Here’s our restaurant visit list. It’s easy to eat light-ish in Hawaii with all the fish, fruit, sushi, and snack like options.
– Ninja Sushi. Many locations, fast, cheap-ish, good. Usually our post flight pick me up, just outside of HNL. 4/5 stars.
– Duke’s Waikiki. Mr A hates capers and yet loves the Mac Nut Caper fish. (And fish that has never been frozen tastes so fresh. Even in California all fish is frozen.) Always our first dinner and recommended to put you in that island mood. Once we failed to Duke’s on the first night and we swore we’d never let that happen again. A reservation 30 min before sundown is perfect. The breakfast menu, that we’d never noticed before, also looks amazing. 5/5 stars.
– Pah Ke’s, Kaneohe. Outstanding Chinese and the very definition of “unassuming”. The special that night was crispy pork, crispy and meaty perfection. We also enjoyed the Shrimp and Walnuts, Kung Pao chicken, and a fried crispy block noodle dish that I can’t recall the name of. 5/5
– SingMaTei, Ala Moana food court. Gorgeous Singaporean Malay food. Although the blue butterfly pea rice was new to me. Being a Singapore expat I thought the flavors were very authentic and they even serve a bit of ikan bilis (dried anchovy). Do not miss that little container of curry sauce!! Huge portion. I only wish they had Beef Rendang. 5/5 stars.
– Name Kaze, near Nicos Pier 38. New James Beard award winner. Super flavorful and perfectly cooked. Here is the Black Cod prepared butterfish style, and the Summer Rolls. A special occasion place yet still plenty shorts and slippers. 6/5 stars.
– Then dessert at the Royal Hawaiian’s Mai Tai Bar. This is actually a full menu restaurant suitable for lunch or dinner and more, opens at 11, right on the beach with lots of shade umbrellas. Mr A, or should I say Mr Tiki Bar, has been trying to come here for years. We enjoyed the superior Lilikoi cheesecake and the Pink Snowball (coconut cake). Probably the best Mai Tai of the trip. Dessert and a Mai Tai? Mais oui. We’d like to try lunch here next time. But just like Disneyland, Waikiki is far more enjoyable at night than in the daytime (for those of you whose point of reference is all things Disney). 5/5
– Roy’s Eating House 1849, International Marketplace. We love the eclectic menu, great drinks, the patio ambience at night, and the outstanding execution. 5/5 stars. I was pretty fooded out at this point in the trip and could only manage a salad, but it was excellent mix of lettuce, crunchy bits, and dressing. We also love the Eating House on Kauai. Pretty much anything Roy’s is a winner in our book. He has never let us down.
– Off the Hook, Disney’s Aulani. Surprisingly good poke and cheeseburger at a resort whose food options and souvenirs are straight outta da parks. Right down to the rice crispy Mickey Mouse heads. Also no one needs Mickey Mouse musubi’s, but here we are. However, Aulani understands we need shade. The pool area can barely be seen under an extremely dense cover of plants. This is a good thing. Because out by the shadeless beach, it is sheer Hades. The timeshare rooms are gorgeous, with interior washer/dryer! Those with kids will understand. 4/5
I have sort of a love hate relationship with Disney. Long before the pandemic, when the kids were young and Disney stores were still a thing, Disney merch took a huge lurch downwards in quality. And we noticed a lot of merch labelled “Disney Parks” so it could be sold in both Anaheim and Florida. We quit our passes and then quit going altogether when ticket prices got too high (this was back in 2014ish, lol) and then watched as Disney became the domain of the 1 percenters. (Let’s not even start with Disney cruises.) So we barely blinked when told that parking at Aulani for the day would be $37. Aulani is beautiful and there is a lot they are doing right. Their pool complex is absolutely the best in Waikiki with a lazy river, slides, huge spray ground, huge hot tubs, separate toddler wading pool. (Note the day pass does NOT entitle you to use the pool). So why cheap out on souvenirs and food? Your clientele can afford better.
– Knots Coffee, Queen Kapiolani. We saw this place on YouTube and had to try the Mac Nut Croissant which was indeed flaky and the filling thankfully not too sweet. Huge open air seating area facing the zoo, so quiet that people were working here. Food could be better, the egg sandwich was just plain bad/dry. Espresso is decent and the ice tea very good. 3/5 but we still went twice as it was between our hotel and the beach.
– Leonard’s Malasadas – a must stop for Mr A, who coined the phrase “the 4 M’s if Hawaiian food” – Manju, Mochi, Malasadas, and Manapua. No picture – the malasada was gone too fast. Not a quick stop – always a line to order, and this time, a line to pick up. 5/5
– Chun Wah Kam – we arrived at 12:30pm and were lucky to find even one kind of Manapua left, the Char Siu. Baked is the best, of course. And we had to have both baked and steamed, of course. One walkable block from Ala Moana mall. 5/5
– It may sound like there no bad meals in Hawaii. The tourist zones in Hawaii do have very good food on average and there are lots of food halls so you can try all sorts of things. There are great places to eat all over the islands. Hawaii is a good place to be adventurous!
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