Everyone has their own way of vacationing. Some like to get up super early and go hiking, others like to stay out super late and hit all the happening night spots and others prefer to be pampered at the spa (me). Regardless of the vacation style, everyone has one thing in common - you have to eat. While on vacation it is important to take advantage of the local fare. TGI Fridays are everywhere, restaurants where you know the name of the fisherman who caught your meal are not. Take a vacation, in every sense of the word. Suspend your normal eating habits - and no, I am not recommending you toss your normally healthy diet out the window and subsist on cannolis and tiramisu just because you are in Italy. I am referring to the wonderful opportunity to try local foods made the way they are supposed to be made. You can always get a McDonald's Big Mac, you might not get a second opportunity to try Poi.
Maui is a wonderful place to try a wide variety foods made the freshest way possible. Many of the fish served in restaurants are locally caught and most of the produce is locally grown. When most people think of Hawaii they think of the beaches, luaus and leis. What people might not associate with Hawaii is SPAM. In fact, residents of Hawaii consume the most SPAM per capita in the United States. SPAM was introduced to the people of Hawaii during World War II and after the war ended the surplus SPAM supplies became a part of the local diet. Why people would choose to eat spiced canned ham over the many natural foods produced locally in Hawaii is beyond me. While in Maui I did not try any of the many varieties of SPAM dishes available. I know that violates my above statement but frankly, given the choice between a delicious meal of fish and purple potatoes and a meal of SPAM, I would choose the fish every time. But I thought you would all enjoy the SPAM factoid so I threw it in. Now on to things I did eat.
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| Island Prawns |
If you visit Maui I hope you like seafood or if you have liking seafood on your to do list Maui is a great place to start. Granted, no other seafood will ever live up to the expectations set in Maui but at least if you choose never to eat seafood again after your visit you will have a top notch reason...fish on the main land simply cannot hold a candle to fish caught fresh in Maui - if I cannot have that I will have no fish at all. As is the case with most areas well known for their seafood, the fish selection in Maui is completely different from that of the Pacific Northwest or the Atlantic. Mama's Fish House, in the Paia area of Maui, takes full advantage of the wide variety of fish out in the pacific. Their menu, which changes daily, actually lists the names of the fishermen who brought in each type of fish that day. At Mama's Fish House you can have
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| Mama's Lobster-Stuffed Mahimahi |
Opakapaka, Pink Snapper caught in deep reefs near Kaho’olawe Island by Karl Wenger or Grilled Maui He’e (octopus) caught by Clifford Chow free-diving off Kanaha. When we visited we started out with the Island Prawns Polynesian with Taha’a Island vanilla - phenomenal, I cannot explain to you enough how good these were. There were 4 prawns on the plate when they were served - notice there are only 3 in the photo? They were that good. We then moved on Mama’s Lobster-Stuffed Mahimahi. This dish had it all, mahimahi stuffed with lobster and crab and as if that weren't decadent enough it was baked in a macadamia nut crust. Can you say food bliss? It is said that the best combinations are sweet and savory and that is exactly what this meal was. Each course was perfectly balanced so that you left with every taste bud totally satisfied. Add in a round of frozen tropical cocktails and a view of windsurfers on the ocean and your evening is complete.
We had many wonderful meals while in Maui but one of our favorite places to eat at was our hotel restaurant, MaLa. Now, I know what you are thinking...really? the hotel restaurant? Weren't there any other places you could possibly eat? You the food adventurer? And, normally, I would agree with you. When on a vacation, faced with a wide variety of excellent culinary options, I would typically choose to eat out. On this particular occasion, we arrived right around dinner time our first night in Maui and were both too starved to venture much further then 30 feet from our hotel room door. MaLa, has both indoor and outdoor seating, though why you would ever choose to eat indoors when in Maui is beyond me. Their patio overlooks the pool, lit in the evening with tiki torches, and the pacific ocean. Picturesque isn't even half of it. All meals at MaLa start out with an appetizer of edamame puree alongside tomatillo salsa and tortilla chips for dipping. The edamame was cool and had the bite from the vinegar while the salsa was just spicy enough to keep you paying attention - they balanced each other perfectly when combined on a chip. I could have lived our entire vacation on just these three items. We enjoyed this appetizer so much that we actually bought the MaLa cook book to make them at home. Ours was pretty good, theirs was fantastic. A typical meal at MaLa consisted of our beloved edamame puree and salsa, alongside one additional appetizer. Our favorite was probably the quartet of hummus, raita, olives, babaganoush, fried chickpeas, and feta with pita bread. If you haven't already noticed, we are dip people. For our main course most nights we ordered soup. I know, ordering soup in Maui seems pretty weird, it's not like it was cold there or anything but the soup at MaLa was just so good. Their White Bean soup was simple but it will have you scrapping the bottom of your bowl wishing for more and don't even get me started on their epic Black Bean and Chorizo soup.
