Ask anyone who has spent time in the islands and they will tell you: Hawaiian food is one of the best reasons to visit Hawaiʻi. Eating here is not just about filling up — it is a living record of the islands' history, from the canoe crops Polynesian voyagers carried across the Pacific to the plantation-era kitchens where Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, and Korean flavors mingled with Native Hawaiian traditions. The result is a food culture found nowhere else on Earth. Here are the dishes you have to try, from sacred staples to beloved local-kine grinds.
Poi and Kalo: The Foundation
Start with kalo (taro), the plant at the very heart of Hawaiian culture. In the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant, kalo is the elder brother of the Hawaiian people. Steamed and pounded into poi — a smooth, slightly tangy paste — it has nourished generations. First-timers are sometimes unsure about poi, but try it the local way: alongside something salty like kalua pig or lomi salmon. The combination makes sense the moment it hits your tongue.
Kalua Pig: Smoke, Salt, and Patience
Kalua pig is the centerpiece of any lūʻau. A whole pig is seasoned with paʻakai (Hawaiian sea salt), wrapped in ti leaves, and buried in an imu — an underground oven of hot lava rocks — where it slow-cooks for hours until it falls apart into smoky, tender shreds. You will find kalua pig at lūʻau, in plate lunches, and even folded into quesadillas and sliders across the islands.
Poke: Hawaiʻi in a Bowl
Poke (poh-keh, meaning "to slice") is cubed raw fish — most often ʻahi tuna — seasoned with limu (seaweed), kukui nut, sea salt, or shoyu and sesame oil. Long before it became a mainland food trend, poke was what Hawaiian fishermen made from the day's catch. The best poke is often found not in restaurants but in local grocery stores and fish markets, sold by the pound and eaten on the tailgate with a scoop of rice.
The Plate Lunch: Local Comfort on a Paper Plate
Born in the plantation fields where workers shared food from home, the plate lunch is Hawaiʻi's everyday meal: two scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a main like teriyaki beef, chicken katsu, or kalua pig. It is generous, unpretentious, and deeply local. No visit is complete without at least one.
Loco Moco: Comfort Food, Maximum Strength
Invented in Hilo in 1949, the loco moco stacks a hamburger patty over rice, tops it with a fried egg, and smothers everything in brown gravy. It sounds simple. It is perfect. Order it for breakfast after an early morning swim and you will understand why locals swear by it.
Manapua: The Islands' Favorite Handheld
Manapua — from "mea ʻono puaʻa," delicious pork thing — is Hawaiʻi's take on the Chinese char siu bao, a fluffy steamed or baked bun filled with sweet roasted pork. Brought by Chinese immigrants in the 1800s, it became an island icon, once sold by manapua men who walked neighborhoods with buckets balanced on poles. Today you grab them from bakeries and corner stores, ideally still warm.
Malasadas: Portugal's Gift to Hawaiʻi
Portuguese plantation workers brought malasadas — pillowy, hole-less doughnuts fried golden and rolled in sugar — and Hawaiʻi never looked back. Eaten hot, they are dangerously good, especially the filled versions with haupia (coconut) or guava custard. On Oʻahu, lines form out the door for them; on the Big Island, bakeries along the Hāmākua Coast keep the tradition alive.
Shave Ice, Haupia, and Sweet Endings
Cool off with shave ice — finely shaved (never crushed) ice draped in tropical syrups like li hing mui, guava, and lilikoʻi, often over a scoop of ice cream with sweet azuki beans. For something more traditional, try haupia, a silky coconut pudding served at lūʻau, or fresh island fruit: apple bananas, papaya, lilikoʻi, and Hawaiʻi-grown mango so ripe it drips down your wrist.
What to Sip Alongside
Hawaiʻi's drink scene deserves its own pilgrimage. World-famous Kona coffee grows on the slopes above our own hometown of Kailua-Kona, local craft breweries pour everything from coconut porters to lilikoʻi ales, and POG (passion-orange-guava juice) is the unofficial beverage of every island childhood. If you love wearing your appetite on your sleeve, our Food & Drink tee collection celebrates exactly this side of island life — poke bowls, malasadas, loco moco, and more.
Where to Find It All
- Lūʻau — the full traditional spread: kalua pig, poi, laulau, haupia.
- Local grocery stores and fish markets — the best poke, hands down.
- Plate lunch spots and drive-ins — loco moco, katsu, teri beef.
- Farmers markets — fresh fruit, malasadas, and Kona coffee straight from the source.
However you eat your way through the islands, come hungry and eat with aloha — every dish here carries a story of the people who made Hawaiʻi home.
Bring the islands home: Explore our Food & Drink collection — original designs from our Native Hawaiian–owned studio in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi. Here are a few of the newest additions:
Aloha Wine O'Clock Tee — for sunset pours on island time, because it's always five o'clock somewhere in the Pacific.
Hawaii Foodie Life Tee — for everyone who plans their island days around the next meal.
Craft Beer Tee — cold, local, and crafted with aloha, just like Hawaiʻi's island breweries.
Manapua Bun Tee — an ode to the fluffy, pork-filled bun no local can eat just one of.
Kalua Pig Imu Tee — low and slow, wrapped in ti leaves, straight from the underground oven.