Ecuadorian food is amazing. Very tasty and nutritious. I love that they use yucca, yams, otoe or manioc and corn in their dishes. They do love roast, especially pig. I found Ecuadorian food tastier and perhaps a bit more healthier than other Latin cuisines. As for the pick-pocketing, we were expecting it since everyone told us to be careful. Maybe we were lucky? Though I have not heard about any similar incidents in the Northen areas of Ecuador. In the South, in Cuenca, yes. I had a friend to got mobbed in plain day light. I would say it was his fault for flashing valuables in a poor country.