I’m part Hawaiian which you can’t tell from my pictures. I look more like my Mom but my sister looks very Hawaiian. Anyway, because I’m Hawaiian as I was growing up I got introduced by my family to lots of Hawaiian culture and especially Hawaiian food.
I think most people that go to Hawaii don’t get to try Hawaiian food. Hawaiian food is NOT a hamburger with pineapple on it nor is it pizza with ham and pineapple nor is it a piece of chicken with sweet pineapple sauce on it. In fact, though I know that Hawaii has a pineapple image if you go to the Del Monte pineapple patch you’ll find out that pineapples are originally from Brazil. They are not native to Hawaii at all.
Anyway, for the benefit of adventurous eaters I thought I’d put up a description of Hawaiian food along with some tips on how to eat it, what to expect and some places to get it.
Somebody can correct me if I’m wrong because all my information comes from my family not from some history book.
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The main dish that I’m used to eating is called a Lau-Lau (like Cow-Cow except with an L instead of a C). As an aside, Cow-Cow (spelt Kau-Kau) means food in Hawaiian.
A Lau-Lau is made from Butterfish wrapped in Luau Leaf (pronounced Lou, rhymes with Poo and Ou like in Ouch. Lou-Ou. It’s like spinach) which is then wrapped in a Ti leaf (pronounced Tea) and then it’s steamed. Of course people put other things inside like pork or chicken but the original is butterfish. When you get one you have to take the Ti leaves off as they are not edible and you are left with the rest.
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I was surprised when I was a kid because for some reason in lots of cartoons and comics it was made clear to me that kids supposedly don’t like spinach but I always loved lau-laus and often people substitute spinach for the luau leaf and it still tastes great. It must be because of the flavor it inherits from the Ti leaves.
Anyway, you cut it open it will look like you see it here. Generally you need to add salt and if you can you should use Hawaiian salt.
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Hawaiian salt is not as salty as table salt and it’s got much larger grains and it’s also red. The red come from Hawaiian dust.
The next most common Hawaiian food I know of is called Kalua pig or Kalua pork) It’s pronounced the same as the drink, Kahlua but there’s no Kahlua in Kalua pig. Kalua pig was originally made by taking a whole pig, cutting it open along the belly, taking out the guts and rubbing some salt along the inside. Then, taking some very hot stones from a fire, putting them inside the pig, closing it up and burying it in the ground for 4 hours. Now-a-days I think mostly they just add spices to the pork to make it taste similar. If you’ve ever had Mexican carnitas, Kalua pig tastes similar though they are both distinct from each other that’s the next closest pork I’ve tasted.
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After Kalua pig comes Poke. Most people on the islands pronounce it Pokey (like Gumby’s red pal) but I think it’s pronounced Poke (rhymes with Okay). Otherwise it would be spelled Poki in Hawaiian. Anyway, it’s basically raw fish salad. Now, before you go "Yuck!" lots of cultures eat raw fish. The Japanese are famous for it with sushi and sashimi and of course there are bagels and lox which come from northern Europe I believe. I’m almost sure the Irish, Scottish and the English must eat some kind of fish as they live on islands.
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Anyway, saying poke is almost like saying salad. There’s a zillion different kinds but they are all generally about some kind of seafood mixed with other stuff. I saw on the Food Channel that at a super market on the big island of Hawaii they have 140 kinds of poke in their deli section.
Here you see Ahi poke. Ahi is a kind of tuna found in the waters near Hawaii. You don’t need to add anything to poke as it’s already got spices in the mix. But, unlike Japanese sashimi which you eat one piece at a time and rather slowly you generally chow down on poke.
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Lomi Salmon (pronounced Low Me) is the next item on the list. It’s very similar to Mexican Ceviche. It’s basically tomatoes, onions and salmon. It’s a little on the salty side which brings up everybody’s favorite Hawaiian food discussion topic….
Poi. Poi is made from mashing up Taro root. I supposed you could say it’s kind of like mashed potatoes. It serves the same purpose as potatoes or rice in other cultures. It’s the filler, the starch, the blander thing you eat with other more spicy things.
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Poi can be described as gray pudding. Think of rice porridge like malt-o-meal or cream of wheat. It’s served cold or at room temp. Real Hawaiians eat it with their fingers but you can eat it with a spoon. Although many Hawaiians like it plain the best way to eat it for the un-initiated is to eat a spoonful of lomi-samlon (which is salty) and then a spoonful of poi before you’ve swallowed the salmon.
