hawaii 5 o’clock

Kick back and enjoy the islands’ fresh, cosmopolitan cuisine like a local

WORDS SARAH PREBBLE

Smiles and luau awaits visitors
Photo: Corbis/Robert Holmes

When you visit a place where the mantra is ‘Hawaiians don’t eat until they’re full [sic], they eat until they’re tired’, you’re bound to leave with a few extra kilos! For centuries, Hawaii was a self-sufficient group of islands some 3,700km from the nearest land mass: what’s now the United States of America – and the Hawaiian diet was traditionally based on what could be grown or caught from the land and sea. As travel and communication improved, Hawaiian cooking was enriched by immigrants to the archipelago who brought new cooking methods and ingredients. As a result, the island’s contemporary cuisine is an eclectic mix of traditional flavours and Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese and Portuguese influences.

Fresh fish and poi
Photo: Corbis/Douglas Peebles

One Hawaiian favourite is poi (mashed taro), a traditional staple ingredient which is still found on menus today. A purple, starchy dish, poi is very much an acquired taste. According to Hawaiian folklore, when it’s on the table, diners should act with great reverence, as they would in the presence of a respected elder. It’s a customary dish at luaus, the Hawaiian feasts that celebrate life’s special events – whether it’s weddings, birthdays or just the joy of dining well and in excess among friends and family! Hawaiians will take any opportunity to host a luau, and all kinds of delicacies are served with love, festivity and aloha (welcome). While it may be difficult for travellers to experience a genuine family luau, there are lots of opportunities to try the cuisine! Check out our suggestions for tasty, authentic Hawaiian eating.

The Polynesian Cultural Centre (55–370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, tel: +1 (808) 293 3333) offers the Alii luau package for AU$93 (US$80) per person. It includes entry to the centre, entertainment, and – as you’d expect – a luau at the end of the day. Bookings are essential and the centre is open seven days.

Shaved ices
Photo: Corbis/Douglas Peebles

To get the full Hawaiian package, take Hawaii Food Tours’ (tel: (+1 (808) 926 3663) very popular Hole-in-the-Wall Tour for AU$115 (US$99) per person. Guide Matthew Gray seeks out real-deal Hawaiian restaurants that are off the beaten track, offering guests a gastronomic whistle-stop tour of Honolulu. The tour takes about four hours, so come with an empty stomach!

Sam Choy’s Diamond Head Restaurant (2nd flr, 449 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu, tel: +1 (808) 732 8645) is run by famed Hawaiian restaurateur and TV chef Sam Choy, and is a must-visit to experience higher-end Hawaiian cuisine. Choy delights the palate with dishes blending the very best of traditional and ethnic influences. His specialities include island-style ahi poke (pronounced “pokey”: poke is yellowfin tuna) with Hawaiian salt and fresh ogo (edible red seaweed), steamed seafood lau lau (jumbo prawns and scallops with dill mayonnaise and a soy-butter sauce), and fried haupia (creamy coconut pudding deep-fried and served with pineapple compote and coconut gelato).

Alii luau, Polynesian Cultural Centre
Photo: The Polynesian Cultural Centre

If you’re craving a simple, home-style meal on the cheap, step into a supermarket for a serving of poke (raw tuna and spices) for less than AU$5.80 (US$5), or a freshly roasted huli huli chicken (Hawaiian spiced barbecue chicken) for around AU$9.30 (US$8). Top it all off with a shaved ice with fruit flavouring for dessert: they’re touted by beach vendors for about AU$2.90 (US$2.50).

Skipping lunch is unheard of in Hawaii, and it’s typical to find people in long queues for a traditional plate lunch (takeaway lunch pack). Loco Moco – two scoops of rice, cheese, a meat patty and a fried egg – is usually the best-value plate lunch, and is served in most fast-food places for less than AU$4.65 (US$4).

For something fancier, visit Ono Hawaiian Foods (726 Kapahulu Ave, Waikiki, tel: +1 (808) 737 2275) for its wonderful daily plate lunch special. The Combination Plate costs about AU$17.45 (US$15), and includes lau lau (salted butterfish, beef, chicken or pork steamed in taro or ti leaves), kalua pig (shredded pork), pipikaula (Hawaiian-style beef jerky), lomi salmon (raw marinated sea salmon), haupia (coconut pudding), rice and poi.

Sam Choy’s chicken dish
Photo: Sam Choy’s Diamond
Head Restaurant

Another excellent place for an inexpensive plate lunch is Sugoi Bento & Catering (B-106 City Sq Bldg, 1286 Kalani St, Honolulu, tel: +1 (808) 841 7984). Try the chicken in your choice of sauces, including spicy garlic, katsu, mochiko and sesame, for AU$8.10 (US$6.95). Sugoi’s bottled sauces are so popular that there’s a selection available for sale!

Out of town, if you’re travelling up to Oahu’s North Shore via the scenic Kamehameha Highway, make sure you stop and sample the offerings of the Shrimp Shack (53–352 Kamehameha Hwy, Punaluu, tel: +1 (808) 256 5589). In this simple eatery, everything’s prepared in the back of a little yellow wagon, but don’t be put off! The Shack has won numerous awards for its fantastic beach eats. Take your pick from pan-fried garlic prawns AU$11.35 (US$9.75), grilled mahi (dorado) with onions AU$11.35 (US$9.75), or snow crab legs AU$14.80 (US$12.75).

To complete your Hawaiian culinary experience – especially if you’ve a sweet tooth – don’t leave Oahu without trying a malasada. A luscious Portuguese doughnut covered in sugar and filled with custard, malasadas were brought to Hawaii in 1882 by the first Portuguese immigrants and have become so popular that they’ve even crept onto dessert menus at the swankiest Honolulu hotels. Leonard’s Hawaii (933 Kapahulu Ave, Waikiki, tel: +1 (808) 737 5591) offers the tastiest, though!