Food in Hawaii

Food was my biggest disappointment on vacation.  What I expected and the reality were 2 very different things.  My expectation was "its an island....there will be lots of seafood".  The reality was actually, hard to find fish/seafood of any kind.  An the prices were astronomical. 

We thought we would eat a simple breakfast everyday, then go out for lunch and order our yummy meals off the lunch menu (prices are usually cheaper then) and then eat a cheap dinner (think Wendys or KFC or similar).  What happened was usually a simple breakfast ~ sometimes a drivethru biscuit, pb&j sandwich and chips for lunch and a search for dinner.  On the second island, we did have the breakfast buffet included in the package, so that helped.  We also switched up the sandwich variety to turkey and cheese.

We did eat 2 extravagant meals ~ we went to Benny Hanna's (probably not close to the correct spelling) for dinner ~ I finally got my shrimp.  And one night was a luau ~ the food was good ~ prices were way overpriced for the food but the show was spectacular.  Our last beach/pool day we decided to order from the "grill" at the hotel ~ we each got a burger, I ordered fries, Greg ordered  onion rings and we split a drink ~ the total.....$52.00.  Gasp.  And I thought our $20 tab at 5 Guys or Backyard Burger was pricey.  2 normal priced dinners were at Panda Express and a Thai Restaurant.

Here are a few pictures ~

my luau dinner ~ pork, rice, salad, taro salad & poi roll (lavender in color & delicious) & pineapple.
It was supposed to be all you can eat, but they ran out of food ~ I got salad and another roll.

Gregs plate included sushi.

Our Food Truck lunch at Pearl Harbor

The luau was part of the package we paid for at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu.  We were surprised to find out (after we paid for it), while we were reading the literature that the center and its employees and dancers were all part of the LDS church.  Had we realized this up front, we would most likely would have opted for a different luau option.  However, the dancers and the show were really good and we enjoyed that aspect.  The last show of the evening was in an enclosed, un air conditioned auditorium ~ it was HOT.  Then everyone started running up and down the aisles selling bottled water and at the intermission selling ice cream.  Good money making scheme ~ but there weren't even any fans to circulate the air.  We left at the intermission ~ the show was too loud, the music would have been fine, but the shouting from the dancers was crazy.

The fire twirler was outstanding ~ and he was 12 years old!

Thankful for ~
the experiences
trying new food
the bright beautiful colors & flowers
marking things off our bucket list