The Hawaii’s food scene is quite unique as it’s a mix of traditional Hawaiian (Polynesian) food and culinary influences from around the world.
Over the years, through immigration, Hawaii’s adopted different recipes and made put their own spin on them, adding local ingredients and entirely new styles to the dish. Most of these new culinary mash-ups can now only be found in Hawaii, and O’ahu is no exception.
These are the top Hawaiian eats to try your first time in Hawaii, and where to find them on O’ahu.
Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!
I’ve split up my list of Hawaiian foods into four categories, click on a category to jump straight to that section:
- General Hawaiian foods
- Traditional (Polynesian) Hawaiian foods
- Hawaiian snacks and desserts
- Hawaiian drinks
P.S. make traveling and trying Hawaiian foods in O’ahu even easier with my printable O’ahu travel guide. It has 14 printable pages of tips and checklists – including the top Hawaiian foods to try. Check it out on my Etsy shop.
General Hawaiian Food
1. Plate Lunch
Plate lunch is a general term to describe a type of meal offered in Hawaii that gives you two scoops of white rice, mac salad and an entree.
A mac salad is a cold pasta salad with mayo, and vegetables (usually carrots and green onions)
You then have a choice of entree (so you might have to order this dish a few times to try them all!).
Your choice of entree can differ from restaurant to restaurant, but popular options are loco moco (beef patty, fried egg, topped with gravy), chicken katsu, and kalbi shortribs.
If you only try plate lunch once, I recommend trying the loco moco your first time.
P.S. The egg is typically fried over easy, if you prefer your eggs more well done, you can ask to have it cooked more. I recommend asking for over hard. I had asked for over medium but it was still too runny.
Where to try plate lunch: L&L Hawaiian BBQ, it’s a local chain across all the Hawaiian Islands.
2. Poke (Appetizer) / Poke Bowl (Meal)
Poke did in fact originate in Hawaii, but I’m sure it was influenced by Japanese sushi, because it is marinated raw fish.
There are two types of poke you can order in Hawaii… If you simply order poke you’ll get marinated raw fish on it’s own. Poke is usually eaten as an appetizer.
If you order a poke bowl though, this is meal with the raw fish on top of rice served with sauces and vegetables.
Nowadays, poke is popular worldwide, but in Hawaii you can get poke with almost any fish (like from Fresh Catch on O’ahu). So be a bit adventurous and expand your palette beyond tuna and salmon in Hawaii!
Where to get poke in O’ahu: Maguro Spot for poke bowls, or Fresh Catch for the most poke fish options.
3. Musubi
Musubi is the onigiri of Hawaii, another dish influenced by Japan.
You can still find o’nigiri in Hawaii, and some restaurants might convince you an o’nigiri is the same as a musubi but they are quite different (and I actually might prefer the musubi!).
Musubi is typically meat on top of a rectangle shaped rice, and wrapped in a bit of nori to hold it together. There’s a much higher protein to rice ratio compared to an o’nigiri, which has a lot more rice.
But because the meat is laying on top of the rice, you won’t find the same protein options as o’nigiri. For example, the ever popular tuna mayo o’nigiri just can’t work as a musubi.
So the most popular musubi is actually SPAM musubi. But if you don’t enjoy SPAM, like me, don’t worry, there are often alternatives, like my favourite, chicken katsu.
Musubi are actually meant as a breakfast option in Hawaii, so some places might sell out by lunch (which was my experience a few times!). They are also eaten warm, so you’ll often find them under heaters at the grocery store or gas stations.
Where to find musubi on O’ahu: any grocery store, 7-Eleven voted best spam Musubi, Waikiki market.
4. Local Hawaiian Fish
As I mentioned for poke, the fish on Hawaii goes far beyond tuna and salmon. I mean, you’re in the middle of the pacific ocean, there are many different types of fish.
So expand your palette by trying local fish from around the islands like wahoo (or as it’s known in Hawaii, Ono), mahi mahi, or opah. And if you’re going to try tuna, make sure it’s at least ahi tuna, which is local to the Islands.
5. Huli Huli Chicken
Huli huli chicken is barbecued chicken over mesquite wood, and covered in huli huli sauce (a sweet sauce, typically made with ginger, pineapple, and soy sauce).
The best huli huli chicken are from small chicken stands where you can see the barbecue cooking your chicken in the back.
Where to find huli huli chicken on O’ahu: Yummy Huli Huli Chicken (Windward Coast), Huli Huli Chicken and Seafood (Kahuku Sugar Mill on the North Shore).
6. Garlic Shrimp
Garlic shrimp is exactly what it sounds like – a garlicky flavoured shrimp. Hawaii has local shrimp and this is the classic way to serve it, especially on the North Shore.
