Visit Maui: Nalu’s South Shore Grill

Nalu's Chicken and Waffle - served all day!

On the last night of our "Friends-cation" my friends and I like to have a nice sit-down meal together at a restaurant. Staying in Kihei, Maui there are many great options, but we found Nalu's South Shore Grill a great choice since we could make a reservation for our group of 15. Also great is the casual, open air atmosphere and the many menu options. 

What made splitting the bill easy was that the restaurant has you order and pay for your meal before you sit down. We picked up our drinks from the bar and then sat at our table. The food came quickly and we enjoyed our tasty meals. 

Poke Bowl of the Day

Sammy's Lobster Roll

Apple Brie Burger

Island Style Ribs

Loaded Grilled Cheese

Nalu's is open 7 days a week 8 am – 9 pm and offers a daily Happy Hour from 3 pm – 6 pm. 

Nalu's South Shore Grill
Azeka Shopping Center – Makai
1280 South Kihei Road, Ste 132,
Kihei, Hawaii 96753

Read More

Visit Maui: El Bondi

We wanted to pick up a late lunch / early dinner for the airport on Halloween day, but to our surprise, most places closed early for Halloween!  

So after searching online for what could be open, we found the El Bondi food truck, which specializes in empanadas.

They offer meat-filled and veggie-filled empanadas.

We ended up getting a 3-pack (a single is $7, but the more you buy, the less per empanada it is).  We got Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Spinach.

I unfortunately didn't take decent photos of the filling (I was too hungry and just dug in), but they were all very delicious!  The crust was the perfect texture, and still held up even though we ate them about an hour later.  

Pepperoni and mozzarella is a classic combo that can't go wrong.  The Mushroom empanada was filled with white mushrooms, green onion, whipping cream, olive oil, salt, pepper, and mozzarella.

The Spinach turned out to be my fave, surprisingly.  It was also filled with onions, red bell peppers, hard boiled eggs, Parmesan, mozzarella, white cream sauce, salt, pepper, paprika, and oregano.  

The peppers and the eggs really made the empanada in my opinion.  

The empanadas were so filling and satisfying.

El Bondi turned out to be a great find!

El Bondi
380 Dairy Rd

Kahului, HI 96732

Read More

Visit Maui: Kihei Food Oasis

 

Located in the South Maui Gardens is the Kihei Food Oasis where you will find food trucks galore that will make your head spin, but your tummy happy. There is a great variety of food from acai bowls to gyros to thai that will satisfy everyone in your group. On a recent trip to Maui we were staying in Kihei so we found Kihei Food Oasis to be very convenient. So convenient, my family went to the North Side three times in two days!

See all the food truck vendors here.

Sweet Hula 

Acai bowls and super food bowls

Lamb gyro from Gyros and Gelato

Bling Bing Maui is home to the only Chinese shave ice in Maui

Baobing with regular condensed milk and strawberry condensed milk

Play area and lots of seating available.

Kihei Food Oasis

North Side

30 Alahele Pl
Kihei, HI 96753

Read More

Visit Maui: Smash Burgers and Fresh Poke at Havens

Located @Plate Lunch Market Place

We kicked off our stay in Maui by making Havens our first stop from the airport. It was super easy to order online and we made sure to do that when we first landed since it takes about 20 minutes to prepare the order. Havens offers a menu of smash burgers, poke bowls, poke, sides, and temaki specials. When we arrived at Havens, our order was ready and we quickly found a table to sit down to eat.

My son had the original smash burger and my daughter and I had the spicy ahi poke bowls. I had a bite of the smash burger and it was saucy and delicious. Messy, but worth it. The poke bowls were fresh and so tasty! They had the perfect amount of kick. Next time, I want to try the paniolo burger. The applewood bacon, onion rings, and BBQ sauce that go with it sounds right up my alley. Whatever you decide on, do not miss the crinkle fries! 

Original Smash Burger - onion, dill pickle, American cheese, OG sauce

Spicy Ahi Poke Bowl - avocado, cucumber, tobiko, furikake, spicy mayo, unagi sauce

Havens owner Chef Zach Sato is a former chef from Hotel Wailea and is opening a much anticipated steak and chophouse in the Maalea Harbor Shops. Look for Havens Harborside restaurant coming soon! 

Havens

591 Haleakala Hwy

Maui, HI 96732

Read More

Visit Maui: Waicoco Restaurant

One of the most exciting new Maui restaurant openings this year was Waicoco in the Westin Ka'anapali so it was on the top of my list for my Maui vacation.  Behind the restaurant are well-known Chef/Owners Mourad Lahlou and Chris Kajioka.  Their other restaurant partnership is Miro Kaimuki.       

