I just had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy an outstanding vacation in Hawaii. My husband and I spent six days, five nights on the island of Oahu. We stayed at the Grand Waikikian by Hilton Grand Vacations, which I highly recommend!
Over the course of our vacation, we went on some amazing excursions and ate at many outstanding restaurants. Of course, I want to pass along the best of the best to anyone planning a trip to this amazing place!
I’ll break up the trip into a few different posts, but if your interested in checking them all out, just click on the Hawaii tag below.
As always, please email me or post in the comments below if you have any questions. And if you have recommendations, please post them as well! I’d love you hear where you love to go.
Just a note, nothing on this trip was sponsored. All of these opinions are my own, paid for out of my own pocket.
So, I have to start with one of the best excursion I’ve ever been on- the Aloha Plate Hawaii Food Tour!
We found out about this amazing, one of a kind excursion in the funniest of ways. Not via Trip Advisor (although we did check out their rating before booking it), or from a friend, but actually via a podcast.
The Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast is hosted by Bruce Fisher. It’s a great resource for anyone planning a trip to Hawaii. Definitely check it out.
In one podcast, he had on Lanai Tabura, winner of Food Network’s ‘The Great Food Truck Race’. On the podcast, Lanai talked about the food tour he does, which takes vacationers to authentic, local restaurants on the island of Oahu.
My husband and I LOVE a good food tour, so after checking reviews, we booked it.
I really cannot recommend this tour enough!
Lanai picked us up in a jeep, with only my husband and I as passengers, and we spent the next three hours with him hitting all the best local, small, out-of-the-way restaurants and markets in the Honolulu area. These were places you might hear about, but you unlikely to find or stumble on yourself. Places filled with locals, that have been in business for decades, and serving those who grew up on the island. Absolutely fixtures of the local food scene,
This tour was memorable for so many reasons.
First, Lanai is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. And I mean, ever! He is so down to earth, loves Hawaii, and is passionate about the food.
I can’t decide what I loved more, all the amazing things we got to taste or just talking to Lanai. We talked about everything from sustainable fishing to why macaroni salad is included on every lunch plate to his recommendation for the best place for pancakes and spam on the island (The guava pancakes at Cinnamon’s, in the Ilikai Hotel, if you are wondering).
Between chats, we stopped at four different places.
To witness the welcome Lanai gets when he walks into each place reminds you that he is a local celebrity, in addition to being an all-around great guy.
On our tour we stopped at one of the top local spots for manapua. They are a doughy, but surprising light bun, with seasoned shredded pork in the center. In a word- amazing! Really. It’s hard to believe that such a simple thing can taste so good.
After hearing the history of how this treat was introduced into the local culture, we grabbed our box of delicious manapua, ate in the jeep, and were off to the next stop. At Alicia’s Market, we sampled a few types of poke at the meat counter while he chatted with the locals.
And this why you have to go with Lanai.
First, you would almost never find any of these places by yourself.
Second, even if you did, you would likely order something basic (like ahi tuna poke) and think ‘wow, I am getting a real feel for Hawaiian food’. As Lanai would say, “but there is so much more!”
We got three types of poke to go, and took them to Ethel’s Grill for a sit down lunch. This place is seriously amazing. It is exactly how you would picture the best, out-of-the-way, locals place. Super tiny and completely packed for lunch. And I mean, line-down-the-street packed.
Thanks to Lanai, we walked in and got a table. Lunch was out of this world, and the food didn’t stop. We ran out of room on the table!
They brought plate after plate of amazing goodness. From ahi tataki to deep-fried turkey tails, we tried everything. And we could have sampled more, but we were stuffed. But what made the lunch really much more amazing was that Lanai explained what each and every item was, why it was important to the local food culture, and how it came to the islands. Not just a local’s perspective on what was good food, but why these dishes were part of the local Hawaiian food culture.
To top off the tour, we ended at Leonard’s for fresh-made malasadas.
A malasada is a Portugese doughnut, but light like a beignet. And then it’s filled with an amazing cream filling. We had coconut, which really only had a hint of coconut and was more cream than anything. So not super strong, for those that don’t like coconut (like my husband).
And when they say fresh, they mean it. They don’t make a malasada until it’s ordered, so we waited about 5 minutes. But don’t be fooled by our short wait, because were told by Lanai that usually the line stretches around the building, and sometimes down the street.
I’ve never waited for a doughnut to be fried before, but now I understand the difference- and it’s significant.
One tip, beyond signing up for this tour as soon you book your flight- Do it at the beginning part of your vacation.
Lanai also has so many great suggestions for other places to eat on the island, and he points many of them out as you are driving from place to place. If we had taken this tour on our first or second day, we could have tried so many more different places he recommended.
As it is, we have a great list of restaurants to check out next time we are in Honolulu!
This trip is not to be missed… one of the best excursions we have ever been on, seriously. Book it early, because it is for just a few people a day, and it fills up!
