Spending the Holidays in Hawaii is always special. How do local residents in Hawaii spend the holidays? Of course not in the most expensive hotels or Air Bnbs. Usually when local families return back home to Hawaii they usually spend it at home with their families. A “Ohana” dwelling is a bedroom added to the main house for visitors. Owning a property in Hawaii is very expensive so usually families homes are either past down to their children or children live with their parents. It is very common in Hawaii for local residents to live with their parents.
The best part of course for the holidays is food. You will not find any locals going to expensive 5 star restaurants. Why? Because most of them are great cooks and would rather eat at home anyways.
3 dishes to bring at a local Hawaiian party and impress them.
If you know any local guy ask them for lobster. Almost all local males in Hawaii are divers. They would dive during lobster season and catch lobsters for dinner. They would freeze the lobsters for the holidays. If you bring one of those lobsters for a local gathering they would be totally surprised. You will not find any spiny lobsters in local grocery stores. You only will be able to get them if you personally catch them.
Raw fish is a must when dining in Hawaii. But if you really want to impress them get them a sashimi platter. You will need to get fresh Ahi Tuna, fresh Salmon, and the prize of all sashimis fresh Hamachi. Hamachi is fresh Japanese amberjack or yellow tail fish. It is a native fish to the Northwest Pacific Ocean from Korea to Hawaii. Hamachi is very popular in Japan particularly used for sushi. Aside from the 3 fish add some salad seaweed. You also can find some Wasabi which is Japanese horseradish. Usually locals would dip the sashimi in wasabi along with soy sauce
Last for dessert bring some Mochi. Mochi is Japanese rice cake. The rice cake is pounded into paste and molded into desired shape. Some mochi comes with different flavors such as peanut butter or sweet potato fillings.
These are some of of my favorite dishes during a Hawaiian holiday, served with lots of smile and Aloha.
