Blue Water Shrimp and Seafood Market – Ala Moana (Hawaii 2019): Amazing Garlic Shrimp and Seafood

On our visit last year, we came across this great food truck in the heart of Waikiki called Blue Water Shrimp. That food truck location isn’t around anymore but Blue Water Shrimp has opened up a stall at the Ala Moana Center food court.

Tempura Fuji – Ala Moana Center (Hawaii 2019): Deep-Fried Goodness

Tempura Fuji is one of the many Japanese-themed food stalls located in the Shirokiya Japan Village Walk of the Ala Moana Center. As you can probably guess, they focus mainly on tempura… battered, deep-fried, and crispy morsels of pretty much any kind of veggie, meat, and seafood you can think of.

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Kulu Kulu – Ala Moana (Hawaii 2019): Hello Kitty Waffles

Kulu Kulu ia a Japanese-style bake shop located in Hawaii (they currently have 3 locations in Honolulu) with this particular shop located in the Shirokiya Japan Village Walk at Ala Moana Center.

Liliha Bakery – Nimitz Hwy (Hawaii 2019): Loco Moco and Butter Rolls for Breakfast

A couple of years ago, we briefly visited Liliha Bakery on N Kuakini in the Liliha area of Oahu (the original location) while on a road trip around the island. Known for their signature coco puffs, we made sure to stop by their other location on the border between Kalihi and Downtown Honolulu to grab some breakfast during our visit this year.

Sansei Seafood Restaurant (Hawaii 2018): Sensational Seafood with a Sunset

Sansei Seafood Restaurant has been one of our favourite restaurants in Waikiki for a few years. Located on the 3rd floor of the Waikiki Beach Marriot, it a great place to enjoy the sunset – mind you, the palm trees have grown a bit over the years so the view is more obstructed now. Still, the food here is great and they offer 25% off certain items before 6pm.

Eggs ‘n Things Waikiki Beach Eggspress (Hawaii 2018): Breakfast with a View

I think I’ve forgotten how many times we’ve dined at Eggs ‘n Things over the years. From the moment we first tried their pancakes topped with a mountain of whipped cream, we’ve been hooked. That being said, we like trying new restaurants so we haven’t been making a point to revisit on each trip to Hawaii (although we did visit an Eggs ‘n Things when we went to Japan last year).

Tim Ho Wan (Hawaii 2018): Dim Sum in Waikiki

Shortly before our trip to Hawaii this year, we heard that they opened a Tim Ho Wan in Waikiki. This chain of Chinese dim sum restaurants first originated in Hong Kong and became known as the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant after a few of their branches earned one Michelin star.

Fresh Ahi Off The Boat (Hawaii 2018): Bentos and Poke Bowls

After our trip to Lyon Arboretum, we were looking for some tasty treats so we hit up Fresh Ahi Off the Boat which is a few blocks away from Ala Moana Center. They serve up various Japanese bento boxes here as well as offering a make-your-own poke bowl station.

Kamehameha Bakery (Hawaii 2018): Poi Haupia Donut

We first came across the legendary Poi Glazed Donut from Kamehameha Bakery in 2017. Located in the same industrial-looking mini mall as Young’s Fish Market, it wasn’t rocket science that we would come back here again. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived (just after noon), they were already sold out of their poi glazed donuts! 😦

Young’s Fish Market (Hawaii 2018): Traditional Hawaiian Food

There’s nothing like good old fashioned Hawaiian food to comfort a hungry tummy. Although we had some amazing Hawaiian food from Da Ono Hawaiian Foods a few days earlier, we were in the mood to try some more during our vacation and wound up coming to Young’s Fish Market in Kalani. This counter-service establishment is located in the same industrial-looking mini mall as Kamehameha Bakery and gets quite busy.

Olay’s Thai Food Express (Hawaii 2018): Honolulu Farmers’ Market

The original purpose of our visit to the Honolulu Farmers’ Market (located in front of Blaisdell Concert Hall) was to get some yummy butter mochi cupcakes from Mochi Lab. However, we knew that we’d be hungry for something more substantial. Fortunately, there’s a ton of food stands here… one of which is Olay’s Thai Food Express.

Mochi Lab (Hawaii 2018): Butter Mochi Cupcakes

It’s hard to believe that I first stumbled across Mochi Lab’s amazing butter mochi cupcakes in 2015 while walking through a farmers’ market in Waikiki. While we’ve been back to Hawaii a couple times since then, we’ve never been able to revisit until this past year. That’s partly because Mochi Lab can only be found at pop up locations. We made a special trip out to the Honolulu Farmers’ Market, in front of the Blaisdell Concert Hall on Ward Avenue, to revisit this year and were not disappointed.