Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Vegetarian Tonga?! Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Tonga
siulai 20:56 UTC 06 Jun 2007 | thanks for all the recommendations to previous posts, keep 'em coming! all that talk about feasts reminds me.. what can 3 vegetarians (dairy but no fish) expect to find on Tongapatu and surrounding islands?! also can anyone tell me if there is a bank machine in Nuk that accepts Cirrus cards or is it best to arrive with hard cash. Ta. |
islandboi321 01:31 UTC 07 Jun 2007 | Vegetarians will have a tough time anywhere in the Pacific. As dairy products and legumes are almost non-existent in local food you will have difficulty with your protein intake. You may find some peanuts in Tongan markets. You may be religated to buying all your food in the expensive supermarkets and eating expensive tinned beans, imported (and very costly) cheese and dairy products and the like. If you are veggie, you will not enjoy the feasts. | 1
copperspoon 02:29 UTC 07 Jun 2007 | It all depends but as mentioned it'll cost more. Cheese from New Zealand is very tasty but expensive, fruits/veggies are there but seasonal, eggs are cheap and you'll need to have access to a kitchen-not hard but sometimes tough to cook yet another meal in the heat. The is no such place as 'Nuk' it's called Nuku'alofa for a reason. ATMs service can be shaky-machines down or out of cash-but $NZ are widely accepted at a fair rate of exchange be sure to have some cash on hand. | 2
amaile 02:31 UTC 07 Jun 2007 | Yeh, islandboi, it is very hard to be vegetarians in Tonga. We only eat staple food with kiki (either meat or fish). Vegies are not considered as kiki. On top of that, because of the church conference, stocks at these supermarkets are very low. It took me 2 hours to get some fresh eggs! As for ATM, there are a few that takes Cirrus cards, but I would recommend bringing some hard cash as well. Western Union gives you the best rate when exchanging hard cash. | 3
harry_mudd 08:27 UTC 07 Jun 2007 | I'm a vegetarian and had no trouble eating in Tonga. I only eat, I swear, animals that eat grass! | 4
amaile 16:39 UTC 07 Jun 2007 | Good on you, Harry. Actually, plenty of vegies are available at Talamahu market now. But the best time is at 8:30 or 9:00 am on Saturday morning. Wonderful Chinese leafy vegies there. But no tomatos at this season. When lucky, you can get imported carrots. On Mondays and Tuesdays, not much vegies. Not much fruits at this moment, other than bananas. If you happened to buy "lu" (taro leaves), make sure you cook them very very well, until they almost melt, otherwise, quite poisonous. Price of eggs!!!! It used to be less than T$10.00 per tray (30 eggs), but now it's almost T$20.00 if you could ever find them. As of 9th June, one loaf of bread will be T$1.40, an increase by T$0.20. I think Pizza Pazza (located at La Terrazza) has vegetarian Pizza. | 5
siulai 21:40 UTC 07 Jun 2007 | Thanks for all the replies... Yikes.. sounds like we will be starving for the most part! Tonga here we come! | 6
raro 07:35 UTC 08 Jun 2007 | Not sure if Molisi Supermarket has re-opened, but they were selling some great locally-made yogurt. It was also available at a supermarket on the road out of town, on the way to the airport, right hand side, about a mile out. | 7
amaile 09:46 UTC 08 Jun 2007 | Molisi is re-located and re-opened, but with very small fridge, thus no more yogurt or imported fresh vegies. Molisi is now on Tupoulahi road, opposite US Peace Corps office. Locally-made yogurt is available at Alatini Foodland (not all the time, though). Foodland is located along Taufa'ahau road about 1 mile from town to the airport on the left-hand side. TCF (Tonga Cooperative Federation) is renovated and re-opened with some imported fresh vegies. TCF is also on Taufa'ahau road opposite Escape Cafe. | 8
harry_mudd 08:19 UTC 09 Jun 2007 | what about those stalls at the back of the bank of Tonga or whatever its called? | 9
amaile 10:23 UTC 09 Jun 2007 | Which bank? ANZ is burnt down. Behind the Development Bank is the market, behind the Westpac Bank of Tonga is Palace office.... Saturday market was really good with fresh red tomatos, and huge lettuce as well. Big oriental radishes, variety of Chinese cabbages. | 10
harry_mudd 10:49 UTC 09 Jun 2007 | Development Bank. | 11
amaile 12:38 UTC 09 Jun 2007 | All the stalls at the Talamahu market are open. | 12
traineediplomat 16:54 UTC 09 Jun 2007 | My wife is a vegetarian and doesn't have too much problem. Yes the variety isn't there, but the Talamahu Markets in town have an okay supply of seasonable vegetables. On the ATM front there are a few ATMS with more opening (or so the Westpac Bank of Tonga ad tells us). I know of ATMs at Cafe Escape, TCC on Salote Road, OSB a bit out of town, the Airport, and the Westpac ones at Westpac in the centre of town and next door to the Billfish at the Fakafanua centre. | 13
siulai 06:52 UTC 10 Jun 2007 | In Nuku'alofa.. found the ATMs and haven't starved yet! | 14
kahunasdaughter 08:44 UTC 18 Jun 2007 | A good alternative to TARO leaves which can be itchy if not cooked properly, are PELE leaves...found throughout the Pacific....they are delicious and more nutritious than Taro leaves...the WHO has been trying to get this traditional food back into island diets since Pele leaves has more iron and calcium than Taro leaves. I cook it up into a nice stir fry...or add it to a basic veggie soup. Pele leaves are fantastic, and can be found at Talamahu, bunches of leaves which they roll up and sell by the bundle. | 15