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The kaukau tin — a multilayered lunch pail — was a staple for plantation workers in Hawaii. It held everything from rice and vienna sausage to adobo, fried fish and pickled vegetables. Beyond being a container, it became a symbol of Hawaii’s cultural melting pot; workers would share meals, forging connections across diverse backgrounds.
Hawaii’s rich food scene owes much to this plantation-era tradition, when lunchtime gatherings sparked the exchange of flavors and the creation of new, blended dishes. Today, many local restaurants continue this legacy by blending cultural flavors, while others preserve the authentic tastes of their roots.
Next time you’re ready to kaukau, why not explore one of these spots that celebrate Hawaii’s vibrant culinary cultures?
Tokoname Sushi Bar & Restaurant
Tokoname Sushi Bar & Restaurant (442 Uluniu St.) serves a number of traditional Japanese dishes on Oahu. Order a teishoku set — served with miso soup, salad, tsukemono and rice — with proteins like miso butterfish, tonkatsu pork, or even sushi sets that include nigiri and sushi rolls. For lunch, available Mondays to Fridays, take a look at its Tokoname Curry Shack menu for curry plates featuring chicken katsu and cheese, gyoza, takoyaki and even cream corn croquette.
Follow @tokonamehawaii on Instagram to see which celebrity said it’s their favorite sushi!
Kunia Chinese Restaurant
Kunia Chinese Restaurant (94-673 Kupuohi St. Ste. B107) has traditional Chinese cuisine covered for you and the family. Being a locally owned, family-run business, it recommends its family-style package that includes chicken and vegetable soup, roast duck, orange chicken, shrimp broccoli, minute chicken cake and more. There is also a dinner set that feeds four or five people. Diners can’t skip chef’s specials like the fried flounder or the popular honey walnut shrimp.
Follow the biz on Instagram (@kuniachineserestaurant) for more dishes.
Young’s Fish Market
With three generations passing down the traditions and recipes, Young’s Fish Market (1286 Kalani St.) is a popular spot for Hawaiian food and local, comfort food. What originally started as a spot for fresh fish now serves Hawaiian food plates that include laulau, kalua pig, beef stew and poke. You can also order laulau a la carte filled with oxtail, butterfish or chicken — check its daily menu to see which protein is offered. Order other comfort foods like pipikaula, tripe stew and haupia to fulfill your cravings.
Follow @youngsfishmarket on Instagram for more local eats.
Opened earlier this year, Faria (306 Kuulei Road) is a Pacifica Portuguese restaurant that’s making a name for itself. Traveling the world through taste buds is the team’s way of bringing the Portuguese culture to Hawaii. The menu gives a short glossary of “Faria terms” so diners can learn a little Portuguese. Try dishes like the bacalhau a bras (cod and potato gratin) or Granny Pereira’s piripiri chicken — a whole-roasted chicken leg dressed in a piripiri spice rub with lemon potatoes and braised cabbage. Save room for desserts like pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) and arroz doce (creme brulee rice pudding).
Visit fariahawaii.com to checkout its full menu.
O’Kims Korean Kitchen
If you’re looking for Korean-inspired food, O’Kims Korean Kitchen (1028 Nuuanu Ave.) has you covered. Classic Korean dishes get a modern twist with items like bulgogi bibimbap, truffle mandoo, garbanzo curry and seaweed salmon with a Korean remoulade. Don’t skip the bibimbap stone pot that comes with wagyu beef, all the veggie toppings and a sunny-side-up egg. You’ll also find a number of drinks like yuzu lemonade and Korean Old Lady iced coffee.
Be sure to check its Instagram (okims_honolulu) for monthly specials.
Julie’Z Restaurant
Julie’Z Restaurant (590 Farrington Hwy. Unit 532) serves authentic Filipino cuisine for those looking for dishes that bring back childhood memories. Popular options include pork adobo fried rice, lechon kawali and squid guisado — a savory seafood stew. Breakfast options include daing (butterflied boneless fish), Zen’s longaniza (sweet-and-vinegar filipino sausage) fried rice omelette, and longaniza — Portuguese and vienna sausage combo that includes two large eggs and fried rice.
Visit juliez-restaurant.foodjoyy.com to see its full menu.
Izakaya Naru
Although Izakaya Naru (2700 S. King St. No. D104) aims to share the Japanese izakaya traditions, it also incorporates the cuisine of Okinawa in many of its dishes. The small but popular restaurant serves mozuku (marinated Okinawan seaweed), pork ear with shibazuke and the popular taco rice in a hot stone pot. Be sure to look over its daily special menu that could include grilled hamachi collar and quail eggs marinated in shoyu. For dinner with a show, order the seared aburi mackerel sashimi that’s torched table side.
Follow @izakaya.naru on Instagram.
