If you’re a foodie with only one day to spend in Honolulu, don’t bother making a lunch reservation at a restaurant. Instead, sign up for Matthew Gray’s Hole-in-the-Wall Tour and prepare to be wowed (then make a late evening reservation for Chef Mavro for dinner just in case you have the teensiest bit of room left in your stomach)! The tour gets you out of the super touristy Waikiki area and introduces you to favorite spots of Honolulu locals. Not necessarily Hawaiian food, but food beloved by Hawaiians.
The tour van, a roomy, new Mercedes, picked us up outside of our hotel and whisked a group of about a dozen of us to our first stop, Royal Kitchen, for Baked Manapuas. The Royal Kitchen manapuas are an adaptation of traditional Chinese steamed baos, made with Hawaiian sweet bread and stuffed with tasty fillings ranging from cha siu pork to Okinawan sweet potato. I opted for the kalua pork filling, on the recommendation of our tour guide Jess (and having very much enjoyed the kalua pork at the luau we attended our first night in Hawaii), and Matt went with Portuguese sausage for his filling. We both thoroughly enjoyed our choices, so much so that we went back to Royal Kitchen a few days later for another round! The second visit, I had cha siu pork and Matt tried the curry chicken. Delicious once again!
Baked Manapuas
The next stop was Liliha Bakery, where we enjoyed Coco Puffs, little cream puff shells containing a chocolate pudding-like filling and topped with Chantilly frosting (definitely the key ingredient!). The puffs were bursting with chocolatey filling, and the generous swirl of incredible frosting really put them over the top.
Coco Puffs from Liliha Bakery
Our stomachs were fully awake at this point and we headed to Chinatown to enjoy more local favorites. We stopped in at Lin’s Lei Shop to admire the incredibly beautiful hand-strung leis. We got to smell and incredibly fragrant lei made with a flower that deepened in color from yellow to orange as the cut flowers aged. Matt bought me a beautiful lei made with jade flowers (a lei that, even if it had stayed fresh, couldn’t have been taken to the mainland because it contained seeds).
My beautiful jade flower lei
Then it was time to eat! We walked over to Maunakea Marketplace and congregated outside Ying Leong Look Funn Factory, where fresh rice noodles are made daily. We were fortunate enough to get to go inside and see the magic happen! It was a surprisingly simple process. Sheet pans are oiled and a ladle full of batter is poured into them. Then pans are steamed, and then the noodles are pulled off in sheets and rolled. Viola! Noodles!
Noodle Making Magic!
All of the noodles that are made each day are served that same day, both from the counter at the factory and at local restaurants.
Noodles ready to be sliced
We got to try both the Shrimp & Spring Onion Noodles and the Roast Pork & Spring Onion Noodles. While we were touring the factory, Jess also picked up some Korean BBQ Chicken for us to try from one of the shops in the Maunakea Marketplace food court. Yum!
Jess presents our noodles and BBQ chicken
We were then set loose in the Kekaulike Market to explore. There were all sorts of interesting things for sale, ranging from blue crabs to abalone.
Blue Crabs for sale in the Kekaulike Market
Bull Frogs for sale in the Kekaulike Market
Abalone!
After our exploration, it was time to sample more food! Jess and Greg had been busy during our exploration time and had gathered all sorts of goodies. First up were Ma Tai Su Flakey Pastries (a Chinese style pot pie) from Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery and Steamed Dumplings from Char Hung Sut.
Ma Tai Su Flakey Pastries and Steamed Dumplings
Next, we turned to the lighter side with some fruits in the lychee family. We tasted a hairy red fruit, Rambutan, and a small round fruit, Longan.
Rambutan Fruit
Greg presents the Longan Fruit
Matt's ready to enjoy the longan fruit!
Believe it or not, we were only about halfway through our foodie adventure at this point! Coconut Tarts from Rainbow Tea Stop and some Apple Bananas. The tarts were light and flaky with a shortbread crust. A little drier than I would have preferred, but very tasty nonetheless! The apple bananas were smaller than regular bananas, with a slightly more tart flavor, but still smooth and delicious.
