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HONOLULU — First, let’s get this out of the way: What you think of as Hawaiian food isn’t actually Hawaiian.
In Hawaii, whether you’re talking food or people, the term “Hawaiian” refers to native Hawaiian — the culture and descendants of the Polynesians who arrived on the Islands 1,000 years ago. People who live in Hawaii aren’t necessarily Hawaiian, and food served in Hawaii doesn’t make it automatically Hawaiian. So here in Hawaii, we call that iconic plate lunch of mac salad, two scoops of rice and teri beef “local food.” It’s an amalgamation of influences from the plantation laborers brought in from Japan, China, the Philippines, Korea and elsewhere to work the sugar and pineapple fields. (And pineapple and ham pizza is most definitely not Hawaiian!)
Hawaiian food is based on the staples native Hawaiians ate. It’s poi, the starchy staple made with cooked taro root; kalua pig, once a whole pig cooked in an imu, or underground oven, and now more often pork shoulder slow cooked with liquid smoke; and lau lau, chunks of pork and sometimes salted fish, wrapped in taro leaves and steamed.
Here’s where to taste the real thing on Oahu, from half-century-old restaurants opened by the children of Asian immigrants, who helped keep the traditions alive when the native Hawaiian culture and language were dying, to a newer establishment eager to reclaim its heritage.
Helena’s Hawaiian Food
Helen Chock, whose parents had emigrated to Hawaii from southern China, opened her restaurant in 1946 with a menu that included Hawaiian, Chinese and breakfast dishes. Eventually, she pared it down to just Hawaiian food, and the menu has changed very little since — as evidence, a menu from the 1950s hangs on the wall, its prices the main difference between then and now. The James Beard Foundation awarded the tiny, no-frills place an America’s Classic award in 2000.
These days, Helena’s is run by her grandson, Craig Katsuyoshi, and it’s still the same — maybe a little bit bigger and definitely a lot busier. Everything is served in small plastic dishes and shallow bowls like dim sum, minus the steamer baskets — this is food meant to be mixed and matched and shared with lots of friends and family, in true Hawaiian feast fashion. The meal sets come with a dish of coarse pink salt, sliced raw onion and rectangles of haupia, a firm coconut pudding. Don’t miss the pipikaula, a dish based off the beef jerky made by paniolo, or cowboys. Helena’s rendition is made with meaty short ribs that are hung to dry above the stove before cooking, giving them a slightly crisp exterior.
Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday at 1240 N. School St. in Honolulu; www.helenashawaiianfood.com.
Waiahole Poi Factory
On the coastal drive up the northeast coast of Oahu, stop by the Waiahole Poi Factory, a weathered wood and tin-roofed structure that dates back to 1905. It was first run by Chinese, then Japanese owners. Liko Hoe’s family took over the lease in 1971. In the last decade, Liko —who is of Hawaiian, Chinese and American descent — began offering classic Hawaiian food, with a special focus on the kalo, or taro, essential to Hawaiian culture. This is the place to go for paiai — taro hand-pounded with a stone pestle on a wooden board. The result is thick, sticky and slightly sweet, like mochi. Finish off a Hawaiian plate lunch here with The Sweet Lady of Waiahole, warm kulolo (a gooey taro and coconut dessert) topped with creamy coconut ice cream.
Details: Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 48-140 Kamehameha Highway in Kaneohe; www.waiaholepoifactory.com.
Highway Inn
When Seiichi Toguchi opened the original Highway Inn in Waipahu in 1947, he began cooking what he knew: Hawaiian food, from a restaurant he worked at right before WWII, and American food, which he learned in the mess hall of a Japanese internment camp. Which is why you’ll find hamburger steak alongside laulau on the menu here. Come to Highway Inn’s location near downtown Honolulu, where Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., you can watch the laulau being made from scratch. It’s a labor-intensive process that involves bundling the meat in layers of taro leaves, then wrapping the whole package in ti leaves, and tying the stems before steaming.
Details: Open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, until 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at 680 Ala Moana Blvd. #105 in Honolulu; www.myhighwayinn.com.