**Warning: if you are hungry or thirsty, I would not recommend reading this post**
We started early on our food and beverage journey, enjoying lava flows and tasty salads at the Moana Surfrider's Banyan Courtyard despite complete and utter exhaustion following 14+ hours of travel.
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| What time is it? Where are we? Can this meal be fed to me in bed? |
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| Starting top R, clockwise: Lava Flow, some sort of alcoholic Ecto Cooler from the Westin Maui, watermelon soda, and a Hawaiian Salt at Duke's (Ocean Vodka with lemonade, passion fruit juices and Li Hing powder) |
With the drinks out of the way, I'll focus on the "real stuff". To help those planning a trip to Hawaii, I've split things up by island.
OAHU
Not exactly a full meal, but something you absolutely must have when in Hawaii is shave ice (think: snow cone). Although you can find it all over the islands, we found the options in Oahu to be most tasty.
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| Mr. Turkey enjoying his first shave ice after hiking Diamond Head (from Magoo's Burger truck) |
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| Hawaiian-style shave ice (includes soft serve!) from Island Freeze at the International Marketplace |
Another quick bite we'd recommend is a Hank's Haute Dogs, which has been featured on the Food Network. Yes, we ate somewhere because I saw it on TV. We're not talking gourmet food here, but if you want a small lunch or snack - YUM (we recommend you try the curry ketchup).
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| We did the Hank's xpress stand at the International Marketplace |
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| The Hawaiian dog: Portuguese sausage with mango mustard and pineapple relish |
The first was beachhouse at the Moana, an oceanfront restaurant featuring steaks and seafood. Although the meal was delicious, it was my appetizer which began a two week-long obsession...with Maui onions.
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| Enjoying our soups - Maui Onion soup for me, Kona Lobster bisque for Mr. Turkey |
LANA'I
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Remnants of our best meal in Hawaii
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Unfortunately I will not be sharing info on any Lana'i meals here, as I will be sharing more the "splurge" post. But the plate above gives you an idea of the deliciousness.
Mmmmm...when I think about all the delicious meals we had in Maui, my pants start to feel tight!
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| View from our table - we'll take it! |
Mr. Turkey's flat iron steak was phenomenal; served with yuzo-kocho butter (we had no idea what it was either), wasabi potatoes and caramelized Maui onions.
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| Maui onions make another appearance! |
We both loved our meal (I had the catch of the day), but one of our favorite things was not from the menu. It was the amuse-bouche!
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| Ginger carrot soup - too bad we couldn't order a full bowl! |
Another memorable Maui meal came courtesy of friends A & J. Their wedding present to us was a gift certificate to Mala, a favorite restaurant from their honeymoon two years ago. Just a short walk down the beach from our hotel, Mr. Turkey and I enjoyed another beautiful meal at sunset.
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| Love how the waiter perfectly captured the setting sun between us |
Here Mr. Turkey and I chose the same entree and we can't say enough good things about it. Opakapaka is also called Hawaiian pink snapper and, for our meal, it was miso marinated and served over (Okinawan) purple sweet potatoes.
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| Yes, I took a bite of the purple sweet potatoes before taking the photo |
For those wary of fish because of the flavor, the Opakapaka is very mild and the marinade was a perfect addition. I would have never thought to pair all these vegetables together (corn and butternut squash were also on the plate), but every.single.bite. was delicious. Overall, this meal was one of our favorites because of the incredibly complex and unique flavors (thanks A&J!).
The next meal I mention is also extra special because, well, it's Turkey Dad's favorite restaurant in Hawaii. When we visited in 2008, he enjoyed his meal at Ferraro's so much, that we returned the very next night for round 2.
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| 2008 family photo: Turkey Dad also requested the exact same table on night #2 |
So, when Mr. Turkey and I made the decision to visit Hawaii for our honeymoon, Turkey Dad asked nearly every week when we had made our reservation for Ferraro's.
If you visit this restaurant, I highly recommend you wait until you can have a table in the front, closest to the beach. The unobstructed views of the sunset are worth the extra few minutes at the bar. The food, Italian, is also phenomenal (in fact, it was voted Best of Maui in Italian)
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| New family photo in 2012 |
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| A caprese-like salad with aged buffalo mozzarella |
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| Spring vegetable risotto |
To add to our delicious dinner, Ferraro's brought us a little treat to celebrate our honeymoon!
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| We did not get many desserts like these, because we didn't really advertise our honeymoon (note to future travelers...tell them it's your honeymoon at dinner!) |
There were so many other meals that we enjoyed in Hawaii, but these were the top!
If you are visiting any of the islands mentioned above and are interested in other restaurants / cuisines, feel free to send me a PM or ask a question in the comments. Would be more than happy to talk further about our food intake!
If you are visiting any of the islands mentioned above and are interested in other restaurants / cuisines, feel free to send me a PM or ask a question in the comments. Would be more than happy to talk further about our food intake!
Miss a recap?
Honeymoon by the numbers
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