Eat Locally Maui

Farmers Market
Nautral Food and Deli
3636 Lower Honoapiilani Rd
(North of) Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
808-669-7004

Turkey, sunflower sprouts and Farmer's Market guacamole on whole grain bread

It is actually really easy to get locally grown, caught or raised foods on Maui. There is coffee, fruit, and fish that are rather easy to get. It gets even easier at the farmer's market in West Maui located in the parking lot of the Farmer's Market Store and Deli on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 - 11 am, and the Farmer's Market store is open from 7 - 7 everyday of the week.

salad made with avocado

We got food from the Farmer's Market and the Farmer's Market store including locally grown green beans, corn, sunflower sprouts, and papaya. The specialty of the Farmer's Market store are avocados and guacamole, which we got some guacamole. The guac was so good, just basically avocado mashed up with a little citrus and salt and pepper. Perfectly simple. We made sandwiches with the guacamole, with sunflower sprouts, sliced turkey and whole grain bread. These sandwiches came with us on our road trip to Hana, and everyone who had some really enjoyed the sandwich.

Maui locally grown corn

The green beans and corn were cooked up for one of the dinners we had made. For the dinner we made fresh fruit salad with locally grown pineapple and papaya, fresh green salad with avocado from the Farmer's Market, Mahi Mahi seasoned with smoked paprika then broiled, tri tip seasoned with a savory mix from Penzey's spices, corn, green beans, grilled sausage stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon, and I am missing some other dishes we made. We just had a ball cooking with the ingredients we got mostly from the Farmer's Market store.

It is just so easy to eat well, eat healthy, eat enjoyable, and eat locally on Maui. I think back to the snacks, sandwiches, and this big dinner we made, and how delicious and wholesome all the ingredients were. Yum. There is no reason ever to go to a generic chain restaurant on the island of Maui.

Same in Saimen

McD's saimen noodles

So, I got Saimen (about $4) from the Maui McD's menu when we stopped to get something to drink and a mid-afternoon snack. I saw saimen, and had no idea what it was, and it was the most expensive thing on the menu. Well, it is a large paper cup of ramen noodles, dehydrated eggs and dehydrated tofu rounds. The McD's staff puts hot water in the large cup, just like those styrofoam cup of noodle soups. The only difference is that this cup of noodles at McD's Maui costs about $4, where the styrofoam cup of noodles cost about $0.59. Yeah, live and learn. I should have stuck to the program and got a value menu drink $1, and a value menu French fry $1. I suppose McD's had this saimen dish for the Asian tourists who might be jones-ing for some noodles. I mean McD's saimen is probably the worst noodle soup I have ever had, and I love those $0.12 square packages of dried ramen noodles (and those are really bad). Yeah, save your money and don't order the saimen at McD's, order the regular stuff if you must. I mean, a big mac and small fry combined cost less than this cup of noodles, and it would have been more satisfying to eat a big mac and small fry. Oh well, so much for different menu offerings on the McD's menu.

Luau Feast

Old Lahaina Luau

1251 Front St
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
800-248-5828 (USA)
808-667-1998 (Worldwide)

sunset the Old Lahaina Luau

Aloha Oe is one of the most famous songs from the beautiful Hawaii. Here is the chorus:

Hui:	Chorus:
Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe	Farewell to thee, farewell to thee
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo	The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers
One fond embrace,	One fond embrace,
A hoʻi aʻe au	'Ere I depart
Until we meet again	Until we meet again

hula girls and boys

Our one big night out on Maui was visiting the Old Lahaina Luau. Old Lahaina is the only one that greets every guest with a traditional lei and beautiful fragrant flower (like a cross between a rose and jasmine) to be worn in womens hair. A lovely bride and groom on my plane were getting married on Maui, and their Maui wedding planner booked them and their wedding party at the Old Lahaina Luau because the planner believes it is the best luau on the island. Coincidentally, the bride and groom were booked on the same day we we booked to partake in the luau. It was fun to congratulate the young couple on the island, as well as the time we were on the plane.

