What I Ate in Oahu, Hawaii

Thursday, April 11, 2024

What I Ate in Oahu, Hawaii

My husband and I visited Oahu, Hawaii, and we enjoyed a variety of Hawaiian foods during our trip. Today, I’ll share with you the 12 places we visited on this beautiful island.

1. Henry's Place

234 Beach Walk Honolulu, HI 96815

What We Had : Ice Cream and Sorbet

Henry's Place

My coworker told me that I should go to Henry's Place to enjoy their Hawaiian ice cream while our Hawaiian vacation.

Henry's Place

There were many kinds of ice cream and sorbet we could choose from. They were also selling some sandwiches.

Mango Ice Cream from Henry's Place

We chose this Mango Ice Cream for $9.55. It was rich and creamy. It was so delicious and was best mango ice cream I've ever had.

Li Hing Pineapple Sorbet from Henry's Place

We also chose this Li Hing Pineapple Sorbet for $8.60. It had Li Hing red sorbet over pineapple sorbet. We had no idea what Li Hing was when we purchased it. Li Hing Mui is Hawaiian seasoning and is sweet, sour and salty powder made from dried plum. Frankly, Li Hing was not our favorite. Pineapple Sorbet was so delicious though.

2. Loco Moco Drive Inn

7192 Kalanianaole Hwy Honolulu, Hi 96825

What We Had : Loco Moco Plate

Loco Moco Drive Inn

After Koko Head hike, we visited Loco Moco Drive Inn to enjoy local Hawaiian foods.

Loco Moco Drive Inn

Loco Moco Plate from Loco Moco Drive Inn

We ordered this regular size Loco Moco Plate for $15.50. It had a sunny-side up fried egg and two hamburger patties with brown gravy over two scoop of white rice. It also included macaroni salad. It was so satisfying dish, especially, after a strenuous hike. The combination of rice, juicy burger patty, and rich gravy provided energy and comfort.

3. Leonard's Bakery

933 Kapahulu Ave. Honolulu, HI 96816

What We Had : Malasadas

Leonard's Bakery

Leonard's Bakery is incredibly popular doughnut store in Honolulu. They sell freshly deep-fried malasadas, which are Portuguese doughnuts without a hole coated in sugar. There were so many people waiting to receive their donuts. We were able to order in a minute and received our freshly deep-fried donuts in 10 minutes or so.

Leonard's Bakery

We enjoyed our first malasadas in our rental car, Tesla. We also purchased coffee at Starbucks located inside Safeway.

Malasadas from Leonard's Bakery

We purchased the original malasadas for $1.85 and malasadas puffs custard for $2.25. They were nice and fluffy, and mildly sweet. They were perfect with hot black coffee.

4. The Hibachi

515 Kailua Rd Kailua, HI 96734

What We Had : Poke Bowl

The Hibachi

After hiking Lanikai Pillbox trail, we went to the Hibach because we had an absolute craving for Hawaiian poke.

The Hibachi

There were many fresh poke and sides we could choose from.

The Hibachi

Poke Bowl from the Hibachi

We purchased this poke bowl for $17.11 (Regular Rice Bowl $1.50 + Ginger Shoyu Salmon Poke $7.94 + Plain Ahi Poke $7.67)

Poke Bowl (Plain Ahi Poke + Ginger Shoyu Salmon Poke)

I really love Hawaiian poke! I especially loved fresh ahi poke. The combination of fresh ahi and soy sauce was exquisite.

5. Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

56-505 Kamehameha Hwy Kahuku, HI 96731

What We Had : Kahuku Shrimp

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

We had a strong craving for Kahuku shrimp during our North Shore trip. There are many food trucks in Kahuku, and we decided to enjoy shrimp from Giovanni's Shrimp Truck.

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck is the most popular food truck there, and there was a long line to order. We waited for 10 minutes or so until we got our dish.

Shrimp Scampi from Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

We ordered this Shrimp Scampi for $16. It had a dozen jumbo shrimp with garlic lemon butter sauce and two scopes of white rice. It was garlicky, olive oily, fresh, delicious shrimp.

6. Aloha Espresso

56-505 Kamehameha Hwy, Kahuku, HI 96731

What We Had : Coffee

Aloha Espresso

There was the small coffee stand, Aloha Espresso, near Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck. We decided to have their Kona Blend cold brewed coffee for $4.

Kona Blend Cold Brewed Coffee from Aloha Espresso

We were surprised that it was the best cold brewed coffee we've ever had. It was so refreshing! When we have a chance to visit North Shore, we will definitely go there to get the best coffee on the island.

7. Matsumoto Shave Ice

66-111 Kamehameha Hwy Ste 605 Haleiwa, HI 96712

What We Had : Shave Ice

Matsumoto Shave Ice

We visited Matsumoto Shave Ice to get their famous shave ice.

Matsumoto Shave Ice

We ordered large shave ice for $4.25 with vanilla ice cream and red beans for $1.50 and condensed milk for $0.50. For syrup, you can choose three flavors. We chose Green Tea, Strawberry and Mango flavors. By the way, there are 38 flavors you can choose from. In total, this shaved ice was $6.25.

Matsumoto Shave Ice

During my childhood in Japan, I enjoyed shaved ice almost daily throughout summer vacation because in our household, we owned an electric shaved ice machine. It had been decades since I had last enjoyed shaved ice. This shaved ice from Matsumoto Shave Ice was so sweet and refreshing. It was such a delightful treat! It brought back memories of my childhood.

