Regional highlights
Kanemitsu Bakery hot bread
Molokai's most famous food experience — Kanemitsu Bakery in Kaunakakai (founded 1922) bakes a soft, slightly sweet white loaf overnight, and from about 22:00 sells the still-warm loaves out of an unmarked back-alley window. Locals queue up for hot bread split and filled with butter, cream cheese, jelly, jam or peanut butter, eaten on the spot. The midnight ritual is one of the iconic Hawaiian food experiences. The loaves are also sold during regular bakery hours but the back-window hot version is the real thing.
Axis deer (kanaka deer)
Molokai (and the neighbouring Lanai) has an abundant axis deer population — descended from a small herd given to King Kamehameha V in 1868 from Hong Kong. With no native predators, the deer have multiplied to the point where they're hunted year-round to control numbers. Local restaurants serve venison stews, axis-deer chili, axis-deer burgers and venison stir-fries. Lean, slightly gamy, an under-recognized Molokai specialty.
Molokai sea salt
Molokai's south coast hosts Hawaiian-Pacific Sea Salt, which produces the white Molokai sea salt as well as a small range of bamboo-jade salt and other artisan blends. The red Alaea salt — Hawaiian sea salt mixed with red volcanic clay (Alaea) — is the more famous Hawaiian salt and is often associated with Molokai too. Used as a finishing salt across Hawaiian Regional Cuisine restaurants and as a flavorful table salt. Sold at the operation's small farm shop and at Saturday markets.
Uala (Hawaiian purple sweet potato)
Hawaiian purple sweet potato — uala — is one of Molokai's signature crops. The deep-purple flesh is sweet, slightly nutty, and dense; eaten boiled, baked, fried into chips, or used as a ube-style filling for desserts. Molokai's Kualapuu and Hoolehua areas have small farms growing it commercially. Used in Molokai sweet bread (a popular variant of Hawaiian sweet bread), in haupia-uala desserts, and in modern Hawaiian Regional Cuisine restaurants as a colourful purée or chip.
Kalua pork
Whole pig slow-cooked in an imu (underground oven) — the Native Hawaiian luau centrepiece. The pig is rubbed with Hawaiian sea salt (Molokai-made if you're lucky), wrapped in banana and ti leaves, lowered into a pit lined with hot lava stones, and steamed for 6-8 hours. Molokai luaus are smaller and more community-rooted than on the bigger islands; the kalua pork served at a Molokai luau is more likely to be a real imu pig than at a resort buffet on Maui or Oahu.
Poi
The traditional Native Hawaiian carbohydrate — taro corm (kalo) is steamed, peeled, pounded with water until smooth, and left to ferment briefly until a slight sour edge develops. Molokai grows taro in the Halawa Valley on the east end and around Kualapuu — small-scale and traditional. Eaten with the fingers ("one finger", "two finger", "three finger" describes thickness). Served at every Molokai luau.
Molokai fresh fish
The small Molokai fishing fleet brings in ahi (yellowfin tuna), ono (wahoo), opah (moonfish), mahi-mahi and small reef fish. The Friday Molokai Fish Market in Kaunakakai sells the morning's catch directly; the Hawaiian Pizza & Burger Co. and the smaller Kaunakakai restaurants serve fresh fish plates with two scoops of rice. The fish is typically grilled, blackened or done as a poke.
Plate lunch
Hawaii's signature plantation-era working lunch — two scoops of white rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a protein (kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, mahi-mahi or beef stew) on a paper plate. Molokai's plate-lunch counters are concentrated in Kaunakakai (the small island capital, with Hawaii's only main street that's just one block long). Casual, cheap, the everyday Molokai working lunch.
Poke
Cubed raw ahi tuna seasoned with shoyu (soy sauce), sesame oil, sweet onion, green onion, ogo seaweed and chilli flakes — Hawaii's signature raw-fish preparation. Sold at Friday Fish Market in Kaunakakai and at the small Molokai poke counters. Less commercial than the Honolulu poke scene; the Molokai version is more traditional and less modern-trend.
Molokai sweet bread
A soft, slightly sweet, enriched bread — Hawaiian sweet bread style, but the Molokai version often incorporates uala (purple sweet potato) for a striking lavender-coloured loaf. Sold at Kanemitsu Bakery and at the Saturday Molokai Farmers Market. Eaten as a breakfast or afternoon snack with butter; also used as a French-toast bread.
Haupia
Coconut-milk pudding — coconut milk thickened with arrowroot or cornstarch, sweetened, set in a shallow pan, then cut into squares. Served at every luau as a finishing dessert. The Molokai haupia is sometimes layered with uala (purple sweet potato) for a dramatic-looking dessert.
Loco moco
Two scoops of rice, a hamburger patty, brown gravy poured over, and a fried egg on top — invented in 1949 at the Lincoln Grill in Hilo (Big Island) and adopted across the state including Molokai. Eaten for breakfast or lunch, never daintily. The gravy soaks into the rice; the egg yolk runs into both. Some Molokai diners use axis-deer meat as a substitute for the hamburger patty.