A photographic print of a group of three young women and one young man seated cross-legged on a cloth with four bowls in front of them and a small dish. Two of them have food in their right hand. The caption indicates that the bowls were filled with poi, a traditional dish made from the underground plant stem or corm of the taro plant. The three women, in long dark dresses, have a garland (lei) on their heads and all four people have a garland around their necks. They are all looking at the camera.

The print has the caption: 'Eating the national dish, poi.' The photograph looks to have been taken in a photographic studio.

Captain Frederick Bedford was on board the ironclad HMS Triumph (1870) while serving on the Pacific Station in 1879. The ship visited Hawaii between 2 and 3 April 1879 when they departed at 10pm for Honolulu.