Germaine's Luau

444 Hobron Lane
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii 808.947.1244
website

Cee and I decided to go to a quintessential Hawaiian activity: a luau. Researching luau's, it turns out they are quite expensive. The cheapest ticket for Germaine's luau I found online was $51, which included transportation to the site (which is a good 45 minutes from Waikiki). The Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki also holds a rooftop luau in Waikiki that costs $99, which was too rich for our blood. We did score our tickets for free by attending a non-timeshare timeshare-ish sale presentation!

Germaine's Luau Dinner.

The luau at Germaine's, also featured on Drivers, Dine-ins and Dives, includes dinner and entertainment. There was traditional dancing from various areas across the Pacific, and even a very impressive fire/knife act.

Traditional dancing.

Before sitting down for dinner, all the guests congregated to watch the roasted pig get pulled out of the pit.

Kalua pig (roasted pig).

There is also an amazing sunset to see, on the water, with a lighthouse in the background.

Sunset.

At the table, a sliced up pineapple was waiting for us. Tickets include 2 alcoholic drinks. I tried the Mai Tai which, which I enjoyed, and a Blue Hawaii, which I did not enjoy.

Pineapple and Mai Tai.

The Hawaiian buffet is a well oiled machine, feeding 500 people pretty effectively. This is a great way to try traditional Hawaiian food. Even though I didn't like some, such as the lomilomi salmon and the poi (mashed taro potato), it was nice to try it out and know what they were about. The roasted pork was very good, as was the teriyaki beef. There were various salads and white rice.

Hawaiian food plate.

After having attended the luau, I think $51 is a good price for a night out in Hawaii. The food was better than expected for a buffet and a good way to try native food. The entertainment was well put together. It was nice to get out of Waikiki for a night. You can't leave Hawaii without attending a luau! (On a side note: the lady who escorted us on the bus to the site was the nicest, very informative and funny.)

Mike's Huli Huli ▪ Honolulu

47-525 Kamehameha Highway
Kaneohe, Hawaii
808.277.6720
website

I had read that while driving to the North Shore, we would encounter shrimp trucks. However, after grabbing a healthy lunch at Whole Foods in Kailua (Whole Foods is a bit of a big deal since we don't have many in Canada), Cee and I didn't need more food. Even though we didn't search for one, we had to pull off the highway when we saw a sign for a shrimp truck.

Mike's Huli Huli.

Getting closer to the truck, we noticed that Guy Fieri had visited. Even when we're not looking for Triple D spots, we run into them! We shared a small order of garlic shrimps. The four shrimps were very large and sat in a pool of butter. There was enough garlic to keep the vampires away for a lifetime. Some lemon slices and hot sauce accompanied the shrimps. While the shrimps were sweet and juicy, the butter overwhelmed the shrimps. So much so, that Cee could only have one, and I was left to eat the three others! You definitely have to get dirty for  these shrimps, as they are shell on. Thoughtfully, there was a sink and soap to wash your hands.

Garlic Shrimps.

If you're driving to the North Shore, it's worth a stop for a bite to eat. That's what that drive is all about anyway: stopping to look at sights, turtles, beaches, etc. If you miss it, just keep driving as we did see other shrimp trucks later on.

Nico's at Pier 38 ▪ Honolulu

133 North Nimitz Highway
Honolulu, Hawaii
808.540.1377
website

Another meal inspired by Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. This time, Cee and I headed for lunch to Nico's at Pier 38, just outside Waikiki, for fresh fish. Nico's is headed by a French chef. It is set up like a large cafeteria. You order your dish and are buzzed when your food is ready. You seat yourself inside or outside.

Nico's Pier 38.

Cee was greatly disappointed that the opa fish featured on the Triple D video was not on the menu. We had to make do with ahi tuna, more specifically the furikake pan seared ahi tuna steak ($12.95). The dish came with two sides and we went the healthy route with brown rice and a salad.

Furikake pan seared ahi tuna steak.

I absolutely loved the ahi steak crusted with furikake (Japanese seaweed) and sesame seeds. The coating imparted great flavours to the fish. The ahi steak is cooked to order; mine below is probably medium rare. I also loved the dressing on the salad.

Medium rare ahi steak.

While ordering our lunch, we eyed the dessert counter which included cookies and cheesecake. While Cee went for a cookie, I had the passion fruit cheesecake that I enjoyed tremendously. The cheesecake was light and smooth, and the passion fruit topping was so, so fragrant. One might as well enjoy anything passion fruit in Hawaii!

Passion fruit cheesecake.

Nico's at Pier 38 offers fresh, local fish at affordable prices. The food was well executed and tasty. My only complaint is that I cringed when I saw that we were given styrofoam containers. This is actually discussed on Triple D as a good point "You serve fancy food in styrofoam?!" However, seeing such a large room full of diners, my environmental side really wished they used dishes.

Rainbow Drive-In ▪ Honolulu

3308 Kanaina Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
808.737.0177
website

Cee and I are big fans of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, so we did some of our Hawaii food research by watching clips of Oahu restaurants. Our first triple D spot was Rainbow Drive-In, just east of Waikiki.

Rainbow Drive-In.

Rainbow Drive-In is known for their loco moco, so Cee and I decided we had to try it out. Loco moco is a Hawaiian dish made up of white rice, a burger patty, a fried egg and all of it doused with a gravy. The episode of Triple D shows all of the many ingredients that go into the special gravy, including Asian influenced ingredients such as dried shrimps.

Loco moco.

Both Cee and I wanted to try the dish but were glad that there was a small portion offered, a loco moco bowl ($3.95), because we weren't sure we would like it. It was a very saucy bowl; one couldn't even see the rice or patty. I dug up the thin patty in the picture below.

Beef patty in loco moco.

It was good enough, maybe a bit too much gravy for my liking. Did it win me over? Not quite. Am I glad I got to try a Hawaiian staple at a reknown drive-in? Definitely!