Post #112579 by dogbytes on Sun, Sep 5, 2004 10:22 PM

Waihole Poi Factory, 48-140 Kamehameha Hwy. (This one needs some directions; first, it’s on the Hwy 83 Kamehameha, not the Hwy 99 Kamehameha; also note that as you head north it splits into Hwy 83 (which is then named Kahiliki Hwy) and Hwy 836 (which takes the Kamehameha name), but then these two come back together after awhile and it’s Hwy 83/Kamehameha. The Factory is not too far past the junction of the two highways). The place looks really run-down from the outside, but DO NOT BE PUT OFF. This is real Hawaiian food, the kind which the stuff at commercial luaus is only a pale imitation of. I had the tripe, stewed in a tomato sauce just like my Aunt Betty used to make, with absolutely incredible chicken long rice on the side. My husband had the Aloha (?) plate with lau lau, lomi lomi, and chicken long rice; he also chose to have poi (you can have rice instead) which I admit was better than the poi you get at luaus, but was still poi (he liked it; some Hawaiians there mistook us for locals, me because I looked local, him because he was eating the poi). The meals also came with little hunks of steamed taro and breadfruit and with two squares of haupia, one traditional coconut, one chocolate. The coconut was the best haupia I’d ever had until I tasted the chocolate, which was even better! They sell boxes of haupia for $5, you should strongly consider bringing along a cooler and buying some to go.

By the way, seating at the Poi Factory is on picnic tables outside, and the place is only open from 10 to 2. But you just can’t get more local than this. Again, don’t pass this up when you go to the windward or north shores.