Chinese food in Papua New Guinea you say? Like many countries within the Pacific the sight of Chinese people has steadily risen. Has this though led to Chinese food in Papua New Guinea increasing, or at least improving? Well, yes, and no.
And this is a subject I have been paying much attention to during my last 7 years of travel to PNG.
Table of Contents
Chinese food in the Pacific?
Chinese influence within the Pacific has been noted throughout the region, with many states switching their allegiance to China over Taiwan in recent years.
The most notable of these of late has been the Solomon Islands, as well as Nauru. Both of these have decent sized Chinese communities, with Nauru particularly having 10 percent of their population as Chinese.
Therefore Chinese food and indeed shops are almost exclusively Chinese in Nauru. This though again is not to say tat they are good, with Nauruan Chinese canine being very much suited to the local palate. This means quite fatty and quite greasy.
The Chinese in Papua New Guinea
The Chinese influence in Papua New Guinea has been increasing of late, but has also been a cause of much controversy. Generally speaking they have come in to do road, or minibus projects while asking for little in return. This has of course angered the west, as well as worrying some local people.
Therefore you will see less Chinese in PNG, but there are still a lot in Port Moresby and well, wherever there is mining to be done.
Chinese food in Papua New Guinea – POM to beyond
Port Moresby has a huge number of Chinese, as well as Korean restaurants, while other major cities, such as Mount Hagen, Goroka and Lae all have at least one Chinese restaurant.
One if the most famous in Mount Hagen is at the Kuri Lodge which for some reason has a Chinese-Indian restaurant, two cuisines not usually seen as bedfellows.
Therefore if you are hankering for Chinese food in Papua New Guinea it can be obtained.
What is Chinese food in Papua New Guinea like?
Much like in other countries the Chinese food in Papua New Guinea has been adapted to fit the local palate, but that is not to say it is like Papua New Guinea cuisine.
Instead it almost exists to be the opposite of what the locals have in that it is very salty and greasy, on extreme contrast to PNG cuisine, which while bland is at least somewhat healthy. One can definitely yeasty PNG “salt” AKA Maggi Seasoning in the dishes.
So, in essence what you get is bad Chinese food cooked in a Pacific“ style.It is though at least still better than eating in Sumatra.
You can check out my tours to PNG here.