Metal Farmer Pritham D'Souza: The Seychelles Diaries - Day 2 - Beau valon and Marie Antoinette Restaurant

marie antoinette restaurant

The second day of our honeymoon began by admiring the surroundings of divers lodge. right in front of our lodge was an open patio where the residents could sit have their breakfast whilst watching the waves of Beau Vallon . The owners of divers lodge grow tomatoes, green chillies and mangoes in their garden. Close to the patio is a small bird food dispenser . It brings the most beautiful birds of seychelles every morning! we managed to spot the red fody also called the madagascar fody it resembles a small orange to red feathered sparrow. A few others were the zebra dove or the barred ground dove and the seychelle bulbul. It was heavenly to hear the morning waves, sounds of chirping birds and the scenic turquoise colored waters of Beau Vallon!

We were served with fresh fruit every morning. It ranged from passion fruit, mangoes( which surprisingly grown all round the year ), papaya and avocado. along with that was egg omelettes with mushrooms, bacon and sausages. so after having our king size breakfast we walked towards the beautiful Beau Vallon beach which is just right in front of divers lodge.Beau vallon is a bay on north western coast of Mahe and is the most popular on the island. The Seychellois come on the weekend to enjoy drinks and barbecue. It is known as a base for diving and snorkeling due to its clear waters and coral reefs. There are various hotels on the bay of Beau Vallon. Few are Le plage , Mahek, Boat House, Fisherman's Cove, the Berjaya Beau Vallon and the Coral Strand. The Beau Vallon bay is also a site for festivals and bazaars of small food , fruit and souvenir stands.

always with the phone

eeeeeeee

We stopped by a cart where a local Seychellois was selling fruit and we had some local coconut water to drink . Since we didnt have any tour planned for the day we decided to take a local bus and explore the city. We continued walking till we found a bus stand which was situated just opposite the Beau Vallon police station. The walk was quite long and tiring so we picked up some local Seybrew to quench our thirst. The bus arrived in another ten mins and we hopped on it. The fare to any part of the city is just 5SR which is extremely cheap considering the taxis with charge hundred times the amount just to take one to the city! The buses in seychelles are pretty cool too. The driver collects 5SR and gives you your ticket and you are let in to sit. At the side of every seat is a button which when pressed gives an indicator sound to the driver that you would like to get down at the next stop! pretty cool huh? Everything is so well planned and executed unlike the local buses back here!

boat house

boat house, good for creole food

boat house

SR25! thats like 125 Indian rupees for a tender coconut!

tourist checking out the size of nuts huhuehue

huheuhuehue

waiting at the bus stop after picking up a few beers

drinking beer in the bus? perfectly allowed

TaTa bus, reminded me of mangalore

So we reached the city of Victoria and by asking a few locals for directions we finally met the very famous Marie Antoinette of Seychelles! Don't get excited, but we didn't meet the 'marie antoinette' but is the name of one of the best restaurant on Mahe to enjoy authentic and delicious Seychellois food! The place is so popular that their walls are adorned with business cards ,souvenirs and foreign notes from visitors from all over the world!It was initially named 'Le grand trianon' which was the palace where the french queen Marie Antoinette once lived. but was renamed by Mrs Kathleen Fonseka in 1972 as Marie Antoinette. The place today is run by her son and daughter in -law. A colonial style of architecture ,high roof, polished wood interiors give this place a very 1800 -feel ! We waited for around twenty minutes to get a table for two. The place is usually jam packed so reservations have to be made in advance if you hate waiting!

at the bus stand in Victoria, Mahe

Buthcer's Grill, Seychellois take on KFC

Barclays bank

welcome to Marie Antoinette

the interiors

Add caption

the look of hunger?

bring me the fruit bat already!!

We were greeted by a cheerful seychellois attender who took us to our table and explained what they had on their menu. I was extremely excited to taste the fruit bat since it is a delicacy in seychelles! So we ordered a creole lunch for one which cost us around 350 SR, fruit bat and Seybrews. Pretty cheap for the amount of food that was served! The cuisine that is uniquely Seychellois is actually a fusion of flavours from African, French, Indian and English cooking. Most of Seychellois cooking is based on seafood and chillies. The roasted, grilled, fried, curried or raw fish is served with chutney or cooked vegetables including pumpkin, green mangoes or eggplant. we were served a variety of dishes which included steamed Rice,battered Parrot fish, raw green papaya salad, sweet and tangy shredded mango salad, sweet grilled tuna, fish cooked in coconut cream, deep fried aubergines,tuna fish cooked with local veggies, chicken curry and fruit bat in spicy gravy(Civet de chauve souris). Yes that was supposed to be food for one!! I must say we throughly enjoyed all the dishes and most of all the fruit bat. This edible fruit bat also called the Seychelles flying fox is a megabat. The fruit bat is not an endangered species and there is a season when these bats are hunted . My hubby Pritham preferred having bats in the air as compared to me! But he did taste the meat and made sure he had another helping. The meat of this bat which only feeds on local fruit and nectar is very tender and tasty . The way this dish was prepared reminded me of the Goan Chorizo (lingis). It had the spicy punch of red chilli and lingering taste of red wine vinegar with a dazzle of garlic.To those who enjoy Goan chorizo i know! my mouth is watering too as i write this..mmm that taste.

currency notes from the patrons

and there she is, Marie Antoinette

worth a read

the food !
steamed Rice,battered Parrot fish, raw green papaya salad, sweet and tangy shredded mango salad, sweet tuna, fish cooked in coconut cream, deep fried aubergines,tuna fish cooked with local veggies, chicken curry and fruit bat in spicy gravy(Civet de chauve souris)

parrot fish

raw papaya salad

steamed parrot fish with spices

sweet tuna

deep fried aubergines

raw mango salad

fish stew

chicken curry

fruit bat

omg we finished the food!

another good read

niki poses outside the restaurant

After getting stuffed with creole food we decided to burn the calories by taking a stroll around the capital, victoria. Pritham was tickled by the names of various shops..a few are Bimboland, Chaka brothers. On the way we picked up seychellois sarongs and souviners for friends and family back home. Most of the stuff are expensive so dont forget to bargain! We ended Day 2 by picking up local fruits( passion fruit,custard apple/ox heart) and a bottle of Rooiberg Chardonnay for the rest of the beautiful evening at the bay of Beau Vallon!