Jewel of Asia

Yet another food court find: this time from 'The Boulevard'. Jewel of Asia stands out for large serves ... good food and lashings of it.

My favourite is Steak and Dalo (with an optional fried egg on top). $7.50 will buy you enough dalo to feed a small family and slabs and slabs of tender, well marinated meat (picture below). A bit of salad on the side rounds out this substantial, and very tasty meal.

A warning: it takes real effort to finish. I attempted this item several times before I figured out how to build up the appetite to get all the way through. And if you can come at a full dinner after having this for lunch, you either work in construction, or have a weight problem.

Other good value for money items are roast chicken with dalo, the chicken and cashew, and the chicken chowmein (below). All the meat dishes come with a lovely gravy that has just the right amount of chilli in it.

Eating in is recommended: you'll need the walk back to the office afterwards, but they do takeaways as well.

In Summary

Jewel of Asia

Foodcourt 2, FNPF Plaza, Ellery St

Opening Hours:

8am - 5pm, Monday to Saturday

Spend:

$4 - $8 per person

Verdict:

Thumbs-up

Hot & Spicy Kitchen

Food courts are generally depressing places to eat, but Hot & Spicy Kitchen makes the Dolphin's Food Court worth visiting. I often wonder why they are stuck in the food court: they deserve a restaurant of their own.

If you're in a rush, or the sort of person that likes--God forbid--to order pre-cooked food from the warmer, then go elsewhere. This little Chinese food outlet comes into its own when you order from the menu ... and it has a menu that rivals most of the established restaurants in town for variety.

Soups start at $3.50 a serve (a good sized serve too). Besides the usual Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup, they have several others, including my favourite flu medication: Szechuan Hot & Sour Chicken Soup. They also make a very decent Combination Short Soup (and the usual variations on the theme).

The rest of the menu is divided roughly into:

• Chicken
• Beef
• Pork
• Vegetarian/Tofu

with separate sections for the Fu-Yung (omelettes) and Fried Rice. Each section is extensive and goes well beyond the usual chowmein and chopsuey options. There is also a board with seasonal or special items.

I'm a fan of the Szechuan Chicken and Ma-po Tofu (chicken or pork). The Lemon Chicken is also worth a try. Something called "Chicken, Mushroom, Veg" on the menu (pictured above) is probably my pick for the healthiest lunch in town. If you're absolutely rolling in cash and have a yearning for seafood, the Chilli Prawn Inferno lives up to it's billing.

I've always been impressed by the size of Hot & Spicy serves. Your order gets a takeaway container to itself and the rice gets a separate little bag. This accomplishes two things: it keeps food with a good sauce/gravy from soaking into the rice and becoming a sticky mess, and, it means you get to apportion the starch as you see fit.

Hot & Spicy is the only Chinese take-away place in Suva that does not have a 'half-serve', however, they more than make up for this by honouring special cooking requests: an acquaintance who is allergic to pork regularly orders combination fried rice--without the pork (pictured below); and they will happily vary the spiciness of dishes if you ask.

Dolphin's is a crowded place at lunch time so it's worth your while to pick up a menu from them next time you swing past, and keep it on your desk. They'll accept phone orders, which means you can call your choice in ahead and avoid the lines and the wait.

Hot & Spicy stays open 'til 9pm, so it's a favourite when I'm late leaving the office and don't feel like cooking.

You can either eat in the food court, or ask for take-way.

In Summary

Hot & Spicy Kitchen

Dolphin's Foodcourt, FNPF Place, Loftus St

Opening Hours:

8am - 9pm, 7 days a week

Spend:

$3.50 - $14 per person

Verdict:

Thumbs-up

Nando's

Nando's is all about chicken, lots of chicken, and all of it flame-grilled. There is a real danger that the word 'chicken' may lull you to sleep by sheer force of repetition by the time you finish reading the menu.

Nando's is comparatively expensive: not the sort of place that you want to be eating at regularly on your average lunch budget, but still, it is good for a change of pace.

Here are my finds:

• Chicken Breast in Pita - good combo of spicy chicken with a salad, nicely packaged in a little pita bread pocket that handles very well on the move.

• Grilled chicken Wrap - Chicken, salad and some sort of nice condiment, wrapped up and very portable for lunch on the run.

• Grilled chicken livers - excellent, always excellent; particularly excellent with the hottest basting. (not pictured)

• Corn (side-dish) - this stuff is probably genetically engineered to the hilt, but it is the sweetest, softest, juiciest corn on the cob available anywhere in Suva. Basted with a sauce of your choice (I like 'Lemon & Herb' or the 'Mild' Peri-peri) and then flame-grilled.
  

The other usual suspects like burgers, chips, and various degrees of whole-grilled chicken are available as well, all basted in the 'secret' sauce ... which I think consists mainly of bird's-eye chilli and a tangy vinegar base - good stuff!

Nando's has two locations in Suva, both with identical menus. Both have shockingly bad parking arrangements, so you're best sticking to the one closest to you and walking. The eat-in and takeaway crowds are both accommodated, but eating-in gives you a slightly wider range from the menu, and they're 'licensed'.

I hadn't really given much thought to takeaway wrappings/packaging until Nando's came along. Their packaging has actually been designed by people that eat take-out food: properly sized, grease-proof bags you can eat out of without descending to the level of a kindergarten picnic.

In Summary

Nando's

Regal Lane, or

Laucala Bay Rd

Opening Hours:

Lunch & Dinner, 7 days a week

Spend:

$7 - $15 per person

Verdict:

Thumbs-up