Coconut Tarts and Apple Bananas
Our next “course” included Spam Musubi, Ahi Poke, fresh Starfruit, and some Macadamia Coconut Candy. I have some preconceived notions about Spam and wasn’t sure I’d like the Spam Musabi, but it was surprisingly tasty! It consisted of sushi rice topped with grilled Spam and wrapped in nori. Apparently it’s typically sold in convenience stores in Hawaii! Ahi poke is a common Hawaiian dish made with fresh ahi tuna that has been marinated with salt, seaweed, kukui nut, and (often) soy sauce. We enjoyed poke several times during our trip and loved it every time!
Spam Musabu, Ahi Poke, Starfruit, and Macadamia Coconut Candy
The starfruit was sweet, pretty mild, and had a nice firm texture. It was nice, but nothing I’d make a special point of seeking out in the future. The macadamia coconut candy, on the other hand, was chewy and crunchy with just the perfect amount of caramel and coconut. I’m not typically the biggest fan of dried coconut, but the flavor and texture that it added to the candy was outstanding.
The next course was something that Hawaii does better than just about anywhere else: Pineapple! Actually, it was pineapple done two ways. First, fresh cut pineapple in nothing but its own juice. It was super ripe and incredibly sweet and juicy, arguably some of the best pineapple I’d ever tasted. As a contrast, we also had chunks of pineapple coated in Li Hing Powder, a salty, sweet, sour substance that many Hawaiians put on everything. Matt, a Sour Patch Kids addict, loved the Li Hing powder, and I thought it added an interesting twist.
Pineapple Two Ways
At this point, it was now respectably late enough in the day for a cocktail! Jess brought out a Lychee Pineapple Li Hing Cocktail and Greg added the magic ingredient (Vodka) upon request! It was smooth and fruity and the Li Hing powder gave it just a little kick.
Lychee Pineapple Li Hing Cocktail
We learned how the Hawaiians toast: Okole Maluna (“Buttocks Up!”)
Greg adds the magic ingredient!
Our next stop was Sun Chong Grocery, where we explored the world of Crack Seed, preserved dried fruits that have been coated in the salty sweet sour Li Hing powder and “cracked” open to enhance the flavor.
Jess tells us about all of the Crack Seed offerings at Sun Chong Grocery
Li Hing Mui (aka Crack Seed snacks)
One side effect of the Li Hing powder is that it has a tendency to turn your mouth and fingers bright red. So much for surreptitious Crack Seed consumption!
Matt loved the Li Hing Mui!
Then we walked over to Char Siu House for some delicious Hong Kong-style BBQ, specifically Char Siu Pork and “5 Layers of Heaven” Pork Belly. The Char Siu was perfectly roasted and lacquered with sweet sauce and the Pork Belly had nice crispy skin and salty, tender meat.
"5 Layers of Heaven" Pork Belly and Char Siu Pork
Checking out the offerings at Char Siu House
Our final stop was a sweet one: Leonard’s Bakery for Malasadas, deliciously light Portuguese donuts. These fabulous puffs of fried dough are rolled in granulated sugar and served warm. Standard varieties include Plain Sugar, Cinnamon Sugar, and Plain Sugar with Vanilla Custard filling.
Ready for our Malasadas!
Matt decided on the Vanilla Custard filling and I opted for the special Mango Custard filling. Phenomenal! So good, in fact, that we swung back by Leonard’s a few days later on our drive back from the North Shore. I chose the Cinnamon Sugar variety that time and Matt stayed loyal to the Vanilla Custard. If we hadn’t had to return our rental car, we would have made a third trip the next day!
Malasadas!
The Hole-in-the-Wall Tour is offered daily and runs from approximately 9:30am to 2pm, with pick-up and drop-off at Waikiki hotels. Check out the website or call 808.926.FOOD for more information or to make reservations!
Happiness on a Fork 
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