If you are hungry, skip this post of my diary! After spending my 5 days in Los Angeles my next destination was the fabulous Hawaii. I decided to join 2 friends who already had their flights booked. It seemed like a much more convenient way to travel from Slovenia to Australia on my WH visa. This was easier than doing it all in one piece with more than 30 hours of traveling to down under. Hawaii it is! There are 5 major islands and many many more smaller. I only did a small research at the airports on the Hawaiian food I must try.
We started and finished our journey on Oahu, most known by Honolulu and Pearl Harbor. My first impression of Oahu was as a very much urban island and I wasn’t really impressed. Once we sat in the car, things started to change. We drove around, especially out of Honolulu and Waikiki. It was a bit different story. We made a round day trip starting from Honolulu. We visited Dole Plantation, Pipeline, and Kualoa Regional Park. Then we headed to Nu’uanu Pali Lookout. To be honest it is not worth spending more than 4 days there and definitely not without a car. Maui is much much much more beautiful. Oahu is very crowded with mostly Asian tourists. Anyway, let’s see what we ate. We indulged ourselves with some pineapple ice cream and pineapple at the Dole Plantation. If you’re not too crazy about seeing pineapples growing, you don’t have to buy the tickets. You’ll already see enough of them.
On this day trip we found the very famous Romy’s Kahuku Prawns, food truck known for their shrimp and prawns. We waited 45 minutes for their famous butter garlic shrimps or prawns, and we were lucky. The garlic is all over, but it still doesn’t kill the delicious flavor of the seafood. They gave us chilled pineapple while waiting. Awesome gesture. Not sure what is coated or sprinkled with, but it’s delicious. They don’t accept cards as you might be used to all around the US.
As we were staying in The Beach Waikiki Boutique Hostel we were located right at the Waikiki beach obviously. We got free breakfast with fresh waffles. The manager and the rest of the staff are super nice. When staying somewhere in Waikiki, it is also easy to get to Diamond Head. Not demanding, but really crowded with tourists. Another reason why I liked Maui more. Just at the end of our hostel’s street there was a food truck with Colombian food, called Mami’s Empanadas. We got a chance to try it the last evening – all the empanadas, Cuban sandwich and arepa with cheese. Tiny food truck, authentic and delicious food, quite affordable as well, especially if you compare it with other Hawaiian spots.
Going back from Diamond Head towards Waikiki, there are a few cafés. We stumbled upon this lovely gem, called Sunny Days. As per usual in American restaurants, bars or other places, the staff was very kind.
The next must-stops on Oahu are Leonard’s Bakery and Liliha Bakery. We bought not only coco puffs at Liliha Bakery, which they are famous for, but also malasadas. It is actually Portuguese dessert, their version of donuts. Well, we weren’t really enthusiastic about it. We tried them at Leonard’s Bakery. That’s where we should have tried them in the first place, so I’ve heard. We were left speechless and drooling in our rental car. It was delicious!
Another very hidden gem in Oahu is Ahi Assassins. Pokés are just the best, so I had to find this place. They actually originate from Hawaii. I try to eat as much pokes as I could. Of course I could find them almost anywhere, even in the supermarkets. None of them were really bad around here. Even a cheaper one from the grocery store was still good. The fish and other ingredients are being soaked in all the sauces so much time. This place is a bit hard to find. It’s actually on the second floor with tiny door. It’s a funky lil’ place with delicious poké!
Before going there that day we visited Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail.
Another funky place at the Waikiki beach is Steak Shack. As the name says, we had steak. There are different sizes or better said amounts, also good for sharing. The meat was just fabulous. Tender and very delicious with rice and a house salad, for which you can choose the dressing. Definitely recommended!
When visiting Pearl Harbor, I took my time to see the Battleship Missouri. It’s truly amazing, it’s like traveling back in time when you step on that ship. It left me speechless.
Enough about Oahu, let’s move on to the prettier island – Maui. Again, having a rental car is very convenient. To fully explore Maui, it’s best to have at least a week. Snorkeling with the turtles was very fun. We were very lucky and swam with a turtle one meter away. Just amazing! After a week I had problems leaving this place.
I was really impressed by Road to Hana. The nature is gorgeous. The road’s most amazing features are random stands by local farmers. They put their fruit there along with a money box. You leave the money and take the fruit you like. There is also a small food truck Halfway to Hana, where they have some snacks and fresh fruit. Homemade banana bread and pulled pork sandwich – YUM!
However, the one you can buy at the Nakalele Blowhole (West Maui) was even better. It just melted in my mouth!
There are some more food spots in West Maui region that we visited. Hawaii has the freshest fish and other delicacies from the sea. One of such places is Lahaina Fish Co. So many good options, it was very hard to choose from. I’ve had this beautiful dish Ahi “Katsu” Rice Bowl, which was just delicious. After we were craving gelato. Right there is a nice place, called Ono Gelato. It has this beautiful terrace in the back, similar like Lahaina Fish Co. actually, there are just next to each other. Lots of gelatos to choose from, but they are a bit expensive. If we are being honest, the whole Hawaii is.
To try some local beer, we visited one of the Maui Brewing Co. restaurants or the brewery itself. They have a big selection of beers and also delicious food with a big number of choices. There are a few locations.
In North Shore are in Maui, I liked Paia a lot. It is a quaint little town with adorable shops and food spots. We visited original Paia Fish Market. It has many options of different kinds of dishes with fresh fish or the daily catch. While we were there we also had some delicious açaí bowl. Paia Bowls is the place to go. We got there just 5 minutes before closing time, but they were still kind enough to serve us. The small cup looked small at first, but it was more than enough of açaí, fruits, granola and other toppings of your choice.
In South Maui we visited Coconut’s Fish Cafe. They are known for their delicious fish tacos. We tried also the limited edition kalua pork taco. Kalua pork is traditional Hawaiian and it means a specific kind of cooking the pork in an underground oven. On both tacos they had really tasty sauce with mango, which went really good with both of the tacos. The fish was very tasty and soft. Before going there we also visited the amazing Makena beach.
Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar is more like fine dining place with various locations around Hawaii and even Seattle. This means that the dishes were very nicely plated but also the prices were much higher. The shrimps were a real dynamite! They have quite a big menu and award winning plates. It gets quite busy, but we were lucky enough that someone canceled their reservation.
Hawaii is special and each of the islands have something unique. Many beautiful things to see and lots of fresh fruit and seafood. Quite a paradise. Maybe one day I will go back for diving.
Anjability 