Among the local specialities are dishes cooked in the traditional Samoan oven, umu. A variety of Chinese food is also available in a few places and there are several snack and light meal restaurants in Apia serving fast food and other Western food.

Things to know: Alcohol may not be purchased on Sundays except by hotel residents and their guests.

National specialities:
• Fresh seafood, including octopus and tuna.
• Roast suckling pig.
• Palusami (young taro leaves baked in coconut cream).
• Oka (raw fish in coconut cream).
• Tropical fruit.

National drinks:
• Kava is the national drink (see also the American Samoa and Fiji sections).

Tipping: Not customary.

Several nightclubs offer dancing and other entertainment. Several cinemas show English-language films and Chinese films with subtitles.

Local items include siapo (tapa) cloth, made from mulberry bark and painted with native dyes; mats and baskets; kava drinking bowls, made of hardwood and polished to a high gloss; shell jewellery; and Samoan stamps, available from the Philatelic Bureau.

Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1330-1630, Sat 0800-1230. Some shops remain open during the lunch hour.