I actually don’t eat shrimp due to dietary restrictions, but I heard from locals that the top places to go were on the North Shore at the Kahuku Sugar Mill. Try out either Giovani’s or Da Bald Guys.
7. Saimin
Saimon is Hawaii’s version of ramen (another Japanese influence). Similar to ramen, saimin actually refers to the noodles that are found in a broth.
Saimin noodles are a soft wheat egg noodle that doesn’t use the kansui (the alkaline solution found in ramen noodles). Saimin is often served in a dashi broth (dried sea kelp and bonito) which is lighter and clearer than a standard pork ramen broth.
But I actually had it in a curry broth from Shige’s Saimin Stand in Central O’ahu (and it was better than their traditional saimin broth!).
You can also alternatively just order the noodles in a sauce from Adela’s Country Eatery. But for an easy saimin, Zippy’s has it on their menu too.
P.S. Enjoy saimin the Hawaiian way by adding a burger or beef strips to your order!
8. Açaí Bowl (Influenced by Brazil)
An açaí bowl is originally from Brazil, but today it’s a very popular snack in Hawaii.
It’s a smoothie bowl made with an açaí berry base topped with local fruit, granola, and honey. The best bowls are those that sneak in some granola at the bottom too, so you’re never out of the good stuff!
Where to try it on O’ahu: Haleʻiwa Bowls on the North Shore
Traditional Hawaiian Food (Try At Least Once)
Traditional Hawaiian food is… interesting to say the least. These are centuries old recipes and ingredients native to the islands, so it’s most likely unlike anything you’ve tried before.
I recommend trying a taster plate at least once during your stay to see if you like it. And at least for me, that was all I needed!
P.S. If you want to learn more about Hawaiian food culture, go on a food walking tour Easily keep track of the Hawaiian foods you’ve tried with my Hawaiian food checklist in my printable O’ahu travel guide.
9. Lomi-Salmon (lomi-lomi)
Lomi-salmon was one of my favourite traditional Hawaiian dishes, and I got so little of it!
Lomi-salmon is a salad that mixes raw salmon with chopped onions and tomatoes.
The salmon isn’t just raw, it’s been cured in advance with salt and lemon juice. This makes it a great alternative if you aren’t a huge fan of poke (like me). I found the texture of the fish to be a lot more enjoyable.
10. Poi
Poi is fermented, cooked, and mashed taro root. It’s eaten as a side instead of rice.
The taste isn’t very strong, not unlike rice, but it has zero texture because it’s been mashed.
It’s best when eaten in the same mouthful as your entrees.
11. Kalua Pork
Kalua describes meat that’s been cooked in an imu, an underground oven (a dug out pit). So kalua pork is a slow cooked tenderized pork with a smokey flavour. It’s a popular entree in a traditional Hawaiian meal.
12. Laulau
Laulau is a Polynesian dish that utilizes taro leaves in cooking. A protein is wrapped and cooked in the taro leaves (which can also be eaten for vegetables!).
A popular filling of Laulau is pork and butterfish.
You can find alternative fillings at Young’s Fish Market, like beef or chicken.
Where To Eat Traditional Hawaiian Food On O’ahu
There are a few restaurants around O’ahu that you’ll be able to try a bulk of the traditional Hawaiian food all at once in a tasting platter.
Chains include, L&L BBQ and Zippy’s, which is also the best place to try a loco moco plate lunch, and Helena’s Hawaiian Food.
I went to the Waiahole Poi Factory to get even more traditional Hawaiian food. If you’re going to a luau while in Hawaii, you’ll also most likely be served some traditional Hawaiian dishes (I booked the Toa Luau on the North Shore).
Desserts & Snacks
If it’s one thing Hawaii knows how to do well, it’s sweets! Their desserts and snacks were on a whole other level and there was also something new to try.
P.S. most of the Hawaiian snacks can be found at local grocery stores throughout the Island, like Foodlands, and Waikiki Market.
13. Shave Ice (Unpopular Opinion – it’s Skippable!)
Shave ice (and yes, it’s shave ice – there’s no typo!) is finely shaved ice that you add different syrups and different toppings to. It’s somewhere in the middle between shaved ice from Japan, and a snow cone from America.
Instead of the iced being crushed like a snow cone, it’s shaved. But unlike shaved ice that’s light and airy, shave ice is densely packed back into a cone shape creating crushed ice rocks again.
Your happiness with shave ice will all depends on your expectations. If you’re expecting Japan’s shaved ice, this will only let you down. But compared to a snow cone, it’s a lot better!
But the other problem with shave ice in Hawaii is that I found it to be highly inconsistent based on where you got it from. The quality and consistency of the ice changed from shop to shop.