8. Ono Seafood

747 Kapahulu Ave Honolulu, HI 196816

What We Had : Poke Bowl

ONO SEAFOOD

We visited another famous poke place, Ono Seafood, on our way to Honolulu Airport. This final meal of our vacation left me delighted with my decision to dine there. It was absolutely fantastic.

ONO SEAFOOD

We ordered regular size poke bowl and chose Shoyu Ahi and Shoyu Tako for $17.80. I was surprised at how fresh ahi was! Actually, I love Ono Seafood more than Hibachi. If I have a chance to visit Oahu again, I will visit Ono Seafood again!

9. Kai Coffee

2424 Kalakaua Ave Ste 129 Honolulu, HI 96815

What We Had : Acai Bowl, Cold Brewed Coffee and Hot Coffee

Kai Coffee

We went to Kai Coffee early morning to have acai bowl for breakfast. We went this cafe located in Hyatt Regency hotel around at 6:30. Because we woke up on California time, which was two hours ahead of Hawaiian time, we became avid morning people in Hawaii. The acai bowl was $13.25, and cold brewed coffee was $5.75. We were able to get hot coffee for free because my husband had a coupon for it.

Acai Bowl

Acai bowl had bananas, strawberries, and blue berries on top. We enjoyed sweet and fruity taste. It was so refreshing.

10. Lawson

2365 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815

What We Had : Spam Musubi and Spam Egg Musubi

Spam Musubi and Spam Egg Musubi from Lawson

We stayed at Sheraton Waikiki, so this convenience store, Lawson, was located very close from the hotel. We went to Lawson and purchased Spam Musubi for $3.19 and Spam Egg Musubi for $3.09. The Spam Egg Musubi was made from the high quality rice, Tsuyahime. We noticed the difference of rice between Spam Musubi and Spam Egg Musubi.

11. Honolulu Coffee

Moana Surfrider 2365 Kaiakaua Ave Honolulu, HI 96815

What We Had : Coffee

Honolulu Coffee

This Honolulu Coffee was also very close from our hotel. Following our morning yoga session at Moana Surfrider, we enjoyed a cup of coffee at Honolulu Coffee.

Honolulu Coffee

One day, we ordered Kona Estate Kalita coffee for $8.50. The other day, we ordered drip coffee $6.35. :)

Honolulu Coffee

12. Seaside Grill

The Kahala Hotel & Resort

5000 Kahala Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816

What We Had : Tacos and Sandwitches

The Kahala Hotel & Resort

We were looking for Tesla Supercharger station and found that one in located at Kahala Hotel & Resort. At the hotel, we were told that in order to use Tesla Supercharger station, we needed to spend more than $50 at the hotel. That's why we decided to go to Seaside Grill located in this hotel.

The Kahala Hotel & Resort

Island Style Fish Tacos

We ordered Island Style Fish Tacos and Seaside Grill Club Sandwich. These cost more than $50 and were the most expensive meal on this vacation. xD The good thing was that we were a little hungry at that time. We wanted to eat something for lunch anyway.

Seaside Grill Club Sandwich

Other Meals We Had in Oahu.

We sometimes tried to save money on food during this travel. I'm going to share what other meals we had in Oahu.

Diamond Chirashi from Nijiya Supermarket

On the day, we arrived in Honolulu, we went to Nijiya, Japanese supermarket, to get some foods. We purchased this Diamond Chirashi for $9.49 and Negitoro Rolls for $9.99.

Negi Toro Rolls from Nijiya Supermarket

Negi Toro Rolls are my all time favorite dish from Nijiya. I always purchase this one when I go to Nijiya in California as well.

Chicken Salad from Costco, Pizza from Cheesecake Factory, Poke Bowl from Mitsuwa

In order to save money on food during this trip, I purchased chicken salad at the Costco food court. (I also purchased bottles of water at Costco.) Additionally, I used gift cards from the Cheesecake Factory, which I’ve received as holiday gifts in recent years. We placed an online order for Fresh Basil, Tomato and Cheese Flatbread Pizza and picked up our meal. Dining at restaurants can be quite expensive, and there is often a long line to get inside. Therefore, online pickup was a great way to quickly get our meal.

Poke Bowl from Mitsuwa

We also went to Mitsuwa, Japanese supermarket, and purchase this poke bowl for $12.99.

Pizza from Cheesecake Factory and Char Siu Pork from Wikiki Market

One day, we also ordered the Everything Flatbread Pizza from Cheesecake Factory. We also purchased a bag of mini carrots for $3.99, and Char Siu Pork for $6.99 at Waikiki Market. This dinner was good enough for us.

Taro Rolls from Waikiki Market

At Waikiki Market, we also purchased Taro Rolls (6 Pieces) for $7.79 and two bananas for $2, and enjoyed these as breakfast. We enjoyed leftover bread from Cheesecake Factory and Honolulu cookies as well.

Taro Rolls and Bananas from Waikiki Market and Bread from Cheesecake Factory

Sandwich from Seaside Grill and Chicken Katsu Curry from Whole Foods

The other day, we had leftover sandwich from Seaside Grill and Chicken Katsu Curry ($13.99) from Whole Foods as dinner. I was impressed that the Chicken Katsu Curry was pretty good!

BBQ Kalua Pork from Cheesecake Factory

We also ordered BBQ Kalua Pork from Cheesecake Factory. Kalua pork is a traditional Hawaiian dish.

BBQ Kalua Pork from Cheesecake Factory

To wrap it up, my most favorite food in Oahu was shoyu ahi poke bowl from Ono Seafood in Honolulu, and the second my favorite one was cold brewed coffee from Aloha Espresso in Kahuku. 😋

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