Sweet, Salt, Sun

Oahu has no shortage of white-tablecloth restaurants. But lately it’s the island’s low-key, tropical comfort food that proves worth the journey.


The Hawaii of your imagination isn’t dissimilar to the real thing. It is sun. It is sand, palm trees and surfers, and the most consistent, jaw-droppingly gorgeous sunsets. And it is all of these reasons that you may be tempted to visit in the first place. You may be surprised, however, to discover that the state’s homegrown cuisine is as enticing as its famed landscape.

Hawaiian fare draws inspiration from the many countries from which its population has emigrated, including China, the continental U.S., the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Polynesia and Portugal. It’s flavorful, fresh and cheap — and it’s everywhere. As you meander the coastline, a delicious, uniquely Hawaiian dish is never far from reach.

With Honolulu, the island state’s buzzing capital, as your base, check into Hotel Renew and indulge in its contrasting relief as a quiet, modern sanctuary just two minutes from the crystalline shores of Waikiki Beach.

First stop on the food tour is the city’s thriving Chinatown, which has for years been a melting pot of island culture. At Maunakea Marketplace vendors sell everything from glistening roast duck, sweet moon cakes, and fresh island fish like aku (a tuna with dark red meat used for sashimi), tako (octopus), and tai snapper.

Appetite whetted, venture to Happy Garden, a dim sum restaurant just beyond the marketplace’s doors, where a satisfying meal will only set you back a few bucks. Marvel as bamboo baskets packed with dumplings with tasty fillings like shrimp and chives, sweet corn, and tender pork arrive table-side. Be sure to save room for tem manapua, Hawaiian-style pork buns (with impossibly fluffy white buns), and the house specialty, crispy quail, which comes fried to golden perfection and sprinkled with fragrant spring onions and fresh chili.

An Oahu adventure would not be complete without a trip to the North Shore to visit the famous surf meccas, Waimea Bay and Pipeline. En route, plan to sample two lionized Hawaiian delicacies: shaved ice and shrimp from a truck.

But before leaving the city behind, you’re going to need some road-trip fuel. Arm yourself with a box of fresh malasadas from Leonard’s Bakery. Malasadas are balls of dough fried until golden brown, then rolled in sugar, filled with chocolate or coconut custard or nothing at all. It’s the Hawaiian cousin to the donut, but ten million times better. You’ll be surprised how quickly a box can be polished off as you wind your way across the island to Halaweia.

After a day of lazing on Waimea Bay beach, head north to Romy’s Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp, known better as just Romy’s. It’s a bare-bones operation — one bright red shack and a tented seating area — but take that as a sign that these people get down to business. Romy herself is there most days, and she’s known to gleefully cry, “Remember to suck out the heads!” from behind the counter, as she hands you a heaping plate of tender prawns.

The drive back to Honolulu is an excuse for a dessert course. The natural choice is Aoki’s Shave Ice, where the Aoki family has been serving up the sweet, syrupy mounds of ice since the 1930s. These are not your average snow cones. The ice is more akin to fresh powder snow than slivers of shaved ice. There are more than 25 flavors of syrup to choose from — melon, lime, lychee and lilikoi (Hawaiian passionfruit), to name a few. Cool off with one, and may we suggest a second for the road?

Photos and story by Katya Wachtel, a journalist and photographer living in New York.