If you still want to give shave ice a try, I recommend Mastumoto’s in Hal’weia on the North Shore. They had the proper shaved ice machine from Japan and all the popular Hawaiian toppings like condensed milk, azuki (Japanese sweet red bean), and tiger eyes syrup
14. Dole Whip
Dole Whip is pineapple soft serve ice cream, and it’s delicious.
It’s an invention from the Dole Plantation, and with a few exceptions, you can pretty much only get it there. We saw it being sold at the Polynesian Cultural Centre on the North Shore. And these days you can actually find it at Disney Parks, but that’s quite a hefty price tag just to get some Dole Whip!
15. Haupia
Haupia is a coconut milk based dessert found throughout Polynesia. It’s a more traditional dessert, so you’ll find it at traditional Hawaiian restaurants, and we had it for dessert at our Luau (Toa Luau in the Waimea Valley).
Although it doesn’t look too appetizing (kind of like a white block of tofu), it was one of my favourite desserts. It’s creamy, and not overly coconut-y. If you aren’t the biggest fan of coconut flavour, like myself, it’s still worth giving it a try, haupia just might surprise you!
16. Malasadas (Portugal)
Malasadas are actually a dessert adopted from Portuguese immigrants. It’s a fresh hole-less doughnut covered in sugar.
You have to make sure to get them fresh out of the frier so they’re piping hot when you eat them.
The best place on O’ahu is Leonard’s Bakery for freshly made malasadas.
17. Crack Seed /Li Hing Mui
Crack seed are dried fruit snacks that came from China and became popular in Hawaii. The original crack seed is li hing mui, a plum from China where it’s known as huamei. Li hing mui somehow has a sweet, salty, and sour taste all at the same time.
Hawaii took li hing mui once step further by turning it into a powder and added to everything imaginable. Now now crack seed includes any dried fruit topped with li hing mui powder. But you can also just buy the powder itself and add it to whatever you want, like fresh fruit!
I will warn you though, Li hing mui seems to be an acquired taste, but don’t let that stop you from trying other dried fruits with the li hing mui powder.
You can find crack seed at most grocery stores around the island, but a popular spot is Lin’s Crack Seed Shop.
18. Beef Chips
Hawaii does beef jerky a bit differently, and in my mind, better! Hawaii’s take on beef jerky is thinner, crispier, and an entirely different culinary experience, known as beef chips.
If you’re a fan of beef jerky then you have to try beef chips. And if you’re not a fan of beef jerky, you still have to try this Hawaiian version.
On O’ahu it was surprisingly hard to find, there was a lot more beef jerky than beef chips… so be aware of what you’re buying beforehand.
Paniolio was the BEST brand we found, and it seemed like a local favourite too. Funny enough, I found it at both the Dole Plantation and Matsumoto Shave Ice gift shops.
Alternatively, Kau Kau Beef Chips are actually WAY HEALTHIER (lower in sodium), and they seemed to be stocked at most grocery stores (for example the Waikiki Market, and Foodlands).
19. Coconut Chips
You’re in Hawaii, the land of palm trees and coconuts! A great local snack are coconut chips!
The best are the ones without anything added, simply shaved and dried coconut strips that become coconut chips!
Again even if you aren’t a huge coconut fan, I urge you to still try coconut chips, they might surprise you!
20. Local Macadamia Nuts
Although macadamia nuts aren’t native to Hawaii, (the tree is actually from Australia) but it also thrives in the Hawaiian climate.
Hawaiian macadamia nuts though are more about the flavours added to the nut rather than the actual nut. They have quite the unique flavours too from Kona coffee macadamia nuts to Maui onion macadamia nuts. And each one is delicious in their own way!
Plus they make a great, filling snack while touring the islands (and healthy if you pick up some unsalted roasted ones, which are still worth a try!).
There are lot of local Hawaiian macadamia nuts, but if you want local to O’ahu go to Tropical Farms of Hawai’i where you can also try samples of each flavour.
21. Liliko’i Anything!
Liliko’i is the Hawaiian word for passion fruit, but no one says passion fruit in Hawaii. So you’ll see a lot of liliko’i mentioned. They have liliko’i flavoured everything from drinks to desserts.
A popular drink is liliko’i soda (I had it at Zippy’s) or juice. But by far the best lilko’i flavoured food were pancakes with liliko’i cream from Morey’s Cafe (I recommend sharing them with another breakfast dish as they’re quite rich).
22. Local Chocolate (& A Raw Cocoa Bean!)
Similar to the macadamia nut tree, the cacao plant was brought to Hawaii in the late 1800s. Hawaii is actually on the edge of where the plant can grow, although it still needs a lot of the right conditions to actually thrive.
So it’s only in recent years that cacao farms have been making a comeback in Hawaii, and O’ahu has been joined the trend as well.
You want to find a chocolate bar that is 100% from Hawaiian beans, for example the Kamananui chocolate bar from Manoa chocolate.
