Uncle and Aunt who live near Mont Dore! We have 8 cousins who live all across the island! Have you been to VOH? We love to see your new photos- it brings back wonderful memories! I was especially warmed by your notes on the American monument. It was a very emotional visit for me when
I saw it in person!
(FYI I did not love the taro in this meal you speak of!)

Anonymous said...

I echo my sister's sentiments on taro. We also had some other traditional Kanak treats that we didn't exactly relish, but the photo really makes it all look appetizing.

JHG said...
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