One of the best things about traveling is trying all the different local foods. I just got back from vacation on Oahu. My little brother recently moved to the island to train dolphins (coolest job ever right?). I enjoyed venturing away from the Waikiki craziness to get some quiet beach time in and to hit up some of the local shrimp trucks and plate lunch spots. Best of all, each place was so reasonable. Move over $15 mai tai’s and make way for tasty cheap food …. like freshly made udon noodles with soft boiled egg!
We rented mopeds one day and hit up the KCC Farmer’s Market in the morning. We snacked on some chicken and waffles. There were also some pork slides on beautiful purple taro buns that I didn’t get a picture of … darn it!
Fresh Papaya, you don’t see this at the farmer’s market in San Francisco! These were pretty cheap. On the room service menu at our hotel a half of a papaya was $8.00 … yikes! Farmer’s markets are a good way to go if you want cheap and local eats.
The North Shore has an abundance of shrimp trucks. The shrimp were dripping with garlic butter and cooked perfectly. The garlicky butter was also drizzled on top of the rice, so good!
There were a couple spots in Waikiki that I really enjoyed. My brother took us to a Japanese Udon place a little off the central strip. You can see the noodles being made from scratch through the front window, and they are really tasty. They have that bite and chew that you want from Udon and they don’t get any fresher than this.
Fresh Udon Noodles
Udon with Beef
I also liked a Japanese restaurant called Sansei. Two days a week the menu is 50% off during happy hour. I was a little skeptical about the quality of food when I heard about the discount, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was very innovative, creative, and delicious.
Shrimp Cake
Fried Ahi Roll with Spinach
The trip was amazing! Happy travels and eating!
Chick and Hen 