Food in Kokopo

Well last week, I made a quick trip t o Kokopo to check on a few things and talk to some people. The weather there has been similar to Port Moresby of late which is rainy and overcast. There are several places to stay at in Kokopo. This time, I decided to stay at Gazelle International Hotel. My recommended places to stay at are Rapopo, and Kokopo Beach Bungalows (KBB) along with Gazelle. Other places to stay at are Taklam (also owned by KBB), Queen Emma, Kokopo Village Resort and a few more resorts and lodges around the area. Here are some photos from Gazelle:

My first stop whenever I come to Kokopo is Andresons. They make some of the best pies in the country! Their steak & bacon as well as steak & onion really do have a strong bacon & onion taste though their steak is more minced than I prefer.

One thing I like about going to outstations is that the supermarkets outside of Port Moresby always stock up on items that you won't find in the country's capital. On this trip, I got some basmati rice, A&W root beer and real maple syrup as well as some Vittoria coffee.

As I was pressed for time, I decided to eat at a fast food place. I ate over at KFC which is short for Kokopo Fried Chicken. I remember I had their burger before and it wasn't bad. In fact, I remember it was a contender for Brian Bell Lae's burger which for me is the best burger in the country. I had their burger with chips as well as siomai. I was disappointed on this trip though. The food was more tummy filler than a tongue tickler.

I had dinner at Gazelle. Their restaurant isn't bad and I was pleasantly surprised at their cappucino and shortbread. I admit that I really lower my expectations whenever I travel. The best restaurant hands down in Kokopo and Rabaul is still Rapopo though. If you want Chinese food, you have to travel all the way to Rabaul. The Rabaul hotel serves the best Chinese in this part of the country. There's a Chinese restaurant at Takubar but it's not good. There's also a Filipino restaurant called skowhagon but I don't like their food either. All the hotels and lodges serve food so you can try them out.

I always make it a point to stop at the market whenever I come here. This time, I was aiming for Galip nuts as well as Pau nuts. I do not know if these are endemic to the province but I have never seen them outside of East New Britain. The PNG Chinese love to eat these. They are excellent when mixed with butter cake or banana bread but if you wish to eat them plain, put them on a baking tray, sprinkle some salt & sugar and bake them for a few minutes.

galip nuts

pau nuts

I lucked out. I didn't know it is fruit season there. I was surprised that the long mangoes and the apple-mangoes were already available along with rambutan, the local orange and pineapples. I bought a box and quickly loaded it up with fresh fruit to take back with me to Port Moresby.

I have to say I got pretty lucky with the fruits I got. The apple mangoes proved to be delicious and at K0.40 each, I scored! I wish they had my favourite though, turpentine mangoes. I also wanted the little Matupit mangoes but they weren't available too.

a bunch like this only cost me K2.00

Anyway, Kokopo isn't just for adventure seekers. When you get here, you should try out the taro, the fruits and the wild fowl too by the volcano. They lay eggs that are really oily similar to duck eggs. Ciao!