Travelling with three kids is no easy feat. And feeding them is a whole other ordeal. Luckily my kids love to eat and they usually eat everything my husband and I do. We recently travelled to Hawaii (Oahu and Maui islands) and decided to rent condos because we found it more economical and easier with young kids. We prepared meals at the condo and the kids had more room to run around. As much as my kids love eating out, I know they would get sick of eating out everyday, three meals a day.
Coming from a food-obsessed family, I researched what and where to eat in Hawaii before I left. (When our family visits from the States, we discuss what to eat for dinner immediately after our bellies are full from eating lunch. Yes, our family loves to eat!) I even mapped out the closest restaurants in the area we stayed at and all the areas we were visiting. Not only did I read restaurant reviews, I also read reviews on which grocery stores were better in terms of size, variety of foods sold and prices. Perhaps, I did more research on food-related places than the places we visited? š
During our trip to Oahu and Maui, we hit Costcos on both islands plus a couple of grocery stores to feed our family. You might be thinking Iām getting paid by Costco to write this post – Iām not! Food is expensive in Hawaii and I found if you have to get some things in bulk, Costco is the way to go. Even if youāre Canadian, you can use your membership in the US.
One of the most Memorable Dishes I had was poke. I was so excited when I read about it and couldnāt wait to try it. Poke is basically a raw fish salad that’s mixed with seasonings. The traditional poke is made with tuna, soy sauce, sea salt, maui onions and a few other ingredients. I bought poke from different grocery stores and had some at restaurants too. I am the only one that went crazy over poke. My husband had a bit and only enjoyed the spicy version of it and the kids didnāt like it at all (not a surprise).
Variety of Poke
There were so many interesting food products in Hawaii. One of the things we found at the grocery store was taro buns. I shouldāve taken a photo of the inside of the bun because itās purple! I couldnāt really taste the taro in the bun but it was really cool to find food items you normally wouldnāt find in your own area. I also bought pineapple wine from the grocery store to try. It was a bit on the sweeter side and the taste was OK. I guess liking certain wine is subjective. But it was interesting to try something local from the area.
Taro Buns and Pineapple Wine
How could I forget about Spam? Hawaii is Spam haven! I couldnāt believe how many different variety and flavours of Spam they had at the grocery store. I was tempted to buy every flavour from the Spam wall and bring them home!
Spam Wall
One thing I didnāt get to try in Hawaii was Spam Musubi. Itās basically Spam on top of rice wrapped in seaweed. Every place that sold Spam Musubi had it heated under a food lamp in a glass food display case. I was weary of buying something that was sitting there for hours looking like no one was buying them. I could easily create this Memorable Dish at home.
Hope this post piqued your interest in Hawaiian foods. For now, this concludes the introduction of our Hawaiian Food Trip. In the next few posts, I will write about some of our travel and food adventures in Hawaii. Take a journey with me, as I highlight some of the memorable places we visited and the Memorable Dishes we tasted.
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