Chef Makoa
Keke Faʻi (Sāmoan Banana Cake)
Sāmoa's keke faʻi is a soft home-oven banana cake, ripe fruit mashed deep into the crumb, coconut cream brushed over warm, made for birthdays, toʻonaʻi, and tea with the aiga.
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Chef Makoa
Faʻausi (Sāmoan Coconut-Caramel Dumplings)
Sāmoa's faʻausi brings cubes of dense faʻapapa coconut bread under dark coconut caramel, the sweet ending of toʻonaʻi, and kin to Tonga's faikakai and the Cook Islands poke.
Chef Makoa
Faʻapapa (Sāmoan Baked Coconut Bread)
A Sāmoan slab bread, dense with grated popo and coconut cream, baked gold in a home oven and eaten with koko Samoa, budget food that still keeps the family close.
Chef Makoa
Panikeke Faʻi (Sāmoan Fried Banana Pancakes)
Sāmoa's panikeke faʻi, ripe banana folded into a simple batter and fried until the outside is golden and the inside stays soft, sweet, and ready for a crowd.
Chef Makoa
Panipopo (Sāmoan Coconut-Cream Sweet Buns)
Sāmoa's panipopo, soft bread rolls baked sitting in sweet coconut cream until the bottoms turn gooey and gold. Not ancient canoe food, but living aiga food, warm from today's table.
Chef Makoa
Paifala (Sāmoan Pineapple Half-Moon Pie)
Sāmoa's half-moon Christmas pie, tender coconut pastry folded around thick pineapple custard and baked until gold, the kind of sweet an auntie sets down while the whole table keeps talking.
Chef Makoa
Masi Sāmoa (Sāmoan Coconut Shortbread Biscuits)
Sāmoa's masi are the biscuit-tin comfort of the aiga (family), tender with butter and coconut cream, baked pale gold and passed with koko Samoa or tea.
Chef Makoa
Keke Puaʻa (Sāmoan Steamed Pork Bun)
Sāmoa's keke puaʻa wraps sweet white dough around savory pork, steamed soft and shared warm from a market cart, church kitchen, or aiga table.
Chef Makoa
Keke Saiga (Sāmoan Fried Dough)
Sāmoa's keke saiga is the hot fritter from the family kitchen and roadside table, crisp at the edges, soft inside, sweet enough, and best shared before it cools.
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