Eat Like a Local in Tahiti Through This Cultural Food Tour

Born and raised on the French Polynesian island of Moorea, Heimata Hall doesn’t have any trouble admitting he can get emotional about food. 

“I end up crying sometimes when I eat things I can identify from my childhood through a smell or a flavor,” Hall told me with a chuckle. “It takes you to that happy place as a kid, and I see that sometimes on people’s faces, and I find it very beautiful. That’s the power of food.”

In 2019, Hall launched Tahiti Food Tours, hoping to introduce visitors to the foods local folks love to eat on the small island.  

“Cuisine-wise, Tahiti has a lot to offer, but it’s something we never sold,” said Hall, who is of Tahitian descent and a former chef. “We always sold beaches. We always sold beautiful luxury resorts, but we never talked about food for this destination.” 

Cuisine-wise, Tahiti has a lot to offer, but it’s something we never sold. We always sold beaches. We always sold beautiful luxury resorts, but we never talked about food for this destination.

Most visitors vacationing in French Polynesia have traditionally eaten only at their resorts or in mainstream restaurants, according to Hall.

“Tourists just never went to eat where locals eat or had what locals ate,” he said. “And I was like, ‘Man, they’re missing out.’ … So really, starting these tours was just about sharing our culture through food.”

Long dominated by traditional French culinary influence, the cuisine most vacationers have eaten during stays in French Polynesia has not typically included an important component of the island’s food history, according to Hall, whose five-hour tours introduce visitors to popular street foods.

“For us as locals, I think we have this image of tourists, and all they want are nice things like lobster and a beautiful steak and all these fancy foods,” Hall said. “It’s just a lack of confidence, thinking tourists will not enjoy street food because it is too simple. Through the food tours, I’m realizing it’s exactly what tourists want — to go to these little mom-and-pop places and eat what we think is simple food, but yet it has so much flavor.” 

Chloe Cipollone, an advisor at Tahiti Travel Planners in Austin, Texas, has been on Hall’s Moorea Tamaa Street Food Tour several times. She raved about her experience, describing the commissionable product as a terrific fit for North Americans.  

“Our clients always come back and say they’ve learned so much about more than just the food, but also the history, tradition and culture,” Cipollone said, noting Hall’s tours are excellent for families and couples. “It’s really wonderful for people who want to immerse themselves in the island and the culture, as well as to see and taste something different.”

Through the food tours, I’m realizing it’s exactly what tourists want — to go to these little mom-and-pop places and eat what we think is simple food, but yet it has so much flavor.

Collecting guests at their hotels, the food tour meanders around Moorea, stopping at roadside produce stands, small stores and mom-and-pop eateries, where Hall introduces a rich sampling of everything from exotic fruits and fresh seafood to delicious baked treats. The most unique item on my tour last year with Hall was undoubtedly the bizarre, but wonderfully delicious, chow mein sandwich.

“It’s Chinese noodles, French baguette bread and then the Tahitian putting the two together,” Hall said of the popular sandwich. “It doesn’t make sense, and yet you eat it, and you’re like, ‘Wow, it actually works.’”

The first Chinese immigrants came to Tahiti as plantation workers in the 1860s, according to Hall, who said that historical detail usually surprises North American visitors.   

“You can look at food two ways — you can look at it as fuel, or you can look at food as telling a story,” Hall explained. “For us, we’ve got that French influence, the Chinese and then us — the Tahitian culture. When you take all three of those and manufacture a sandwich like this, if you just ate it to eat it, it wouldn’t make sense. But then when you start tracing back the history, that’s the power of food. It tells that wonderful story when you trace back the ingredients of the dish.” 

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Tahiti Food Tour