Known as Pacific Rim Cuisine, the flavours of the Pacific Islands blend with those of the Orient, Europe and the American southwest to produce some mouthwatering flavours.
Fresh ingredients are the key, with seafood and locally-grown fruit and vegetables – the potatoesque taro root is a staple – playing a large part in menus.
Snapper, mahi mahi and yellowfin tuna are tasty choices, lightly spiced and served with rice, or try meat cooked in taro leaves, perhaps washed down with ‘shave ice’ and followed by pastries filled with apple, coconut and pineapple.
As well as restaurants specialising in Hawaiian cuisine, there are plenty dedicated to French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Mexican and American food.
The islands’ most famous chef, Sam Choy, has three restaurants - two in Oahu and one on Hawaii. For top-quality traditional fare, try Sam’s Diamond Head Restaurant, Honolulu, where all dinners are accompanied by soup du jour and kaloko salad.
La Mer at the Halekulani Resort in Honolulu is the only AAA five-diamond restaurant in Hawaii and serves signature dishes such as bouillabaisse La Mer – French cuisine with a Pacific flair.
But eating well in Hawaii needn’t blow the budget. There are dozens of inexpensive places to dine – try a “plate lunch” of fish and meat served with sticky rice.
A lu’au is a traditional Hawaiian feast held at restaurants around the islands. Kalua pig cooked in an underground oven and served with sweet potato, followed by coconut pudding.
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