Hawaii Cultural Cuisine

Taste the Aloha Spirit

Images courtesy of Hawaii Food Tours

Food. We all need it. But some of us actually love it, and more importantly, we love its differences, its subtleties, its colors and presentation, even the surrounding atmosphere in which we take that first bite. Holidays are a great time to relax – even our taste buds — and truly take notice of what we are eating. On a well-planned holiday, the word “fast” should not precede the word “food”, and what better destination to start practising this healthy fact of life than the ever-popular Hawaiian Islands?

Matthew hangs loose with Eden Grinshpan as she samples Hawaiin cuisine for her 24-hour around-the-world food adventure show, Eden Eats, aired on the Cooking Channel.

Citing Oahu as the culinary epicentre of the Pacific Asian world, MSNBC selected it in 2007 as one of the eight best food islands in the entire world. Undoubtedly, Hawaii is a rich melting pot of cultures and ethnic groups all living and mixing together, but many have also maintained a distinctive ethnic heritage through their food. The MSNBC article recognized Hawaii Food Tours’ Hole-in-the-Wall Tour as “the best chance to taste the treats that local chefs seek on their day off. You might try a Hawaiian plate lunch, Chinese dumplings, pastries, Thai noodles, Vietnamese summer rolls, Bento Boxes or crack seed.”

The company’s air-conditioned Mercedes bus offers guests a great day of Hawaii’s best culinary adventures.

How it all began

As a professional chef in Los Angeles, it was a natural progression to become a food journalist and restaurant reviewer when Matthew moved to Honolulu in the 1990s. While writing for Hawaii’s largest daily newspaper, The Honolulu Advertiser, he became known as one of Hawaii’s foremost experts on food and wine. And during his years as a food writer and restaurant reviewer in Hawaii, he had the wonderful opportunity to visit hundreds of restaurants.

Meanwhile, his then-Hawaiian girl friend, Keira, had worked in a Waikiki restaurant where she would often see travel agents evaluating her hotel and restaurant as a potential destination for their mainland-based clients. She always took the time to find out what was important to them.

It seemed pretty much a no-brainer that their collective experience should be put to use, so in 2004 they started Hawaii Food Tours, offering guided restaurant tours in and around Honolulu.

Keira tempts guests with Malasadas, reflecting the Portuguese heritage of laborers and cowboys who first arrived in Hawaii in 1879. Another Portuguese import? The ukulele, strongly associated with Hawaiian music.

Jointly hosting all their tours, Matthew and Keira agree, “We think we have the best job ever! We get to meet great people from all over the world every day, and show off our beautiful city of Honolulu and our island while introducing them to delicious food. Can you think of anything better than being paid to eat and socialize? We can’t!”

Key ingredients for the Kalua Shredded Pork recipe, a traditional Hawaiian favorite.

Oahu is Hawaii’s Best Food Island

The Hole-in-the-Wall Tour takes its guests away from the touristy areas of Waikiki, and brings them to areas of Honolulu where only the locals know and go to. Guests are treated to somewhere between 15 & 20 different foods on the day, which usually includes two of Hawaii’s most famous bakeries, plus a two-hour behind-the-scenes walking and tasting tour inside Chinatown, an amazing, colorful, exotic and delicious part of Hawaii. All the while guests are educated and entertained, learning about the culture, history, and the people of Hawaii. The tour lineup frequently changes and evolves, but suffice to say, this tour will make you happy and full. “Hawaii is so much more than a melting pot,” says Matthew, “We are more like a salad bowl where each of our cultures have retained their individuality.”

Coco puff pastry is a specialty of Liliha Bakery, a stop on the Hole-in-the-Wall Tour. The baker’s warning: “I had to take a CPR course to revive people who faint after tasting these for the very first time!”

Follow Up FactsThe TripAdvisor global community of travelers is mighty impressed with Hawaii Food Tours, with a high number of “excellent endorsements” by 1,992 clients from Canada, the US, Australia, Germany, Israel and Britain.
Offered year round, Hawaii Food Tours, www.HawaiiFoodTours.com, does free pick-up from the Waikiki area for any of its tours. Guests staying outside that area meet at a designated hotel in Waikiki. For information and reservations, email: Tours@HawaiiFoodTours.com.

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