Best. Honeymoon. Ever.: Dining in Moorea

Our final post from Moorea is our camera's fault. We normally don't take pictures of our food (so tacky!), but our camera had a special "Gourmet" setting so we HAD to try it.

Magret du canard at Te Honu Iti (2500 XPF).

A note about our camera. We are using the sony cybershot DSC-TX10. It is a 16.2 Megapixel, 1080p/60i HD video point-and-shoot but has the advantage of being waterproof to 5.0 meters. Amanda got it right before the trip. We contemplated bringing an SLR with some lenses but in the end we were more interested in a vacation where we weren't carrying a 15 lb bag over our shoulder at all times. We've seen these mini SLR cameras with small detachable lenses, but we didn't have enough time to research them before we left. Amanda picked this one because it was the best of all the waterproof point and shoots on the market. That being said, we have yet to use it in the water because Amanda is afraid that if for some reason it leaks and breaks, then we won't be able to take any pictures. Good thing we got the waterproof camera huh.

Back to the food. Amanda and I are quasi-foodies; we like to eat (who doesn't?) but our concern for our growing bellies, inability to pace ourselves during a meal, and disinterest in fancy-shamncy pretentious dining doesn't fit with the foodie credo.

Tuna tartar at Le Mahagony. 2100 XPF.

Chow mein at Le Mahagony. 1800 XPF.

Despite a wide range of reviews for hotels on TripAdvisor, everyone seemed to agree that the food in French Polynesia is subpar, to the point where we were actually worried. Either we had our expectations sufficiently lowered, or the hoity-toity critics on TripAdvisor were expecting 12 star dinning. We had a fresh tuna dish of some sort with every meal and were never disappointed. We also tried a pizza, a steak, a salad, magret du canard, some chinese food and few desserts. None of them were bad, but I will say that none of them were that memorable. Very few meals are in my mind, and sadly the most memorable meal was the time Amanda and I got food poisoning from Basha's (lebanese food in Montreal). Some close seconds though would be the tasting menu we did with Mitra at Toque, the homemade pumpkin and sage tortellini I had with my dad in Rome, the feasts at Dominic's place when he'd invite me over for copious quantities of persian food, and I guess anything my mom cooked for me as a child because to this day I still love me some mushroom soup on toast, no matter how ghetto it might sound.

Primavera pizza and homemade chocolate mouse delivered from Allo Pizza. 3000 XPF.

Aside from breakfast, which we ate everyday at the Hilton we ate three meals at the hilton, and three at places outside the hotel. Expect to pay ~2500 XPF per entree in Moorea, no matter where you eat.