Tourists want to taste PNG food, says businesswoman

By PETER ESILA
VISITORS want to taste PNG food – something businesswoman Margaret Luku knows a thing or two about.
Luku is the director and owner of Agitai Real Foods in Port Moresby.
She specialises in Autonomous Region of Bougainville’s popular tamatama dish.
Luku was one of the small-medium enterprise (SME) owners who attended the Bank South Pacific Financial Group Pay digital demonstration session in Port Moresby last Thursday.
“I started with my son in 2017,” she said.
“The famous tamatama is made from cassava, mashed and garnished in specially cooked coconut cream.
“I am known by many as the tamatama meri.”
Lulu became a BSP SME customer using its electronic payment in 2018.
“During the Apec meetings, I was one of those selected to showcase traditional foods at the Apec venues.”
Lulu said many locals preferred traditional dishes which businesses should provide. “I get very excited when my customers are satisfied.”
One of her dishes is called pito – boiled kaukau (sweet potato).
“You can do mumu (earth oven) with cooked coconut cream.
“There is no additive.
“Just the kaukau with the amazing coconut cream.”
Another dish is mashed taro which can be served in the tamatama, with coconut cream also.
“The taro is boiled and then mashed in this wooden tool called kako then rolled up. It becomes like a paste,” Lulu explained.
“We use coconut oil to smoothen the rolling and the molding.”
She said what made the difference was how the coconut cream was added – full coconut cream or with water.
“These are the trademarks of Bougainville,” she said.
“I tell my children what I do.
“I learnt it from my father.
“Actually, in my culture, men do this whole thing from the pounding to the cooking part.”
Luku said visitors wanted to taste PNG food.
“We must get the hotel people to work with Papua New Guineans to do PNG food the way it should be cooked,” she said.