Hawaii Foods to Try

Planning on taking a Hawaii tour, cruise or vacation?  If so you are in for a treat.  Not only is it one of the most beautiful places on earth, but we also feel Hawaii is one of the top places in the world to find great food. Where else can you find so many different cultures and all of their recipes and unique tastes packed into such a small geographical location?  Nowhere! There is something for everyone, of every taste and preference when it comes to finding awesome food in Hawaii. The locals are always on the lookout for “good grinds” and they have high standards. Whether you want fine dining, quick take-out, unique tastes or typical American food,  Hawaii has everything you need.

History of Hawaiian Cuisine

The original settlers were Polynesians from other Pacific Islands so, of course, Polynesian cuisine is a huge part of Hawaii with taro and poi dishes. However, as Hawaii became more settled, New England missionaries brought “old world” and Northeast cuisine with them like salted fish and chowders. Later, the Hawaiian Islands boomed with visitors from all over the world and started calling Hawaii home after working in the coffee and pineapple plantations. These people came from China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Portugal (incidentally, also responsible for the ukulele.)

Wondering which Hawaii foods to try?

An easy place to get a great feel for the cuisine, and considered a “must do” by most is to attend a Hawaiian Luau. Do read reviews, as some luau’s are wonderful like the one at the Royal Hawaiian hotel in Honolulu, but others are not all that great.

Below is a look at some of the foods and drinks that you are likely to find at one or more of the luaus throughout Hawaii.

Char Siu: These delicious rich, red spareribs are a favorite thanks to the Chinese immigrants of Hawaii.
Chicken Lu’au:  A Hawaiian classic made with chicken cooked with taro leaves (or spinach) and coconut milk.
Kim Chee:  Great as a dip for pupu’s (appetizers) or a stand-alone side dish, Korean style Kim Chee is made of fresh island cabbage, chili peppers, ginger, garlic, and other seasonings.
Kalua-style chicken, pork or turkey:  Meat that is cooked for long hours wrapped inside banana, ti or luau leaves.  The long cooking time allows the meat to come out tender, juicy and full of flavor.
Kalua pua’a: Roast pork, as its prepared in the Hawaiian imu or underground steam oven. Kalua pig is traditionally seasoned with sea salt and sometimes green onions.
Lomi Lomi:  The lomi lomi salmon that is heavily salted was influenced by old New England whaling towns and their tradition of heavily salting cod to preserve it.
Poi: Poi is the national dish of Hawaii and the most authentic and rustic of all Hawaiian foods because it was made and enjoyed prior to ANY western influence. It is made from taro root, a starchy tuber original Hawaiians brought with them from Polynesia.
Poke: Raw fish marinated in lemon or lime juice with other condiments and a little coconut cream.
Mai Tai:  The Mai Tai is an alcoholic cocktail that has become synonymous with Hawaiian sunsets and lounging in hammocks. It is a mix of Jamaican rum and lime juice, garnished with fresh mint. Blue Hawaii’s, Lava Flow’s and other tropical drinks are very popular as well.
Breads & Cakes: Fresh baked breads, pastries and cakes made with island fruits such as mangos, guava, coconut and ripe bananas.

There are lots of other popular Hawaii foods that you need to go looking for at local restaurants.

Street food in the islands reaches its zenith in the plate lunch, served on a paper plate and featuring everything from teriyaki beef with two scoop rice to the Japanese hybrid, spam musubi.

Locals are also drawn to loco moco breakfasts (pictured above – white rice topped with a hamburger, fried egg, and brown gravy), plate lunches available from cafes and food trucks with meat, chicken or seafood served with macaroni salad and white rice, exotically-flavored shave ice (finely-shaven ice), and custardy, coconut haupia.
Manapua – these look just like a Chinese pork dumpling or bao with the thick, sticky dough.  They are available with a variety of fillings including pork hash, curry chicken and siu pork.
Saimin is a local favorite.  It is an Asian style noodle soup with homemade chicken broth or dashi served with wheat noodles and then topped with green onions, pieces of omelet, Kamaboko (fish cake) Char siu (Chinese bbq roast pork,) Linguica (smoked sausage similar to chorizo,) and spam. Speaking of SPAM..in Hawaii you can find SPAM in all sorts of dishes.  You can buy rice balls topped with Spam, Spam Musubi (rice and spam wrapped in seaweed,) Spam fried rice, Spam stir fry, Spam mac and cheese, a variety of Spam sandwiches and even spam, egg and rice for breakfast.
For dessert or a snack, you have to try Malsadas.  They are a Portuguese creation and they are soooo good! Malsadas are hot, deep fried doughnuts rolled in sugar.  In more upscale restaurants the malasadas are filled with chocolate or vanilla cream.

Restaurants and Recommendations

On the big island, you can enjoy affordable, local comfort food in downtown Hilo, and award winning regional dishes in Waimea and Kohala coast resorts and restaurants.

Helena’s Hawaiian Food on N. School Street in Honolulu has some of the best seafood and fish recipes on the Island of Oahu. The tripe stew and kalua pork is pretty much the best thing in the world.  Haili’s Hawaiian Foods is a popular food truck that serves pork and chicken laulau, poke, kalua pig and haupia, which is a sweet coconut pudding.  If you’re on Oahu then you also have to stop at any of the restaurants in Chinatown. Besides the great food in the open market, so many of the restaurants and cafes have some of the best hybrid Asian and Hawaiian cuisine, and it is a tremendous combination. The Maui Fish Market is great for freshly prepared sandwiches, soups and seafood salads.

Maui has some of it’s own specialties, particularly the Maui onion.  Many eat it like an apple, but it’s wonderful in Maui onion soup.  Also try the maui potato chips made from purple Molokai sweet potato.  For a casual meal stop at Café O’Lei with 4 locations throughout Maui.  They have affordable prices and a great menu. The Gazebo serves up great macadamia nut pancakes.

Malasadas? Only one place comes to most people’s minds. Leonard’s Bakery on Kapahulu Ave on Oahu is widely considered the best malasadas in the world. There are others, but no place can hold a candle to Leonard’s Bakery.

Regardless of where you are staying on your visit to Hawaii, you can find some great food with truly distinct tastes and with a variety of influences.

Here’s a hint: Ask the locals where the best place to eat a certain kind of food is.  One more thing you need to know: the Hawaiian word for ‘delicious’ is ‘ono!

We’d love to hear your suggestion of other foods to add to our list, as well as recipes on your favorite Hawaii foods to try. We look forward to reading your comments!

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