Aloha-licious

ROBIN ROBINSON

Within minutes of landing at Honolulu’s international airport, me and my colleagues are tucking into plates of steaming lau lau – pork handwrapped in taro leaves and slow cooked – at the nearby Highway Inn restaurant.

A parade of savoury dishes follows – tangy poi (a Hawaiian staple made from taro root), ahi poke (seasoned, diced raw tuna), lomi salmon, deep fried butter-fish, chicken long rice and the like.

We don’t know it at the time, but that first delicious meal is setting an aloha-licious theme for our discovery of Oahu, Hawaii’s most populated island.

Our small group of travel journalists is taking part in a “culture and cuisine” tour organized by Hawaii Tourism Canada (gohawaii.com/ca). And while there is culture on our agenda – it’s sandwiched between heaping helpings of local food. I’ve dubbed it “My Discovery of Hawaii In 7 Plates.”

PLATE 1

The aforementioned Highway Inn is a local institution serving authentic Hawaiian dishes. It’s an enduring favourite with locals, and plugged-in visitors. Those not familiar with Hawaiian cuisine can check out their menus and Malihini (visitor) Food Guide on course in Hawaiian fare, and gives a description of each dish, how it’s prepared, and how it’s pronounced.

This where I learn that lau lau has a bit of butterfish along with the pork, and that it’s also made with chicken. You can watch it being hand made on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday mornings.

Located on Ala Moana Blvd., Highway Inn is part Our Kakaako. Once a mixed working class/industrial area, Kakaako is morphing into Honolulu’s hippest ‘hood with chef-owned restaurants, art studios and artisan shops in revamped warehouses.

After dinner, we take a walkabout to see the murals created during the annual Pow! Wow! street art festival. See www.myhighwayinn.com and www.saltkatkaako.com.

PLATE 2

Worn out from the Toronto to Honolulu flight – and still full from dinner – I practically fall into my bed at the recently renovated New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel. Fortunately, the moderately priced hotel is at the quiet end of Waikiki near parks and Diamond Head, so I immediately go off to dreamland.

Surprisingly, the next morning we’re all hungry again and chow down at the hotel’s Hau Tree Lanai, where the breakfast menu is full of tempting choices.Some of us fuel up on eggs benny with a Hawaiian twist.

The Super Kaimana Benedict has a beef filet, foiegras-infused mushroom spread and lobster, while the Crab Benedict has mini crab cakes and bacon. Others go for French toast islandstyle – fresh sweet bread crusted with macadamia nuts and shredded coconut. See www.kaimana.com.

We walk the 2 km to Kapolani Park to check out Lei Day, a statewide celebration of Hawaiian culture and traditions with music, dancing, lei-making demos, lei competitions, and food stands – of course. See www. leiday.org.

PLATE 3

Many of us have heard of kalua pig, a signature luau dish that is slow roasted underground to melt-inyour-mouth tenderness. But a “plate lunch,” consisting of meat or fish – everything from barbecued chicken to beef teriyaki – plus two scoops of rice and a side of macaroni salad is also considered quintessential Hawaiian fare.

These hearty takeaways are widely available, but we devour ours at Hawaii’s Favorite Kitchens on Castle St. HFK is a one-stop shop, where you can try classic dishes from several iconic Oahu food outlets including Mike’s Huli Chicken, the Poke Stop, KC Drive Inn, Shimazu Shave Ice and more.

Our plate lunch is the specialty of Rainbow Kitchens, another city institution located next door and co-owned by Jim Gusukuma, who also owns Hawaii’s Favorite Kitchens.

Gusukuma says Hawaii “has always been the crossroads of the Pacific, with many cultures mingling on its shores,” hence the many influences on its cuisine.

We also sample some poke and share a “loco moco” – rice topped with a beef burger, topped with mushroom gravy, topped with a fried egg. For dessert: Shave ice – another iconic treat. A mound of finely shaved ice – about the size of a small snowbank – is topped with flavoured, and brightly coloured syrups and served in a cone.

See hawaiisfavoritekitchens.com and rainbowdrivein.com.

Not wanting to risk falling into a food coma, we head to the opulent Iolani Palace for a tour of the only official royal residence on U.S. soil.