It was funny to us Hawaiians because we went to a fancy restaurant in Hawaii, Roy’s, and they happen to have poke and poi on their menu. We ordered the poi and we asked for a large bowl. They brought out a bowl about the size of a pudding cup (like maybe half of a coffee mug). That’s not a bowl of poi to a Hawaiian it’s a joke. We asked them to please bring us a real bowl of poi and they brought a reasonable sized bowl though they joked that they might have to go to the store and get some. I turns out that lots of people see it on the menu and want to try it but as they generally do not like it the restaurant usually gives them about one spoonful in a paper sampler cup (about big enough for 3 to 5 jellybeans)
To give you an idea about poi and Hawaiians we went to 3 stores searching for poi to eat with our meal and every store was sold out and every store had a rack for poi. In other words it wasn’t li
ke they only stocked a couple of bags. They generally carry quite a bit.
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The last picture I have of Hawaiian food is dried fish (or fish jerky). It takes like you’d expect jerky to taste. Salty. There are lots of kind of this too. Different fish, different spices etc…
Unfortunately I forgot to take a few more pictures. Next time I go to Hawaii I’ll try to get those but for now you’ll just have to use your imagination. Here’s what’s missing.
Chicken Long Rice: Chicken long rice is made with Chinese long rice noodles which are long noodles, longer than spaghetti, made from rice and when they are cooked then turn completely clear. Chicken long rice is chicken and those noodles and some spices like soy sauce. It’s almost like a soup except that the noodles are so plentiful. Hawaiians often say "shoyu" instead of soy sauce. Shoyu (pronounced Show You) is the Japanese word word for soy sauce.
Squid Luau: I have no idea how to describe this. I’ve only had it a couple of times. It seemed like a soup.
Haupia: (How-Pee-Ah) This is one of my favorite things. It’s basically coconut pudding but it’s stiff enough that you can hold it in your hand. I think it’s made from coconut, corn starch and sugar. I always buy 2 "bricks" of it. One to eat during my Hawaiian food pig out and the other to eat during the rest of my stay a few slices a day
Kulolo: (Coo as in Cool. Coo-Low-Low) I’m not sure what this is but I think it’s made from coconut and it looks like of like a very dense piece of brown bread, like banana bread but more dense, more brown and more wet. Very good. Last time I went to Hawaii though the place I went was out of it and they said the person that makes it for them was on vacation for 2 weeks. 
Rice: I’m pretty sure rice was not a part of Hawaiian culture originally but it is now.
Loco-Moco: I’d really like to know the origin of this dish. I’d guess it comes from some surfer that didn’t know how to cook or he was in a hurry. It’s basically white steamed rice, an fried egg, a hamburger patty and beef gravy. You can get it all over the islands.
Saimin: (Sai rhymes with eye. Min as in minute) Basically the same as Top Ramen or Cup of Noodles. I’m not sure of the exact different between saimin and ramen. If I was to guess I’d say saimin noodles are thinner than ramen noodles but I really have no idea but you can get it everywhere including McDonalds.
Spam Musubi: Moo (like a cow sound) Sue Bee. This is another one I don’t quite get the origin of but you can find it everywhere. It looks like a piece of sushi with spam on top. Hawaiians love spam. Spam and eggs is great. Spam sandwiches on King’s Hawaiian Bread and Spam Musubi. By the way, King’s Hawaiian Bread is really not Hawaiian bread it’s Portuguese bread. You can read right on the package in small print. I knew this though because before King’s Hawaiian Bread became popular my family used to eat Portuguese Sweet Bread as it’s been a part of Hawaiian culture since the Portuguese came to Hawaii.
