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!

Molokai Drive-Inn ▪ Molokai Island

15 Kamoi St
Kaunakakai, Hawaii
808.553.5655

For our last meal on Molokai Island, our choices were pretty slim on Labour Day. We ended up grabbing a quick dinner at Molokai Drive-Inn (where we were offered something-something while waiting for our food). Not sure if this restaurant would technically be considered a drive-in but it was definitely a diner/dive!

 Molokai Drive-Inn.

Wanting something slightly healthy, I ordered the fried saimin with vegetables. Unbeknownst to me, the saimin also had small pieces of Spam. Well, where else should you have Span but in Hawaii? The simple noodles were accompanied by pieces of cabbage, cauliflower, carrots and eggs. The Spam actually added a nice bit of saltiness to the dish.

Fried saimin.

Cee was still obsessed with fried chicken after the katsu that we had. While it was no katsu, she greatly enjoyed her crispy chicken with a side of salad and rice.

Fried chicken.

The food was just as expected at Molokai Drive-Inn. Simple, inexpensive, no fuss and will fill you up.