Cuisine Corner: Coconut Crab

Part of the joy of travelling is trying the local cuisine. Our host in Mo'orea tipped us to the Restaurant Tiahura (Chez Irene) in our neighborhood in the northwest corner of the island. This is the only place that serves coconut crab on the island and only a few per night or week depending on the catch. Coconut crab is the largest land-dwelling arthopod/invertebrate and is only found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, mostly on small islands. Considered a local delicacy, we thought we should try it if we had the chance. Coconut crabs are very strong and can crack open a coconut with their claws, thus the name. However they are scavengers and mostly eat other fruits, nuts and seeds as well as carrion. Thus, every crab has a different flavor!

We chose from the three available crabs at Restaurant Tiahura on that particular night and found ours to have a slightly sweet flavor. The texture left something to be desired, more like the watery, shredded meat of small crab legs. We were glad to try it, but also happy to have ordered other delicious fish and seafood from this excellent dining spot.

I will elaborate further in other posts but the combination of French food and island living = MAGIC. We proceeded to look up all other French islands and put them on our "want to go" lists. Happy travels! Photo (and fun!) credit: Jawanna Sanderson