While the Seychelles is synonymous with brightly coloured fruits and vegetables and of course fresh sea food, there is actually quite a bit more to be found on the menu that you may not even have thought of considering.
Breadfruit
While the name may sound less than appealing to most, breadfruit is quite popular in the Seychelles.
At first glance it may not look like much with its rather tough exterior and potato like interior, but breadfruit or friyapen as it is known locally, is delicious whether boiled, baked, mashed or fried. You can enjoy it as a side, snack or as a dessert. Best of all is that this fruit is very healthy being rich in energy, dietary fibre, minerals, and vitamins.
And, to let you in on a little secret…legend has it that if you eat breadfruit at least once in the Seychelles, there is a great chance that you will again one day visit the island paradise again.
Some bat for you?
If you fancy yourself somewhat of an adventurous eater and you don’t mind having somewhat of a tussle with your meat, you should try fruit bat of ‘flying fox’ as it is also known.
Fruit bats or flying foxes due to their orange fur, make for one the Seychelles’ signature dishes. It is served in many local restaurants and can be prepared in a variety of ways. It is said to taste like venison, but apparently, it is quite challenging to eat due to the many tiny bones you have to work around to get to the actual meat.
A lot of menus may also not directly state that they have bat on the menu and often put it down as Rousettes.
Sweet or savoury
Ladob is another famed dish in the Seychelles and can be enjoyed in a savoury version or sweet dessert version.
When enjoyed as a dessert, it is made with sweet potatoes and ripe plantain and may also include bread fruit cassava or corossol. The ingredients are then boiled in coconut milk with a dash of nutmeg, sugar and vanilla.
The savoury version is cooked the same way as the desert version, but with salted fish added, salt is used instead of sugar and no vanilla is used.
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Soup with a twist
You will find no shortage of delicious seafood to eat in the Seychelles, but if you are looking for something out of the norm try some Tec Tec. The small white shellfish is collected from the beach and cooked with pumpkin for the makings of a delectable soup.
And to drink?
With so much eating going on, you will probably be on the lookout for something interesting to quench your thirst.
Bacca and calou are two of the Seychelles’ favourite beverages. Similar to rum, Bacca is made from sugar cane liquor and normally consumed at ceremonial events. Bacca is usually home-brewed and you will find varying quality of this drink throughout the Seychelles.
Also known as palm wine, calou is fermented wine, sourced from inflorescence of coconut trees, which tastes sweet or tart after fermentation. As a rule of thumb, the drier the flavour, the higher the alcohol content. It is also used in a variety of dishes. Coco d’Amour is a tropical coconut liqueur that is made with coconut extract.