Looking for outdoor activities in maui? You’re in luck! From snorkeling in crystal-clear waters to hiking through lush rainforests, Maui offers endless adventures. Test your surfing skills on the famous waves of Ho’okipa Beach or embark on a thrilling ziplining experience in the West Maui Mountains. Don’t forget to explore Haleakala National Park for breathtaking sunrise views and exhilarating hikes.
Try the best Hawaiian cuisine with Matthew Gray’s Hawaii Food Tours
Visit top Honolulu restaurants on Matthew Gray’s Hawaii Food Tours. Discover exotic Hawaiian dishes, traditional foods, luau feasts and exciting new contemporary cuisine.
Hawaiian cuisine is a big part of any Hawaii vacation. But there’s more to Hawaiian food than a hamburger with a chunk of pineapple on top. Matthew Gray, founder of Hawaii Food Tours, aims to introduce island visitors to the real thing.
Gray, a former gourmet chef, is Hawaii’s top food writer and restaurant critic. His Honolulu-based food tours cover a range of restaurants and dishes which enable guests to try the best in Hawaiian cuisine, both modern and traditional.
While training and working in Los Angeles, another great food city, Gray experimented with dishes from all over the world. He left the restaurant business to become a personal chef to Hollywood movie stars and rock bands. With many wild stories to add further spice to his culinary resume, he moved to Honolulu in 1993.
What’s on the menu?
Hawaii is a melting pot for Asian and island cultures all around the Pacific, and Hawaiian cuisine has an equally wide provenance. The food tour menus vary according to the restaurants visited, but may include some of the following top dishes.
Lau lau is one of the more exotic entrees. A tasty filling of pork, chicken or vegetables and seasonings is wrapped in a parcel of taro leaves, which is then tied into a pouch of ti leaves and steamed.
The main dish at a luau, or Hawaiian feast, is kalua pork (or kalua pig). Traditionally it’s cooked in an underground oven, or imu. It has a juicy, pulled-pork texture and a smoky, salty taste.
Butterfish is a Hawaiian favorite. Also known as black cod or sablefish, it has a soft, fleshy sensuous feel and delicious flavor.
Other fish dishes to try include poke, a raw fish salad made with ahi (or yellowfin) tuna and lomi salmon, a popular luau dish made with salted, diced salmon, tomatoes and spring onions. It is often served with poi, a traditional Polynesian food made from mashed taro.
Hawaii Food Tours
There are three different food tours to choose from, featuring Honolulu restaurants personally picked by Matthew Gray. All three include transportation from Waikiki hotels.
The most popular is the Hole-in-the-Wall tour, which combines a fun, historical tour of the city with the gastronomic delights of Hawaii’s ethnic restaurants. Visit four very different restaurants and choose from a variety of specialty dishes chosen by top island chefs as the foods they most like to eat on their day off.
Food and wine lovers should try the Gourmet Trilogy Tour, a sophisticated evening that combines foods and cooking techniques from around the globe at top Honolulu restaurants. The tour visits one restaurant for appetizers, another for the entree, and finishes off with a dessert at a third restaurant. Each lavish course is paired with an outstanding wine.
Or enjoy a Hawaiian Feast in Paradise. This multi-course tour visits several restaurants for a taste of traditional and contemporary Hawaiian foods, including those mentioned above. It’s a casual, highly social evening of fun and culinary discovery.
