6.102
17 (Fri) April 2015
Bula Shrimp
3.5
at Tu’s Place
-Martintar, Nadi-
solo
Personal Deviation + Mission to Nadi + Personal Deviation : Day 2 (see previously 6.100 Coconut Carrot Cream Soup).
Arrived this morning, here through next Friday to attend a conference — details to come.
This is my second visit to Fiji (see most recently 5.180 Mahi Mahi with Snake Beans…).
Tu’s Place is a Fijian restaurant–sort of. While certain ingredients (e.g., seafood, root vegetables) and seasonings (e.g., coconut, curry) are local, as are certain dishes (e.g. kokoda, rourou), the presentations tend to be westernized/modernized/stylized — what expats/tourists would imagine Fijian cuisine to be, though Fijians would probably never do it that way at home. Currently ranked #2 of 70 restaurants in Nadi on TripAdvisor (actually, the #1 restaurant has recently shut down, so Tu’s Place holds the top spot for establishments currently in operation).
The food was excellent.
If the opportunity arises, I would definitely go back to this restaurant to try other dishes.
In Manila, our division has begun an informal investigation into the potential health risks of kava consumption. Liver toxicity has been reported with heavy use as a concentrated extract in pharmaceutical products to treat anxiety, leading to bans in Australia and certain countries in Europe, which could be a big deal for certain countries in the Pacific that rely on kava exports for income. While the amounts of the active components don’t come close in the beverage, the drink has been anecdotally associated with other harmful behaviors, such as alcohol abuse and driving under the influence. Stay tuned.
While I had tasted the stuff before, I was curious to experience a full kava session, how the locals do it, so I took full advantage of the opportunity. As Fijians tend to be, they were warm and welcoming to my participation. I was the only non-local in the group; other hotel guests, for whatever reason, didn’t join, not even for a single cup. By the end, everyone was very mellow, nobody saying a word — that’s the point, apparently, just to shut up and relax. Otherwise, I didn’t really feel much beyond a slight numbness in the mouth and bloatedness in the belly from ingesting so much liquid. Somewhat disappointed, I said my goodbyes and went off to bed. I did have a great time bonding with the guys, very honored to have been a part of the session.
bula shrimp=cute name
you participated in the full kava session…impressive! any numbness in the mouth? i tasted a single cup and felt numb in my mouth for a while…
yes, in fact it does leave a little tingle, which I’d forgotten to mention, but i’ll amend the post–thanks for the catch!
do women partake in kava sessions?
yes, but they said that women tend to do it amongst themselves, while the sessions at this particular venue is something of a guy thing.
On our last vacation to Hawaii my husband found a kava stall one bright morning at a little strip mall and decided to try some because he’d heard it was a very “interesting” experience. He proceeded to mellow out for next few hours, didn’t say much, didn’t wanna do much, didn’t eat much, and then promptly fell asleep in our hotel room until waaaay past dinnertime, leaving me and my daughter stuck with each other. So my opinion of kava is that it’s super fucking annoying and for lazy ass punks.
And it smells completely atrocious and looks like an animal shit in some liquid. So yeah, I don’t really like kava. Or maybe I’m just still mad at my husband for wasting a day of our precious vacation…
if it’s openly available in a strip mall, that would mean that sale/consumption are probably legal in hawaii. we’re looking into how it’s being regulated in various countries — for the most part, it isn’t at all.
do you recall how much your husband paid, and for how much?
in Fiji, like i explained above, about US$5 buys enough powder to make a huge bowl, enough to last a small group a couple hours. but my understanding is that it isn’t retailed as a beverage, like in kava bars (which they do have in other countries).
It was a few years ago so I’m not completely sure but it was about $5 for a medium sized bowl that took a while to finish. I’m pretty sure there was no regulation except for a handwritten sign with an age restriction
heartwarming to think that prices are universal across the vast ocean.