Famous Kahuku Shrimp (Truck)

On our culinary odyssey through the Hawaiian isles, my wife and I decided to try a few shrimp trucks.  Our first attempt was the "Famous Kahuku Shrimp (Truck)" in Kahuku, Oahu - on the North Shore.  We ordered the Hot and Spicy Shrimp, and Coconut Shrimp.  Honestly, it wasn't that great.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.

Looking at those shrimp, you expect there to be an explosion of flavor.  They were good, but the explosion was lacking.  No explosion.  The dish was one note.  My Hawaiian friends over the pond will be disappointed to hear me say this, but the facts are the facts (and by that I mean this is my opinion).  Plates are not cheap at $10-15 each, so it's not a steal of a deal.  And then there was the macaroni salad.  Salt, pepper, elbow noodles, mayo.  It was bad.  

In the end, I would say, drop by if you are in the area and give it a whirl, but don't go out of your way to this truck like we did.  Moreover, tell them to hold the mac salad, and just take an extra scoop of rice.  Yelp, you let us down - another Aloha Bump.  But DO TRY SHRIMP TRUCKS IN HAWAII.  

Famous Kahuku Shrimp (truck)

56-580 Kamehameha Hwy
North Shore, Oahu 
Kahuku, Hawaii 96731 
Hours of Operation: 10 AM - 6 PM Daily

Email: Famouskahukushrimptruck@gmail.com

(808) 389-1173
3 of 5

Leonard's Bakery

Leonard Jr.'s Bakery on Oahu was not a disappointment.  You needn't fear the Aloha Bump.  Their pride and joy are the traditional Malasadas - a sugar and cinnamon topped fried donut of sorts.  Leondard's fills them with a variety of delicious puddings, and we chose custard, coconut, and macadamia nut.  Having a long drive ahead of us, we also picked up a sausage roll, and blueberry square.  

The other baked treats were ok.  Only ok.  The shop itself (it was Hawaii - granted) had lots of insects running around, and flies in the microwave.  I decided my sausage roll really didn't need heating up.  But, those Malasadas!  Take a peek.  

Soft.  Scrumptious.  Bursting with gooey, yummy pudding.  The coconut and macadamia nut both also had an occasional little piece to add some crunchy yum.  Best fresh (and they pump them out by the dozens).  So, let me just tell you, if you are in Honolulu, stop and grab a box of these things!  I wouldn't bother with their other offerings though :(.

Leonard's Bakery

933 Kapahulu Avenue

Honolulu, HI 96818
(808) 737-5591

4 of 5 (5 for Malasadas)

M. Matsumodo Grocery Store (Shaved Ice)

Hawaii had its ups and downs.  Everything from decent to bleh food, and jumping out of an airplane.  Matsumodo Shave Ice from the M. Matsumodo Grocery Store was an absolute up.  

Another location frequented by tourists and locals alike, Matsumodo-son clearly knew what he was doing.  My wife insisted that we make the trek more than once, and together we tried mango, piña colada, lilikoi, lemon, sour li hing mui, coconut, sour apple, and pickled mango.  All with soft serve in the bottom.

A tip, pay the quarter for the plastic protector you see above.  It is worth its weight in a quarter.  This shaved ice institution has earned its stripes, and I would highly recommend getting at least one sour flavor to break up the incredibly sweet, sweet ones.  Our favorite was the Sour Li Hing Mui.  


Wondering what Sour Li Hing Mui is?  It's salty, dried plum.

Matsumodo Shave Ice at M. Matsumodo Grocery Store
66-087 Kamehameha Highway  
Haleiwa, HI 96712
(808) 637-4827
5 of 5

Doraku Sushi

First, visit Doraku Sushi's website.  (Wow, right!)  Next, visit Doraku Sushi.  You can feel the trendiness oozing out of all its pores.  Hip, Hop, Happening.  All this aside, the food is pretty good, but looks quite impressive...

