Tonga — Food and Dining
Cuisine
Restaurants have table service, and are found mainly in hotels. Apart from hotel dining rooms, there are restaurants featuring Tongan, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Taiwanese cuisine.
National specialties:
• Ufi (a large white yam).
• Lu pulu (meat and onions, marinated in coconut milk, baked in taro leaves in an underground oven).
• Feke (grilled octopus or squid in coconut sauce).
• Devilled clams, ota (raw fish marinated in lemon juice) and lobster.
• Feasts play a major role in the Tongan lifestyle. Up to 30 different dishes may be served on a pola (a long tray of plaited coconut fronds), and will typically include suckling pig, crayfish, chicken, octopus, pork and vegetables steamed in an umu (underground oven), with a variety of tropical fruits.
Tipping: Not encouraged, but no offense is caused if services are rewarded in this way.
Nightlife
Nightlife is sedate, limited to music and dancing in the hotels, clubs and occasionally at the Yacht Club. Floorshows are held on some nights in the main hotels and the Tongan National Center. Tongan feasts and entertainment are also organized.
