Catching & Cooking MUD CRABS! 48 Hour Food Layover in Fiji

hey guys Mike Chen in this video I am going on a very exciting food trip first headed to Vancouver then from there going on a long lay over in Fiji before heading to Melbourne Australia then to Tasmania from there going to Auckland New Zealand and then heading back to Sydney and of course the food is going to be amazing and before getting into this video I just want to give a big thank you and shout out to the sponsor of this video A1 I've been talking about using ag1 for several years now and this is pretty much how I started out my day every single day a scoop for travel pack of ag1 and then 8 to 12 oz of water I always use sparkling if I can shake it up and drink I usually do that in the morning on an empty stomach hit to the gym and then start my day it's just so easy the whole process takes about 60 seconds and I get all the nutrients I need for Optimal Performance the scoop of H1 has magnesium B vitamins that gives me energy throughout the day without the caffeine Crash from coffee and H1 is a unique blend of 75 ingredients that has been tested for 950 contaminants so you know you're getting a research-backed high quality product I'm always recommending it to friends I buy it as gifts and A1 is trusted by some of the nation's most credible health professionals like Dr Peter AA since I've been taking it I've got more energy it makes me feel better that's why I love it and take it every day so if you want to give it this a try go to my link down below and you'll get five free travel packs and a oneyear supply bottle of immune system supporting D3 K2 free with your order [Music] we got one you got two oh two crabs two crabs oh my gosh oh dinner is served [Music] hey guys Mike chin here in Vancouver Canada today I'm actually flying out to Fiji and then on to Australia and New Zealand last time I was in Australia I think it was about 20 years ago so this is going to be a fun food trip I have about a half an hour before I have to head to the airport so going to grab something to eat and I'm in abine square right now I think there's a food court actually never been to this food court in aberin square before it's got some really interesting stalls I came here because I really wanted to try out this stall called Savory Noodle and then as I'm finding a place to sit I see this place called l fanasy so they serve L fun which braids pork over rice one of my favorite dishes ever so had to grab one of those so something to eat while waiting for the noodles to cook this is good there's a lot of pork juice to mix in with the rice the pork is a mix of fatty and lean pieces and the fatty pieces really melts all over the rice this is a dish I always always crave it's Rich it's flavorful it's meaty I like the crunch on the pickled vegetables I like the marinated egg I'm glad I got this got three noodle dishes the first is a dry noodle it looks like there's some Sprouts in here some preserved veggies and minced meat this is very very flavorful plenty of meat in here love the crunchy Sprouts the crunchy preserved veg noodles are cooked very well very springy texture add some of their signature hot oil these are some scrumptious scrumptious noodles this next one it's neol lime beef tendon noodle soup broth is very light oo the beef is very very tender flavor-wise not bad also I got some fatty beef with inoi mushrooms this is a soup supposed to have sour crabs in here as well this thing is just loaded with flavor right could use a bit more sauerkraut here but overall that's a tasty soup dish this place is very you get a lot of value for money I mean dried noodles this is absolutely delicious about 8 Canadian dollars the soup dishes each about1 Canadian dollars real fun too I think that was about $9 Canadian dollar and this definitely beats airplane food running late so got to eat this as fast as I can but so happy I can catch one last meal before the flight first time going to feed on the airbuzz a350 it's pretty new and nice let's check out the menu dinner is going to be hummus smoked salmon red pepper soup you either get a sandwich or Pacific Breeze pra Korean noodles or vegetables herb roasted chicken yeah definitely the pra dessert mango gelato ice cream cassava cake oo that sounds good and then breakfast looks like fresh fruit and maybe an omelet toilet tree bag there is body lotion pair of socks hand sanitizer a really nice pen toothbrush I really hope for slippers but extra pair of socks is always nice a couple of storage areas not bad inner time so appetizer this is some smoked salmon with beet salad on top that's pretty good salmon is really smoking crispy bee salad nice and refreshing also entree is this prong dish with a corn green beans kale it's basically a prong salad Giant prawns though the praw really not much flavor everything's cold it's a really Bland dish I think this is the first time on a flight I've ever wished that I got the roast chicken mango ice cream dough amazing all right see you for breakfast good morning breakfast is a fruit and a masala omelette with chicken sausage and shucky mushrooms and kale so about 5:30 right now and it's pouring rain outside and they said we have to leave right now where some Bridge might get submerged so heading off now to the hotel so just got to