Restaurants offer a variety of cuisines, including American, Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Polynesian. There are also various drive-in restaurants.
National specialities:
• The Samoan feast, fia fia, consists of suckling pig, chicken, fish, palusami (coconut cream wrapped in taro leaves and cooked in the umu, or pit oven), breadfruit, coconut, bananas, lime and mango.
National drinks:
• The national drink is kava, which is drunk in sacred ceremonies. If you become intimate with Samoans, you may be invited to a genuine kava ceremony. If you attend a genuine kava ceremony, do not sip until you tip a little kava from its coconut shell cup onto the ground immediately in front of you while saying manuia (mah-noo-ee-ah), meaning good luck. Do not drain your cup. Leave a little and tip it out before handing the cup back to the server. Remember that drinking kava is a solemn, sacred ceremony and should never be confused with a casual round of drinks in Western society. The taste may take a while to acquire. Most places have a ’happy hour’ serving cheaper drinks (1630-1830).
Tipping: Not customary.

There are many nightspots with music and dancing. Samoan fia fias – feasting and traditional dancing – are organised regularly by several establishments. Samoan village fia fias can be arranged through local tour operators. Visitors are usually welcome at any event in the villages and churches.

Special purchases include handmade tapa cloth, the puletasi (women’s dress) or lavalava (men’s costume) made by local dressmakers, shell beads and purses, woodcarvings, woven laufala table and floor mats, carved kava bowls, Samoan records and duty free goods. Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1700 and Sat 0800-1300.