Māmaki is a native Hawaiian tisane / herbal tea. It’s caffeine-free, refreshing, rich in antioxidants, and often believed to be a miracle brew.
Brewing hot mamaki at home
I consult on tea. The client question I receive most often: what’s going to be trendy?…
Loco Moco is a popular Hawaii dish. It’s made of rice, burger patty, gravy, and fried eggs. More about origins, and where to eat Loco Moco in Hawaii!
Loco Moco at Cafe 100 (Big Island)
We love Loco Moco in Hawaii….
‘Ai Love Nalo is plant-based cafe/restaurant on Oahu. They have vegan Hawaiian food, refreshing smoothies, sweets, and Hawaii’s best local fruit parfait!
I’ve driven far for this fruit parfait….
Saimin is Hawaii’s favorite noodle soup dish. This post covers: what is saimin, origins of saimin, different types, and most important…where to eat saimin!
Saimin at Zippy’s (all islands)
Fresh noodles, hot, clear broth, and all the good local toppings. Don’t forget chopsticks! Let’s dig into that bowl of saimin ^_^…
Sam Sato’s is a beloved Maui institution. It’s a bustling (always busy!), very casual noodle shop famous for dry noodles, bbq sticks, and manju.
I like counter seating best at Sam Sato’s….
Hamura Saimin is a famous, no-frills noodle restaurant in Kauai. They are best known for two things: saimin and lilikoi chiffon pies!
If you ask a dozen people for a list of where to eat in Kauai, guarantee all those lists will include Hamura Saimin Stand. And if it doesn’t…well you should be skeptical ^_^…
Liliha Bakery is a Hawaii institution famous for Coco Puffs, grilled butter rolls, and oxtail soup. It’s part-bakery, part-diner, and very delicious.
Ok Liliha Bakery! Liliha Bakery is an iconic, famous, all the good things, etc. bakery/diner in Honolulu. It’s an institution! The original location was opened by the Takakuwa family in 1950 and it is still thriving….
Ala Moana Center is located in Honolulu, and it is Hawaii’s biggest shopping mall. From restaurants to snack shops and desserts, this is where we eat at Ala Moana.
Ala Moana Center is Hawaii’s biggest shopping mall. Locals just call it Ala Moana.
Ala Moana is also the name of a neighborhood, but everyone will know you’re referring to the mall. Ala Moana also happens to be the largest open-air shopping center in the world. The world! Very cool, yeah? Hawaii has a lot of largest this, highest grossing that, etc (we can do a future post that covers all those things!)…
Whether you call it coconut cake or haupia cake or coconut-haupia cake, all you need to know is that Hawaii loves these cakes. Here’s where to find the best of the bunch.
Coconut cakes in Hawaii are EXCEPTIONAL.
Sometimes they’re called coconut cakes, sometimes they’re called haupia cakes. To make things even more confusing, you’ll also see the name coconut-haupia cakes. They’re all pretty much the same thing. Haupia is a Hawaiian coconut pudding/custard. So if you make a coconut custard for your cake, it’s technically also a haupia cake. But let’s not get bogged down with these details. Point is, order the cake. Eat the cake. They are so good! Coconut haupia cakes are made of three main parts:
Spend enough time in Hawaii and you’ll see coconut haupia cakes all over the island. From hotels to fancy restaurants and local bakeries, there is no shortage. But if you’re going to eat them, might as well eat the tastiest ones, yes? These are the best spots….
House Without a Key at the Halekulani Hotel is my favorite place in Honolulu for sunset drinks. It has the best mai tais (very strong), onion chips, and beautiful Waikiki sunsets.
This is the famous Halekulani Hotel tree before the fall.
The tree fell on a Sunday (August 21, 2016) and it was all over the news. It was a kiawe tree that had stood there for over a century. Coincidently, kiawe means “to sway” in Hawaiian. The tree was iconic symbol of the Halekulani and faithful provider of shade on many a sunny day.
“This tree was planted in 1887,” Halekulani general manager, Ulrich Krauer said. “129 years this tree was here and it was very quietly planted as a family affair.”
Guess what? It’s still there!…
Kahala Mall is my favorite Hawaii shopping mall. It’s small, but has everything you need and is family friendly. Plus it has good food! There are my favorite spots at Kahala Mall.
There are four main shoppings malls in Hawaii.
Ala Moana Shopping Center is the biggest. Then there are three smaller neighborhood malls: Pearlridge Center, Windward Mall, and Kahala Mall. Everyone has stories (most of them happy) about time spent at the mall they grew up with.
We lived on the east side of Oahu, so Kahala Mall was our default mall……
Preparing the imu (underground oven) for kalua pig