- I love meat pies.
- It's like it's... (Sharon laughs)
- Oh my God!
- People Vs Food on tour. - I'm in!
- (PvF) We are headed to some of the more than 1,000 islands
in Polynesia to try delicious foods from the region.
- Ooh!
- (PvF) What do you know about Polynesian food?
♪ (sad trombone music) ♪
- Not much.
I might've had some things before and I didn't know it was Polynesian.
- I have like a bunch of friends from the Polynesian islands,
and I've heard a little bit about the food,
but I haven't really gotten to actually try it.
- (PvF) What other countries are in Polynesia?
- You can't ask me these things. - New Zealand.
(bell rings) Um...
- I don't wanna sound stupid, I think that's my biggest fear.
I was gonna be like oh, I mean, we said Hawaii,
is that a state, a country, I don't even know, honestly.
(record scratches)
(Jillian laughs)
- (PvF) Is Hawaii a state or a country?
- It is a state.
- (PvF) Yes. - Yes.
- (PvF) I may have to use that, I'm sorry.
(group laughs)
- (narrator) The first group of Hawaiians
supposedly came in the 700 AD. - Oh, Hawaii.
- (narrator) From the Marquesas Islands, came over on their canoes.
Which you're talking about coming to an island,
a group of islands in the middle of the Pacific.
- Look at how beautiful it is. - Oh, it's so beautiful.
- My God.
- Jungles and beaches. - Like, I wanna go in there,
but I know I'm gonna get bitten by a bug
and get like some weird disease.
(Jaxon laughs)
- It's just crazy to think that people literally came to a mass of land,
like a land mass, and there was nothing there.
Like he said, put pigs and potatoes, like what do you do with that?
Like, that's crazy!
- Figure out a tasty combination, I guess.
- Yeah, seriously, I'm excited to try it.
- (narrator) All the Asias that came in.
- Ooh look at that!
- (narrator) And brought their method of how to cook.
And then you start to mix and match styles,
a little bit of Filipino style, with some of the Chinese style.
- Oh, the Filipino style. - Mm-hmm!
- Oh, I'm so excited. (laughs) - Ooh, okay, okay!
- Ooh! - Ooh, okay, okay.
- Oh yeah. (Sharon gasps)
- Oh my gosh!
- Ooh. - Oh, you are giving us a meal.
- Oh my God! - And we got macaroni salad!?
- (PvF) From the melting pot that is Hawaii,
we have quite the feast.
First up, a classic plate lunch with kalua pig, poi,
mac salad, and rice.
We've also got a bowl of saimin, the nation dish of Hawaii,
and for dessert, we've got malasadas and haupia.
- Oh, I gotta have this mac salad first.
- The mac salad is obviously amazing.
- Hawaiian mac salad, to me, has a lot more flavor than regular.
I feel like regular mac salad goes with like salads,
you know what I mean?
- Mmm.
Hell yeah, oh hell yeah! - That's very flavorful.
- It's just, it's like stripped down.
There are no like, barbecue sauces or anything,
and I think it's even so much better without that distraction.
- Mm-hmm. - Okay.
- Yep.
- It's almost like a pudding. - That tastes bad.
- Not a big fan.
- Okay, it's a little...
- It's a little sour, but it doesn't have too much taste.
- Mm-hmm, oh my God!
- Oh, that's delicious, what is that?
- Is it good? - Oh my God! (laughs)
It has this nice crisp right when you take that first bite,
and right when you get inside, it just goes instant doughy.
(noodles slurping)
- Wow!
I mean, that was the worst ASMR. (laughs)
- If you're eating any noodle soup dish,
and you're not slurping it, you're not eating it right.
- Is this pork? - (PvF) What is that?
- I wanna say it's, what is this?
It's definitely pork, it tastes like.
There's a specific name for it though, right?
- Spam.
- You can't really go wrong with Spam in like a noodle dish.
- Nicole, please, preach about how good Spam is.
- (PvF) Oh, Spam's the best.
- Thank you very much. - It is not the best!
- (PvF) I buy it by the case.
- I was always scared of Spam, I was like ew,
but this is incredible. - (Darius) This is Spam?
- For anybody who does not eat Spam, like, give it a shot,
we understand that it's canned meat,
but if you prepare it properly, it is delicious.
- It isn't! - Don't listen to her.
- It is not delicious. - Do not listen to her!
- Already, everything on this plate is bomb.
- I was literally gonna almost finish this entire thing,
I'm not even gonna lie, I was just gonna keep going.
- No, I know, but we need to like, save up.
- Wait, there's more, huh? - Yeah.
- (PvF) This is just round one.
- (Darius) Oh! (Jillian screams)
- How many rounds? - (PvF) Five.
(Jillian screams)
- (narrator) We go to the markets.
- Oh. - There we go!
- Let me just tell you, that's my kind of lady.
- I'm gonna tell you right now, girl!