Okay, so now that I’ve got you all salivating to try Hawaiian food…
I’m not an authority on where the best places are but I can tell you where I’ve had it and where I like it. If it was up to me, the best place to get Hawaiian food is at Rugers Market on Oahu near Diamondhead. From the last hotel on Waikiki, the Park Shore, which is across from the zoo, it’s probably a 20 minute walk or a 5 minute car ride. When you get there you won’t know it as it’s just a small store with no windows, just doors. Inside is a counter and a few small rows of groceries. If the weather is nice you can get your food and then eat it in the park that you passed on the way. Otherwise you’ll have to take it back to your room. Assuming 3 or 4 people here’s what you should order
- 2 to 4 lau-laus. You can have them take the Ti leaves off but I prefer to have them leave them on so you can see them
- 1 pint of kalua pig
- 1 pint of ahi poke. If they ask what kind or what you want in it just ask them to make their favorite
- 1 half pint of lomi-salmon
- 1 half pint of poi (unless you think you’ll like it then get a pint)
- 1 pint of chicken long rice
- 1 brick of haupia
- 1 kololo
- one cup of rice for each person
- one extra bowl for each person (so you can eat it)
- anything else you want to try
They will have some utensils so make sure to get what you need. You can get some drinks there too. Then take it all somewhere and PIG OUT!! 
The word to use is "Ono" as in Oh No. In Hawaiian it means Delicious!
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Here’s map to Rugers Market. If you are trying to look it up it might be listed as Fort Rugers Market instead of just Rugers Market
If you are not up for all that there are other places you can go but in my opinion none of them are as good.
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There’s "The Willows". The Willows is an old restaurant that’s recently been refurbished. They have a Hawaiian buffet so you can try lots of the stuff there. It’s a very pretty restaurant but I didn’t think the food was as good as Rugers Market.
The Ala Moana Food Court. There’s a Hawaiian fast food place at the food court at the Ala Moana mall. Not great but not bad for a quick fix.
In Los Angeles you can go to Kings Hawaiian Bread Restaurant in Torrance and they have a Hawaiian Sampler plate. It’s just okay but also good for a fix.
Marukai: This is a supermarket that sells some Hawaiian foods.
Personally I’d recommend not going to the last 4 places until you’ve tried Rugers. They aren’t bad at all but it’s kind of like going to Taco Bell as your first Mexican food experience
Aloha: Diva, I just found that there is a Roy’s in the metroplex. I have not been yet, but I’m sure you will need a couple of weeks pay, but, it’ll be good. Not your plate lunch, but once there more info should be able to be gathered. Also, Hawaiian Falls waterpark I understand does a hula show, so maybe some leads there. Anybody in the DFW area a surfer and up for a road trip to the gulf?
Aloha, Wayne
wayne@bigislandsbest.com
Oh my gosh!!! I miss home so much. I have been away a long long time. I am from Ewa Beach and I miss the Hawaiian style sushi and manapua most of all. I need a good web site to order some of this stuff on line.
Aloha, LF
yea you got most of the spots but you forgot leonards! ….oh man i miss the Malasadas…..the ones they sell here @ L&L HBBQ is ok. Now im starving at work =! thanks bra! Good line up of food tho….i just got back from Oahu like 3 weeks ago…home sick already. i need to find some good poke around LA…anyone know of a place?
I just wana tell you guys to check out our website.
http://www.familyfoodhawaii.com
We got lots of local foods there.
K den
Aloha,
Great Website! Can anybody help me? I live in Winston Salem North Carolina and I was born and raised in Honolulu. Dumb Tita to move up here, but can anybody tell me if there is a Hawaiian Civic Club in the area or does anybody know of someone who does Luau catering with Hawaiian Entertainment in this area? I am retiring this month and would like to throw a traditional local bash for my way out the door to the world of “No gotta work anymore!” Much mahalo.
I miss Maui soo much. I grew up der. What i miss da most is watching movies wit muchi crunch and popcorn. And Poi , its been so many years since i havent had some.
Hey There,
I enjoyed your write up on Hawaiian food. I lived in Hawaii for a few years and I am trying to remember the name of a snack I used to have over there. It was some type of nut that that was naturally salty when you sucked on it. Any idea what I am talking about ?
Aloha Gregg
Great site love all the comments! how amazing that alot of local people move and miss da food, i know da feeling you guys I MISS MY LOCAL GRINDS TOO…Ever since i moved away from home and now in the U.K. I didnt realize how much you miss and Appreciate Home and your kind food’s, I have my Mom send me my Hawaiian salt, cause with hawaiian salt you can taste da flavors in just about anything you cook, and my Li hing mui powder for my deserts as all i need. But all in all Gregg I think Hawaii has the best Taste of Aloha because it comes from every where, but the best kind is the Real Hawaiian food The LAU LAU Fish & Poi No can Beat!!! and to all of you who crave the Lau Lau and no can use the Taro leaf…i cheat i use spinich, until i get home.
