As an indication of the sureness of taste of Mauritians, consider that despite having been under British rule for 150 years, the people have remained quite impermeable to British cuisine! They had the good sense of looking up to Chinese, French and Indian cuisines for inspiration instead! There is also a distinct Indian-Ocean cuisine, in which the tomato-based "rougaille" features prominently. Mauritian cuisine is a medley of these cuisines adapted for local availability of vegetables and meats.

The bryani Mauritian-style can be quite remote from the Pakistani original. Unlike Indian curries, the Mauritian curry uses fresh tomatoes. And if French "fricasses" are popular, they can be of ... bats! As for the "naked noodles" (mines touni), they can come as a surprise to Chinese chefs! If seafoods are a favourite of yours, then don't forget to treat yourself to the "Millionaire's salad" of oysters, shrimps, crayfish, crabs, Rosenbergi prawns, served with "sauce rouge" and the heart of a palm tree! Looking for exoticism, weren't you?