eating our way through hawaii: the savory
As we counted down to our ten day tour of Hawaii, I was surprised by how little I concerned myself with what we’d be eating. Usually, this is my #1 travel priority, but for some reason, I brushed Hawaii’s culinary options off from the start.
To be honest, I just figured it’d be a lot of expensive seafood and familiar “high-end” chain restaurants that two backpackers would never be able to afford. In Waikiki, that was pretty much spot on. However, one thing I didn’t expect? The plethora of budget-friendly food trucks and roadside stands with seriously delish offerings.
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, North Shore, Oahu
When you ask around the North Shore for recommendations on where to eat, shrimp trucks are usually at the top of the list—especially for lunch. Apparently, these trucks have popped up over the years and you get a plate of garlic shrimp and two scoops of rice. We later learned that this is a Hawaiian standard and referred to by shrimp trucks and cafes alike as a “plate lunch.” We did our research and decided that if we were going to try a shrimp truck, we were going to try THE shrimp truck.
Giovanni’s is, apparently, the very first shrimp truck to ever exist in all the land… or at least on the island of Oahu. Once this little mobile establishment took off, billions popped up all over the place—but most people will insist that Giovanni’s is still the best.
We didn’t try any other shrimp trucks, but we can’t imagine anything being better than this: garlic shrimp with garlic on top of garlic stuffed with garlic. Limited smooching after this lunch.
Kono’s Big Wave Cafe, Haleiwa, Oahu
About four years ago, I read way too much about the US farming industry and decided I wanted to seriously cut back on my meat intake. As it’s a complicated and divisive issue, I don’t feel the need to get into it here, but I made a few simple changes to my diet, including the elimination of pork.
At first, it was super easy. I’m not a huge fan of bacon (blasphemy, I know), and I never really cooked pork at home. However, it was when we were traveling that I faced a new dilemma. I didn’t want to miss out on cultural experiences, and I wasn’t looking to go completely veggie. I soon decided that, if we were visiting a country where pork was a main food focus, I wouldn’t give up the chance to experience something important to the local culture.
Kono’s was my time to try Kalua pig.
Like all of our meals, the hubs and I split the Old Fashioned BBQ Pork Sandwich. It was sooo good. The sauce, the slaw, the bread. Everything. This was the only pork we ate while in Hawaii, and even though my tum was a little confused, I’m pretty ok with breaking my pig-free streak for this (if not still feeling just a little guilty).
Ahi Poke, Everywhere
If you eat one thing and only one thing in all of Hawaii, eat poke (pronounced poke-ey). You can get it at all over the place, but we were told time and again that the little markets around the islands were the #1 place for poke.
POKE #1: Kahuru Superette, North Shore, Oahu
Our first poke experience took us to Kahuru Superette in Oahu. If I had gone into this place elsewhere, I would have laughed, turned right around, and walked back out the door. It wasn’t particularly… clean. Flies buzzed around, all the groceries looked a little dusty, and the fear of food poisoning lurked around every corner. However, reviews and locals said this was the best, so we put away our reservations and gave it a try.
The Shoyu Poke was the owner’s recommendation—as handwritten everywhere on neon orange signs—so we went with that. The hubs was a bigger fan than me, but by no fault of the poke. I’m just not that into soy sauce in large quantities. The tuna itself was top notch and I loved the addition of scallions, sesame seeds, and warm white rice.
POKE #2: Pono Market, Kapaa, Kauai
The hubs was against this one from the beginning because he was worried it was mayo-based, and he has a fear of mayo. Wimp. Personally, I thought that was about one bajillion times better than the shoyu, and only wished that I had asked for rice as well. The sauce also reminded me less of mayo and more of what you find in spicy tuna rolls (which we also got from Pono, SO GOOD). Still, the hubs is a texture eater and he decided the shoyu was more up his alley.
Though I expected to declare one island the poke winner, these were each so different and the hubs and I both liked them for different reasons, so I just can’t! Man, is diplomacy a sign of growing up?
