The national dish is the creole staple, callaloo - dasheen leaves cooked with okra and coconut. Other creole favourites are oil-down , vegetables stewed in coconut milk, cowheel soup and fish broth.Wild meat , such as agouti, lappe, manicou and even iguana are a staple of Tobago's harvest festivals, while no trip to that island would be complete without tasting the delicious coconut curried crab and dumpling. Indian influences have created the unofficial national dish: invented in Trinidad, the roti is a stretchy flat bread (called a skin) containing curried meat, vegetables or fish.

In Trinidad , where tourism is minimal and most people prefer to eat at home, restaurant culture is only just developing. There are stylish places to eat but the majority are no-nonsense venues where the food is invariably inexpensive and delicious. The best option is street food; doubles (runny channasandwiched betweensoft, fried bara bread), oysters, corn soup and a variety of pies - fish, vegetable and meat. The St James district of Port of Spain offers particularly rich pickings, and with food subject to stringent hygiene checks, eating on the hop rarely constitutes a health risk. The ubiquitous bakeand shark is best consumed on Maracas beach, where vendors compete to produce the tastiest version of fried bread filled with shark meat. Tobago has more tourist-oriented restaurants with prices to match. Local seafood and creole dishes feature, but you'll encounter plenty of imported US steak and chips as well. Remember tax (up to 15 percent) and a service charge (usually 10 percent) will be added to your bill.

Carib and Stag are the light, locally produced lagers, while Royal Extra or Mackeson stouts are excellent local alternatives to Guinness - also brewed in Trinidad and used in the local Guinness-flavoured ice cream. The best rum is produced by the Trinidadian Angostura/Fernandes manufacturers, makers of the world-famous Angostura Bitters; their Black Label red rum is considered sublime.

The best non-alcoholic thirst quencher is the vitamin- and mineral-packed coconut water , fresh from street vendors. Mauby , made from tree bark, cloves and aniseed, is delicious but an acquired taste, while fuchsia sorrel , made from a flower of the hibiscus family, is a sweet drink enjoyed at Christmas.