the resort and this place is beautiful me and the Warriors will greet you with a big bu please when you sh bu do sh bu back to us as soon as you walking there's a traditional welcome ceremony by the staff [Music] [Music] bua in the room is just glorious some welcome fruits and snacks you can pop your own popcorn the non-alcoholic drinks are included upstairs you got the bedroom hot tub shower and there's a private pool and every day there's so many activities the reason I I chose this hotel is because this is the only place that offers a mangrove crab hunt and that's happening tomorrow morning this is actually a stopover on our way to Australia because if you guys don't know what you can do with Airlines is that when you have a layover somewhere for example our layover is in Fiji you can actually call the airline to extend the layover up to 3 days turning a layover into a stop over and that's all included in the price so it's my first time kind of using this travel hack it's so useful I would High highly recommend trying this out so in my case the stop over is is under 48 hours so spend a couple nights here and then on my way to Australia and now lunch got a few dishes and this first one is a treat this is a Paka Paka a Paka Paka is a local type of a snapper and it's sitting on a bit of what looks like Nera sauce with fresh herbs and also a slice of local lime and it's seared beautifully on the outside and this fish is very very flaky squeeze of lime wow oh that c it's such a mild tasting fish the sauce on the bottom not overly sweet a little bit tingy oh you got that beautiful hit of citrus from that local lime too this is absolutely Splendid also I think these are Caba fries maybe M light and crispy on the outside dunked into that sauce incredible this dish here is probably the most traditional dish in Fiji and it's called a Cota it's basically fiji's version of a Ceviche and it's chunks of fish usually a Mahi or Snapper then choose from local limes are added and that essentially Cooks the fish and after the fish is marinated in the Citrus juice coconut milk is added and then on the side there's cassava chips oh this is so freaking good wow absolutely phenomenal first of all the C juice firms up the fish a little bit but it still retains this tenderness and inside there's little bits of chives onions Peppers added with the fish and that gives it some additional Crunch and the coconut milk doesn't just add depth it add a balance of richness a little bit of sweetness little nuttiness it's Rich it's fragrant the textures are fantastic this is something I've never had before this is a must try and also I give you a little chili to chew on to add some heat oh yeah nibble on the chilies to bring even more explosive flavors to this dish this is so wonderful I could eat this every single that and this dish really is just a testament to the beauty of of simplistic cooking all about the fresh ingredients and it's so beautiful sitting on a half coconut shell just a well factored every single bite I like the first Paca Paka so much I got another version and this thing is cooked in some sort of butter sauce same beautiful flaky juicy piece of fish little Greens in here to add some additional crunch this is wonderful you can definitely taste the Citrus that's added to this butter sauce but doesn't at all cover up the sweetness of the fish itself I want another one of these it's so good and dessert chocolate semi Frito everything is phenomenal this thing is soft and creamy if you don't know Simi Frito just means half Frozen so technically this is frozen but when you bite into it you're not really at risk of a spring frease wow this is Rich this has been a one heck of an introductory meal to frian Cuisine obviously not not this but the Kota and a Paca Paka so [Music] good during time you sit down right away to bring over a cold towel infused with lemongrass and every night this place has themed dinner so tonight is curry night because a lot of vagan cuisine it's influenced by Indian Cuisine and that's because a big portion of the population here in Fiji are of Indian descent so Indian food is a very integral part of fan Cuisine appetizer mango and passion fruit lassia this is so good I don't think I've had a bad bite of food at this establishment but this is just ridiculously creamy and fruity for appetizers there's D lentil soup there's onion Bachi some Alo chop and couple the dipping sauce there's timr and Chutney and mint and Curry aoli so onions there's the creamy lentil inside the Dow awesome herbiness to this as well and DOW of course typically a much thicker Curry but in vagian Cuisine they make it into a soup form is delicious onion baji dipped into the Tamarind Chutney this Chutney is amazing a little sweet citrusy and it added a lot of heat in here this is a perfect compliments crispy on the Outside Inside Joey this is the star right here this is the curry aoli very fragrant and creamy but oh my God this is just absolutely phenomenal also got this Alo chop this is my favorite I wish I could take a jar of this home this is absolutely phenomenal I think this is go good with any bread any fries or anything starchy you want to dip things in or probably meat as well absolutely amazing and this Alo chop it's Bally like a potato Fritter goes so well with