Cuisine of Kauai Island for gourmets. Places for dinner - best restaurants

Kauai is a place where different culinary traditions meet. If you want to have a snack, you can try usual burgers, sushi, pizza and other famous European and Asian dishes. However, if you want fully immerse yourself into the local culture, you should become acquainted with all of the various Hawaiian dishes. It is important to say that you can find not only truly Hawaiian dishes here but also those which were brought to the archipelago by travellers centuries ago and changed by local cooks.

Manapua is a good example of brought dishes. It is originated in Asia. Local manapua has the lush dough and round shape. Rolls of rice flour can be found here with a variety of fillings –sausages, chicken, seafood, sweet potatoes, and pork. Manapua is considered to be fast food here. Locals often eat it on the move with soy sauce. One more popular local fast food is spam musubi or Hawaiian sandwich. A piece of spam (pickled ham) is laid between the layers of cooked rice and wrapped around in seaweed nori. This dish is sprinkled with spicy herbs and sesame seeds.

Chicken katsu is a Japanese dish which is also popular in Hawaii. Katsu is chicken slices, fried in breadcrumbs and served with rice. But huli-huli chicken is a traditional Hawaiian dish. Chicken is marinated in huli-huli pineapple sauce. The sauce includes pineapple syrup, soy sauce, ketchup, finely chopped garlic and ginger. While cooking, it is regularly turned over. Loco moco is quite an interesting local dish. It is an original Hawaiian dish. There are many variations of it, but the traditional loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. The dish is usually poured with dark sweet and sour sauce. All the ingredients of loco moco are laid on a plate in the shape of a pyramid. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Do you want to try one of the local first courses? Be sure to order saimin at local restaurants. This noodle soup is the main dish on local feasts. It has Japanese roots and usually made of soft wheat egg noodles served in hot dashi broth garnished with green onions. Do you want to try fish dishes? Kauai is a place where you will find various seafood dishes. These products are fried, stewed, baked and added to different dishes here. Ahi is two species of tuna: the yellowfin tuna and the bigeye tuna. Ahi is often eaten raw. Mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish has a very interesting taste and it can be cooked differently- fried, boiled and baked. But locals think that the most delicious fish is wahoo fish. That’s not surprising, wahoo is translated as «delicious». The fish is usually grilled or baked.

Be sure to try mac salad which has nothing common with «McDonald's». Local mac salad has a very original taste. Macaroni salad includes boiled pasta, eggs, potatoes, carrots, onion, vinegar and mayonnaise. Despite so many absolutely different ingredients, the dish is quite delicious. If you want to order a soft drink, be sure to taste coffee or tea. Local tea with fruit additives is popular here. The most popular local hard drinks are cocktails with juice of exotic fruit, beer and wine.

If it is too hot, you can try shave ice. It is an ice-based dessert made by shaving a block of ice. The ice is usually poured with syrup with the taste of tropical fruit, chocolate and vanilla. Chocolate coconut cake, banana lumpia, malasada doughnuts and a guava pie with passion fruit and lime won’t leave sweet teeth indifferent. You can also try poi mochi. It is made of a local plant Taro and sweet rice mochi crust on the outside. Don’t pass by local bread made of apple bananas with a sour and sweet taste. Desserts with macadamia nut are very delicious and nutritious.