the roadside foodie guide to hawaii, with no drive through in sight
The great thing about Hawaii? The food is often right on the kerbside, bring new meaning to the word drive-through. Only there’s no McDonald’s to be seen here, just food trucks and benches by the beach serving up Hawaii’s best.
GARLIC SHRIMP
One of the stand-out memories from Hawaii, for us, and for most travellers, is the garlic shrimp. It beggars belief how good it is. Mostly serviced out of a food truck on the side of the road, the queue to order is around 10 minutes and the wait is around 20 minutes. But have no doubts, it is worth the time investment. It’s good that Americans call it shrimp - we call them prawns – for these are unlike the ones we get at home, as good as they are. Fat in the middle, their circumference is almost as wide as they are long. Almost. Giovanni’s shrimp truck serves a dozen shrimp with scoops of rice. It’s reassuringly simple. The sauce the shrimp come in contains approximately seven cloves of garlic – but it’s a sweetened soft version and the flavor is unlike anything had before or again. The shrimp come in the shell which is good – you slow down and savour the flavor. Then again, you’d be entirely within your rights to eat it head, tail, shell and all.
EAT IT: Giovanni’s has two shrimp trucks on the north shore of Oahu. There’s also Romy’s, which offers competition not in flavor but in the fact it owns and operates its own shrimp farm, so you know it’s fresh enough to be flailing.
POKE
This is a dish so good that it has emigrated and become a trend even in Australia. Poke bowl pop-up and devoted deli’s have cropped up around town. It’s safe to say the Hawaiians do it better, but it’s a good opportunity for clients to whet their appetite for their holiday. It’s also a good pre-holiday diet food, as healthy as it is. It comes in a bowl with raw tuna, seaweed, onions, avocado, spicy mayo, avocado and tobiko, which is fish roe. It’s been a part of the Hawaiian culture for centuries. Of course, the local Hawaiians would eat raw fish as a staple. In the 70’s, when someone said bring a plate, this was it. At this point it was described as Hawaii’s hamburger, it was so ubiquitous. By strict definition, poke refers to the sliced and diced nature of the fish, which is often then cured with lemon or lime juice. By the way, it’s pronounced po-kay.
EAT IT: Tamashiro in Honolulu is as fresh as it gets, sourced straight from the fish market. Otherwise there are plenty of small vendors selling it. Just don’t go for the supermarket variety.
SPAM MUSUBI
No one can quite comprehend the Hawaiian love affaior with spam, The tinned ration-esque processed emat has a strange hold over Hawaiians. They love the stuff enough to have a festival edicated to it. They put it in plenty of thigns;; from plate lunches to sandwiches. The most palatable way for a first-timer, and the form which melds the Hawaiian and Japanese heritage is through spam musbi, or sushi. Layered between white rice and seaweed, a thin sliver coated with soy sauce and wasabi is the perfect way to try this local delicacy. You’ll find it everywhere, from the local 7/11 to the drugstore.
EAT: This is something to grab and go, the equivalent to a packet of chips to Hawaiians. Try it from anywhere – it’s pretty hard to get it wrong and it’s unrefrigerated, so makes for an uncomplicated, long-lasting takeaway.
SAIMIN
In its simplest description, this is Hawaii’s take on ramen. It has a great history though, emerging from Hawaii’s pineapple and banana and sugar plantation past. It’s a dashi Japanese broth with spring onions, noodles, seafood stock and dried shrimp. Topped with slices of ham – they love their processed meats – it’s a thin and light meal that will have you grabbing for a glass of water, such is its fabulous salty umami palette.
EAT IT: Go to Kaua’i for this, as it boasts the most plantation-related history of the Hawaiian islands. Hamura’s Saimin is award-winning and worth the inter-island flight.
LOCO MOCO
Don’t let the fact that this looks like a dish from a school canteen put you off. This is a plate lunch that will induce a digestive coma.. Generous scoops of rice, topped with gravy, topped with fried eggs, saddled with coleslaw and either burger patty, spam or Portuguese sausage. Despite translating to crazy in Spanish, it’s a delicious, albeit messy concoction that will grenade any skerrick of hunger.
EAT IT: The Big Island is the place to go for this big eat. Hilo boasts Café 100, which in turn boasts 30 types of Loco Moco. Let indecision be your friend here and ask the staff to make the call on which version is best on that day.