Aloha Happy Hoildays Gregg to you and Family & all of you
A huiho Linaka
Hi I just wanted to share with everone here that reads this that there is an awesome store online that sells Hawaiian Food (i.e. poi, arare, dried fish, li hing mui stuff, coffee, cookies, and juice) and also gives away Free HAWAIIAN FOOD on a weekly basis…check the store out at
http://store.suresave.com
or the contest for free food at:
http://store.suresave.com/frhafocogi.html
Hope you guys enjoy!
Aloha!
I am originally from Oahu – born and raised in Makiki. A few years ago we hosted a luau in our front yard here in Ohio. We had some excellent Hawaiian food UPS-ed to us from a local business; the food was prepared and then immediately placed in a cooler with dry ice and shipped overnight.
Lost the URL for the company. Eek!
Does anyone have any suggestions for some local businesses in the islands that do this – shipping fresh Hawaiian food to the mainland overnight?
Mahalo
Aloha!
I am originally from Oahu – born and raised in Makiki. A few years ago we hosted a luau in our front yard here in Ohio. We had some excellent Hawaiian food UPS-ed to us from a local business; the food was prepared and then immediately placed in a cooler with dry ice and shipped overnight.
Lost the URL for the company. Eek!
Does anyone have any suggestions for some local businesses in the islands that do this – shipping fresh Hawaiian food to the mainland overnight?
Mahalo
Wassup Greg,
I was looking for butterfish recipes and then i stumbled on ur page. U’ve have a great page hear and its very informative. It got me salivating after reading this blog. I’ve been living on Oahu all my life(25 yrs) and was planning on moving to the mainland. I’m jus curious, what made all you hawaii folks (locals) move to the states??
Mahalo!
Aloha! I just moved to the mainland after living Kapolei,HI (Oahu) the west side near Waianae, for the last five years. My Daughter “Alexandra Dare” was born ar TAMC- the pink hospital. One thing that I miss the most other than being there is malasadas, manapua, and pork hash. My biggest craving is Redondo’s winners not weiners for peeps that think I misspelled it – LOL!
Yes, very good website. I was born and raised in Oahu (the North Shore) and definitely miss the Hawaiian food. Now I am living in Virginia and I can’t find any place where they sell poi, etc and I tried making Lomi Salmon; it doesn’t taste right at all. It’s not the same.
Zippy’s online does ship everything…. manapua, portuguese sausage, poi, etc. It’s good for those who can’t get any local grindz locally.
I accidentally found this site and was intrigued by all the notes from so many transplanted Hawaii Islanders yearning for Hawaii and it’s ‘cuisine’. So to those living in Illinois or close by and want to connect to a real Hawaiian who has been living in a Chicago suburb, please email me. I have a hula halau and many friends also from Hawaii and other Polynesian Islands.
Lucky we live Hawai’i. Aloha to all of you kupuna, bruddahs, and sistas and those Hawaiian at Heart! You may be away from the Islands, but know that Hawai’i will always, always be apart of you. Listening to great Hawaiian tunes and eating local style will give you that. . . taste of Home! Our ohana just celebrated my niece’s and Mom’s birthday with good local style Hawaiian kau-kau / mea a’e. We had da imu Lau-lau and imu pua’a (kaulua pig), lomi-lomi salmon, assorted poke – tako poke, shoyu-onion ahi poke, limu manuea & inamona aku poke, lomi o’io w/ limu waiwaiole w/ ice cubes & chili peppah watah! Though it was her Birthday, Ma still went through the trouble to make her potato-mac salad w/crab meat, w/ da Best Foods mayonnaise sheeeww. . . brok ‘da mout! My brother brought over da wild game: smoke meat, home made sausage, and warabi (fern shoot) salad w/ kamaboko. My contribution was pipi stew, (beef stew) I used 6 pounds of boneless short ribs and the standard – potatoes, celery, carrots, canned stewed Tomatos. Simmered da stew for 6 hrs. I’m happy my family enjoyed it, the short rib meat was soft, you could gum ‘um, no need yo’ teeth fo chew into. We also had da chicken long rice, squid luau, pipi kaula, opihi, da okinawan purple sweet potato pieces, kulolo from Kauai, and coconut haupia. And last but not least, Beer, Birthday cake and ice cream. Hauoli la Hanau to Mama and Kailee!