- (narrator) We're looking for some coconut.
- (gasps) Coconuts. - Coconut.
- Oh, I can't wait to try this!
- Yeah, I know it. - The people are gorgeous.
Oh my God. - (Sharon) Yeah.
- I know the flowers are so cute!
- It makes me wanna go so bad, just seeing that, like...
- (gasps) Come! - Yo!
- Ooh! - Woah!
- Okay.
- (PvF) From the beautiful island nation of Samoa,
we have palusami, a delicacy in Polynesia
that's made by wrapping a beef, onion, and coconut mixture
in leaves, before baking.
Sapasui, half moon pies, and then their national dish,
a coconut bread called pani popo.
- Yeah, like, this is a thick, thick pastry.
- I don't even know what to do first.
- Me either! - I gotta find out what's going on.
- I'm just going to bite here.
- No!
- What in sweet baby Jesus's name is this?
- Oh my God!
- This is one of the best things I've ever tasted.
- Wow!
- 10 out of 10. 11 out of 10.
12 out of 10.
- Mmm.
It doesn't taste like pineapple.
- It gives me like apple pie. - Mm-hmm.
- What is this? Look at that!
- Okay, it smells like artichokes, have you ever had artichokes?
- Yes, it smells exactly like it. - Mm-hmm.
- There's coconut in it. Mm-hmm.
- Yeah! - Ooh!
- Heavy coconut in that, mmm. - Mm-hmm!
- I like this.
- I literally didn't have to chew at all.
It's like I put it in my mouth, and it just kinda like...
- And it just kinda melted, and then you.
- (both) Yeah, it's so good.
- (PvF) So this is the national dish of Samoa, it's called pani popo.
- Have you gone to a different plane of existence?
♪ (angelic music) ♪
- I'm moving. (laughs)
- I have never seen Sharon smile this big in my life.
- (PvF) What do you think of Samoan food?
- They got the flavors up there. - (Jillian) Yeah.
- Their flavor is... - Mmm.
- I'll tell you right now, you know, normally,
I'm like oh, my neighbors get food and everything.
- Mm-hmm. - Nope!
They ain't getting [censored] today, let me tell you!
(Brian laughs)
- (narrator) When you say Tongan people,
it means food itself.
- Oh, I think I've seen this somewhere before.
- (narrator) Birthdays and weddings, and funerals and everything,
and all those events, it has to go with food.
- Yes, everything has to go with, food is life.
- I don't know what that is. It looks delicious.
- I don't either, but I hope, I can't wait.
- Exactly, it's not a party without food.
- It's not a party.
- That's what I love, like, their family gatherings,
they just make these like, all these different sorts of dishes.
- Where are we going? - We're going to Tonga!
- Woo! (laughs)
- Oh, we're vacay-ing now! - Oh!
- This is vacay vibes! (both laugh)
- Ooh, this looks pretty!
- Are you serious? (sniffs) Oh, that is fresh fish.
- (PvF) So, like many of its neighboring countries,
Tonga is a wonderful mix of land and sea,
and today, we're trying their national dish,
ota'ika, a coconut fish ceviche, and 'ulu, which is breadfruit.
- I was not expecting that. - Me neither.
- I feel like I'm eating a pastry,
but then I also feel like I'm eating an artichoke.
So it's like an artichoke pastry.
- It does have a potato consistency,
but and then there's the coconut in it.
- Mm-hmm!
- God dang, that's good! - Mmm.
- I like that a lot.
- This is good. - Mm-hmm.
- Try the drink. - Mmm!
I almost forgot!
- (PvF) This drink is called 'otai,
it's a refreshing watermelon summer beverage,
made with lime, pineapple, and coconut.
- This is literally on the beach drink right here.
Like hands down.
- Mm-hmm. - Mm, very fishy, to me.
- Wow! - This is a ceviche?
- It's like a, what's it called, a very marinated poke.
- That strong flavor.
- I'm not a fan of that one.
- I'll say, with this, it's not like super salty, or super sweet,
or anything, like everything is like very simple tasting.
- I would say it's a little bit more on the plain side, yeah, but...
- Yeah, it's a little more on the plain side,
but not in a bad way.
- It's like a ceviche that's not really a ceviche,
but a stronger ceviche. (laughs)
It's still the consistency of the fish
that really brings out the flavor of the fish,
if that makes sense.
There's fish in this, right? - (PvF) (laughs) Yes.
- (narrator) A new morning in gorgeous French Polynesia.
- Tahiti. - Tahiti!
- Woo!
- (narrator) Time to learn a little bit more about
what the Polynesians eat. - I'm in!
- What's the sandwich?
- Ooh, all of that looked good.
- Woah!
- I recognize French fries!
- I recognize a baguette.
- That is a very hardy looking sandwich.
- This is gonna be very, very, fishy.
- Yes, and I'm here for it.