If you noticed that Oahu is better represented here, you would be correct. Our room in Kauai had its own little kitchenette area. This meant a lot of super low-budget meals at home, which was surprisingly nice. One notable was huli huli chicken from the local grocery store, but it wasn’t much different from the roasted chickens you see at stores on the mainland.
Next up: the sweets to our savories.
xo!
the romantic
16 Comments
ciableu
Your adventures sound great!!! We are thinking of Hawaii for next year so we are interested to hear of your experiences. What happened in Sharks Cove?
Lazy Travelers
oops, editing mistake! we just each got our own plate and as a newly minted budget couple, it was a good lesson to learn we don’t need that much food 🙂
you’ll LOVE hawaii!! let me know if you have any questions!
Lazy Travelers recently posted..eating our way through hawaii: the savory
ciableu
Thanks so much! I’m sure we’ll have a million questions about Hawaii.
Charu
Being vegetarians, we skipped all of the luau and pig roast that The Big Island had to offer, but found there were SO many Thai restaurants in Hawaii. Ever experience that? And yes, it’s a complete foodie, gourmet island!
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Lazy Travelers
we did see all the thai restaurants!! we didn’t end up trying any, but heard great things–especially on oahu. to be honest, if the hubs didn’t eat pork, either, i probably would have skipped it, but i figured if there was a time and place for pig, this was it. haven’t had it on the trip since 🙂
Lazy Travelers recently posted..eating our way through hawaii: the savory
lola
way to put your reservations about pork aside and go for the experience! that shrimp looks delic!
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Lazy Travelers
the shrimp was to diiiieeee
Lazy Travelers recently posted..eating our way through hawaii: the savory
Ken
I enjoy your posts, but food in Hawaii!
Having just travelled there late last year, from OZ, the food was well lets say at best well portioned.
Breakfasts were greasy, fish and rice for breakfast? no proper bread, bacon hard chips and generally not of the quality we take for granted down here.
Maybe we needed to get out of Waikiki although for us its basically a very cheap shopping holiday, scenery and beaches etc are all here.
Leah Travels
Pig and shrimp? Sign me up! I’m headed to Maui next month and I’m looking forward to LOTS of good food with pineapple on everything. They do that, right?
Leah Travels recently posted..Living the High Life in Cadaqués, Spain
@mrsoaroundworld
how interesting and different the cuisine is from what i expected! the pig sounds incredible.. and obviously no need to comment on the shrimp!!
@mrsoaroundworld recently posted..Tom Chesshyre, a Tourist in the Arab Spring @tchesshyre
Francesca (@WorkMomTravels)
I’m glad I read this while eating lunch instead of before. I might have passed out from extreme starvation! The shrimp & rice from Giovanni’s looks incredible!! I know what you mean about the meat thing… I feel the same way.
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The World Wanderer
Will definitely be bookmarking this for the future. My favorite part, “It wasn’t particularly… clean. Flies buzzed around, all the groceries looked a little dusty, and the fear of food poisoning lurked around every corner.” Why do the places with the best food come from the most disgusting places?? In Egypt, we had a similar experience, so this made me laugh. 🙂
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Raul (@ilivetotravel in Twitter)
It is too early for me to be reading about great seafood – but those look so good! I am glad the food truck fashion hit Hawaii before the mainland!
Raul (@ilivetotravel in Twitter) recently posted..Kilimanjaro Hike: Day 5 – Rocks Everywhere
Traveling Ted
Looks like some delicious budget options are available in Hawaii. Great to hear as it equals a larger budget in the alcohol department.
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Lazy Travelers
priorities.
Kimmy @ AfterGlobe
I’m not sure what it is about Hawaii’s shrimp trucks, but they are amazing, right? I need to figure out how to duplicate those shrimp at home!
And of course, the poke is awesome, too. I can get it plenty in Portland, but it’s not the same as it is in Hawaii. Poke makes me happy.
I’m not seeing any musubi in this post. Please, tell me you had musubi.
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