Home : 50 Ways to Love Oahu : Culinary

From casual plate eateries to farmers’ markets and fine dining restaurants, Oahu is a culinary paradise.

Back in the mid-1980s, local chefs, inspired by the bounty of the land and sea and the diverse culinary traditions of Hawai'i’s numerous immigrant groups, developed Hawaiian Regional Cuisine—HRC. This homegrown cooking incorporates the freshest locally available ingredients into inventively prepared and presented dishes. Today, you can dine at the outstanding establishments owned by the HRC founders including Alan Wong’s Restaurant (Alan Wong), Chef Mavro (George Mavrothalassitis), and Roy’s Restaurant (Roy Yamaguchi). www.alanwongs.com, www.chefmavro.com , www.roysrestaurant.com Click here to learn more about Oahu Cuisine. Watch Chef Alan Wong’s interview about Hawaiian cuisine.

Learn how Hawaiians love SPAM during the 7th Annual Waikīkī SPAM Jam on April 25, 2009 during an exciting Kalākaua Avenue street festival. Honolulu restaurants serve up SPAM-inspired dishes, live hula and music provide entertainment, and there’s even a contest to honor the most avid SPAM fan. www.spam.com/museum/waikiki_jam.aspx

Hawaii Food & Wine Paradise May 21-24, 2009 is a four-day culinary extravaganza with local and visiting chefs, winemakers, and spirits experts. Romantic luncheons, Hawaiian beachside barbecues, food and wine panels, sumptuous dinners, a golf outing, and additional events fill the four-day calendar. Epicureans will rejoice. www.hawaiifoodandwineparadise.com/

Eat like locals. Hawaii’s famous plate lunch—consisting of a protein, two scoops of rice, and macaroni salad—is the state’s homegrown fast food tradition dating back to the 1920s and 1930s when plantation workers brought lunch to work in compartmentalized tin lunch boxes and traded and mixed their own ethnic dishes. Sample this Hawaiian staple at Zippy’s Restaurants, Rainbow Drive Inn and L&L Drive Inn. Tip: For a little bit of everything, just order the “mixed plate” wherever you go. www.zippys.com, www.hawaiianbarbecue.com Click here to learn more about Oahu Cuisine. 

Take a drive up to the North Shore to Kahuku, an area well known for shrimp aquaculture and local shrimp trucks selling delectable shrimp plate lunches. Romy’s Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp occupies an easy to spot red shack along the scenic highway. You can order shrimp one of four ways: in butter garlic, steamed, sautéed, or deep fried along. If you are feeling adventurous, you can fish for your own prawns and then grill them yourself right on the spot. Tip: Do not do this on a tight schedule, you can expect a wait as locals and visitors alike come from all over the island to enjoy this tasty meal.

Oahu farmers’ markets reveal the rich diversity of Hawaii-grown produce and locally made foods. The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation sponsors farmers markets throughout the week: Farmers’ Market at Kapiolani Community College, Saturdays 7:30 am – 11 am; Kailua Farmers’ Market, Thursdays 5 pm to 7:30 pm; Mililani Farmers’ Market, Sundays 8 am – 11 am; and Wai'anae Farmers’ Market, first and third Saturday of the month 7:30 am to 11 am. Tip: If you are staying at accommodations with kitchens you may want to try cooking up something delicious with fresh local produce and enjoy mixing with the locals. www.hfbf.org/FarmersMarket.html

For a fun, farm adventure, visit Aloun Farms and learn how to choose and use fresh, locally grown produce in preparing nutritious and delicious meals on the Living Off the Land Culinary Tour which is part of the Culinary Arts Program at Kapiolani Community College. You’ll hear about Hawai`i-grown products, pick fruits and vegetables in the fields, and attend a cooking demonstration and tasting. www.alounfarms.com

Make a once-in-a-lifetime memory with a private cooking experience arranged by Gourmet Cooking Hawaii. You’ll have the opportunity to spend a few hours with such celebrity chefs as Elmer Guzman, George Mavrothalassitis, Alan Wong, Michael Imada, and others. Your group will have the undivided attention of the chef and his or her staff for the entire time. Venues include private designer kitchens and the kitchen restaurants of participating chefs. www.gourmeteventshawaii.com

Experience Oahu dining from an insider’s perspective with food writer, restaurant reviewer, and professional chef Matthew Gray of Hawaii Food Tours. The Hole-In-The-Wall Tour visits exotic restaurants that contribute to Honolulu’s delicious melting pot and includes a behind-the-scenes walking and tasting tour of Chinatown. The Hawaiian Feast in Paradise is a multiple restaurant adventure that showcases contemporary and ancient Hawaiian foods. The Gourmet Trilogy Tour for Food & Wine Lovers features a progressive multi course wine dinner with a different course served at three award winning restaurants. www.hawaiifoodtours.com

Plan an evening of romance with sunset cocktails and beachside dining. Start your night with drinks at House Without a Key at the Halekulani Hotel situated right on the beach with dreamy Diamond Head views and lovely island music and then head upstairs to La Mer for exquisite Hawaiian-inspired French fare. www.halekulani.com