Reunion

🇲🇺Mauritius

Achard de Légumes

Achard

Cabbage, carrot, green bean and palm heart blanched, then dressed in mustard-seed, turmeric and oil and left to pickle for a day.

🇫🇷Paris, France

Baguette

Baguette de tradition

Long thin crusty bread with a soft airy interior, the symbol of French baking.

🇷🇪Reunion

Bouchon Sandwich

Pain Bouchon

A sandwich made with bouchon (steamed meat dumpling) in a baguette; a popular Reunionese street food; a fusion of Chinese dumpling and French bread; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the pain bouchon that is a Reunionese snack.

🇷🇪Reunion

Cari Jaque au Boucané

Cari Jaque au Boucané is a Réunion curry of green jackfruit cooked with smoked pork, onion, garlic, turmeric, and Creole spices until the fruit turns tender and savoury.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Cassava Biscuit

Biscuit manioc

A pale, hard, barely sweet biscuit pressed from cassava flour, made in Rodrigues and eaten with tea or crumbled under ice cream.

🇷🇪Reunion

Cassava Cake

Gâteau Manioc

Traditional cassava cake; a nutritious cake made from manioc (cassava); cooked a l'ancienne under embers; a Reunionese sweet; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the gâteau manioc that is a Reunionese tradition.

🇵🇬Papua New Guinea

Cassava Pudding

Poudine manioc

Grated cassava, coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla bake into dense, translucent-chewy pudding slices served across island tables.

🇷🇪Reunion

Chicken Croquette

Croquette Poulet

Chicken croquettes; a popular Reunionese snack; fried chicken-filled croquettes; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the croquette poulet that is a Reunionese street food.

🇷🇪Reunion

Chili Fritters

Bonbon Piment

Miniature spiced doughnuts made from lima beans or split peas; fried with strips of chili, coriander, and onion stalks; fragrant, crunchy, and melting at the same time; a Creole appetizer; sold in all markets and by food sellers; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the bonbon piment that is a Reunionese snack classic.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Chilli Cake

Gato piment

Split peas soaked, ground coarse with chilli, cumin, spring onion and coriander, then dropped in oil as small balls the size of a walnut.

🇫🇷France

Chocolate Croissant

Pain au chocolat

Rectangular laminated pastry filled with dark chocolate batons, also called chocolatine.

🇷🇪Reunion

Cooked Syrup

Sirop la Cuite

Cooked syrup from sugarcane; a traditional Reunionese product; made at the refinery; sweet and rich; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the sirop la cuite that is a Reunionese sugarcane product.

🇷🇪Reunion

Corn Cake

Gâteau Sosso

Traditional corn cake; a nutritious cake that is back in fashion; cooked a l'ancienne under embers; a Reunionese sweet; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the gâteau sosso that is a Reunionese tradition.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Corn Pudding

Poudine maïs

Ground maize cooked with milk, sugar, vanilla and often coconut until it sets firm enough to cut into squares.

🇫🇷France

Creme Brulee

Rich custard topped with a caramelized sugar crust that cracks when tapped.

🇷🇪Reunion

Creole Blood Pudding

Boudin

Creole blood pudding (boudin); grilled blood pudding with chili found under the blackened skin; a Reunionese specialty; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the boudin that is a Reunionese Creole classic.

🇷🇪Reunion

Creole Donut

Baba Rouz

A Reunionese fried dough; a sweet fritter enjoyed as a treat during a tea break; a Creole sweet; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the baba rouz that is a Reunionese tea-time snack.

🇷🇪Reunion

Creole Greens

Brèdes

Amaranth greens or other leafy vegetables cooked Creole-style; simmered with garlic, ginger, and chili; a common side dish served with cari and rice; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the bredes that are a Reunionese staple.

🇫🇷Paris, France

Croissant

Crescent-shaped laminated pastry, buttery and flaky, adapted from the Austrian kipferl.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Dholl Puri

Two thin flatbreads rolled with ground yellow split peas into the dough, folded around butter bean curry, tomato satini and chilli paste and handed over in a paper twist.

🇷🇪Reunion

Duck Civet

Civet de Canard

Civet de Canard is Réunion’s duck civet: duck is browned and slow-cooked with onion, garlic, wine, and spices until the sauce is dark and savoury.

🇫🇷France

Eclair

Elongated choux pastry filled with cream and topped with glossy icing.

🇫🇷France

Foie Gras

Fattened duck or goose liver, a luxury delicacy from the Southwest of France.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Freshwater Prawn Curry

Cari camaron

Large river prawns cooked in their shells in a light massala-and-tomato curry so the heads flavour the sauce.

🇷🇪Reunion

Goat Massale

Cabri Massalé

Spicy goat dish cooked with massalé (the local version of garam masala); goat simmered with onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and the Reunionese spice blend; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the goat massalé that is a Reunionese specialty.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Heart of Palm Salad

Salade de palmiste

The tender core of a felled palm shaved raw into ribbons and dressed simply, sometimes with smoked marlin or a light vinaigrette.

🇨🇳Guangdong, China

Lychee

荔枝

A summer fruit with a red pebbled shell over translucent, perfumed white flesh and a single glossy stone.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Mauritian Boulettes

Boulettes

Sino-Mauritian steamed dumplings of minced fish, chicken, pork or grated chayote, served a few at a time in a clear broth with garlic and chilli sauce.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Mauritian Chicken Curry

Cari poule

Chicken browned with onion, curry leaves and a local massala blend, then simmered with potato and finished with fresh coriander and thyme.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Mauritian Chop Suey

Chop suey

Chicken or prawn stir-fried with cabbage, carrot and beansprout in a light cornflour-thickened sauce, eaten over rice in Sino-Mauritian canteens.

🇲🇬Madagascar

Mauritian Infused Rum

Rhum arrangé

White cane rum steeped for weeks with vanilla pods, lychee, pineapple, coffee bean or spice until it takes the flavour and colour.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Mauritian Massala

Massala

The island's own ground spice blend — coriander, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, turmeric, clove and dried chilli — sold loose by weight and darker than Indian curry powder.

🇰🇲Comoros

Mayotte Bourbon Vanilla

Vanille de Mayotte

Planifolia vanilla cured by small producers on Mayotte, often under the Association Senteurs & Saveurs. Pods are dark, oily and prized for chocolate, dried-date and praline notes; used in desserts, rums and fish sauces.

🇲🇺Mauritius

Octopus Curry

Cari ourite

Octopus tenderised and stewed with tomato, garlic, curry leaves and thyme until the tentacles are soft enough to cut with a spoon.

🇷🇪Reunion

Palm Heart Salad

Salade Palmiste

Salad made from palm heart (palmiste); the bud of a palm tree; a Reunionese specialty; delicate and crunchy; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the palm heart salad that is a Reunionese delicacy.

🇫🇷Provence, France

Ratatouille

Provencal vegetable stew with eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes in olive oil.