When it comes to eating in Goroka there really are not many options, which is surprising when you consider that they have such a big festival – as in the Goroka Show here. In fact things are so bad that the it actually makes the nightlife of Mount Hagen look eclectic.This means that the Bird of Paradise Hotel is officially at least the place to stay and eat.
What the Bird of Paradise Hotel?
This is the kind of place you stay when you book a 15l tour. Sometimes rooms here can quite literally cost thousands of dollars. This could get us all in a conversation about how bad Hugh end tourism here is and how little it benefits real people , but I will avoid tat argument for today.
The hotel itself is of course owned by Coral Sea Resorts, just like the Highlander, which also means it has the same menu. This pretty much makes it the McDonalds of Papua New Guinea.
The decor here is not all that great and it it really is nowhere bear as good as other hotels within the group.
The food at Bird of Paradise Hotel
Well it is western food with an Australian tint to it. This means some Asian dishes on the menu, as well as pies, chips, steaks, chicken and well you get the picture.
I decided to avoid again getting Kaizer Wilhelm Trout and instead get a steak, except they had no steak. Instead I went for the half chicken and chips, which was quite literally half of a chicken, with chicken soup. Amazingly the soup came out before my main meal.
The bar here is stocked relatively well at least and offers the standard $50 bottles of wine that cost $4 elsewhere. Overall tough the meal was ok, with small details like the fact I booked a table for 20 and asked for it to be ready and it wasn’t simply being part and parcel with eating in Papua New Guinea.
In essence and I will cover this in later articles, but there really is no fine dining in Papua New Guinea, there are just restaurants that are much pricier but not all that batter than a Kai Bar.
You can of course join us in Goroka as part off a YPT Papua New Guinea Tour.
Where the Bird of Paradise Hotel
Well with s little in town you really cannot miss it, but just in case, here is their address…..
Address: PO Box 12 Goroka GOROKA Goroka 441 Eastern Highlands Province Papua
Phone: +675 531 3100
Email: thebird@coralseahotels.com.pg