Cuisine of Lanai for gourmets. Places for dinner - best restaurants

During your holidays on Lanai, be sure to get acquainted with the local cuisine. Whats interesting, the cuisine of the island was replenished with various dishes brought here from Polynesia, Asia, Africa and Europe for centuries, which were changed according to the taste of the aborigines. Nowadays you can find dishes for all tastes on the island. You can eat here usual burgers, rolls and pizza but you can’t understand the culture of Hawaii without trying its traditional dishes. If you want to eat fast food, try Spam musubi or Hawaiian sandwich. A piece of spam (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.

Manapua is another dish that can be eaten on the go. There is a similar dish in Asia but Hawaiian manapua differs with lush dough and round shape. These are rolls of rice flour with a variety of fillings – pork, sweet potatoes, sausage, seafood, chicken. You can order manapua in a restaurant. It is usually served with soy sauce. Chicken katsu has also Asian origin and this dish is also popular in Hawaii. Katsu is chicken slices, fried in breadcrumbs and served with rice.

Unlike katsu, huli-huli is a local invention. In fact, it is chicken kebab 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. If you want to try something exotic, pay your attention to loco-moco. 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 like fish dishes? So, don’t pass by local restaurants. There are several exotic fish on the archipelago. If you see «ahi» word in a menu of a restaurant, don’t confuse, this word refers to two species, 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 here.

Saimin is a 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. You should definitely try one more local dish- mac salad. The salad has a very original taste and it doesn’t have anything common with «McDonald's». Macaroni salad includes boiled pasta, eggs, potatoes, carrots, onion, vinegar and mayonnaise. Despite so many absolutely different ingredients, the dish is quite delicious. Every café serves various freshes and coffee. Locals also love tea. The most popular alcohol drinks are cocktails with the juice of exotic fruit, beer and wine.

Do not pass by macadamia nut. Be sure to try chocolate coconut cake or banana lumpia which is a kind of a Japanese roll. A malasada is a Portuguese confection, once brought here by Portuguese immigrants. Poi Mochi is made of a local plant Taro and sweet rice mochi crust on the outside. Haupia is a flan-like dessert made with coconut milk and ground arrowroot. Don’t pass by local bread made of apple bananas with sour and sweet taste. Shave ice is a perfect dessert for a hot day. 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.