
Culinary
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Food Culture in Hawaii
With our bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables, fertile upland cattle farms and Pacific Ocean waters teeming with sashimi-grade fish, Hawaiian cuisine is a colorful tapestry of traditions and flavors. Here, ancient customs meet international influences brought to Hawaii over hundreds of years, giving local food culture more layers than a Maui onion. From dawn until well past dusk, Hawaii offers visitors a dizzying menu of culinary wonders, including the islands’ own Hawaii Regional Cuisine, which blends the islands’ diverse flavors with the fruits of Hawaii’s farms and plantations.
In Hawaii, our palates have been influenced by generations of immigrants from around the globe, so it’s no surprise that our melting pot is filled with countless ethnic specialties. Local tastes are as varied as you’ll find anywhere in the world, but there are local delicacies that are more or less exclusive to Hawaii. Street food in the islands reaches its zenith in the plate lunch, served on a paper plate and featuring everything from teriyaki beef with two scoops rice to the Japanese hybrid, spam musubi. Locals are also drawn to loco moco breakfasts (white rice topped with a hamburger, fried egg and brown gravy), exotically flavored shave ice and custardy coconut haupia.
One more thing you need to know: the Hawaiian word for "delicious" is ono!
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Hawaii Regional Cuisine
Created by 12 pioneering chefs, Hawaii Regional Cuisine leverages the freshest island ingredients including locally raised cattle, fish from local waters and fruits and vegetables grown in volcanic soil.
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Farmers Markets
Sweet lilikoi (passion fruit). Succulent pineapples. Even fresh-baked banana bread and local macadamia nuts. Hawaii's farmers markets give new meaning to the word "fresh."
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Farm and Agriculture Tours
Discover the agricultural cornucopia growing in Hawaii's rich, volcanic soil.
MoreHawaiian Luau

No trip to Hawaii is complete without attending one of these traditional celebrations of food and culture. Feast on kalua pork cooked in an imu (underground oven), laulau (beef, pork, chicken or fish wrapped in taro leaves) and poi (taro starch) while hula dancers tell stories through their graceful movements.
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Dine Hawaiian-style. Feel the romance in thatched-roof bungalows that seemingly float above a koi filled lagoon at the base of a waterfall. Savor contemporary Hawaiian cuisine featuring fresh fish and steak in this extraordinary setting.
Eight-acre Steelgrass Farm – so-called after a nickname for bamboo, a member of the grass family with a mechanical strength that rivals metal — is on Kauai’s East side, above the town of Kapa’a, between Sleeping Giant and Mt. Wai’ale’ale. We grow Chocolate, Vanilla and offer popular farm tours.
Garden Island Chocolate is the premier gourmet Hawaiian chocolate company. We make organic dark chocolate bars,(85% cacao) chocolate truffles and a hot chocolate drink. We have guided chocolate farm tours and tastings every Mon, Wed, & Friday at 9:30am. The tours are very popular so book in advance.
Tasting Kauai invites residents and visitors on a culinary romp through paradise. Learn how to buy local through educational and fun events while connecting with Kauai’s culture, aloha, people and land. A portion of all book and tour sales are donated to the Hawaii Food Bank - Kauai Branch.
Spanning 240 acres, Na 'Aina Kai is a living mosaic of diverse gardens, a hardwood plantation, a moss- and fern-draped canyon, a tranquil meadow and pristine sandy beach. Gracing the gardens and wild areas are more than 200 bronze sculptures.
Red Salt’s diverse menu by acclaimed Executive Chef and Kauai native Noelani Planas celebrates fresh Hawaiian seafood and produce in a casual, yet sophisticated seaside atmosphere.
Gaylord’s offers one of Kauai’s most beautiful settings for lunch, dinner or Sunday brunch. Our kitchen uses only the freshest, seasonal ingredients supporting our local farmers and fishermen. Our 67-acre sustainable farm provides much of the produce and herbs used in our dishes and cocktails.
Chef Zack Sato creates an array of delightful preparations featuring locally-grown, organic produce and fresh-caught island seafood. Located steps from beach, poolside at Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort.
Ono Hawaiian food (Lau Lau and Kalua Pig), beef stew, tripe stew, and combination stew with rice.