it Entre are here there's papadom there's some flat bread there's chopped chilies more of the awesome Chutney yogurt tomato chutney Curry aoli and for the curry dishes we got a lamb and a fish so the first Curry dish is called fish surwa and it's a Fijian fish curry with course with Indian influence it's fragrant a little tomatoey really rich and creamy and very coconuty because it's cooked in coconut milk the flavors are very subtle it's a little on the Bland side I mean the texture of the ious Excellence very tender but flavor is low Bland I think I'm going to add this add some of my Chutney a little bit of Chili's yogurt that made the flavor pop a lot more next one is vag lamb chunks of lamb looks like little tomatoes onions this thing smells like it's got a lot going on Lamb's really tough and also this is pretty blend as well I don't know if I'm supposed to add a lot of the Chutney and and different things in there to kind of make it more flavorful but on its own the two curries I'm not really used to it at this place I think the lunch I had was spectacular dinner so far besides the the Chutney and different Deen sauces not too great think about load up on the Chutney dessert it's a Milky fudge wow this is one of the richest most dective dessert items I think I've ever had that it's delicious but it is super rich this thing could definitely stay here every single night forever that's how rich it is I think dinner overall tonight a three out of [Music] five so today is crabbing day but first some breakfast and they have a little breakfast buffet setup there's a lot of different pastries like coconut Danish there's blueberry banana muffin croissants there's cereal all kinds different fruits and jams also cured fish so cured fish is marinated with some jalapenos and chilies wow spicy vinegary oh this coconut croissant is so good really coconuty and soft on the inside outside very flaky and crispy goes really well with the Cure fish I love this cure fish by the way the fish is firm and tender it's savory again very spicy goes great with the pastries which our top notch here you can also order hot items off the menu as well look got a chili creamed egg I don't know what that is but all those words sound really good look at this what this is chili cream eggs this is this looks beautiful it's ginormous looks like fresh herbs onions on top of smoked salmon on top of scrambled eggs with chili flakes inside on top of a giant giant slice of bread with uh local lime on the side as well I think some olive oil D it on top as well oh it smells so good it smells so good squeeze of [Music] lime so eggs feel very tender and fluffy I got some salmon some eggs some herbs some toast yeah those are definitely some creamy eggs with a bit of heat a hint of sweetness it's pickled onions the pickled onions cuts into the richness the salmon is deliciously Smoky this is a very hearty delicious breakfast this will definitely last me till crab time this is the other hot dish I got looks like chilies some herbs fried onions on top of a crab omelette this thing is loaded with crab wow the herbs are really fragrant Chili's a good touch love the fried onions there's also some sort of uh shrimp paste or shrimp sauce in here that's adding a bit of sweetness and a ton of wami you can taste a sweet crab The Omelette is perfect really really soft and fluffy it's not just plain omelette with some salt and pepper this thing is CH out in flavor and texture from the fresh herbs to the fried onions to the chilies to the sauce the flavors are deep it's complex it's Rich an amazing omelette I mean the whole breakfast is awesome had to get another plate I'll The Cure fish this is freaking amazing crabbing time and it's been raining all day but now a little bit of sunshine here we go bu nice to meet you nice to meet you thank you this all the crab cages Y what do you use for baits this is exciting here we go temperature is really good today with the shade is not nice it's very [Music] nice the traps are set so 10 in total and then we're going to come back in 5 hours and see what we car lunchtime and 2 hours before checking on the crab traps had to get another Paca Paca for lunch this is one of my favorite things in the world now and they cook it so well here also I found out this place has their own farm so all the vegetable and fruit that they serve on their buffet and during meal they grow themselves look at the size of this club sandwich this is the giant bread that my toast was on this morning three layers of melty gooey egg dripping down onto slices of bacon it what looks like a potato pancake this is just the most ultimate club sandwich I think it's shower dough bread eggs runny and wonderful tomatoes lettuce everything's so fresh and juicy and the bacon thick cuts the lifely fatty I mean this wow hope I'll have room for dinner what I thought was a potato pancake should not be a whole chicken cut Li I don't think I've ever seen a club sandwich with a whole chicken color inside on top of the bacon yeah that's a club I want to membership to now let's see if we actually cut something three days last day you caught something yeah first two days zero first two days zero wow so our chances are not great fingers crossed H that's why we speaking the common one H this that first one first