But Manoa chocolate is even more interesting because their bars are not only Hawaiian beans but from one single cacao orchard. Because of this you can taste differences based on the terroir (where it was grown).
I also recommend trying a raw cacao bean in Hawaii (before it’s fermented and turned into chocolate). You open up the pod and suck on the white slimy part around the bean and spit out the rest (sounds appetizing, right!). It also doesn’t taste anything like chocoalte.
I saw the entire pod for sale at the Kualoa Ranch market.
Alternatively, you can also sign up for a cacao farm tour. I did the Kamananui Cacao Orchards tour and it was incredible to walk through the cacao bean trees and actually taste chocolate from the seed to the juice, and a lot of chocolate!
Top Hawaiian Drinks To Try
Hawaiian drinks span from juices, to teas, to alcoholic beverages!
23. Coffee From Locally Grown Beans
Like chocolate, coffee plants are not native but grow well in the Hawaiian climate.
And local Hawaiian coffee isn’t just locally roasted, but the beans are from plants on the island. And you have to make sure that the beans are 100% Hawaiian and not in fact a blend of beans (which is popular). This is important because the terroir dictates the flavours of the coffee bean, on top of the roast.
The largest Hawaiian coffee region is Kona, on the big Island. But O’ahu has some small local farms that have started up in recent years.
Green World Coffee has a tasting room and visitors centre in Central O’ahu. They specialize in flavoured coffees so although they do sell some single origin, it’s not what they’re known for.
So I recommend Waialua Estate (which is actually a Dole Foods Company) but makes single origin coffee from O’ahu. If you go to the Old Waialua Sugar Mill, you’ll be able to get a quick free tour of the factory and taste their brews (p.s. they also make chocolate!).
24. Hawiian Juices & Sodas
Hawaii has their own unique set of juices and sodas that are worth trying while you’re relaxing in paradise.
A popular juice is P-O-G, or rather passion fruit, orange, and guava juice. I already mentioned, but passion fruit juice or soda on it’s own is delicious, it’s known as liliko’i on the islands.
Another unique drink you might see on the menu is Sprunch. It’s actually more simple than you think, it’s just Sprite combined with fruit punch. But it’s such a popular combination in Hawaii that it has it’s own name and can be found to order on the drink menu!
25. Mamake Tea
Mamake is one of the only native plants to Hawaii and the leaves are used to make Mamake tea.
You can order it sweetened or unsweetened from Waihole Poi Factory. Or you can find it as an ingredient in different iced teas from the grocery store.
26. Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii, in fact each island as their own variety as their Island flower (O’ahu’s is the ʻilima).
Even though hibiscus flowers aren’t actually native to Hawaii, it is the birthplace of the modern hibiscus hybrid. A hybrid hibiscus is a combination of two hibiscus varieties.
The petals from the hibiscus flower is what’s used to make a vibrant red brewed tea. You can also find different hibiscus flavoured drinks at the grocery stores throughout Hawaii.
27. Pineapple Wine
You are in the land of pineapples, so naturally pineapple wine is a thing!
Although pineapple wine is actually from Maui, you can still find it sold on O’ahu at grocery stores (like Waikiki Market), and even at the gift shop at the Dole Plantation.
28. Mai Tai Cocktail
The cocktail of Hawaii is the mai tai, even though it was actually created in Oakland California! But it’s the ultimate beach side vacation drink!
The classic mai tai uses two types of rum (an aged and non-aged), orange curaçao, and lime juice. But the secret ingredient that I never realized was in a mai tai is Orgeat, an almond syrup.
Bonus! Try a mai tai with local Hawaiian made rum!
29. Coconut Water straight From A Coconut!
Who doesn’t love a fun drink on vacation, and coconut water straight from a coconut is exactly that! Of course it’s tourist, but you’re on vacation!
The North Shore is littered with beach stands where you can pick up local coconut and sip the water directly from the source!
30. ‘Awa / Kava
Kava, or ‘Awa in Hawaiian (pronounced Ava) is the state drink of Hawaii and has been consumed for centuries for its medicinal properties and as part of welcoming ceremonies.
Kava is a root that’s broken up and turned into a powder. The powder is then sifted into a liquid to consume.
It does have psychoactive effects that are calming and relaxing, but it’s still safe to consume. Although you should be aware that your tongue is known to go numb afterwards.
Printable O’ahu Travel Guide
Make the most of your first trip to O’ahu with my printable and portable travel guide. Includes 14 pages to plan the perfect trip to Hawaii, and stay organized while you’re there.
I’ve provided tips and advice for travelling on O’ahu, common phrases, and even the weekly market schedule. Plus there’s a checklist for every region on the island, food to try, and souvenirs to buy!
Start planning your perfect O’ahu vacation today, purchase on Etsy.
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