This is the thing about fruits in Hawaii - they are all very very juicy - as juicy as it gets - they may be sweet, they may be sour, they may be bitter - irrespective of the taste, they are all very juicy.
Pineapples were really good. But do not buy the whole fruit if you cannot eat it immediately. You are in the tropics. If you do not eat the fruit as soon as you cut, it loses its taste. Now I understand the motivation for food preservation. We bought a pineapple and its taste deteriorated exponentially within 4 hours.
Custard apples were out of the world. Rumbuttan (similar to lychee but only better) was my favorite. I think,, these people do not know their coconuts. It was not as good as in India nor was it tender. Passion fruit was interesting (too sour for me). Bananas was better than mainland. Star fruits were very good - nothing like you get in the mainland. It was very juicy and the texture had a good crunch. Sugar cane juice and Guava juice was so refreshing.
Restaurants
Restaurants are, in general, very expensive in the islands. I do not care for the ambiance. I just want to pay for good food. Tip: Google for cheap eats in "place" to find good inexpensive places. If you eat where the locals eat, then you get good food without burning a hole in your wallet. Why do you want the restaurant to charge you for the romantic lighting and the sound of waves when they are available for free. To-go food from a local place and go to a beach. Eat good food under the romantic star lit sky and sound of waves.
Food in Oahu
The best place we ate was Helena's at Oahu - They serve THE best Hawaiian food ever. Their ribs were out of the world. Squid laulau was delicious.
Garlic Shrimp: Do not miss out on the road side garlic shrimp trucks in North shore. We had ours at Blue Water Shrimp. It is gourmet for road side food. It took almost 30 minutes to prepare but the wait was worth it. It was the most amazing garlic sauce I have ever had.
Food in Maui
We did not try a lot of different food in Maui as we always came back late from activities and most of the places close very early. We has Luau food at Old Lahiana Luau. Everything about it was good- the food, the drinks(unlimited), the dance, the service. I definitely recommend this for everything. It is worth the $90. Where else will you get such variety of Hawaiian food with unlimited good drinks. The highly rated Banana bread in Road to Hana also livs upto the hype. It was such a delight - that I had to remind myself I hate bananas. It sells so fast that they always have warm bread. The subtle flavor of banana and secret spices and the warmth of the bread slowly spread in your mouth - yummm....
Food in Kauai
Drinks
Oh my Hawaii - this is the place to get drunk and make merry. Their cocktails are done so well. Most of the nights, we went out for a drink. My liking for Mai Tai went down thru the trip. My favorite was Lava Flow (which has strawberry for the red and cocounut syrup for the white). The alcohol is blended so well that you do not even taste it (but of course, u get drunk). My second favorite was Blue Hawaiian. I also liked Honey girl. I did not like their long islands.
We made up for the food we missed in Maui at Kauai - where the plan was to eat and drink and relax.
Sea food was cheap (compared to main land). And much tastier. The secret to eating sea food in Kauai - Fish Markets. Every area has its own fish market - where you can buy cooked sea food too for to-go. The best ones are Kolaa fish market and Kilauea Fish Market. The food to so delicious and cheap. We ate seasoned octopus, squid and ahi poke. The later has ahi warp with one of the best fresh ingredients I have eaten in my life. I never knew carrots and cucumber could taste so good. Karu voted it as the best burrito he has eaten in 10 years in the US.
We ate a lot of Hawaiian food. Kalau pork (delicious delicious), ribs, laulau pork, chicken, squid, loco-moco, poi etc. I never knew pork could taste so good without spices. Kalau pork and laulau are cooked with almost no spices at all that you actually taste the meat. And its seriously delicious. Beaf stews were amazing in all the places we tried. Poi was disgusting - it is made of Taro(Taro made into a smooth paste). Hawaiians eat it instead of rice.
We mostly ate at street side local favorites like:
Mark's place, Kauai: Beaf stew was amazing. Please do not order any sea food. I read their loco-moco is good.
Hamura Saimin Stand: We tried a Hawaiian concoction called Saimin. Its a a twist on Pho and Ramen noodles. It was worth eating once. This place was out of a sitcom - some 3 japanese looking women doing the same thing without a minute rest. Restaurant architects must learn from these people how to maximize the space without trading too much privacy. The lady who was making the Saimin had an aura around her. She didn't seem to care about the long lines waiting. She made the Saimin at her own relaxing pace. And making Saimin can be pretty boring. You take a bowl. Put some noodles, put some broth, put some meat, add extra specials according to the order. Every iteration, she made 6 bowls. And she kept on making as people never stopped coming.
