US - West The Hawaii Thread (All Islands)
- Thread starter Jerm
- Start date
Most of these are from a friend of mine whose in-laws live in Honolulu and spends lots of time there (he is a foodie). I have tried out a handful of the places and all have been good, so I am just going to assume that the whole list is good. The list is a little dated at this point, so I would make sure places are still open before going. Some overlap with air list.
Food:
Senia
Pig & the Lady
Helena's Hawaiian
Ahi Assassins
Boots & Kimos
Marukame Udon
Tonkatsu Tamafuji
Pioneer Saloon
Fong's Meat Market
Side Street Inn (2 locations)
Waikiki Yokocho Gourmet Alley
Shave Ice:
Shimazu's (2 locations)
Vintage Island Shave Ice (2 locations)
Uncle Clay's Pure Aloha
Baked Goods:
Leonard's
Kamehameha Bakery - poi malasadas (but they run out early)
Liliha Bakery
Oops..
I realize I posted this in 2021 and this may have been what Gundam was referring to.
Oh and activities: went on hikes just about every day - really liked Makapuu lighthouse trail and Diamond Head is fun (though zero shade!), def gotta check out Byodo-in temple too
Would love to do snorkeling at Hanauma Bay though I believe scoring a reservation is pretty difficult
Just remembered Aoki's shave ice, go there instead of Matsumoto's
Would love to do snorkeling at Hanauma Bay though I believe scoring a reservation is pretty difficult
Just remembered Aoki's shave ice, go there instead of Matsumoto's
Mr Gundam
an expert on Eggnog Mousse Parfait sours
Yep! That list is solid. Funny enough we have a Marukame in the suburbs here.
I used to go to Hanauma Bay as a kid in the 80s/90s, but it was a shitshow back in 2010 and I’m guessing it still is one. Last time on Oahu we snorkeled at Shark’s Cove up Norrh and it was amazing.
We’re staying in Turtle Bay Area up on the North Shore for a week with a couple day trips into Honolulu for shopping, beer, food, etc. and a trip out to Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial cause it feels like something the kid should experience.
Mr Gundam
an expert on Eggnog Mousse Parfait sours
OAHU
Breweries
Beer Lab HI - Went to the Beretania location and hung out playing cards. Since it’s the actual brewery they have the freshest taplist plus kombucha and house made sodas for kids anyone who doesn’t want to drink. They also had an impressive selection of Bourbon and Whiskey available for pours.
The only Beer Lab beers you’ll outside the brewery are probably Omakase IPA (cans at Foodland and the ABC Store) and their wheat beer.
Howzit - Easily my favorite of the Oahu breweries. They’re pumping out awesome hoppy beers and lagers, and in the very cool Kaka’ako neighborhood. Make sure you check out all the murals on the buildings.
Inu Island Ales - Over in Kaneohe near the mall on the main road up to the North Shore. Super tiny taproom in an industrial park and extremely limited parking. Good selection of cans and bottles to go and I thought their Mo Waka WC IPA was great.
Hana Koa - Didn’t go to the brewery but their beer is available at restaurants and you can find cans at the bottle shops. Really good stuff. It appears they make a shit ton of new beers all the time.
Food
Mud Hen Water - Killer modern Hawaiian food in Kaimuki. Think an amalgamation of a locally grown mixture of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese with Hawaiian. Great taplist and awesome cocktails.
The Pig and the Lady - Moving to Kaimuki, but we ate at the OG spot in Chinatown. Awesome Vietnamese standards done with an interesting twist. Think Doner Kabab or French Dip Bahn mi. Get the iced Vietnamese coffee.
If you’re staying on the North Shore, the Kahuku Beer Garden and Haleiwa Bottle Shop are owned by the same people and have a great selection of beer, cider and wine to go. KBG has ten taps and you can bring in outside food.
Breweries
Beer Lab HI - Went to the Beretania location and hung out playing cards. Since it’s the actual brewery they have the freshest taplist plus kombucha and house made sodas for kids anyone who doesn’t want to drink. They also had an impressive selection of Bourbon and Whiskey available for pours.
The only Beer Lab beers you’ll outside the brewery are probably Omakase IPA (cans at Foodland and the ABC Store) and their wheat beer.
Howzit - Easily my favorite of the Oahu breweries. They’re pumping out awesome hoppy beers and lagers, and in the very cool Kaka’ako neighborhood. Make sure you check out all the murals on the buildings.
