Despite recently spending two weeks in Timor Leste, I am still honestly not sure what Timorese food is. "There isn't any," said Alfonso, our awesome guide/driver. "There's lots of Indonesian food. Special food is Portuguese food. But there's not really Timorese food..." After a trip to Timor Leste's only mall, I can also confidently assert that there's lots of Malaysian food, but I'm none the wiser about indigenous cuisine.

Also, what Timor Leste food generally isn't is cheap...

However, we had a fortnight of very good eating:



1. The fish is freaking fantastic... Whether succulent snapper, meaty steaks of trevally or coco, crispy flying fish, bacalhau fishcakes, or whatever it was in that flavourful soup at Bela Vista in Com, it was all really, really good. Fresh and delicious.

2. Also at Bela Vista in Com, we were served tender little pieces of deer-meat. Accompanied by fried potatoes and the most deliciously sweet cucumber, this was a memorable dish.

3. I don't know what it is about Timorese tomatoes, but they're the nicest I've had for ages...



4. The bread and eggs we ate for breakfast after seeing the sun rise at the top of Mt Ramelau must count among the best food ever. Scenery, crisp morning air, and relief at still being alive are excellent appetite stimulants.



5. Eating sharp, chewy tamarinds straight off the tree will be one of my abiding memories of Timor Leste.

6. Banana juice, and its close relative, banana and papaya juice, seem much more popular here than they are in Java. (Bizarrely, you can also buy tinned banana juice, imported from Korea. It's quite tasty, actually, but I can't help wondering about the economics and logistics of this particular transaction...)

7. The sambal is different! It's drier, saltier, sharper, and spicier than sambal at home... Gives a wonderful kick.



8. Cafe Timor gives even kopi Jawa a run for its money. And if you need a good view and pineapple and coconut muffins with your coffee, the Beachside Hotel will oblige with a table under the trees on the lovely bit of beach that stretches out towards the statue of Jesus.



9. The Portuguese-influenced food made a delightful change. We particularly enjoyed Cafe Brasil and Boca Doce (both in Dili), as well as the restaurant that's attached to the Pousada de Baucau. But there were many other fine examples of Portuguese-influenced fare. It was great to sample European-style tomato sauces, fish in a delicious jus made of butter, garlic, and lemon, tomato rice, and the famous caldo verde (a creamy soup with finely chopped greens and little rounds of sausage). The bread was GOOD! I especially loved the little round rolls, just slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. But the small loaves, sliced up, were also chewy and delicious. This bread is great served up with jam and butter for breakfast (ideally accompanied by a big cup of cafe com leite, of course). But it's a good partner for lunch or afternoon coffee as well. And desserts... Well... The Baucau restaurant does everything nicely, but its puddings are particularly worth saving oneself for. We sampled the leite creme (a variant on a creme brulee) and the sweet rice. Wish there'd been time to work our way through more... And for an afternoon treat, Cafe Brasil's chocolate and coconut cake has to be tasted to be believed...

10. On a related note, we thoroughly enjoyed exploring Pateo, the Portuguese supermarket, regularly hauling back Portuguese beer, or white wine, or cheese, or chorizo-stuffed buns to consume in the (relative) comfort of our Dili hotel room.

You don't actually come to Timor Leste for the food, but it does turn out to be a really nice bonus.