The Best Food in Hawaii

By Juli Russ
February 3, 2022

On our recent trip to Oahu and Maui we were able to eat at many wonderful restaurants.  I bet you think that I’m going to tell you about one of those restaurants, don’t you?  I am not.  As much as we loved the restaurants we experienced, we loved other food better.

We fell in love with the food trucks and roadside stands!  Surprised?  Me too!

The first food truck we decided to try was Hula Dog!  If you love hot dogs this is a must while visiting Waikiki.  You can choose from polish sausage or a veggie dog, then top your dog with a garlic lemon sauce and tropical relishes, like mango, pineapple, banana, coconut and more.  I could have eaten at Hula Dog every day, but there was so much more to try.

While we were touring the North Shore in Oahu we stumbled on the Waiahole Poi Factory.  Trying poi was high on our list so we stopped to check out this roadside restaurant!  We looked at the menu and had no idea what any of the food was, it was all authentic Hawaiian dishes.  We told the girl who was taking orders that we wanted to try whatever she recommended.  She selected two combination platters for us which we took to the back of our pickup truck for a picnic.  Our meals were amazing!  We tried kahlua pork, chicken long rice, poi and a delicious haupia, which is a coconut pudding. All the food was incredible and I wish we had been able to go back for more.

After we hopped over to Maui we were in search of more food trucks or unique places to try Hawaiian.  In the town of Kihei we found just what we were looking for!  Across from a great beach was a food truck with the most incredible fish.  We both tried the grilled mahi mahi which was served with rice.  Hands down the best mahi we have ever had.  Maybe it was eating our lunch on the beach that made it seem better, nah – it was fantastic!

Every chance we got, we stopped at a roadside fruit stand to try some local fruit.  If you haven’t had an apple banana you haven’t experienced the sweetest banana you’ll ever eat.  We also discovered that the Hawaiians make exceptional banana bread with the yummy bananas.  The best banana bread we found was at Aunt Sandy’s on the Road to Hana.

Would you believe that the best Poke Bowls were at the Foodtown grocery store?  Everyone we asked told us Foodtown was the place to go.  We had to give it a try and we were not disappointed.  We were able to create our own bowls and take them back to our cottage for dinner.  The bowls we made were great and big enough that we had leftovers.  We really love finding out where the locals like to go.

If you enjoy trying local cuisine while you vacation like we do, you will want to try the food trucks and roadside stands in Hawaii.  Each place we tried was unique and better than the place before.  I can’t wait to go back and try more authentic Hawaiian food and I would love to help you explore the local delicacies in Hawaii.