Eastside: New place - expensive. We just had pupus(Appetizers in Hawaiian). It was high-end fancy food, very unique flavors, but made well. Drinks were different and you don't like them at first sip. But it grows on you and you will enjoy the second half of the glass. But again, I am not very happy when I pay $14 for an appetizer.
Desserts
Shave Ice - over rated.
Ice cream - Macdemia nut ice cream tastes heavenly. We also had mango-lychee sherbet which was very refreshing. If you are in Kauai, You have to go to Tropical Dreams Icecream shop. Best ice cream ever. The guy is moving to Austin. I envy people in Austin. The owner is a computer guy. He,apparently, made millions of dollars in communication industry and was involved in the invention of internet. And he has lived in Kauai - one long vacation for 14 years- now he is going to Mainland for his kid's college education. Now, thats a story :) He even offered Karu a job if he does a start up in Austin ;-)
Sea food was cheap (compared to main land). And much tastier. The secret to eating sea food in Kauai - Fish Markets. Every area has its own fish market - where you can buy cooked sea food too for to-go. The best ones are Kolaa fish market and Kilauea Fish Market. The food to so delicious and cheap. We ate seasoned octopus, squid and ahi poke. The later has ahi warp with one of the best fresh ingredients I have eaten in my life. I never knew carrots and cucumber could taste so good. Karu voted it as the best burrito he has eaten in 10 years in the US.
We ate a lot of Hawaiian food. Kalau pork (delicious delicious), ribs, laulau pork, chicken, squid, loco-moco, poi etc. I never knew pork could taste so good without spices. Kalau pork and laulau are cooked with almost no spices at all that you actually taste the meat. And its seriously delicious. Beaf stews were amazing in all the places we tried. Poi was disgusting - it is made of Taro(Taro made into a smooth paste). Hawaiians eat it instead of rice.
We mostly ate at street side local favorites like:
Mark's place, Kauai: Beaf stew was amazing. Please do not order any sea food. I read their loco-moco is good.
Hamura Saimin Stand: We tried a Hawaiian concoction called Saimin. Its a a twist on Pho and Ramen noodles. It was worth eating once. This place was out of a sitcom - some 3 japanese looking women doing the same thing without a minute rest. Restaurant architects must learn from these people how to maximize the space without trading too much privacy. The lady who was making the Saimin had an aura around her. She didn't seem to care about the long lines waiting. She made the Saimin at her own relaxing pace. And making Saimin can be pretty boring. You take a bowl. Put some noodles, put some broth, put some meat, add extra specials according to the order. Every iteration, she made 6 bowls. And she kept on making as people never stopped coming.
Eastside: New place - expensive. We just had pupus(Appetizers in Hawaiian). It was high-end fancy food, very unique flavors, but made well. Drinks were different and you don't like them at first sip. But it grows on you and you will enjoy the second half of the glass. But again, I am not very happy when I pay $14 for an appetizer.
Desserts
Shave Ice - over rated.
Ice cream - Macdemia nut ice cream tastes heavenly. We also had mango-lychee sherbet which was very refreshing. If you are in Kauai, You have to go to Tropical Dreams Icecream shop. Best ice cream ever. The guy is moving to Austin. I envy people in Austin. The owner is a computer guy. He,apparently, made millions of dollars in communication industry and was involved in the invention of internet. And he has lived in Kauai - one long vacation for 14 years- now he is going to Mainland for his kid's college education. Now, thats a story :) He even offered Karu a job if he does a start up in Austin ;-)
Haupia is a pleasant cocunut dessert. I would never crave for it but it is very simple and good to eat. Karu finished a whole piece and that says a lot. It doesn;t make you feel guilty of eating a dessert as it doesn't "feel" unheathly as you eat it.
Drinks
Oh my Hawaii - this is the place to get drunk and make merry. Their cocktails are done so well. Most of the nights, we went out for a drink. My liking for Mai Tai went down thru the trip. My favorite was Lava Flow (which has strawberry for the red and cocounut syrup for the white). The alcohol is blended so well that you do not even taste it (but of course, u get drunk). My second favorite was Blue Hawaiian. I also liked Honey girl. I did not like their long islands.
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