Our passionate, knowledgeable guide, Zita Cup Choy, provides a fascinating snapshot of Hawaii’s royal history. It all came crashing down in 1893 with the overthrow of the monarchy. Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii’s last reigning monarch, was imprisoned in her palace bed chamber Cup Choy tells us. The queen was eventually freed but five years later, the islands were annexed by the United States. See www.iolanipalace.org

PLATE 4

Later that afternoon, we go window shopping along busy Kalakaua Ave. – the Fifth Ave. of Waikiki – before returning to our hotel for some downtime.

That night we dine like Hawaiian royalty at Chef Mavro. Owner George Mavrothalassitis is a French-born classically trained chef who describes his food style as Hawaiian regional cuisine with a Provencal sensibility.

Located on King St., near Waikiki, the understated restaurant has made many “top” lists and won many awards, including the AAA Five Diamond Award – 10 years in a row. It’s a local favourite for fine dining.

Each dish on the nine-course tasting menu is a winner. The delicate Elysian Fields lamb with English peas and tapenade is a particular standout, while the whole fish baked in a salt-crust is a show stopper. See www.chefmavro.com.

PLATE 5

Before leaving Honolulu at dawn, we stop by Leonard’s Bakery on Kapahulu Ave. to fuel up for the 38-km road trip to Kualoa Ranch.

Leonard’s make savari a variety of treats, but is famous for one – malasadas. Each batch of these Portuguese-style doughnuts is baked to order and served warm. You can order them coated in sugar or cinnamon sugar, and with creamy fillings – everything from coconut to lilikoi (passion fruit). The soft, sweet hunks of doughnutty goodness pair well with the rich strong Kona coffee grown on Hawaii’s Big Island.

By the time we polish off a few and pile into the van around 7 a.m., a line is already forming out the door of Leonard’s. See www.leonardshawaii.com.

PLATE 6

I visited the lush Kualoa Ranch a few years ago on a Hummer movie tour. More than 50 films and TV shows have been filmed there, including Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, King Kong, Lost, Hawaii Five-0, Paradise, Jumanji and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

The private nature reserve and working ranch, which encompasses three unspoiled valleys in its 1,620 hectares, also has zipline tours, ATV tours, jeep expeditions, horseback tours, agriculture tours, and more.

“Agritourism is very popular right now,” Taylor Kellerman, Kualoa’s director of diversified agriculture tells us, adding that new experiences around agriculture and aquaculture are being developed.

He takes our group to see the orchards and tropical gardens – where things like bananas, breadfruit, cacao, papaya, taro and exotic flowers are grown – as well as the oyster and shrimp operations. Ranchraised beef, shrimp, oysters and produce are sold to local chefs, Kellerman says.

Before leaving, we’re treated to a delicious farm-to-table lunch made entirely of food grown on the ranch. See www.kualoa.com.

PLATE 7

We’ve had a been a busy few days, and I’m looking forward to chilling for two nights at the superb Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina on the island’s rugged west coast.

I’m thinking a diet of lettuce and water might be called for to undo the recent overindulgences. But this is Hawaii, and our host has kindly arranged a lunchtime cooking demonstration with Chef Simeon Hall, who has just taken the reins at the resort’s open air La Hiki Kitchen.

Hall hails from the Bahamas, where he was the private chef of Rita Marley, widow of reggae superstar Bob Marley. Cooking is in Hall’s DNA: Both of his grandmothers were chefs. One owned a popular restaurant in Nassau, the other cooked at a well known hotel.

When it comes to his food philosophy, Hall says he likes to “keep things simple,” use local ingredients and local techniques, and “make food my grandmothers would be proud of.”

With the abundance of high quality ingredients, that’s easy to do in Hawaii, he says.

Today, we’re spoiled with Hall’s flavourful ice-filtered chicken and vegetable soup, and pork chops pan-fried and topped with a rum-infused citrus-and chili-pepper sauce. None of us can say no to dessert – warm pineapple upside down cake.

Before waddling off to the resort’s Naupaka Spa for an apre lunch massage, we learn dinner that night is at Mina’s Fish House. Apparently the beachside eatery created by star chef Michael Mina even has a fish sommelier, who helps diners select their perfect fish.

Mina’s cocktail menu puts a fun spin on classic bevvies. I’m going to try the If Can, Can – a Mai Tai served in a Spam can – which plays homage to another favourite Hawaiian food.

But that’s another story – and at least a dozen more plates! Aloha.

For more, see www.fourseasons.com/oahu.

Published August 2018 in the Toronto Sun