August 1 – 10, 2012
Utaroa (the main city on Raiatea) is a strange but interesting place. It’s the second largest city in French Polynesia, but that said, it’s small, more of a town than a city, and rather . . . rustic. You can walk from one end to the other in a few minutes. Within this town, though, are three pretty good-size grocery stores, several small markets, and a central plaza area that sells produce and has some food stands. There are scattered upscale gift shops for the passengers of the weekly cruise ship, and a couple of dusty hardware stores.
The most distinct thing about Utaroa is prevalence of Chinese food. It may not be the biggest city, but it is definitely the Chinese food capital of French Polynesia. It’s not the spicy Chinese food that’s become popular in the states, though, but the more old-fashioned Cantonese-style food. Still, it’s pretty good.
Our favorite dish to get was chow mein, which had a lot of meat and vegetables with the noodles. Of course, being French Polynesia, there is always a sliced baguette served with the meal. One of our favorite lunches combined the two: the chow mein sandwich (on a baguette). It was starch heaven! -Cyndi