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| Miso Marinated Pacific Snapper |
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As much as I still dream about those soups, their fish dishes are not to be ignored. One evening we skipped the soup and headed straight for the entrees, the MaLa special: Miso Marinated Pacific Snapper. The fish was fresh caught and nothing can top that, unless there are Molokai purple mashed potatoes sitting under the fish and then your life is officially complete. There is no way to accurately describe the taste of a purple potato - sweeter than a sweet potato and did I mention that they were PURPLE? So cool. Add to that locally grown butternut squash and you are talking happy food coma. Of course, alongside all of this was the absolutely necessary tropical beverage. I tried to sample a new one every night: key lime pie martini (yum); sunset punch martini (yummier); spunky MaLa monkey (yummiest and the most fun to order). There is definitely something to be said for rolling out of your room around dinner time and being able to sit down to a delicious meal, poolside while gazing out across the ocean in less then 2 minutes.
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| Pirates Treasure |
Many of you may not know the official state fish of Hawaii and many more probably don't know how to pronounce it. Hawaii's official state fish is the Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa or trigger fish with a snout like a pig. This colorful fish can be seen gracing the tourist shops all over Hawaii and is the namesake of a fabulously fun restaurant in the Grand Weilea resort, conveniently located right next door to our hotel. For simplicities sake I will refer to this restaurant at Humuhumu from now on and save myself the finger cramps of typing the full name over and over. Humuhumu is like a giant tiki bar. Timber columns hold up a thatched palm roof and the entire structure stretches over a man-made pond stocked with local fish. Each evening at sunset someone canoes around the restaurant lighting the tiki torches. If that doesn't have you rushing to Travelocity to book a flight then the fact that they serve a drink in a real coconut will. I ordered it, I loved it, I wanted to bring the coconut home with me. Our
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| Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi |
dinner that evening was Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi. Wait a minute, you must be thinking, didn't you already have that at Mama's Fish House and proclaimed it to be the best fish you have ever had? And you would be correct, we did have Mahi Mahi and it was Macadamia Nut Crusted, but that is where the similarities end. The Mahi Mahi at Humuhumu was served with Tahitian Vanilla Scented Moloka’i Sweet Potatoes and Pineapple - Tamarind Sauce. It was completely different from the Mama's Fish House Mahi Mahi but no less delicious. This dish was more sweet than savory, the tanginess of the Tamarind Sauce saving it from going over the edge. It was a truly tropical tasting dish set in a most tropical feeling setting.
My food experience in Maui was tremendous and I did not even try half of what was available. It is so important to maximize your eating opportunities and with that thought I leave you with these three tips. Don't waste your money on the hotel breakfast - it is over priced and you can just get some cereal and eat in your room for much cheaper. Bonus points if your room has a balcony for eating on and a refrigerator for storing perishables like milk. Don't spend a lot of money on lunch, of course don't go the way of fast food, but grabbing a ban-mi from one of the local sandwich shops and having a nice, relaxing picnic on the beach will save you some major dough. Which you can then spend on dinner. Don't skimp out on your dinner plans. Pick at least 3 must eat restaurants and make your reservations. If it is on your list, it is most likely on a lot of other peoples and you don't want to miss out just because you didn't want the Open Table app cluttering up your iPhone. Remember, treat every vacation like the trip of a lifetime and every dinner like its your birthday dinner. E ʻai kākou! (Let's Eat!)
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