Inu Island Ales - Over in Kaneohe near the mall on the main road up to the North Shore. Super tiny taproom in an industrial park and extremely limited parking. Good selection of cans and bottles to go and I thought their Mo Waka WC IPA was great.
Hana Koa - Didn’t go to the brewery but their beer is available at restaurants and you can find cans at the bottle shops. Really good stuff. It appears they make a shit ton of new beers all the time.
Food
Mud Hen Water - Killer modern Hawaiian food in Kaimuki. Think an amalgamation of a locally grown mixture of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese with Hawaiian. Great taplist and awesome cocktails.
The Pig and the Lady - Moving to Kaimuki, but we ate at the OG spot in Chinatown. Awesome Vietnamese standards done with an interesting twist. Think Doner Kabab or French Dip Bahn mi. Get the iced Vietnamese coffee.
If you’re staying on the North Shore, the Kahuku Beer Garden and Haleiwa Bottle Shop are owned by the same people and have a great selection of beer, cider and wine to go. KBG has ten taps and you can bring in outside food.
Jerm during your time in Hawaii, did you develop a Hawaiian accent? I feel it would take but a few more days and I’d be calling everyone brah.
shaka
Yeah it's the same thing that happens when you are travelling elsewhere and you start speaking English with a little bit of the local accent/cadence. And then after it comes out of your mouth you are like what the fuck was that noise.
Make sure you keep your hand and fingers lose and casual when you throw that shaka
BigFrank
Forbidden Chicharron
Spent the last few days in Kauai. Resort in Poipu was nice, but the area is pretty sterile…pure tourist vibe.
Poipu
Bangkok Happy Bowl had great chicken wings at happy hour. Good price, which was rare for the area. Basic fried chicken, but tasty.
Koloa
Big Save Market - nice local supermarket. They have an excellent poké selection at a better price than anywhere we found.
Dark Horse - local coffee roaster. Cool location, enjoyable coffee.
Sueoka Market - fresh malasadas for dessert
Kapa’a
Enjoyed visiting this beach town. A lot more local scene. They still had tourist shops, but there were also many places that locals frequented. Wanted to go to Pono Market, but they were closed.
Hee Fat General Store - great shaved ice with homemade flavors and ice cream.
Paco’s Tacos - great basic fish tacos.
Tamba Surf Co - local surf gear
Highlight of the trip was visiting Kauai’s Hindu Monastery . Set up in the hills, it was a lush beautiful grounds. Learned a little about the Hindu faith and listened to a priest chant. Free to enter, just have to make sure you reserve ahead of time.
We did not rent a car. Instead we used local mass transit, the Kauai Shuttle. A little bit slower, but it was about $3 each to go where we needed to go on the island. We had to use Lyft twice to supplement. Lyft was WAY cheaper than Uber.
Poipu
Bangkok Happy Bowl had great chicken wings at happy hour. Good price, which was rare for the area. Basic fried chicken, but tasty.
Koloa
Big Save Market - nice local supermarket. They have an excellent poké selection at a better price than anywhere we found.
Dark Horse - local coffee roaster. Cool location, enjoyable coffee.
Sueoka Market - fresh malasadas for dessert
Kapa’a
Enjoyed visiting this beach town. A lot more local scene. They still had tourist shops, but there were also many places that locals frequented. Wanted to go to Pono Market, but they were closed.
Hee Fat General Store - great shaved ice with homemade flavors and ice cream.
Paco’s Tacos - great basic fish tacos.
Tamba Surf Co - local surf gear
Highlight of the trip was visiting Kauai’s Hindu Monastery . Set up in the hills, it was a lush beautiful grounds. Learned a little about the Hindu faith and listened to a priest chant. Free to enter, just have to make sure you reserve ahead of time.
We did not rent a car. Instead we used local mass transit, the Kauai Shuttle. A little bit slower, but it was about $3 each to go where we needed to go on the island. We had to use Lyft twice to supplement. Lyft was WAY cheaper than Uber.
If you ever go to the Big Island, absolutely do not try to make do without a rental car or Turo.
BigFrank
Forbidden Chicharron
What’s that bad about their public transit?
Sporadic and the island is the size of Connecticut. And many of the places that you'd really want to go are not accessible by public transit.