Hope those of you away can come back soon! Even if it’s jus’ lighting up the Hibachi while on da mainland-U.S.ofA fo’ prepare da pulehu ribs! Respect each other, Respect the Aina!
Malama pono oe. -bruddah Kev
Eh, sorry I made walla’au! FYI: try these guys, they send Hawaiian food, Young’s Fish Market, 1286 Kalani Street #101 Honolulu, Hawai’i 96819 phone: (808) 841-4885. I also put da Round Onion in my stew, garlic and thumb piece ginger when browning the short rib meat. Oops, I put da hookino in da wrong place, it’s mea’ai, not mea a’e. Mahalo! Besides the other great Hawaiian foods, these guys get also da Ake, Char siu, Roast Pork, and Roast turkey tail. If you’re diabetic or have high-blood pressure (like me) be sure to eat healthy foods which include fruits and vegetables. I must make better choices. Aloha ou kou!
-bruddah Kev
Dear Sir – Do you have a list of any restaruants and stores that sell Hawaiian food in Little Rock, Arkansas? Best food I ever ate.
Thanks!
Shirley
Just returned from Oaho 2 weeks ago, and I am “home sick.” Can any one tell me please if there are any resturants and stores that have that Aloha touch.
Thanks!
(PS its a cold night here and 3 inches of snow are expected, you understand.)
this site bring it all home. closest thing i have here is aloha grill and zippy’s.com went back to the islands last year for the first time in 10 years…and ate at L&L 3 meal for a week straight. for all of the “haole’s” (white people to mainlanders) out there scared to try some different food other than burgers…listen to the sane people on this site. the best grinds(food to us whities) you will ever have, just keep an open mind. for all my brotha’s and sista’s out there on the mainland, aloha oi. keep hawaii alive
I looked up “Hawaiian food” and was glad to see pictures on your page though you didn’t include ake, aku palu, oio, etc. I am very surprised you had some pictures. Very cool page.
i live in stockton california . i miss hawii do you no where i can get manapua/ pork hash , because over the dont have it / do u all send through the mail
……..I don’t think my neighbours will be too impressed if I roast a whole pig in a hole in the ground in my garden, how long does the lawn take to recover? lol.
I shall improvise with a leg of pork on the bbq, teriyaki salmon and huli huli chicken, all these recipes and more I have found online. I can’t source Hawaiian ingredients in the UK and will make do with what I can find from the asian stores but the spirit of Aloha is the main ingredient I shall use when preparing the food for my birthday luau at the end of this month.
Mahalo for the great site
Kimona
My name is Kai’ili. I’m from Makaha on Oahu. Recently I moved to California and I’m missing all the Hawaiian food from there like crazy. Anyway, I have a report due in a couple of days talking about where I came from and I was thinking if I brought in some laulau or kalua pig w/cabbage that might get me a good grade. 1 problem though , I cant cook laulau and I dont remember the recipe for kalua pig so can u send me the recipes for these please. It would be greatly appriciated. just send them to my email if you can. Thanks. ~Kai’ili Lee aka Cj
Got to got to rainbow drive inn kapahulu for the strawberry shake,also try st.louis drive inn for the mahi mahi sandwhich.Or my all time favoret, go to Kahuku Kaylas for the garlic shrimp so ONO
I was born and raised in Hawaii and recently moved to California last month. I asked me friend to buy me some Li Hing Mui stuff from the swap meet and send it to me, but he pointed me to this site snackshawaii.com and told me that they sell them cheaper than the prices at the swap meet. I checked it out and they got all the snacks I want, especially the li hing mui seed and kaki mochi. The shipping was less than $5.00 too. Kewl, i also bought Hawaiian sun drink too. Gotta have my cracked seed.
My last stay was for 3 years in the late 90’s. I so crave the culture, spirit, food, and friendship. Most of all…I tell everyone I know how spectacular the food is in Hawaii. Your website takes me back to that time that I can taste it all! Job well done!! Even today I try to “imitate” the Loco Moco…close but no cigar!!!
