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Food and Drink
Restaurants offer a variety of cuisines, including American, Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Polynesian. There are also various drive-in restaurants.
National specialities:
• Fia fia (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:
• Kava is the national drink and is often drunk in sacred ceremonies. If you become intimate with Samoans, you may be invited to a genuine kava ceremony. If you go, follow these basic rules: 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 not to be confused with a casual round of drinks in Western society. The taste may take a while to acquire.
Tipping: Not customary.
National specialities:
• Fia fia (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:
• Kava is the national drink and is often drunk in sacred ceremonies. If you become intimate with Samoans, you may be invited to a genuine kava ceremony. If you go, follow these basic rules: 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 not to be confused with a casual round of drinks in Western society. The taste may take a while to acquire.
Tipping: Not customary.
Nightlife
There are many nightspots with music and dancing. Samoan fia fias (feasting and traditional dancing), also known as Samoan feasts, 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.
Shopping
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.
Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1700 and Sat 0800-1300.
