Saturday, July 27, 2013

Da Kine Grindz - Eat Local Style in Hawaii

According to Eye of Hawaii - Pidgin, the unofficial language of Hawaii:
Da Kine - (dah kine) or literally "The Kind" is the ultimate pidgin phrase. It can mean virtually anything. 1) Eh, you get any da kine? 2) Ho, brah, dat's da kine. 3) She wen da kine foa get da kine foa da kine.
Grindz - (grinds) Food.

When most people think of Hawaii, they immediately think of the sunsets, sand and surf, but Hawaii has one of the most diverse and memorable cultural cuisines I have ever experienced. It mixes Hawaiian, Filipino, Portugese, Korean, Japanese, Polynesian, Chinese and American influences, to name a few. In Hawaii, you can literally taste the world on your plate. This list attempts to cover all the important grindz you should eat when traveling to the Aloha State. (Restaurant recommendations are focused on Oahu.)

Your typical Chicken Katsu Plate Lunch
Hawaiian Plate Lunches
In Hawaii, it really starts and ends with the plate lunch.There are so many varieties and places to
eat them, you have to choose wisely, and pace yourself. A traditional Hawaiian plate lunch consists of a (huge) meat entree with 2 scoops of white rice and a scoop of mac salad. That's right, unlike Southern Meat-and-Threes, the plate lunch doesn't waste space on pesky greens or beans. As for the entree, take your pick of everything from Hawaiian BBQ chicken, teriyaki beef, chicken or salmon, mahi mahi, kalua pork, ahi or chicken katsu, portugese sausage... the list is as long and diverse as the cultures that have found a home in Hawaii. You can find plate lunches everywhere, from food trucks to drive-ins to sit down restaurants. But the best by far is Rainbow Drive-In (see detail below).

SPAM
Spam, fried rice AND eggs!
So you don't want to eat Spam. You don't like the name, you don't like the taste, you don't even like the idea of a canned mystery meat with an indefinite shelf life. Well, get over it. If you're going to go to Hawaii, you have to eat Spam. The good news is, if you ever tried Spam on the mainland, it tasted ALL WRONG. We just haven't discovered its true potential. Hawaii has. Hawaiians know that Spam is the Swiss Army Knife of foods. Served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, at McDonald's, 7-Eleven or even nice restaurants, Hawaiians consume more than 7 million cans of Spam a year, culminating in SpamJam - the ultimate celebration of the "Hawaiian Steak." Here are just a few of the popular Spam dishes you can try while in Hawaii:

Spam and Eggs 
Hey, it just sounds like a great combo. If you're a bit queasy about trying Spam, having it as a breakfast meat is the perfect way to experiment (but caution: it's a gateway drug). As with everything in Hawaii, it comes with a side of rice. You can get this at any breakfast or plate lunch joint - or even at McDonald's!

Spam Fried Rice
Spam's salty goodness is the perfect companion to the traditional Chinese dish. Another safe bet for Spam newbies. Unlike on the mainland, you don't have to go to a Chinese restaurant to get some fried rice. They have it at most plate lunch places and grills.

Caged spam musubis, yearning to be free.
Spam Musubis 
The ultimate Spam delicacy. If Hawaii has a love affair with Spam, then this is its lovechild. A musubi looks like a giant piece of nigiri sushi, complete with nori wrapped around it. Unlike most Spam dishes, musubis have a sweet flavor because they are usually marinated in a sweet soy or teriyaki sauce. Cheap, portable and delicious, spam musubis are the perfect Hawaiian eat and you'll earn some local street cred for trying one. You can find them everywhere, including most convenience stores and supermarkets.



Yes I had a loco moco for breakfast, complete with mac salad.
Loco Moco
The coolest name of all the Hawaiian Grindz, the Loco Moco is white rice topped with a hamburger, fried egg, and smothered in brown gravy. And the egg means you can have it for breakfast! Grind on a Loco Moco from the Like Like Drive-InnL&L Hawaiian BarbecueZippy's and of course, the Rainbow Drive-In.