Mahalo,
Robyn
I just received an order of frozen poi from Zippys.. We love it. I make Lomi Salmon.. Can not find anywhere on the Panhandle of Florida where I can get it.. Love Hawaiian food too…
ex kauaian now a phoenician in az. thank god we live close to las vegas for the fix. the last time i was on kauai i could not stop eating my friend’s kulolo-it’s like a drug yeah? cannot stop. was in las vegas 2 weekends ago and bought a bag of rock salt lemon peel. again, it’s like the opiate for true locals. and to make matters worse, i couldn’t chew on the plastic bag to get the last remnants of flavor out of it( stop! many of you have done this!).
Hey gregg and all the hungry people who just read this site. Help! I’m stuck in hillbilly hell!!!!! Been gone for 7 years now, and thanking all my friends and family for sending me all the boxes of local goodies every month. But i’m going to need more ALOHA shoyu! I’m sorry but Kikkoman has nothing on our favorite condiment. I have even brought the empty bottle to my local asian store and asked them to get me jugs of it. Still waiting after 3 years. Hopefully my family and i are going to Hawaii next summer and get fat on all these great food we don’t have in the Gulf Coast Mississippi. Fried meat, fish, and veggies can only go so far, and making local favorites at home was the only way to introduce the kids to my culture. People who never had SPAM, poke, or any type of seaweed have enjoyed them. My honey ,born and raised in the South, used to say rice is rice and thought of that awful Uncle Ben’s rice. Now he can tell when it’s not sticky rice just by the smell when it’s cooking.
The only reason to go the the Punahou carnival was to wait in line to buy the malasadas, otherwise go to Leonard’s. There is nothing like the smell of Huli-huli chicken in the air from a nearby church doing fundraising, as you drove along H-1, praying that by the time you got out of bumper to bumper traffic there was still a case of it left for you to buy. Why so much? Stash til the next fundraising, if it lasts that long. Shave Ice…There is a place in moiliili a few turns behind the library, that sold azuki bean shave ice. So ono.
A date saturday night would not be complete without making a last stop at your neighborhood Zippy’s, open 24/7. Ya you know what i’m talking about! If you’ve never been to a Big City Diner, I recommend the Kimchee friedrice and fried calamari. Stick to the local owned and operated. Your tummy will thank you.
So, GO EAT SOME ONOLICIOUS FOOD!
Much Aloha!
hey that stuff is so ono i good eat every day well i look more hawaiian in my family too
From tiffany
hi everyone i was raised in honolulu, (kalihi) hawaii but now i reside in utah. we have L&L’s here, asian store and samoan store that sell some stuffs from hawaii. its okay but not da same like back home. dang i could eat poke wit hot rice rite now. i always crave for manapua, pork hash, redondo hot dogs, 7-11 (in hawaii) & etc….. well da question i have for anyyone is how do you make kalua pig (in da oven)??? please someone get back @ me.
k-den, suva
pearlridge is not an outlet mall…and i am currently stuck in pittsburgh (SNOWY day, even though its the start of spring break) and wantig some food from home
hawaii is vastly overrated theres really nothing to do there so yea……………….
it is really boring in hawaiia cuz theres really nothing to do there………………….
~hang loose bruddas~
Aloha ,hawaii is a great plece to go, there are somany hot chickas
and alot of fun beaches to visit.
I am what Hawaiian’s call “popolo” which is another term for “black.” My ex is also popolo as well as native Hawaiian. She introduced me to everything listed on this page, and I must say, I am addicted! Poki/poke (LIMU), Mango, cuttle fish, Lau Lau, Mahi Mahi etc so bomb! I wish I could visit the Big Island so I can have some fresh fresh Hawaiian cuisine. I’ve never had poi and I don’t think I’d like it because although I eat raw fish (poki) I am picky. SO to those who neva tried this dishes, do so!
Aloha Kamainas,
Hello, I was raised in Pearl City, and 10 years ago my two children and I moved to Yreka, California; it’s an hour away from the Oregon boarder. We will be celebrating my daughter’s graduation party tomorrow.It’s a Luau theme with leis, hula skirts, and Hawaiian music. I haven’t had poi in 10 years, and found a store in Oregon that sells poi frozen, Manapua, crack seeds,char su mixes, etc . My mother will dancing the hula for us ( “It will be an honor” Mommy said.
I miss the authenic Hawaiian Luau. I am havingchar su, kalua pig w/ cabbage, poi, lomi lomi salmon (using patis instead of salmon), haupia. We are having other dishes that others are used to at a gathering. No poke’, or lau lau. or kulolo. But a small reminder of Hawaii.
