It’s hard to imagine that just weeks ago I was wearing sunglasses and flip flops in beautiful Hawaii. I’ll be honest, before I went to Hawaii my expectation was that I would be surrounded by old tourists wearing socks with sandals and eating at Outback Steakhouse. However, I’m happy to say Hawaii is amazing even with the tourist culture! Also, thanks to Yelp! and recommendations from friends, we ate great meals everyday on the islands. Below are just some of my favorite highlights from our trip.
Our first stop was the peaceful, sunny town of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. You can’t go to Kona without having Kona coffee which is cultivated on the coffee farms of the Big Island. Our first morning we went to Splasher’s Grill and ordered a 100% Kona Coffee French Press to share. I’m not a regular coffee drinker but this coffee was fantastic and I didn’t need to add a ton of sugar and milk like I usually do. My husband, who I consider a coffee connoisseur, was in heaven!
I’m a savory breakfast girl so my breakfasts, although very delicious, consisted of pretty standard egg dishes every morning. Mr. Bake What Your Mama Gave Ya! (Mr. BWYMGY, for short), on the other hand, ordered Island Pancakes every single morning we were in Kona. We didn’t even go to the same restaurant every day! Island Pancakes are served with bananas, macadamia nuts (Hawaii grown), and a coconut syrup, instead of maple. They were so good! The subtlely sweet coconut syrup really took the pancakes to the next level.
Snacks
I love going to grocery stores while on vacation, mostly because I’m a weirdo, but also because I like to see the snacks that differ from region to region, and country to country. While in Hawaii, we stocked up on Maui Style Onion Photo Chips and Maui Shrimp Chips.
Ride that wave Mr. Onion!
I ate these non-stop because I’m disgusting and apparently don’t care what I look like in a bathing suit. But you know what?, it was so worth it! The potato chips were thick and crunchy!
The shrimp chips were excellent too and I pretty much ate them by myself because Mr. BWYMGY did not like the shrimp flavoring on them. MORE FOR ME!!
Seafood Lover’s Dream
I’m Bengali and my husband comes from a family of sailors – needless to say we love fish! We had seafood almost every day we were in Hawaii. Ono was a fish common on many menus in Hawaii. Below you see it grilled a top a salad, and also in fish ‘n’ chip form.
Grilled Ono Salad
Fish n’ Chips
After I moved to Astoria almost four years ago, I learned from the delicious Greek eateries that you never say no to octopus. So while in Hawaii, we went to Lemongrass Bistro where we enjoyed Tako (or Octopus) Kimchee. The dish was made with succulent grilled octopus, green papaya salad, and a lemon kimchee sauce. Divine!
Octopus Kimchee with Green Papaya
We also had this beautiful Ahi Poke at Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill.
Ahi Poke Tower
However, my most favorite seafood meal (or meal in general) was at Paia Fish Market. If you are in Maui and you plan to do the Road to Hana (which you definitely should), you will start your journey in a quaint town called Paia where this gem of a restaurant is located. I ordered the charbroiled fish which came with cajun rice and home fries. Mr. BWYMGY ordered fish tacos (always his favorite no matter where we are!).
Hipster Asian
My first thought while at Star Noodle was that this restaurant would fit perfectly in New York City’s culinary landscape. They serve what I like to call Hipster Asian, a nuanced, high-brow version of new Asian Fusion: buns, ramen, udon, yakitori, etc. And it’s no wonder because Star Noodle Chef Sheldon Simeon took a tasting trip to New York City, sampling the noodle bars of Manhattan, before coming back to take on the role of head chef at Star Noodle. We loved this place so much, we went TWICE!
Brussel Sprouts with Kimchee Puree
It’s hard for me to think that a brussel sprout can get much better than some roasting but the kimchee elevated the flavors of this noble vegetable beautifully.
Garlic Noodles – Fresh & Fried Garlic, Dashi, Green Onion
The Garlic Noodle dish was as simple as it sounds. I’d be happy eating this dish every day of my life: REAL TALK!
Malasadas – Chocolate and Butterscotch Caramel Sauces, Peanuts
You know how I feel about all kinds of doughnuts, so despite being uncomfortably full, we ordered these beautiful Portuguese doughnuts, also known as malasadas. Our waiter smartly advised us against taking this dish to go as we had originally planned. These bad boys were served warm and smothered with a chocolate, butterscotch, caramel sauce of your dreams.
NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!
They gave you a little spoon to scoop up the sauce onto your doughnut. HEAVEN.
Sweet Tooth
Speaking of delicious sweets, you can’t go to sunny Hawaii without having ice cream and sampling some tropical fruits. First stop, a fruit stand along the highway to the hotel. Definitely a overpriced tourist trap, but we couldn’t say no to this passion fruit banana smoothie!
When in Paia, stop by the Ono Gelato Company, where they have flavors like Kona Coffee, Sandy Beach (peanut butter and coconut), and Sea Mist (tea, mint, fruit).
We went with the Sandy Beach which was served with pieces of warm chocolate brownie.
Sandy Beach Sundae
We strolled along the docks of Lahaina after our whale watching tour where we found Lappert’s Homemade Hawaiian Ice Cream. We tried Heavenly Hana which is the Hawaiian version of Rocky Road – Chocolate ice cream with marshmallow cream swirls, chocolate chunks, almonds, chocolate covered almonds & white chocolate covered macadamia nuts.
Isn’t my husband a hunky hand model?
Packing your bags already? I don’t blame you, I’m ready to go back too! Now you know where you must eat while you are in Hawaii!
Bake What Your Mama Gave Ya! 