Aloha! Last week I spent five days on the island of Oahu, Hawaii with a group of students from Arizona State. We had a fantastic time in this sunny paradise. My favorite part, as you might be able to guess, was the Hawaiian cuisine.

I still am having dreams about this Vanilla Macadamia Nut Ice Cream from Hu-La-La’s Ice Cream in Waikiki’s International Marketplace. Made in Maui with macadamia nuts from the Big Island, it epitomizes the taste of Paradise.

Whenever I travel I strive to maintain an open mind to the local cuisine. Almost every restaurant on the island featured Loco Moco on the menu, so I tried the dish at Da Big Kahuna in Waikiki. The combo of white rice drenched in brown gravy layered with a hamburger patty and fried eggs was surprisingly delicious! In fact, I’m currently on the search for a recipe to replicate it myself.

At a Paradise Cove Luau, we got to taste the “meat” inside a real Coconut. Coconut is the only food I typically do not like, but eating it fresh from a tree was completely different. It’s unique texture and mild taste was way more appetizing than the store-bought shredded kind!

Last thing that you must do…order a fresh fruit smoothie. I tried a Pineapple, Papaya & Strawberry one from Ruffage Natural Foods in Waikiki and a Tropical Smoothie (pictured below) from a shop in the International Marketplace. Both were made with only fresh fruit, water, ice and either honey or apple juice. It’s the perfect refreshing and healthy snack for walking along the beach.

Mahalo!

Love food. Love self. Love life.