{"id":531,"date":"2015-11-19T23:28:30","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T23:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/sarah-wilsons-healthy-hawaiian-food-guide\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:21:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:21:07","slug":"sarah-wilson-hawaii-food-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/sarah-wilson-hawaii-food-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Wilson’s Healthy Hawaiian Food Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Food isn’t usually the first thing people think of when considering a trip to Hawaii<\/a>. That’s all about to change.\u00a0More recently, the place has undergone a transformation. Indeed, Hawaii is possibly one of the healthiest places to holiday right now, especially if you couple your eating journey with hiking and other outdoor adventures.<\/p>\n

Having just come back from the islands on something of a foodie (and hiking) exploration, I put it down to two factors. One, the up and up of the foodie instagrammer. Seriously, some of the biggest wellness \u2018grammers in the world are based in small outposts such as Oahu\u2019s North Shore and the east coast of Kauai<\/a>, sharing their green smoothies and breakfast bowls to pundits around the planet. The other factor is the rise of the Hawaiian Regional Cuisine movement, which has seen top chefs revive local ingredients and traditional cooking practices in truly inventive ways.<\/p>\n

The combination of forces have produced a bunch of fun food experiences that certainly got me on a plane straight to Honolulu. Here’s five healthy food trends I tested out:<\/p>\n

1. Kombucha<\/h2>\n

Hawaii has totally embraced this fermented tea trend. The tropical climate provides perfect conditions for making the highly nutritious, gut-healing beverage (kombucha ferments best at about 24C) and you can find it sold in cafes, whole food stores and at countless food trucks around the islands. Definitely try it on Kauai at Kauai Juice Co<\/a> or on the North Shore of Oahu at The Beet Box Caf\u00e9<\/a> in Haleiwa.
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2. Poke<\/h2>\n

Huffington Post declared it the big new food trend recently, no doubt because they\u2019d seen it inundate social media feeds around the traps. Poke (pronounced poh-kay) is raw fish marinated (cured) with seaweed, Maui onions, avocado, tobiko, spicy mayo, sesame oil, fish roe, spices or wasabi. You can find it in most local-style restaurants and sushi places around the islands. Make sure you go for the local fish, such as Ahi (yellow-fin tuna).<\/p>\n

3. Taro leaf<\/h2>\n

The top chefs promoting local cuisine on the islands are big fans of this bitter-sweet leaf that\u2019s often discarded in the farming of the popular taro root. I ate the leaf in a number of ways during my stay. It\u2019s generally cooked down into a puree and tastes like a nutty spinach puree or it\u2019s used like a vine leaf as a \u201cwrap\u201d.<\/p>\n

I ate taro leaf at Lee Anne Wong\u2019s Koko Head Cafe<\/a> in Honolulu on her Eggs Haloa (a local version of the egg\u2019s benedict). Also in a laulau (local slow-cooked Kalua pork wrapped in the taro leaf and steamed like a super large wonton) at the Taro & Juice Co food truck in Hanalei<\/a>.
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4. Locavorism<\/h2>\n

Roughly 85% of Hawaiian food is imported, which doesn\u2019t help with quality. Thankfully the foodie scene is very much embracing the local foods of yore \u2013 local fish, roots and fruits \u2013 and reinventing them in fun ways. The Hawaiian Food and Wine Festival in October showcases the best of “Hawaiian Regional Cuisine.” Year round check out:\u00a0Ed Kenney\u2019s Town Restaurant<\/a>, Lee Anne Wong\u2019s Koko Head Cafe and\u00a0Mark Noguchi\u2019s Mission Hall and Social cafe<\/a>. All three are in Honolulu.<\/p>\n

5. Farmer\u2019s Markets Fun<\/h2>\n

As with many foodie destinations, local farmer\u2019s markets have become tourist destinations unto themselves. The ones in Hawaii are fun social hangouts with samples and food trucks.<\/p>\n

Check out the Kauai Community Farmers Markets near the airport<\/a>, the Hanalei markets<\/a> up north on Kauai and the Kapiolani Community College market on Saturday in Honolulu. The North Shore Farmers Market (on Oahu) is Saturday morning from 8-2, and there’s a great evening market in Haleiwa town on Thursdays from 3-7 p.m.
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Plus five local foods to try just once:<\/h2>\n

OK, the foods I\u2019m about to share are not entirely healthy. But #wheninRome\u2026<\/p>\n