Regional highlights
Plate lunch
Hawaii's signature plantation-era working lunch, born on Oahu's sugar and pineapple plantations in the early 20th century — two scoops of white rice, a scoop of macaroni salad (mayonnaise-based, the local sweet-creamy style), and a protein (kalua pork, teriyaki chicken, chicken katsu, beef stew, mochiko chicken, mahi-mahi or loco moco patty), all on a paper plate. The combination is the result of plantation cookhouses where Japanese rice, American macaroni and Native Hawaiian or Filipino protein converged. Eaten standing or at picnic tables across Oahu — the everyday Hawaiian lunch.
Poke
Cubed raw ahi tuna (yellowfin) seasoned with shoyu (soy sauce), sesame oil, sweet onion, green onion, ogo seaweed and chilli flakes — the Hawaiian raw-fish preparation that has become a global trend in the past decade but originated in Hawaiian fishing villages. Poke ("to slice or cut" in Hawaiian) is sold by the pound at Honolulu's poke counters, eaten over rice as a poke bowl, or as a starter with chips. Other proteins (salmon, octopus, tofu) and modern flavours (spicy mayo, ponzu, sesame-furikake) sit alongside the original ahi shoyu.
Kalua pork
Whole pig slow-cooked in an imu (underground oven) — the Native Hawaiian luau centrepiece. The pig is rubbed with Hawaiian sea salt, wrapped in banana and ti leaves, lowered into a pit lined with hot lava stones, covered with more leaves and earth, and steamed for 6-8 hours until the meat falls apart and absorbs a deep smoky character. Shredded and served at luaus and at any Hawaiian-style restaurant. The everyday plate-lunch version is sometimes oven-roasted with liquid smoke — fine, but the imu version is the real thing.
Spam musubi
A slice of pan-fried Spam glazed with shoyu and sugar, pressed onto a block of sticky rice and wrapped with a strip of nori — sushi-shaped, the size of a fist, sold at every Oahu convenience store and lunchroom. A post-WWII Japanese-American invention: when Spam (canned pork) became plentiful in the islands during and after the war, Japanese-American cooks borrowed the onigiri form to give it a portable shape. Hawaii is the world's number one consumer of Spam per capita.
Loco moco
Two scoops of rice, a hamburger patty, brown gravy poured over, and a fried egg on top — the heaviest of all plate-lunch options, born in 1949 at the Lincoln Grill in Hilo (Big Island) and adopted across the state. Eaten for breakfast or lunch, never daintily. The gravy soaks into the rice; the egg yolk runs into both. The everyday Oahu drive-in lunch order.
Garlic shrimp truck
Whole head-on shrimp sautéed in butter, garlic and a generous spoon of crushed garlic, served over two scoops of rice on a paper plate — the iconic North Shore food experience. The Kahuku coast (the rural north-east of Oahu) hosts a famous strip of shrimp trucks where the prawns are sourced from local aquaculture farms. Eaten standing at picnic tables in front of the truck, with the shells peeled with the fingers; the buttery garlic sauce coats everything.
Saimin
Hawaiian noodle soup — wheat noodles in a clear dashi-shoyu broth, topped with sliced char siu pork, kamaboko (pink-and-white Japanese fishcake), green onion and sometimes Spam or a soft egg. A plantation-era fusion of Japanese ramen, Chinese mein and Filipino pancit traditions. Saimin is what Hawaii calls its everyday noodle soup; on Oahu the older saimin counters are local institutions. Lighter than ramen, distinctly Hawaiian.
Manapua
Hawaii's char siu bao — a soft, slightly sweet steamed (or sometimes baked) yeast bun filled with char siu pork — the Cantonese pork bun adapted for the Hawaiian palate. "Manapua" comes from the Hawaiian "meaono pua'a" ("delicious pork thing"). Sold at Chinatown bakeries in downtown Honolulu and at convenience stores across the island. Eaten as a quick snack or a takeaway lunch.
Laulau
Pork (or fish, or chicken) wrapped in luau leaves (taro leaves), then a second wrap of ti leaves, steamed for hours until the meat is meltingly tender and the taro leaves cook down into a green vegetable layer that's eaten with the protein. A traditional Native Hawaiian luau dish. The flavour is mild, smoky, and slightly bitter from the taro leaves; the texture is silky.
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, also paired with chocolate (chocolate haupia pie is the Oahu sweet-shop classic). Light, slightly chewy, very fragrant of fresh coconut.
Malasadas
Portuguese-style deep-fried sugar donuts — yeasted dough fried golden, rolled in sugar (or filled with cream, custard or haupia), served hot and sticky. Brought to the islands by Portuguese plantation workers from Madeira and the Azores in the late 19th century, malasadas are now a Hawaiian icon. The doughnut has no hole; the inside stays slightly chewy and tender. Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday) is the official malasada day on Oahu, but the famous Honolulu malasada bakeries serve them year-round.
Shave ice
Finely shaved (not crushed) ice over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and azuki (sweet red) beans, drenched in flavoured syrups (lilikoi/passion fruit, mango, guava, strawberry), often topped with sweetened condensed milk and mochi balls. The ice is shaved so finely it absorbs the syrup like snow. The Haleiwa shave-ice tradition on Oahu's North Shore goes back to the 1950s; the Aoki and Matsumoto shave-ice stands are heritage institutions.