Sure, Hawaiian food may not be the most well-known in the world like Japanese or Italian food. But they do have their special dishes that you should not miss! If you are in Hawaii and wondering what this Aloha state can offer to satisfy your gastronomical desires, read on.
Hawaiian Food
Loco Moco
 |
| Yummy Loco Moco |
I absolutely enjoyed Loco Moco! This is a dish consisting of white rice, hamburger patty and sunny side egg topped with brown gravy (beef base). Imagine scooping a little of every item all in a bite. Yum!
I wouldn't say I went to any particular eatery specifically to have some Loco Moco since they could be commonly found in a lot of restaurant and I have enjoyed them all.
Poke Bowl
 |
| Poke is a MUST-TRY! |
Gosh, poke was my favourite go-to in Hawaii. I can still imagine the taste of the fresh tuna fish and would randomly have a strong craving for some poke bowl but then I remember that I am no longer in Hawaii.
Poke bowl is a dish with raw fish (usually tuna), white rice and vegetables with sauce. Usually I am a little cautious about eating raw fish but somehow all the poke I ate in Hawaii tasted really fresh.
So here is my advice for you. Eat lots and lots of poke bowls in Hawaii! In fact, drown yourself in poke. My favourite was the shoyu ginger poke (pictured above, from Like Poke).
Recommended Poke Places
1. Alicia's Market (Oahu)
 |
| Poke Bowl from Alicia's Market |
The poke we got from Alicia's market was really good and affordable. We could choose 2 from around 10 different flavours. We chose the shoyu ginger and spicy flavours (pictured above).
Address: 267 Mokauea St, Honolulu, HI 96819, United States
2. Like Poke (Maui)
We got our first poke bowl ever from a food truck in Maui. And there is much to recommend it as it kick-started my love for poke.
Like Poke has fried and raw fish options. I would say go for the raw fish options as the fried fish tasted quite dry for me.
Opening hours of Like Poke are daily, 11 a.m. - 7p.m.
Address: 70 Long Ave, Kahului, HI 96732, United States
Spam Musubi
 |
| Spam Musubi (Photo Credit: Musubi Cafe) |
When you see spam musubi, it will remind you of sushi/onigiri and in fact, that is the inspiration of spam musubi, which is of Hawaiian origin.
Spam musubi consists of a piece of spam (processed meat made of pork and ham) wrapped over sushi rice with a piece of nori (dried seaweed).
If you don't eat pork/ham or processed meat, you could try other musubi variety like the salmon or chicken musubi. There are many variations, even vegetarian options like tofu or avocado.
 |
| Salmon Musubi |
Musubi Cafe Iyasume (Oahu)
We got our musubi from Musubi Cafe, at Waikiki Monarch which was conveniently located near where we stayed and it was a good find for us. There was a wide variety of musubi, rice ball and even options like beef rice.
Address: 2427 Kuhio Ave, Pacific Monarch Hotel 1F, Honolulu, HI 96815
Lau Lau, Chicken Long Rice
 |
| Lau Lau Chicken with Poi and Haupia |
Lau Lau is a Hawaiian dish wrapped in lu'au (taro) leaves and cooked through steaming. There could be chicken or other meat like pork or beef wrapped in the lu'au leaves.
Pictured above is what a typical Hawaiian meal could consist of - chicken long rice, lomi lomi salmon (raw salmon with tomato), poi (blended taro) and haupia (coconut pudding).
I enjoyed the lau lau chicken, chicken short rice and haupia! Poi was really an acquired taste. It could taste sweet but ours leaned more towards tasteless to sour. The lomi lomi salmon was pretty standard.
Garlic Shrimp
 |
| Garlic Shrimp (Photo Credit: Wake Up Delicious) |
Garlic shrimp is not necessarily a Hawaiian dish but you should definitely try garlic shrimps in Hawaii. There are a few variation of garlic shrimps. We have tried the fried ones, and also the ones in garlicky, butter sauce. Both were really good and not to be missed!
Wake Up Delicious (Kauai)
The garlic shrimp we tried from Wake Up Delicious was good and succulent. The sauce was really good! The other side dish might vary. We got some green seaweed salad with our garlic shrimp.
