Local restaurants in Oahu
 

We'll be in Oahu for 5 days. We plan to go to all the major sights - Pearl Harbor, etc. We stay at the Hale Koa military hotel. Any advice on local restaurants would be appreciated. Coming from Chgo and Detroit and being foodies, we've been to the Wolfgang Pucks, Nick's Fishmarket, etc. We enjoy good food even more than good scenery.
Also, I understand there's a gourmet tour of Chinatown. That sounds interesting. Has anyone done it?

Rather than give you a fish, I give you a fishing poll:

http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/rest/oviet.htm

Go to Dukes Canoe Club on Waikiki. Great food and even better view. You are on the beach, well, almost.

Have you done a search on this board and plugged in Oahu Restaurants or Waikiki Restaurants or Oahu Dining or....? Here are a few of the classic posts:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...mp;tid=1348692

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34652647

and who could ever forget the breakfast post:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...mp;tid=1363966

If you are eager for something local, try this:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34411770

For the gourmet tour of Chinatown: Are you talking about Matthew Gray's tour? OR PakePorkChop's tour? One is about $100 and the other is about $10....

OK. here you go for starters:
http://www.midweek.com/out.about/thi...oinghikes.html

Thanks everyone. I'm definitely going to try to do the Culinary Tour of Chinatown. I don't think I could handle the loco moko for breakfast, but what are malasadas? Also, any up to date recommendations for dim sum - and what are the usual hours?

In Chinatown, the generally acknowledged best dim sum restaurant is Legend Seafood Restaurant. It opens at 10:30 am and is pricey, but you need to get there early to avoid the crowd.

Almost as good and closeby is Fook Lam, which opens at 8 am.

Also closeby, very small but perhaps a touch better than Fook Lam is Tai Pan, which opens at 7 am.

Down the street is Mei Sum, also good but costing a little more than Tai Pan and Fook Lam. It opens at 7 am.

Let me know if you want alternatives outside of Chinatown. Those will cost you more money but tend to be English language-friendly.

Mei Sum
(open at 7am)

Recipe for great local meal and dessert: Chiang Mai Thai restaurant on S. King Street, followed by shave ice with true local flavor (taste and atmosphere) at Waiola Shave Ice, about 3 blocks blocks away-- down 2 blocks and around the corner --on Waiola Avenue. Read the VERY specific directions on how to order shave ice (-: You'll be glad you did, especially when you see how impatient the folks taking your order get, if you don't follow protocol!

When you say "local restaurants" I'm guessing you want a place with lots of ocal folks? So I'll add another: Andy's Sandwich Shop on E. Manoa Rod across from the Safeway. Delicous lunches: hot food, sandwiches, bakery stuff. Check out the picture of the astronaut who used to live nearby and eat there, and his signature with "Best sandwiches on the planet" written.
It's easy to drive right by- look for the little place nr Starbucks. Manoa is a lovely area of Honlulu, and one you'll through if you go up to Lyon Arboretum. (I may have written these in the other threads that are mentioned--please forgive if duplicates).

aloha pakeporkchop,
my family had a wonderful dim sum experience at legends (5/06) but didn't think it was pricey at all, at least not compared to several favorites in LA or SF. next time we're in oahu (now that we've done just about all the touristic things), we'll have to take your chinatown tour

and kudos to melissahi for pulling up those terrific past posts. some day though, i'll have to share with you our "interesting" dinner at don ho's. besides the wacky service, we ended up there on a seniors' karaoke night...few were good, but most were painful, which was entertaining :-d (avoid on sundays if you could do without amateur singers)

mvpl,
if you like sushi, consider sansei at the marriott waikiki. although non-traditional japanese and more touristy than local, the food there is ono and there's even ocean views. dk kodama rocks. best of all, there are some good deals - 50% off after 10pm fr & sat as well as early-bird special of 25% off before 6pm, and the tantalizing 8?-course omakase of $65 for 2

good call calinurse on wailoa shave ice ((y)) - yummy!!!

for a good local website of oahu dining, check out
http://www.onokinegrindz.com/

I love Japanese but the rest of the group is going on to Japan, so that might not be our first choice. Do these dim sum restaurants bring carts around? If so, language is not an issue.

Have to try shaved ice and I promise we'll read the signs!
Is the PPC culinary tour only given on Monday? That's the day we leave :(

OMG bluefan....please let me know! I always pass on such stories to the restaurant -- good and bad. the service can be inconsistent. there are a couple of waitresses who are top notch, but i've had the lame guys too.

speaking of....you can arrange for a FREE historical tour of Aloha Tower and the area + a discount to the adjacent Maritime Museum for groups of 5 or more. email info at alohatower.com.

mvpl, try contacting the culinary tour directly to see if they can do it on other days.

topping! ((S))((*))

Legend, Fook Lam, Tai Pan - is the dim sum ordered or do they bring carts around ala Hong Kong?

mvpl, there is a restaurant that you order dim sum in downtown Honolulu, not far from Chinatown. It is the Mandalay Restaurant, a relatively new place, that serves decent dim sum.

I tried it soon after it opened and felt some things could have been done better, but since it was still new, some of the wrinkles still needed to be ironed out. It wasn't as good as menu ordered dim sum I've had in Vancouver, BC, but it was better than a few other Honolulu restaurants I've been to.

Taipan is so small that you don't need a cart.

Fook Lam, Mei Sum, and Legend have carts.

Mandalay is a computer-generated ordering system; no carts. They put in a million dollars in renovations and I guarantee you that the owners are not absorbing the costs. The costs are being passed on to others. I wonder who?

The dim sum is decent, the ambiance is wonderful, but unless you are a financial district denizen who is creating a certain atmosphere for a client, it may not be the place for you.

On the other hand, if you have money to burn, I have a whole list of other places, including Mandalay, that I can prepare for you.

I like the carts. I end up eating things I might not have thought to order. But then, I like chicken feet, so I guess I'm a little wierd.

Oops, meant to ask, any restaurants/things near Hale Koa hotel that we shouldn't miss?

You will be near the Shorebird Restaurant in the Outrigger Reef Hotel. We have only had the breakfast buffet there, but the view of Diamond Head is wonderful. Try to get an ocean-side table.