trap here we go nothing nothing it's okay there's nine more traps trap number two oh empty [Music] nothing one crab we got one you got two oh two crabs two crabs oh my gosh oh dinner is served fantastic good job anything after this is just a bonus nothing there this our last one last trap zero it's it's okay it's okay we got to it's okay we didn't take three days to do this got it on the first day how's the fire going going slowly H hula so how do you like your coconut cream thick yeah very thick all right so in order for you to know if it's the coconut is good or bad shake and you can hear the water this is the bottom this is the top right always hit the top like this in right stuck and one hand here and one push what we going to do is you got to see that there's three lines on the coconut and three spot all right if you look at the coconut you'll closely you'll see it looks like a face the two eyes and the mouth right you always hit the line between the eyes right if it's your first time cracking a coconut maybe take you 20 hits you've been doing this doing this for how many years just one crck it's supposed to open right like this open open it you want to taste the coconut water yeah all right here you go that's good the next one would you like to have the honors of PR open use the edge of the The Edge yeah and oh there you go almost there another one oh oh no no no no juice juice is wasted going to throw it to the guy at the fire without looking backwards right and it's going to catch there you go and then we believe that if you are happy during your cooking that the food will taste good be happy that is why we are always making jokes and laughing while we cooking because the the the the cooking process doesn't take long right and it always fun that's very true the back of the coconut tree right this is what we use as a strainer right this is what we're going to use to squeeze the coconut with all this is how we're going to do it we going to put it in the middle like this right or like this and squeeze [Music] that was such a fun experience so everything is cooked inside this little tend and it's cooked the traditional way the crab is laid out on banana leaves couple of coconut shells uh full of the curry and the vegetables what they told me I should do is take the meat out of the crab put it in the curry and eat it with this little spoon which is just a piece of the coconut shell so look at this crab with all that delicious iners attached claw already crack open all right look at that succulent claw just putting that meat into the curry itself yeah got to scrape all that yummy iners into the curry oh yeah that's incredibly succulent and sweet I'm always been a big fan of my crabs the meat is very tender and light and it balances so well with the curry the curry is delicious simple ingredients just some tomatoes onions garlic Curry and the crab and the curry just makes the sweetness of the crab shine even more trying to do what they tell me to which is put the crab meat into the curry itself this is a messy but delicious meal [Music] wow this is a bowl of pure heat and flavor you got the sweetness from the tomatoes it's very garlicky and of course that fresh coconut milk just adds a lot of richness so it's very thick very rich but none of that hides at all the ultra sweetness and delicate texture of that crab however you eat this whether you eat the crab on its own straight out of the pot or dunk it into the curry eat it with a spoon there's no denying how fresh this is M overall whole experience a little nerve-wracking but ultimately so rewarding especially watching the whole entire process of how they prepare the crab it's such an interesting experience I'm going to finish this and go for dinner final dinner on the island I think it's going to be muscles in a ribby steak oh look at this baked Australian Bree cheese H that sounds good sui riby steak steak is good carrot is good and this has been one heck of a stop over this Resort everyone I met so incredibly friendly and the greeting they use bulla could mean either High hello or life because when you say bulah vaka it means good life to you seriously every single person I met always a smiling face always a greeting and that was the case at the airport from the custom officer to the taxi drivers everybody this Resort obviously very beautiful food in general pretty delicious especially the native Fijian food that was my favorite again this is a stopover so didn't have as much time here as I would have liked this is such a beautiful island with the most lovely people so really hope I get a come back one day now I got to eat and go to bed cuz tomorrow 2: a.m. that's when I'm heading to the airport and as always thank you all so much for watching until we eat again see you later [Music] to [Music] [Music] my to Mar [Music] to keep [Music]

Channel: Strictly Dumpling

Views: 166,604

Keywords: mud crabs, Fiji adventure, 48 hour layover, food hunting, crab catching, traditional Fijian cuisine, travel vlog, foodie travel, culinary journey, exotic foods, fiji food, layover, fiji, fijian food, curry crab, crab, cook crab, fish, seafood, fiji eats, best fiji eats, cook, cooking, travel, traveling

Id: tMy-_Wadxb0

Length: 27min 48sec (1668 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 25 2024