Pastechi

The pastechi is Aruba's breakfast: a half-moon of soft dough, not flaky like an empanada but yielding, filled most often with Gouda, or with spiced ground beef, chicken or tuna, and deep fried until golden. They are sold from snack windows, bakeries and small hatches in walls from very early in the morning and are usually gone by ten. Alongside them sit croquettes, bitterballen and the other Dutch fried snacks that came with the colonial connection, and the whole thing is washed down with strong coffee. Cheese is the version to start with, and it is the one Arubans argue about.

What you actually see

• The cheese pastechi - the standard, made with Gouda.
• The snack windows - hatches in walls selling from early morning.
• The Dutch snacks - croquettes and bitterballen alongside.
• The soft dough - yielding rather than flaky, unlike an empanada.

When to go

Year-round, early. The snack windows open before seven and the good ones sell out by mid-morning. Weekends are busiest. They are best within minutes of frying and decline fast.

Honest expectations

They are deep fried and heavy for a first meal. Quality varies and the ones sitting under a warmer are much worse than the ones straight from the oil. They are rarely on hotel menus. Vegetarians have the cheese version and little else.

Nearby

Snack windows in Oranjestad, Noord and San Nicolas; bakeries island-wide.