Les Roulottes are a different way of eating local and well, but above all low cost, in French Polynesia, in Tahiti in the Papeete area.
Not just a place to eat, but also an amazing experience. If you are planning or just dreaming of a trip to the Low cost Polynesia, perhaps far from the tourist villages, know that it is not only possible, but also recommended. If you are planning it we said, Les Roulottes they are one of the places that you must not miss to eat something typical, characteristic that the locals do every Saturday night, and more.
The island of Tahiti, which is the largest in French Polynesia, is the island that you will surely visit first during your trip also because it is the island where all the international flights. You will probably spend the first night of your trip here. In addition to advising you to get up early the next morning to take a tour of the beautiful and colorful city market, I advise you not to miss a dinner at port of Papeete. Papeete is a capital of the island of Tahiti, it is a seaside area that offers a lot to curious tourists, but above all it offers an area different from the rest of the island. Here you can eat at Les Roulottes the classic street food.
Every evening at the port of Papeete you will find caravans, or rather caravans as we might call them, which prepare fresh and always low cost food. Tuna caught the same day, meat,mahi mahi, pizza, Chinese and Thai food and much more. Locals often come to eat here, especially on weekends. You can find groups of young people, but also families on vacation, couples on a first date and many other locals. For them it is tradition, it is routine, it is what they usually do, for you it can be nice to see how most people eat on the island, to do something typical and mix with the locals. For me it was this, and it was beautiful, one of the truest experiences made in French Polynesia.
Each van offers different food specialties and to know the menu, all you have to do is read it on the blackboard near the cash desk. In the van, many fry, prepare more or less complicated dishes, but all made at the moment. You can wait for dinner standing up, or lean on the tables, strictly made of plastic but set up, in front of the van. They will take you there dinner at the table as soon as it is ready and if you do not find a place right there in front, do not worry they will always manage to find you, wherever you have found a place.
The price of a dish like this is approx 10 / 15 €, obviously you will be asked for in Polynesian francs, but in Tahiti you can find ATMs and post offices very easily. Credit cards are not accepted here, but it seems almost superfluous to say, they are vans, what do you expect?
During your dinner you will share the table with other people. The plastic tables are in fact long, there are no tables for two or four people, people sit and get up, leave their seats, go for a walk, order more food and so on. There will always be there to cheer you up music. Each van transmits its own music, also because everyone has their own favorite playlist, also in relation to the food they are obviously preparing.
You will see in front of you Moorea, the neighboring island and savor wonderful and low cost dishes throughout the evening. You can share your table with locals, watch grilled meat right next to you, practically on the street, and have a great local Tahitian beer. Ah, remember that food starts relatively early here, caravans open at 18pm and they also close relatively early, so don't be late.
