Aruba has a tremendous variety of restaurants, including Japanese, Indonesian, Dutch, French and Italian. Excellent local food can be found at many of Aruba's cafes. Among the local specialties are shrimp
en coco (a delicacy made with brandy and coconut),
pastechi (meat, shrimp or fish wrapped in a light crust),
funchi (cornmeal) and lamb with
pan bati (flat bread or pancakes). Top it all off with a taste of
quesillo, a delicious caramel flan. Be sure to go to a restaurant offering a rijsttafel, an Indonesian buffet at your table that could feed an army. The local beer is Balashi (http://www.balashi.com), brewed on the island. Imported beers from the Netherlands are also widely available.
Through the efforts of the Aruba Gastronomic Association, visitors can dine at more than 30 of Aruba's top eateries as part of a well-organized Dine-Around program. Prices for coupon books range from US$109 for three dinners to US$245 for seven dinners. We found that participating establishments put very few limits on your coupon value. Contact the association to purchase booklets (phone 586-1266; http://www.arubadining.com).
Other options include Seaport Marketplace choices: the Dutch Pancakehouse at the waterfront end (phone 583-7180) and Sushi-Ya, a full sushi bar (phone 583-9982; http://www.sushiyaaruba.com). If you're up late in Oranjestad, look for the white trucks serving local food and snacks at Wilhelmina Park, the post office and the courthouse. They arrive around 9 pm and don't leave until 5 am.
Breakfast is usually served 7-10:30 am, lunch noon-2:30 pm and dinner 6-11 pm.
