How to Experience Hawaiian Cuisine in Oahu Restaurants
There is no shortage of all imaginable types of Oahu restaurants on the island. There is a superb variety of cuisines - you certainly will not go hungry!
You will have a hard time choosing between glamorous celebrity chef-owned restaurants, neighborhood Mom and Pop joints, national chain restaurants, cozy bakeries and coffee bars and food courts in the shopping malls. So many places, so little time!
For convenience, you can find anything you want in Waikiki. Take a 10 minute trolley ride to Chinatown and you will come across a treasure trove of Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Malaysian, Indian, and Eurasian food.
Budget Dining
However, if you and your kids have a sudden urge for pizza, you can find it here among the many Oahu restaurants.
Giovanni Pastrami at the Beachwalk offers a hip, cool atmosphere and Round Table pizzas with delicious toppings such as pepperoni, Portuguese sausage and salami.
Vegetarians can have the gourmet vegetarian pizzas with generous toppings of artichoke hearts, crunch zucchini, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and chopped garlic. During happy hour, from 3-6pm on weekdays, you can get a free pizza with any drink.
Creative Japanese
Love Japanese food? There are many authentic Japanese noodle shops on Oahu. If you are willing to try mouth-watering Japanese cooking at moderate prices, Yuzen Japanese Restaurant earns kudos from its devoted fans for inventiveness:
At Yuzen, a typical exotic dinner menu could go like this:
fresh salad of micro-greens with sweet blueberries for extra flavor and a sprinkling of peanuts
a palate freshener of sweet vinegar with a water plant sprout
Ringo Yaki which is a Fuji cored apple served with grilled seafood and a dollop of creamy sauce
Misogamist eggplant served with caramelized aka miso, edamame and crispy grilled shrimp
thinly sliced moi sashimi (moi is a mild whitefish which was at one time only served to Hawaiian royalty)
finish off with ice cream, jellied sweet cubes and fruit, azuki bean paste and mochis made of warabi fern
Kahuku Shrimp Trucks
Although they are more commonly referred to as shrimp trucks, these are a facet of Oahu restaurants that you should not miss when visiting the island.
These trucks line the road to Haleiwa on the North Shore and will serve you the sweetest and juiciest shrimps you've ever tasted! Plus, the prices are pretty reasonable too.
The jumbo shrimp are from the farms in Kahuku where large-scale shrimp farming started in 1993. At Fumi’s shrimp truck, you can try garlic or coconut shrimp from their own aquaculture farm just behind the dining area. There is hot-n-spicy shrimp – be warned, they are very spicy. You can pick up a plate from the truck and lunch off their picnic tables and enjoy the laid-back North Shore atmosphere.
The shrimp are served lunch plate style with two scoops of rice, a salad and a slice of pineapple. Expect to leave your lunch table extremely well fed.
Given the multi-ethnic mix of the island, some of the best eating is to be found in the smaller ethnic Oahu restaurants. However, no matter what you choose, you can be assured of an eclectic, inventive and delicious culinary experience.
Certainly, on your vacation in Hawaii, you will want to go on a dinner cruise. But after you have enjoyed a romantic sunset dinner cruise, the various types of Oahu restaurants will keep you excited about your next "delectable" trip...
Your Favorite Oahu Restaurant!
Surely you had a delicious meal at a great restaurant on Oahu. We would love to hear about it! Share it with us here!
