The Tongan meal does not follow a sequential service. The tō (starchy staples: yam, taro, breadfruit), the iʻa (protein accompaniment: fish, pork, chicken in lolo sauce — coconut cream) and the kai mamata (raw preparations) are all laid out together. For grand royal occasions (kātoanga), everything is cooked in the ʻumu (earth oven) and served on banana leaves. Drinks and sweet snacks are consumed outside the meal.

Lolo — the thick cream obtained by grating and squeezing the flesh of mature coconut — is the soul of Tongan cuisine. It serves as sauce, cooking fat, and binder in almost all dishes cooked in the ʻumu. Under Salote's reign, every household pressed its lolo daily; it was a gesture as fundamental as kneading bread in Europe.