the beautiful outdoor dining room

When on Maui, or Hawaii in general, I highly suggest partaking in a luau. Each time I was on Oahu when I was child on vacation, and just a couple weeks ago on Maui, the allure, kitchiness, beauty, tradition, and experience of the luau is still touching my heart. It is dinner theater, it is like summer camp, it is like getting on a cruise ship, it is a luau. It requires just letting the mind go into the dinner theater and enjoy what the highly trained staff has to offer in hospitality, food, drink, surroundings, and of course the luau show. This Hawaiian staff offers the luau 7 days per week for 440 people everyday, and most everyday of the year, the tables are full. It seems that locals take visitors to the Old Lahaina Luau for the luau experience, the wedding planner directs her clients to the Old Lahaina Luau, and my group found it to be a great luau experience.

view towards the mountains

This luau is assigned seating when reservations are made by phone or online. The reservation price includes all food, drink and show. It does not include gratuity, so remember to bring extra cash for your servers. There is no reason to get to the door early because it is assigned seating. As we walked in, we were greeted with a lovely lady lei-ing us with fragrant leis. Then one step later, we greeted by a young man handing out the 1st of many mixed drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. If you plan on drinking, you can drink a lot here, so bring a designated driver with you.

roasting pig pit

A staff member in a beautiful floral sarong showed us to our table, and pointed us to about a dozen arts and crafts stations around the grounds, and various areas that were perfect for sunset photo ops. The arts and crafts stations reminded me of summer camp in a way. There were stations that were showing how to make a lei, tikis, Hawaiian style jewelry, floral hair clips, hula lessons, photo ops, etc. The photo ops of the sunset over the ocean was just unbelievable. Just the visual at this pretty location was worth the price of admission. The arts and crafts stations were Hawaiian kitchy, and should be completely enjoyed because there is no where else in the USA that you can have this experience besides a luau. Off to one side was the giant sand pit that was roasting the pig were were going to eat as part of our dinner. That was a rather big show to unearth the pig. How the pig is actually cooked is by steam, not direct heat from coals. I believe the pit is filled with coals, then lined with water soaked banana leaves, and then the pig is placed into the leaves and covered up with more water soaked banana leaves. Then the pig is piled high with sand to keep the heat from the coals in, and the pig cooks overnight and into the next day to be ready for the luau. All of this, and unlimited drinks were all going on before dinner and the hula luau show.

taking the pig out of the pit

Once the chef prepared the pig for us, it was time to go sit and get ready for dinner. Did I say unlimited drinks yet? The table staff came and asked us if we wanted more drinks from the drink menu that had all the tropical drinks you could want, and if you wanted to design your own, you could. Old Lahaina has all the fruit juices, mixers and liquors you would want for a tropical drink. The tables at the Old Lahaina Luau are spacious enough for 8 people, and are made of hard wood. The design of the dining "room" or outdoor dining area is really nice, and exactly what you would hope for in a luau venue. Even though my party shared the dining area with 430 other people, it did not feel over whelming at all. It was really well down. We sat at a table with chairs. There are some select tables where guests could sit on the ground. It seemed as though the younger people with little kids opted for the traditional sitting on the ground, and seemed to enjoy that. The ones who sat on the ground got to be closest to the stage too. Our seats were the next tier up from the tables with seating on the ground, so we too had a great area to view the show from.

salads line of the buffet

After we were all seated, had plenty to drink, and the dessert tray was delivered to every table, the staff got ready to present the luau hula show. This one is slightly different from most, as it is not about fire twirling and hula lessons, rather it tells the story of Hawaii through traditional interpretive hula dance, songs, chants and rhythms. The story begins with Polynesians traveling to the beautiful islands of Hawaii, through the arrival of explores and conquerors who brought diseases and the banning of hula dance and chants, through the taking the land and slavery for plantations, to modern day when the people of Hawaii are once again allowed to live and celebrate their heritage through language, hula dance, chants and rhythms.

desserts

I really enjoyed this luau a lot. I appreciate the staff, dancers and performers who offered the story of their homeland. It was just a really good time. When I go back to Maui, I am going to this luau again.