We ate the Hamachi Carpaccio:

New Style Doraku Roll:

Kagu-tsuchi Roll "God of Fire":

South Beach Roll:

Ono:  

Uni:

Hotate:

California Roll:

Bananas Flambé:  

The meal was nice.  A little pricey, but not too bad (and we did pay quite a bit because we ordered quite a bit).  The Hamachi Carpaccio, while not my personal favorite, ended up converting my wife to the concept of fish carpaccio.  She enjoyed it so much that she has since ordered it two more times at other restaurants.  For me, the fish was just a little fishy, signifying that the restaurant might have used product that was a few days old (since they were serving it with a healthy amount of acidic sauce).  This is not always the case with these type of preparations, but I am fairly certain it was at Doraku.  


My other gripe was that the South Beach Roll (our least favorite of the day) had too much liquid.  And we have had better "salsa" on sushi before too.  The result was the roll was messy and the bottom of the sushi would fall out.  This, coupled with the lack of punchy flavor made it a miss.  We would not order that roll again.  The Hotate were not the very best, but they were ok.  Of the three sushi types, I would be least likely to put in another order for the scallops.  


In the plus column, the Nigiri sushi's Ono was light and fresh, the Uni was creamy, and the California roll (while an industry standard) was nice. The best roll we ordered was certainly the New Style Doraku Roll, both my wife and I agreed.  The God of Fire roll was what you expected, a mixture of various spicy ingredients.  My wife made it through most of her half of the roll, but in the end the bit of habanero punch was just a bit too much for her and she knocked off her jalapeño.  I ate the balance -one piece or so.  


Overall, I think the restaurant got a bump from the solid 3.5 to 4 range based squarely off the kind and attentive wait staff, and the enjoyable open air venue.  My wife loves sushi restaurants which offer a plethora of distinctive roll options, which Doraku does beautifully.  I prefer sushi restaurant where you are bowled over by the freshness of the fish and daily special delicacies, while still offering a nice variety of unique signature plates.  For me, Doraku was not quite what I like, but exactly what my wife enjoys.  After all, Happy Wife, Happy Life...


Doraku Sushi 
2233 Kalakaua Avenue  
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 922-3323
4 of 5

Kahuku Farms

Driving around the North Shore of Oahu, there are just so many things to see.  So many places call your name.  "Stop Here."  "No, Stop Here."  "Why choose?  Stop at both places!"  
Kahuku Farms was one of these places.  Local.  Fresh.  Delicious looking.  Near famous shrimp trucks, and in a fairly well traveled area of the North Shore, their little farm store called Kahuku Farms Farm Cafe was just so tempting.  We stopped for shakes (pictured below) and some lilikoi ice cream.  

It wasn't bad, it was just tremendously disappointing.  First, I must mention what my wife has dubbed a term for a phenomenon, "the Aloha Bump."  This "Bump" is the good vibe that people feel being in Hawaii - and this vibe makes people more inclined to write positive reviews on crowdsourcing sites, like Yelp.  In addition, everyone is so laid back in Hawaii that they love everybody, and everything!  Kahuku Farms was the beneficiary of an Aloha Bump.  


We ordered the lilikoi joy (lilikoi and banana), haupia pineapple (pineapple and coconut), and lilikoi ice cream.  This was after we found out there was no more papaya for a half papaya with ice cream (my first choice).  Despite my earnest request for -anything but banana- in my smoothie, the unapologetic attendant informed me that lilikoi joy MUST come with banana and there were absolutely NO substitutes.  She, and her cohort, swore up and down that because lilikoi is such a strong flavor (think a slightly less pronounced passion fruit) that you cannot taste the banana.  


I gave it a shot, and I paid for it.  Paid for it in more than one way.  Banana is such a strong flavor in smoothies, especially when it is the base of the drink, and extra especially when it is starchy and under-ripened.  I could taste almost nothing but banana.  Think a tart banana shake with seeds.  My kind, accommodating, anti-conflict wife took a taste and knew that I would not be happy.  She agreed it was terribly banana-y.  Her haupia pineapple was good, but average.  The lilikoi ice cream scoop was good, but not smooth.  It was crystalized, maybe a little old or not creme-based.  This said, things were fresh (though frozen).  Also, we did not try the paninis or other offerings at the farm.  


What can I say, other than I was very disappointed?  Mostly, I would have appreciated the folks being just a little accommodating.  Since treats like these are a dime a dozen in Hawaii, I am not going to be speeding back to Kahuku.


Kahuku Farms
56-800 Kamehameha Highway  
Kahuku, HI 96731
2.5 of 5