My friends and I came for dinner and we were seated on the deck where we happily enjoyed the prettiest sunset view.  The inside of the open air restaurant is also eye catching and gives off elevated beachy vibes.  Waicoco is the perfect casual chic place to enjoy breakfast or dinner on your Maui vacation.

We started with very warm and super soft Hawaiian rolls served with whipped honey butter. We also had the perfectly crispy beef lumpia served with lime crema and the poached prawn cocktail served with crispy prawn crackers.  For our entrees, we ordered the Island fish sandwich served with furikake fries, the garlic sun noodles with the volcano spiced ahi, and the kimchi fried rice with salmon.  We also wanted to try the salt and vinegar furikake fries.  Dinner was delicious and I especially like how the menu is designed for locals and visitors alike.  The flavors are familiar and comforting. 

Service was stellar as well.  If you are visiting Maui, make sure you make time for Waicoco!

Warm Hawaiian Rolls

Beef Lumpia

Island Fish Sandwich

Furikake Teriyaki Salmon

Kimchi Fried Rice

Volcano Spiced Ahi with Garlic Sun Noodles

Mango Bread was AMAZING!

Waicoco
Maui Westin Resort and Spa
2365 Kaanapali Pkwy
Lahaina, HI 
808-446-3020

Read More

Visit Maui: Mala Tavern

On a recent visit to Maui, we decided to go to Mala Tavern for lunch.  We scored immediate reservations on OpenTable, as well as parking in a nearby lot, so it didn't take much effort for us to get a great oceanside meal.  

Mala Cristo

I love breakfast foods for all meals, so I ordered the Mala Cristo.  The Mala Cristo is essentially a Monte Cristo - ham and cheese sandwiched between Hawaiian sweet bread, dipped in an egg batter and fried, and dusted with powdered sugar.  I loved the sweet and savory flavors!

Lamb Pita

Calabrese Flatbread

Margherita Flatbread

Everyone enjoyed the food (the Lamb Pita had the most rave reviews), the service was friendly, and it was a nice, impromptu lunch spot!

Mala Tavern
1307 Front St

Lahaina, HI 96761

Read More

Visit Maui: The Mill House

Earlier this year I visited The Mill House for lunch, and I recently returned for dinner.

Ali`i Mushroom Croquettas

Roasted Eggplant

Taro Leaf Risotto

Roasted Beets

Pork Shank

Upcountry Tart

I loved the Croquettas - I think I could've eaten all four by myself!  A friend commented he wished there was more aioli.

I thought the Roasted Eggplant, with a furikake-like seaweed crumble, was good, and I enjoyed the Taro Leaf Risotto once again.

I'm not much of a beets fan, so I thought the Roasted Beets dish was just okay, but I loved the Pork Shank.  It was so tender and flavorful - definitely my favorite meal of the night.

I thought the Upcountry Tart was pleasant.  Made with sweetened yacón and topped with a macadamia nut streusel and vanilla ice cream, it had just the right amount of sweetness. I loved the flaky crust!

The Mill House
1670 Honoapiilani Hwy #1

Wailuku, HI 96793

Read More

Maui Day Trip Stop 3 - Tin Roof Maui

Even though I've been to Maui several times over the past year, I never got to try Tin Roof until my day trip with Nadia.

The tiny eatery, owned by world-renowned Chef Sheldon Simeon & his wife, Janice, dishes out local-style comfort food.

Mochiko Chicken Kau Kau Tin

Sheldon's Stay-Hungry Meal

Ulu Mac Salad

I ordered Sheldon's Stay-Hungry Meal, which consisted of pork belly, garlic noodles, a chili oil/ginger scallion pesto, and ulu mac salad.  The pork was delicious, but a little too fatty for my liking.  I enjoyed the noodles and especially loved the pesto.

Nadia ordered the Mochiko Chicken kau kau tin, which I loved. The sweet, crispy chicken was nicely complemented with a slightly spicy gochujang aioli. So good!

The servings are pretty huge. Nadia and I could've easily shared a single kau kau tin.

I'm definitely ordering the Mochiko Chicken next time I go!


Tin Roof Maui
360 Papa Pl Suite Y

Kahului, HI 96732
(808) 868-0753

Mahalo to Island Air. Island Air offers more than 200 flights each week between O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island. For more information about Island Air or to make a reservation, visit www.islandair.com or call (800) 652-6541.

Read More