Scalinis: Italian with a Samoan twist.
Samoa-born chef Joe Lam and his New Zealander wife and business partner Amanda first opened Scalinis in Auckland in 1999.
Ten years later, they moved their family and the restaurant back to his home country.
Scalinis serves Italian dishes with a seasonal Samoan take, like breadfruit gnocchi and clam carpaccio.
Lam puts a premium on local ingredients -- some harvested from his own farm.
For the last four years running, Scalinis has won the award for Best Modern Samoan Dish in the New Zealand High Commission Food Challenge.
One of Scalinis' winning entries is New Zealand lamb with palusami (taro leaves with coconut cream) and feta, along with falai maukegi (pumpkin) with taro, braised in minted jus.Amanaki is known for fresh seafood, especially sashimi, as well as poke (seasoned raw fish) served with crunchy coconut wedges.
It's located in the hotel of the same name on Apia Bay.
The hotel owns its own fishing boats, so you can be sure that the catch-of-the-day is always fresh.
While you're here, it's fun to try a Vailima beer, which is brewed in Samoa.
