HAWAIIAN SUPERFOODS

To offset all of the amazing culinary Hawaiian treats and hard liquors you plan to sample while on island time, here are some Hawaiian superfoods to restore some balance.

Spirulina

Harvested in Kona on the Big Island, where is abundant sunlight, deep sea water and fresh water from aquifers, spirulina is purported to support total health for long life. It's available in the form of tablets or powders and a protein shake powder, in case you are seriously considering a healthier lifestyle after you return from your vacation.

Noni

What looks like a custard apple with a bad complexion, the Indian noni is a traditional food and medicine in Southeast Asia, India, and the Pacific Islands. Benefits include cancer prevention, liver maintenance, and cardiovascular support and it has antioxidant properties and offers an immune system boost. While it's not famous for its taste, noni can be juiced, which is ideal for blending to mask its unusual flavour.

Moringa

Moringa oleifera is a phytonutrient-rich superfood that comes from the horseradish tree. Grown by Mountain View Farms on Oahu, the plant’s health benefits include aiding in cancer prevention and liver protection, as well as controlling diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. It also helps to improve cardiovascular health, relieve stomach disorders and boost the immune system. This is a trending food that chefs such as Chris Kajioka of Senia and Wade Ueoka at MW Restaurant are using it in dishes and drinks.

Kava

Alsso known as awa in Hawaii, the root of this plant produces a sedating anaesthetic that has euphoriant and entheogenic properties. Basically, you get high while benefitting from a sense of relaxation. While technically it may not be a superfood, enjoying some kava in a café should be handled with caution, even though you technically cannot get a DUI when driving after consumption.

THE BLOSSOMING OF CULINARY HAWAII.

In 1991, 12 chefs began Hawaii’s first concerted culinary movement, augmenting native and immigrant flavours with European finesse. Supporting local farmers, ranchers and fishermen was integral to their vision and since then a new generation of chefs has infused fresh new ideas and influences into the movement.

One such chef is Chris Kajioka, who opened Senia with his co-executive chef Anthony Rush, formerly of Fera at Claridge’s. Named “xenia” (a play on the ancient Greek concept of hospitality from a time when it was believed gods walked among men), Hawaii’s hottest restaurant deftly presents dishes such as bubble and squeak croquettes with smoked egg mousse, a “poke” cracker with little droplets of soy mixed with agar, “pastrami” beef short rib and a herb dough-baked snapper with Manila clam “bouillabaisse.”

The restaurant takes great pride in sourcing locally whenever possible, hailing ingredients from regional farms like Maui Nui Venison, Ho Farms, Hamakua Mushrooms, and Hirabara Farms, where a Caraflex cabbage is grown exclusively for Senia’s spectacular charred cabbage dish.

The vision extends to its drinks menu, which incorporates Big Island Brewhaus’s Overboard IPA, Kona Coffee Purveyor’s Hualalai-estate grown Kona Reserve coffee, mamaki tea and Big Island Tea’s A’a Black Tea, grown on a 400-year-old deposit of volcanic ash on Mauna Loa.

TASTY TRUCKIN’

Hawaiian natives will tell you the food truck was invented in Hawaii. After you see what they have on offer, you might even believe them.

While spending a week or so in Hawaii’s third biggest island, Oahu, you’re going to need to keep some costs down if you plan to fit in all the awesome things to do. So when it comes to eating out, there’s no better way to get into the laidback island vibe than to head straight to one of Oahu's many food truck communities.

Nestled in the jungle and never far from the beach (nothing is on Oahu as it’s only 960 square km) and only half an hour out of Honolulu in Haleiwa, you’ll find one of the coolest gatherings of food trucks, with the oldest and undisputed king of them all— Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck. Shrimp is serious business in Hawaii, and if you leave without trying it, well, you’re an idiot.

The densely graffitied panels of Giovanni’s beloved truck tell some of its colourful history, so it’s worth grabbing a seat in the annexed area if you can squeeze yourself in among the crowds. You’ll be shoulder to shoulder with loyal local surfers and eager tourists, and you’ll need to shoo away the wandering chooks, but that’s an experience in itself.

The business started out in 1953 as a converted bread truck without much more than a few recipes for great shrimp. They would drive the truck around Oahu's North Shore where it developed a loyal fanbase, so much so that in 1997 a second truck made its mark on the edge of what was then an overgrown, swampy field in Haleiwa.

All sorts of other food trucks have popped up around it, including Aunty’s Lil Green Hut — an organic and gluten-free creperie with salad wraps and freshly made juices, set in a hippie’s haven of a jungle garden. There’s Thai, Korean BBQ and Mexican options, and offerings of lip-smackingly good BBQ Corn, and a cool, quintessentially Hawaiian dessert: shaved ice. In Aussie language, that’s rainbow coloured slushies, and they are a sure-fire way to beat the summer heat and pump up the energy levels.

Published in "Penthouse" Australia, April 2017, excerpts  pp.111-115. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.