- (PvF) Their national dish, poisson cru,
is very similar to Tonga's,
so instead, we've got some poulet fafa,
chicken cooked with coconut and taro leaves,
a casse-croute avec frites, and po'e, a Polynesian based pudding.
- Hmm!
- Woah. (Jillian laughs)
Woah, woah, woah, there's a lot going on!
There's a lot going on, woah, woah, woah!
- Really, should I go for it? - Mm-hmm!
- There is a lot going on in here.
- It is a sour tuna sandwich.
- It almost wants to be spicy.
- Yeah, but that's the thing, it's so flavorful,
it almost counteracts the fishiness of the tuna.
- Oh, it does want to be spicy!
I am so interested in this. - (Brian) Mm-hmm.
- I was not expecting that.
- See, interesting thing, that would be something
that would be nice with this to counteract it.
- Oh yes! - Mm-hmm.
- The flavor difference is crazy.
- Mm-hmm.
- You go here, it's like a safari,
like a wild jungle. (Jillian laughs)
You come in here, and it's like a country club.
Like chilling, you know, you're relaxing after.
- Oh! Banana.
- Tastes like banana.
- Right? It's banana.
- Ooh, I like it.
- Yeah, it's really, really, really, really good.
It almost tastes like if banana pudding
had a baby with a cacao plant.
- Yes!
- My parrot would love this. My parrot loves bananas. (laughs)
- You have a parrot?
- Yeah, I have a parrot at home. - Sick!
- You know what?
I just think we need to cruise around the Polynesian islands.
That's my goal.
- Yeah, People Vs Food on tour.
- (narrator) New Zealand.
- (gasps) New Zealand! Woo-hoo!
- I didn't know that New Zealand was...
- New Zealand's Polynesian? - A Polynesian island.
- (narrator) Lamp chops. - Lamb chops!
- Oh! You already sold me!
I love meat pies! (Jaxon laughs)
They are one of my favorite things to eat.
- (narrator) Pavlova, a legendary New Zealand dessert.
- Ooh, I'm in for that! - Ooh!
- (narrator) And strawberry bits on top!
Every year, the Australians try to whine about it
and claim that it comes from Australia,
it's not a New Zealand dessert.
- I like this guy, he's funny. (laughs)
- (narrator) But it is, and just to keep them quiet,
we just keep beating them at rugby.
(Sharon laughs) - Oh [censored]!
(Darius sighs)
- (sniffs) Oh, I'm not drinking that. - Okay.
It smells like a coffee. - Yeah, I can't drink that. (laughs)
- You can't drink coffee? - I hate coffee.
- Meat pie. - Look at it!
- This looks like such a great way
to end everything we've just been eating.
- (PvF) From New Zealand, we've got a delicious meat pie,
a cup of flat white coffee, New Zealand's signature drink,
and a delicious pavlova, with kiwi on top.
- Cheers! - Cheers.
- This is really good.
- Oh, I would think if you like coffee,
a cup of coffee with this would just kick, right?
- Oh, it kicks you right in the mouth,
in the best way.
I don't know what you're doing I'm just gonna pick it up and bite it.
- I wanna hear your thoughts before I take a bite.
- Mmm! - It's good?
- Mm-hmm!
- Meat pies are so good.
I cannot emphasize that enough.
- It kinda gives me sloppy Joe.
- Like, a meat pie is just the evolved form of any sandwich.
- Oh yeah, it's like fancy sammy.
- I like it a lot, I really do.
I think the flavor's great, and this, the crust.
- It's perfect. - Really complements the meat inside.
- What is that?
- Is it fire? - Oh my God!
- That's like straight sugar.
- In the middle, it's like marshmallow fluff.
- Okay. - Oh!
- It's like it's... - (laughs) What was that?
I got so excited! - You really did!
- Oh! (laughs)
- Definitely my favorite, I think. - Yeah, mine too.
This is definitely like, it just everything I want.
(Brian laughs)
- That is so good!
- It's very sweet. It's a very big contrast
from the meat pie that I was just eating.
- Mm-hmm.
- I can literally, I think, die happy thanks to this thing right here.
- Yeah. - I swear, I'm like...
I don't wanna finish it, but I am, you know?
Like, it's so good.
- We just have to find a cruise line
that'll just take us to every one of these islands.
- I am, I...
- And then you'll just get off on one of 'em
that you like the best, and never get back on.
- (PvF) That does it for today. Any final thoughts?
- I'm moving. I'm ready to pack it in and move.
- (PvF) What's your favorite thing you ate today?
- Pavlova! - I don't know, huh.
That's a hard one.
- The kalua pig was my favorite,
and also, the pavlova was really good too.
- Aye mate, that was a crikey good flavored food!
- Crikey! (both laugh)
- Thank you guys so much for watching!
- What other foods should we try next time on People Vs Food?
- Let us know down in the comments below.
- And be sure to like and subscribe.
- Bye guys!
- Cheers. - Have a good one, mate, cheers.