Eating in Hawai'i? Several things come to mind: Plate lunch (Meat, two scoop rice and macaroni salad, of course); shave ice (my syrups of choice: li hing mui -- the salty plum flavor popular in the islands -- and lychee. With ice cream at the bottom, and perhaps azuki beans); malasadas (with or without filling); fresh ahi poke (grab it at any supermarket); and Spam. Oh yes, spam.
We ate all of the above, and then some, during our recent trip to Maui.
The Valley Isle was like a blank eating slate for us -- I have my favorites on Oahu (Waiola shave ice, Grace's plate lunch, Soon's Korean BBQ, etc.), but am not as familiar with Maui eats. That's where Hawaii friends came in. Two of my high school friends in particular, Kimi and Steve, passed along several suggestions via Facebook. That was a great starting point -- and their suggestions didn't disappoint.
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DAY ONE LUNCH (and leftovers for dinner):
Da Kitchen
2439 South Kihei Road (Kihei)
What we ordered: Big Braddah Combo (Mike got teriyaki chicken and Kalua pork; Maria got teriyaki beef and Kalua pork) $9.75
Overall impression: Plate lunch, of course, is a must first meal stop once you hit da islands. And Da Kitchen, with its hefty carb-load servings, was plenty enough for two meals. The Kalua Pork, in particular, is a perfect semi-salty treat.
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DAY TWO BREAKFAST:
Kihei Caffe
1945 South Kihei Road (Kihei)
What we ordered: Mike -- Omelets with spinach, jalapeno, tomato and Chicken sausage ($10.50)
Maria -- Two Eggs, homemade cornbeef hash, Home Fries, Biscuit ($7.95)
Evan -- Whale pancake ($2.75)
Overall impression: The cash-only rule is a touch annoying, but the food was good and the location (across the street from the beach) was great.
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DAY TWO LUNCH:
No Ka Oi deli
222 Papalaua St Ste 104 (Lahaina)
What we ordered: Mike -- Turkey, avocado, sprouts sandwich
Maria -- Garlic mushroom chicken plate
Overall impression: Maria was disappointed with the goopy cream of mushroom soup gooped over her chicken, but I liked the sandwich -- particularly the bread.
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DAY TWO DINNER:
Various items from Whalers General Store
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DAY THREE LUNCH:
Spicy Ahi Poke from Safeway ($5.60)
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DAY THREE DINNER:
Bistro Molokini
Grand Wailea, 3850 Wailea Alanui Drive (Wailea)
What we ordered: Mike -- Jerk monchong with bok choy ($28)
Maria -- Pasta bowl with pappardella and chicken marsala ($28)
Evan -- kids pepperoni pizza with mango sorbet ($14)
Drinks -- Caribbean Colada and Sweet Leilani ($14 each)
Overall impression: Quite possibly our worst meal of the trip. Typical overpriced hotel fare.
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DAY FOUR: BREAKFAST
Grandma's Coffee Shop
9232 Kula Highway (Kula)
What we ordered: Mike -- Scrambled eggs, Portuguese sausage, rice ($7.99)
Maria -- Two eggs, cornbeef hash, rice ($7.99)
Evan -- Homemade cinnamon roll
Overall impression: Nice breakfast treat after an early morning watching the sun rise on top of Haleakala. Grandma's coffee, in particular, is amazing.
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DAY FOUR: SNACK
Coconut from the side of the road fruit stand, near the 'Iao Needle
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DAY FOUR: DINNER
Ba-Le Vietnamese Sandwich Shop
225 Pikea Ave. (Kihei)
What we ordered: Lemongrass chicken banh mi; BBQ pork banh mi
Overall impression: Good Hawai'i Vietnamese chain for solid sandwiches
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DAY FIVE: BREAKFAST
Komoda Bakery
3674 Baldwin Avenue (Makawao)
What we ordered: Cream puffs, guava malasadas, donut stick
Overall impression: More, please!
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DAY FIVE: DINNER
Izakaya Matsu
1280 S Kihei Rd (Kihei)
What we ordered: Matsu Gozen ($26.95)
Includes shrimp tempura; sashimi (maguro, hamachi, salmon); sushi (california roll, maguro, hamachi, shrimp); rice; miso soup; nanohana; cold tofu
spicy hamachi roll ($5.50)
Keiki menu ($7.50): Deep fried chicken, takoyaki, rice ball
Overall impression: Our favorite meal of the trip. Fresh fish made the sushi excellent. The right amount of food.
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DAY SIX: LUNCH
Sam Sato's
1750 Wili Pa Loop (Wailuku)
What we ordered: Dry noodles large ($6); beef BBQ stick; chicken BBQ stick; hamburger for Blogger Kid
Overall impression: Those dry mein noodles really hit the spot. As a bonus, we managed to get to Sam Sato's right before their 2 p.m. close, so we could taste the victory.
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DAY SIX: SNACK
Tasaka Guri Guri
Maui Mall (Kahului)
What we ordered: Three scoops of guri guri -- two strawberry, one pineapple
Overall impression: The Japanese treat -- a cross between sherbet and ice cream -- was perfect for the warm weather. I prefer the strawberry.
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DAY SIX: DINNER
Matteo's Pizzeria
100 Ike Drive (Wailea)
What we ordered: Ligurian pizza ($13.99) -- Margherita Pizza with Shrimp,
Mascarpone Cheese and Genovese Pesto
Caesar Full Size ($7.99) -- Hearts of Romaine, Parmesan Cheese, Croutons, House Caesar Dressing
Bambino Menu: Bolognese Meat Ragu ($6.99)
Overall impression: The one decently-priced restaurant in Wailea, and good for kids. Food's OK -- but the location, overlooking the ocean, is fantastic.
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DAY SEVEN: BREAKFAST
McDonalds. Yes, really, McDonalds.
What we ordered: Portuguese sausage with eggs and rice ($4.19); Spam with eggs and rice ($4.19); taro pie ($1)
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DAY SEVEN: LUNCH
Safeway: Wasabi poke ahi ($2.61) and Avocado poke ahi ($3.08)
Zippy's: Veggie chili with rice ($3.90)
Napoleon's Bakery: regular malasadas (75 cents each) and cinnamon malasadas (75 cents each)
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DAY SEVEN: SNACK
Aloha Island Shave Ice
77 Hana Hwy (Pa'ia)
What we ordered: Mike -- shave ice with li hing mui and lychee syrups, along with ice cream ($3.50); Maria -- lychee, lilikoi, passion fruit, along with ice cream
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And that's about it, give or take a few minor eats at the hotel or a quick bite at the mall. We're stuffed.
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