Mahalo Nui Loa! for letting say a few words or two of my ohana.
Aloha oe’
Patricia Jean McGuire
Mahalo! Now my mouth is watering for some Great food. My husband, daughter (6) and I visited Hawaii last year with friends. My friend grew up in Pearl City. She was our private tour guide. She took us everywhere. We went to her niece’s graduation party and hung out with the locals. Of course our trip wasn’t complete until we went to Zippy’s and Leonards. The food was Awesome. My husband isn’t one to try new things but I was shocked, he tried Lau Lau’s and loved them. We packed a cooler with food to bring home. I miss Hawaiian food. Your description of the food was right on. Now I’m craving. Kalua pig. I wish there was a good Hawiian restuarant in Maryland.
Mahalo,
Marion
I never thought that I will be missing Hawaiian food, when I was living on the Island.
There are lots of “Hawaiian Food ” restaurant in Tokyo but I could never find good Hawaiian food.
Go to Ogo’s in Akasaka for the real deal.
I never eat Hawaian food. But seeing those pictures in your post make me want to taste it one day.
Help! Does anyone know where I can get Aloha Shoyu in Massachusetts? Or even any state near by? We usually order 4 gallons at a time from Aloha’s website, but the shipping is killing me!!!
I’m happa. Daddy was Irish, but momma was Hawaiian, Filipino and Japanese. She was born and raised on Maui. All my aunties and uncles still stay on Maui. We live in Orlando, FL and can only afford to visit every other year. Miss all da kine food you folks talk about. And folks, just to let you know, all my relatives LOVE Aloha Mixed Plate in Lahaina.
Some of you folks should try visiting a Vietnamese food store. I went to one here locally and there was a small(and I mean SMALL)Hawaiian section! I bought saimin, poi and portugese sausage! They even have crack seed! Not much, but cheaper than having Zippy’s ship it to me.
And I was in New York City in June, and I came upon a L&L! Not all the same foods as the ones in Hawaii, but I ordered so much that I had them pack it up to take back to the hotel.
I love to gross my haole friends out when I tell them the most ono breakfast in the whole world is eggs, hot rice and fried spam with shoyu! Momma made it all the time, but she put ketchup on it(must have been my dad’s haole influence, eh?)
And on e-bay I bought a musubi maker! Hubby and kids say it looks like dog food, but they don’t know what they’re missing. Fried Spam is the bomb, especially on warm bread with mayo!
Going to thaw out some saimin now, chop up some scallions and fry some spam! What a dinner!
Okay braddahs and sistahs here a history lesson. First, most of the food you mentioned (no disrespect) is a culmination of outside cultural influences into hawaiian food. Traditionally, Fishes and Starches are the essence of Hawai’ian food. In Hawai’ian Poke’ prononced, ”po-kay” Hawai’i had no onions, scallions, and so forth. Most Poke’ was made with Alae’ Hawai’ian seasalt which gets it reddish hue from the rich soil of the islands and limu ele’ ele’ (black seaweed). Most times poke’ was eaten on da spot for our lack of ice box.
As for your question on how Loco-Moko got its name. My great-great grandfather used to tell us about when the Japanese, Portugese, and American Military migrated to Hawai’i to work on the Railroads and because during these times the Portugese sailors brought cattle, the japanese brought rice, and the military brought eggs and gravy. Auwe!aand because they all worked on the Locomotive and you know how islanders love to coin phrases, it became da Loco-Moko.
Recipe- Loco-Moko
2 – grilled hamburger patties
4- sunny-side up eggs
1/2 cup of Brown Gravy
Bed of white sticky rice, put patties on rice, eggs on dat and gravy all over da place
Hey Amy, Try Costco. Because our location in California carries Aloha Soy Sauce.
We are holding the NY Uke Fest this year on May 29, 30, 31 at Baruch College. We would love to have an Hawaiian food vendor. We have spoken to L & L and Maui Taco, but would like something more. Any suggestions? nyukefest2009@yahoo.com
Hi I am looking to buy Poi in NYC for my grandson. Dashel is highly allergic to milk and milk products and Poi is working great for him.
Dash and I thank you.
My son chose Hawaii for his school project in his gifted class. He will be doing a project board, etc, and the are asking for bite size pieces of food that represent the state. Maybe you can help me figure out what to do? I live in Mississippi and don’t really have access to much. I’ve included my email if you can help.