Meat Jun
My favorite food on this list. I repeat, my favorite food on this list. Meat jun can be called a Korean dish, but it's uniquely Hawaiian. Meaning, it does not exist in Korea. It does not exist in Korean restaurants on the mainland or anywhere else in the world for that matter. The only place you can get meat jun is in Hawaii. So what is meat jun? Loosely, it's the most tender beef imaginable marinated in shoyu sauce, then dipped in flour and egg, then fried. Onolicious! Honestly, if you try only one thing in Hawaii, make it meat jun. I've never met a meat jun I didn't love, but according to Wow Grinds the best is Young's Kalbee.

This mussel poke from Foodland brok' da mout!
Poke (Poh-KAY)
A raw fish salad with seasonings. In Hawaiian, "poke" means to slice or cut. The raw fish is cut into bite sized squares and mixed with chopped onions, tomatoes and other veggies, then doused in sauces from spicy to sweet. As with any salad, the combinations are limitless. The most common fish used in poke is ahi, but it's worth it to experiment with other types. You can take your pick from the variety dished out at any grocery store deli, especially Foodland.

Similar to poke but more specific in its ingredients, lomi lomi is a diced raw salmon dish mixed with tomatoes, Maui onions and seasonings. It's a common luau side dish. From the Hawaiian "lomi" which means "to massage". And any food with massage in the name is bound to be good!

A "healthy" plate lunch featuring kalua pork, brown rice,
salad and glass noodles.
Kalua Pork
Also known as Kalua Pig. This is the pig that is famously cooked in an imu (underground oven) for luaus. Now, obviously a pig that is wrapped in banana and ti leaves and smoked in a pit all day is going to be at its most tender and flavorful, but you don't have to go to a luau to eat it. You can sample it as one of your items in a plate lunch.

A traditional Hawaiian dish of pork (or beef or chicken) with salted butterfish, wrapped in taro leaves, and then bundled in ti leaves and cooked in an imu or more simply, steamed on a stove. When finished, open up the ti leaves and eat! If you don't go to a luau, pick it as a plate lunch side.

A Hawaiian staple food made from taro root. The thick, purpley liquid is pudding-like in texture (but definitely not in taste). I have to be honest - I was discouraged from eating poi from a number of locals so I have no idea what it tastes like, although I have heard it described as bland and pastey. You can sample it at a traditional Hawaiian luau or grab some in a supermarket.


Manapua from heaven.
Manapuas 
See, the great thing about eating in Hawaii is that even with items we have on the mainland, Hawaiians give them way cooler names and make them much bigger in size. Case in point, the manapua. This is what we mainlanders know as a steamed pork bun (char siu bao) commonly served at dim sum restaurants and Chinese bakeries. Of course this being Hawaii, you don't just get the traditional BBQ pork versions - you can have your manapua stuffed with everything from portugese sausage and kalua pork to lau lau and Okinawan sweet potato. Go to Libby Manapua Shop to taste the best.

Another Chinese-influenced dish, pork hash would be similar to what mainlanders know as a steamed pork dumpling. Pick some up with your manapuas and go salty-sweet-salty-sweet.

Portugese Sausage
Along with the malasada, Portugal's great gift to Hawaiian cuisine is the Linguica, or as it's commonly referred to, the Portugese Sausage. Eaten as a breakfast sausage with eggs and rice, you can also get it - where else - at McDonald's.

Now, make room for dessert.

You didn't think you would get off that easy did you? Of course no Hawaiian meal would be complete without its share of sweets! First and foremost, you have to try the various coconut desserts

Ted's Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie
Haupia is a delicious gelatin/pudding made with coconut milk. It's a staple at luaus or try it at Happy Hearts Mochi.

Where there's haupia, there's haupia cake. Why wouldn't there be? Try a slice from Zippy's Napoleon's Bakery.

Where there's haupia and haupia cake, there's haupia pie. Ted's Bakery on the North Shore has a divine chocolate haupia pie. If you don't make it out there, local supermarkets like Foodland or Don Quijote carry Ted's pies. And if you're desperate, McDonald's has a haupia pie too!

