Eating in Oahu

I'm one of those travelers that when I visit a new town, I really want to get to know the local people and culture. I generally despise tourist traps. A great way to get to know a local culture, I find, is through it's food.

I currently am on a vacation in Oahu, Hawaii. There are two main things I love about this place, the respect for and incorporation of nature in the city and all the amazing food. Nature I will get to in a separate post, but today I'm talking about the Ono food (Ono means really good).
NOTE: This post was actually written back on May 29, 2011 while on my honeymoon. I had some trouble with internet access to get it up, I apologize for the delay.

A  coconut curry of local shrimp & Opa (one of the local  fishes that was caught that morning)

The first thing that struck me at our first meal when we arrived in town, is how proud the people are that their food is locally sourced. We admittedly headed to a tourist trap around here called Duke's. It's located right on Waikiki beach. I honestly didn't expect much & for it to be crazy overpriced. Surprisingly enough neither was true. The service was impeccable. The food was amazing and surprisingly healthy.  I didn't even ask, but the waiter volunteered that the chef could create anything to suit vegetarian or special needs. We were told which fish was the freshest and was caught earlier that morning. And seriously, who has ever heard of a tourist trap that serves burgers made of local, grass-fed beef served on a homemade taro bun (we went back later in the trip for lunch one day & let me tell you, it was as good as it sounds). 

 They also offered beers from local breweries too. If you make it Hawaii try the pale ale and red lager from Kona brewing company.  We also enjoyed the Walua Wheat beer.  And seriously, who has ever heard of a tourist trap that serves burgers made of local, grass fed beef.

Our second day we started the morning off rather indulgently. I had banana macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. As you can see from the picture they were huge and oh so delicious (man I love local food when it's in a tropical climate). We headed to the spa for some traditional lomi lomi massages to ditch our stress and tight muscles from the crazy long flight. We walked a bit before going out for the dinner of a lifetime.

Chef Alan Wong is a major celebrity when it comes not only to preparing traditional Hawaiian cuisine, but also educating the public as well as promoting local farmers. We were fortunate enough to be in town when he hosted a farmers market series chef's tasting dinner. Dinner was 5 courses of incredible food that was completely comprised of locally sourced ingredients. In addition to Chef Wong being there, the farmers who grew the ingredients were on hand to answer questions we may have had, including the Hawaiian fish council.

One of the people we enjoyed Meeting the most was the owner of Kuahiwi Ranch, who raises cattle for local grass fed beef. They started raising British White cattle, as opposed to Angus. He was saying not only is the flavor incredible ( it really was very tender) but the cows have such a different temperament. Have you seen the commercials for happy cows? Well, these ones really are. They're sweet & loyal. He likened them to having the attitude of your favorite pooch. Another highlight of the meal was the Poke (pronounced pokay) made from Nairagi, a striped marlin. I am addicted to poke and tried as many varieties as I could on this trip. Unfortunately, my husband's camera went wonky and the pictures of the beautiful food at this dinner did not turn out. Dessert was outstanding as well, , a Kaffir-Lemongrass Jasmine rice pudding, surrounded in produce from the Makaha Mango farm.

Other stops on our trip included Leonard's bakery. This is enjoyed by the locals but tourists have caught on, so there is always a long line out the door. They make the most amazing Portuguese doughnuts called Malasadas.  They are served  super fresh & piping hot. I think the one filled with coconut custard was my favorite, but the original style is perfect for dunking, even after a day or two.

Another fun stop was Puka Dog. I had seen them featured on Tony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and had to check them out for myself. I was not disappointed. These dogs (polish sausage or a soy dog) are inserted vertically into a toasted bun (they had wheat buns available too ;-)  ).  I could enjoy hot dogs with pineapple relish and guava mustard for the rest of my life and be a happy gal. My husband preferred his mango jalepeno relish.  They now ship their sauces, so I have a feeling I'll be ordering these regularly. 

 If you make it to the north shore keep your eyes peeled for all the local shrimp trucks. (yes I bought food on the side of the road, but this is not like the roach coaches we find here on the mainland.) The farm shrimp locally and then stir fry them up in a garlicky scampi style sauce. One of the best one's is Giovanni's. If you're up there around dinner time check out Jameson's By the Sea for a great sunset view (sit downstairs, not up, which is contrary to what people will suggest). We went there for lunch after our surfing lesson. I had a curried chicken salad served in a papaya that was incredible. We also really enjoyed the Thai shrimp summer rolls.


One advantage in Waikiki to all the Japanese tourists being everywhere, is that you can get great and authentic Japanese food very easily. Try to look in unusual places (as opposed to the ones on the main shopping stretches).  We found a wonderful Ramen shop (the real kind) tucked in the back of  the underground floor of  a shopping mall. We knew we had found a winner when we discovered we were the only non-Japanese people eating there.  I had mine with Hawaiian salt pork... so yummy!

We enjoyed amazing food everywhere we went. The fresh pineapple that was served as a garnish on just about every plate didn't hurt either. There is so much great food to be had. So if you make it to Oahu, skip the tourist restaurants on the strip, like Jimmy Buffet's & the Cheesecake factory, and see what you can find by exploring. You will not be disappointed.