Hawaiian Foods: 17 Foods You Have to Try

Shave Ice: A famous Hawaiian dessert and the perfect way to keep cool on a hot day. It’s shaved-down ice, with flavored syrups (made from cane sugar) on top.
Poi is a local starchy Polynesian food paste made from taro root. It’s a bit sweet and a bit sour, and it looks like chocolate sauce thickened with white flour. Poi is a traditional food in the Polynesian diet.
Kalua pork is a shredded meat, slow cooked and served at traditional Hawaiian luaus and feasts. It’s usually cooked underground in an imu (oven).
Ahi poke: Marinated raw tuna, often served with lots of white rice and shallots, sesame oil, green onion, and sometimes garlic sauce. You can find this at almost every restaurant, usually on the appetizer menu.
Haupia: A dessert made from coconut milk, cornstarch, water, and sugar, it’s kind of like a coconut Jello. Tasty and refreshing!
Local “fresh catch” fish (mahi mahi): Whenever you can, try the fresh seafood! Hawaii has a lot of mahi mahi, a dolphinfish (not a dolphin) that is a firm and lean white fish. Fish tacos are plentiful on Hawaiian menus.
Saimin: A traditional noodle soup that usually has thin noodles in clear broth with scallions, pork or ham, shrimp, poultry, and sometimes eggs.
Kona Kampachi: A yellowtail fish that is farmed in Kona, Hawaii, Kona Kampachi is sushi-grade and quickly becoming popular in hot restaurants in NYC and elsewhere. You’ll find it in the swankier restaurants on the islands, as it’s an expensive fish to buy.
Malasadas: If a donut married fried dough, it would be a malasada. They’re sugar-coated, fried donuts and are tastiest when eaten hot. The best ones we had were from Leonard’s Bakery truck! Definitely try the custard filled if you go.
Fresh fruit (Pineapple!): Pineapple is one of the many fruits that grow year-round on the islands of Hawaii. (Among the others are papaya and coconuts!) You simply have to try the fresh fruit while you’re in Hawaii.
Li Hing Mui: A sweet and sour, and slightly salty flavor added to a variety of dishes.
Sushi: A staple on many menus, often featuring avocado (sometimes local avocado!), shrimp, or mango.
Loco Moco: You may find this on menus, especially if you’re at a local restaurant that isn’t catering to tourists. It’s a Hawaiian comfort food made up of beef, white rice, fried egg and brown gravy.
Mai Tai (cocktail): While the Mai Tai wasn’t actually created in Hawaii (it was made first in California and then introduced in Hawaii in 1953), it’s a definite hit and available at almost every restaurant we visited. The Mai Tai is an alcoholic cocktail made with rum, pineapple juice, sugar cane, and some other ingredients. The best one we had on Maui had a pina colada foam!
Fresh juice (Guava and pineapple): Offered many places, fresh fruit juice is delicious. My favorites were guava, pineapple, and mango or papaya mixes.
Coconut: They grow everywhere in Hawaii!
Spam: Considered a loved-food in Hawaii, Spam became popular in Hawaii during World War II. Sometimes called “Hawaiian Steak” and made into specialties like Spam musubi (a block of rice with fried or baked Spam on top, wrapped in nori).