Address: 5-5144 Kuhio Hwy Hanalei, HI 96714
Huli Huli Chicken
 |
| Huli Huli Chicken |
Huli huli chicken is grilled, marinated chicken, with the marinade usually consisting of pineapple juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. It has a sweet, savoury sort of taste. Think teriyaki sauce. Huli huli is a somewhat similar variety.
We only ate huli huli chicken once at Cafe Jai, which wasn't too bad. But no need to specially travel there unless you are at Whalers Village or Ka'anapali Beach.
Address: 2435 Kaanapali Pkwy H-13, Lahaina, HI 96761, United States
Hawaiian Dessert
Acai Bowl
 |
| Acai Bowl |
If you are looking for something refreshing during one of those hot and tiring vacation days, grab yourself an açai bowl. You won't regret indulging in this little dessert bowl.
So I am cheating a little here. Açai bowl is not strictly speaking of Hawaiian origin but it's ubiquitous enough in Hawaii for you not to miss it.
If you have not heard of açai bowl, this is a dish consisting of a frozen, pureed form of açai berries and usually served with an assortment of other fruits like bananas and berries.
Hawaiian Shaved Ice
 |
| Hawaiian Shave Ice (Photo Credit: Matsumoto Shave Ice) |
A very popular dessert in Hawaii, you can find shaved ice in many places. This is an ice-based dessert, made by shaving blocks of ice and flavouring it with sweet syrup.
Haupia
 |
| Hawaiian Coconut Pudding (Photo Credit: Onolicious Hawaii) |
Haupia is a Hawaiian dessert also referred to as coconut pudding. I enjoyed my small bowl of haupia and if you are a pudding-kind of person, you will love it too!
Hawaiian Shortbread
 |
| Bought this to take home with us! |
We didn't actually eat any shortbread in Hawaii and had our first on a flight between the Hawaiian islands. It was really good and we decided to buy some to take home with us. The ones from Diamond Bakery was not bad. They also serve as good souvenirs. Additional bonus!
Recommended Eateries
Kahuku Food Truck
If you are visiting the North Shore in Oahu, you should definitely visit the Kahuku Food Truck. There is a wide variety of food here and even some well-known ones (refer to the 2 below).
Address: Kahuku, HI 96731, United States
1. Ry's Poke Shack
 |
| Ry's Poke Shack (Oahu) |
Hours: 11.30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Closed on Saturdays [shop might not be open, please check their IG]
Ry's Poke Shack had a brief feature on Netflix and it can get really popular, selling out fast. I would say get here hours before its closing hours as they tend to sell out quite early in the day, around 2 p.m. or earlier.
We got the Tsunami Poke Nachos which was really good! The portion was big too such that we could share one. Our initial choice was a normal poke bowl but they had run out of rice. No regrets though. The chilli mayo, unagi sauce and Mama Ry's famous crab salad made this dish unforgettable!
 |
| Tsunami Poke Nachos from Ry's |
2. Da Bald Guy
Also featured on Netflix, Da Bald Guy is another popular place to try. Unfortunately, we didn't get to try when we visited the Kahuku Food Truck. Popular dishes include the boneless kalbi short ribs, garlic shrimp and musubi.
 |
| Kalbi and Garlic Shrimp Combo (Photo Credit: Da Bald Guy) |
Food Prices (and Cheaper Options)
One thing we observed in Hawaii was that the price of food tends to be on the high side. Even a single dish from food trucks can cost upward of USD 20. If budget is a concern for you, restaurants are definitely too costly but food trucks might also not be the answer.
I would suggest visiting a grocery store and grabbing ingredients to cook on your own. There, you may even be able to find some local dishes like ready-to-eat spam musubi.
Foodland is another great place to check out! You could grab some fresh seafood (think poke!), sushi or even hot meals.
Waikiki Market
 |
| Food Options at Waikiki Market (Photo Credit: Waikiki Market) |
We went to Waikiki Market on one such occasion when we felt like doing some budget eating and it held a wide variety of food options. There were cooked food options with rice, poke bowl, musubi, sushi and flatbreads among others.
Address: 2380 Kuhio Ave. 2nd Floor, Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
** There you go! Definitely try these dishes while vacationing in Hawaii. Would love to hear of any other Hawaiian dishes that are worth exploring!
Check out my other Hawaii post on Popular Hawaiian attractions that require Passes and Great Beaches for Snorkelling in Kauai, Maui and Oahu post
Comments
Post a Comment