5 Food You Must Try In Caledonia

Cuisine in New Caledonia is beautiful marriage between island-style, Melanesian tastes and the very best of French flavours and flair. Just like in France, food, coffee and wine are all important aspects of the local life in this Pacific nation and they take these things very seriously. Be sure to get a true taste of New Caledonia with these unique dishes you must try.

* Bougna

Bougna is the most traditional dish you’ll find in New Caledonia and a great example of the local Kanak cuisine, rather than French influence. It’s made of chicken, lobster or fish mixed with root vegetables such as yams, sweet potatoes and coconut milk, wrapped up in banana leaves. The parcels are then placed into an earth oven where they cook over the hot rocks. This style of cooking is common in the Pacific Islands, although the ingredients will vary between the nations.

* Civet de Rousette

Stewed bat, anyone? It might not sound particularly appetising if you’ve never sampled a rousette (literal translation: flying fox), but bat stew is a popular dish in New Caledonia. The bat meat is often left to marinate in a red wine sauce before being prepared as a ragout.

* Mangrove oysters and crab

Mangrove oysters and crab are frequently found throughout New Caledonia. Like most seafood in New Caledonia, the oysters are usually served in a natural state with a simple vinaigrette while the crab is frequently accompanied with a mayonnaise or aoli.

* Coconut crab

The coconut crab is particularly unique to the Loyalty Islands, where they have become a local specialty in Ouvea. The crab, which is also found on the island of Niue and some other parts of the Pacific feeds off coconuts. Its pincers are incredibly strong as they need to have the strength to crack open the coconuts to survive. It’s usually served as a coconut curry.

* Vol au vent des fruits de mer

A seafood vol au vent is a French influenced pastry dish. It’s a bit like a seafood chowder in a puff pastry casing. It usually consists of mussels, New Caledonian prawns, fish fillets and scallops, combined in a cream sauce before being dished into the pastry shell.