Skip to content
Exploring: Home » Insiders Guide » Hints & Tips » Sampling Hawaii’s Local-style Delicacies

Sampling Hawaii’s Local-style Delicacies

Hungry and curious? Hawaii boasts a wealth of unique “local-style” foods for every visitor’s palette. Here are some yummies to try:

Ahi: yellowfin tuna

Chicken Luau: chicken cooked with taro leaf and coconut milk

Haupia: coconut pudding

Kulolo: taro pudding

Lau lau: pork, butterfish, beef or chicken wrapped in taro leaf and steamed in an imu (underground oven)

Lilikoi: passion fruit

Loco Moco: a fried egg on top of a hamburger on top of a pile of rice, all smothered in brown gravy.

Lomi Lomi Salmon: cold diced salmon, tomatoes and onion

Maui Onion: mild white onion, with sweetness similar to a Vidalia onion

Ohelo Berry: bright red, similar to a huckleberry, used in jams and preserves

Opakapaka: pink snapper

Poi: staple starch of the Hawaiian diet, made from boiled taro root.

Poke: raw fish with seaweed and sesame oil

Shave Ice: freshly shaved ice drenched in a sweet syrup – lighter and flakier than a snow cone

Spam: Well, never mind.

 Reserve your table today: Big Island | Kauai | Maui | Oahu

 Explore more Hints & Tips

 Or plan your dream vacation through our Hawaii Travel Directory: Big Island | Kauai | Maui | Oahu