The Japanese confection mochi is extremely popular in Hawaii. Chi Chi Dango is a pink and white coconut-flavored mochi with a bad ass name. It's also the traditional treat for Boy's and Girl's Day celebrations. For taste, you can't beat the Chi Chi Dango at Nisshodo Candy Store

Saving the best for last:

Shave Ice
There are 3 main components to shave ice and if any are missing or inferior, it's some snow cone bullshit, it's not a shave ice.
  1. The ice itself. Since it's shaved, not crushed, it resembles eating soft, fluffy snow, not a crunchy snow cone.
  2. The syrup. So many flavors = so many brain freezes. Try lots, including local ones like coconut, lychee and li hing mui.
  3. The toppings. Condensed milk? Do it! Mochi balls? Definitely! Tapioca balls? God yes! Azuki Beans? Why not! Ice Cream? Don't stop now!
I hate snow cones, but I love me some shave ice. So if you want to taste the real thing and not some crunchy freezer burn, the best I can say is get off of Waikiki and go to a place like Wailoa Shave Ice.

Malasadas



Known as a Portugese donut, the outside is similar to fried dough, complete with coated sugar, and the inside is filled with custard in a variety of heavenly flavors. Plain, custard or haupia - they're all aznuts - but make sure you get them from Leonard's.


Footnote: Some Restaurant Recommendations

Above, I tried to give a solid recommendation on where to try each food item. But a few restaurants need some expanding upon. I give you the following must-visit places to grind:

An institution and a favorite of President Obama, the Rainbow Drive-In has the best plate lunches on the island - in taste and atmosphere. There's nothing like being able to walk up in your flip-flops, order under a neon rainbow, and sit outside in the warm air eating a mountain of mixed meat and rice to know you aren't on the mainland anymore. I ordered the Mix Plate, which was the biggest piece of teri beef I've ever seen + grilled mahi + chicken + 2 scoops of rice + mac salad. I couldn't even finish half of it. If you're there on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, consider the hugely popular Shoyu Chicken Plate. And be sure to wash it down with a Strawberry Slush Float.

Zippy's 
Zippy's Loco Moco
A HALF  chili-chicken plate from Zippy's. 
Zippy's is a casual dining and fast food restaurant open 24 hours, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some call it the "Denny's of Hawaii." So why should you spend your quality island time at what is essentially a Denny's? Well, because locals are crazy about it. To give you an idea, when I asked a Hawaiian friend what foods I should eat while I'm there, Zippy's was at the top of her (extremely long) list. When I travel someplace, I'm going to take the locals' advice and eat where they eat. Zippy's is known for their chili, so you can't go wrong with the chili chicken plate, or get the Zip Pac which is a full house of Hawaiian delicacies: teri beef, Spam, deep fried mahi mahi, fried chicken on rice with furikake. If your waistline hasn't expanded to its full capacity (or even if it has) top it off with some dessert from Napoleon's Bakery, located inside all Zippy's. Their signature treat is the Napple, a light and flaky puffed pastry that comes in apple, coconut, cherry and blueberry cream cheese. How can you tell the difference? An Apple Napple has one cut in the crust, coconut has two and cherry, three. But as long as you're stuffing yourself beyond capacity, might as well go for broke and add in an Ultimate Donut. Oh yeah. Twice the size of a normal donut, stuffed with filling and topped with all sorts of goodies and frosting.

Okata Bento
It's a hole in the wall with no website, so obviously it's legit. Serving up bentos and plate lunches, everything is amazing but the Teri Burger, Char Siu Chicken and Chicken Katsu are the most popular. The Mac salad is considered amongst the best on the island.

Shirokiya picnic in the park.
Shirokiya
Located in Ala Moana Shopping Center, Shirokiya is a gigantic Japanese department store that includes a humungous food court. They sell all the best in traditional Hawaiian and Asian delicacies, from bento boxes and spam musubis to meat jun and mochi. If you can only hit one place on Oahu, make it Shirokiya, because there you can sample it all! Be sure to stop at Teruya's Andagi for some sweet potato tempura and, of course, an andagi (Okinawan donut). I like to stop at Shirokiya to pick up a picnic's worth of snacks and eat them while watching the paddle boarders at Ala Moana Beach Park.

Aloha Acai Bowl!
Lanikai Juice
Ok if you're feeling gluttonous after only reading this post, imagine how you'll feel after eating it all. So I thought I would include one guilt-free grind that will leave you feeling good about yourself. Healthy juices, smoothies and my favorite, the acai bowl, are all ono at Lanikai Juice.






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