Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A traditional plate lunch, on the beach of course.
But it was only a matter of time before the humble plate lunch became a culinary icon in
Hawaii. These days, even the most chichi restaurant has a version of this modest island sym-
bol (not at plate-lunch prices, of course), while vendors selling the real thing—carb-driven
meals served from wagons—have lines that never end.
Because this is Hawaii, at least a few licks of poi—cooked, pounded taro (the traditional
Hawaiian staple crop)—are a must. Other
native foods
include those from before and after
Western contact, such as laulau (pork, chicken, or fish steamed in ti leaves), kalua pork (pork
cooked in a Polynesian underground oven known here as an imu), lomi salmon (salted salmon
with tomatoes and green onions), squid luau (cooked in coconut milk and taro tops), poke
(cubed raw fish seasoned with onions and seaweed and the occasional sprinkling of roas-
ted kukui nuts), haupia (creamy coconut pudding), and kulolo (steamed pudding of coconut,
brown sugar, and taro).
Bento,
another popular quick meal available throughout Hawaii, is a compact, boxed as-
sortment of picnic fare usually consisting of neatly arranged sections of rice, pickled veget-
ables, and fried chicken, beef, or pork. Increasingly, however, the bento is becoming more
health conscious, as in macrobiotic or vegetarian brown-rice bentos. A derivative of the mod-
est lunch box for Japanese immigrants who once labored in the sugar and pineapple fields,
bentos are dispensed everywhere, from department stores to corner delis and supermarkets.
Also from the plantations come
manapua,
a bready, doughy sphere filled with tasty fillings
of sweetened pork or sweet beans. In the old days, the Chinese “manapua man” would
make his rounds with bamboo containers balanced on a rod over his shoulders. Today you'll
find white or whole-wheat manapua containing chicken, vegetables, curry, and other savory
fillings.
