Travel » Feast of Mauritius

A FEAST OF MAURITIUS
Fresh palm heart is one of Mauritius’ most prized delicacies. There are plantations on the island that exist merely to satisfy the demand for this tasty core of, the palm. It takes three years for the palm heart (or the palm leaf before it sprouts) to mature and it is then cut and dispatched to various kitchens on the island.

The preparation of this exotic salad has been fine-tuned to a serious art, so much so that executive chef Francois Leung Kai at the Belle Mare Plage resort (on the east coast) conjured it up specially for us, a few minutes before it was ready to be served. Slivers were arranged in a floral design and nestled on a bed of crisp curling lettuce and drizzled with a piquant sauce. "Cooked or raw, the palm heart is delectable in taste and an extremely versatile salad," said the chef. Also called the millionaire’s salad, it was a prelude to a sumptuous repast in the hotel’s restaurant where the strains of a live band formed a pleasing counterpoint to the crashing breakers of the ocean beyond.

On an earlier visit, we had smoked marlin at a restaurant of the Paradise Cove Hotel. (Mauritius is one of the finest fishing grounds in the world for the marlin.) Fleshy pink slices were laid rose-like on a platter and decorated with a single green leaf. After a female marlin reaches a certain age and size, it changes its sex and becomes a male. It can weigh as much as 200 lbs, we had been told. The palm heart salad and the smoked marlin may deserve the most sustained applause on a Mauritian menu but there is more to this unique cuisine than meets the tastebuds. For the taste and aroma of three continents—Africa, Europe, and Asia—meld in this culinary cauldron. And you can savor it all in the island’s many restaurants which are culinary oases with spectacular views of whispering palms and a Prussian-blue ocean.

Here you can dine on Creole rougaille, Indian curries (called carri), Muslim briani (biryani), Chinese sweet and sour pork, French style wild boar and even flavorful vegetarian fare. For Mauritius is a gastronomic melting pot, which mirrors the diversity of its early settlers who altered forever the beat and character of the island. Early French adventurers came in galleons laden with traditional French favorites—pates, cheese and wines. However, they soon realized thatheavy sauces could not be digested in the sultry clime and adapted their cuisine to the local produce and African traditions. Thus was born Creole cuisine.

The Indian and later Chinese immigrants added their own piquant twist to the distinctive Creole cuisine. Indian cuisine is perhaps the most colorful strand in this tapestry. As a result, rice has become a staple and chillies are the favorite spice which grows in abundance on the island. Indian cuisine in Mauritius is a mix of fish, vegetables, meat and poultry (except beef) spiked with spices that emphasize the main ingredients rather than smother them.