Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DINING
While in Hawaii, you'll encounter
many labels that embrace the fun-
damentals of
Hawaiian Regional
Cuisine
and the sophistication, infor-
mality, and nostalgia it encompasses.
Euro-Asian, Pacific Rim, Indo-Pacific,
Pacific Edge, Euro-Pacific, fusion cui-
sine, Hapa cuisine—by whatever
name, Hawaiian Regional Cuisine has
evolved as Hawaii's singular cooking
style, which some say is this country's
current gastronomic, as well as geo-
graphic, frontier. It highlights the
fresh seafood and produce of Hawaii's
rich waters and volcanic soil, the cul-
tural traditions of Hawaii's ethnic
groups, and the skills of well-trained
chefs—such as Peter Merriman (Mer-
riman's on the Big Island and Hula
Grill on Maui), Roy Yamaguchi (Roy's
on Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, and
Kauai), Alan Wong (Alan Wong's
Restaurant and Pineapple Room, both
on Oahu; and Hualalai Grille on the
Big Island), and Beverly Gannon
(Haliimaile General Store on Maui).
Fresh ingredients are foremost here.
Farmers and fishermen work together
to provide steady supplies of just-har-
vested seafood, seaweed, fern shoots,
vine-ripened tomatoes, goat cheese,
lamb, herbs, taro, gourmet lettuces,
and countless harvests from land and
sea. These ingredients wind up in
myriad forms on ever-changing
menus, prepared in Asian and Western
culinary styles. Exotic fruits intro-
duced by recent Southeast Asian emi-
grants—such as sapodilla, soursop,
and rambutan—are beginning to
appear regularly in Chinatown mar-
kets. Aquacultured seafood, from sea-
weed to salmon to lobster, is a staple
on many menus. Additionally, fresh-
fruit sauces (mango, litchi, papaya,
pineapple, guava), ginger-sesame-
wasabi flavorings, corn cakes with sake
sauces, tamarind and fish sauces,
coconut-chile accents, tropical-fruit
vinaigrettes, and other local and newly
arrived seasonings from Southeast Asia
and the Pacific impart unique qualities
to the preparations.
At the other end of the spectrum is
the vast and endearing world of “local
food.” Reflecting a polyglot popula-
tion of many styles and ethnicities,
Hawaii's idiosyncratic dining scene is
eminently inclusive. Consider Surfer
Chic: Barefoot in the sand, in a swim-
suit, you chow down on a
plate lunch
ordered from a lunch wagon, consist-
ing of fried mahimahi, “two scoops
rice,” macaroni salad, and a few leaves
of green, typically julienned cabbage.
(Generally, teriyaki beef and shoyu
chicken are options.)
Bento,
another popular quick meal
available throughout Hawaii, is a com-
pact, boxed assortment of picnic fare
usually consisting of neatly arranged
sections of rice, pickled vegetables, and
fried chicken, beef, or pork. Increas-
ingly, however, the bento is becoming
more health-conscious, as in macrobi-
otic bento lunches or vegetarian
brown-rice bentos. A derivative of the
modest lunch box for Japanese immi-
grants who once labored in the sugar
and pineapple fields, bentos are dis-
pensed everywhere, from department
stores to corner delis and supermarkets.
Each island chapter has a list of
restaurants that are kid-tested, not
only for the food (so important for
your finicky eaters), but also based on
how friendly and welcoming the
restaurant is for families. I've recom-
mended a variety of affordable ethnic
eateries (from Chinese to Hawaiian)
as well as romantic restaurants featur-
ing Hawaiian Regional Cuisine that
are perfect for an adults' night out.
To save a little money, look for the
early-bird specials, around 5 or 6pm
when restaurants are trying to lure in
customers. You can save a bundle just
by eating an hour earlier.
The
Very Expensive
category means
a family of two adults and two kids are
looking at a bill of $200 (yes, $200,
