Hamaukua Mushroom tour. Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.
For those looking to have a delicious vacation, Hawaii’s Big Island is a great option. With a local culinary culture influenced by the island’s healthy volcanic soils, proximity to the water and ancient traditions, you’ll sample everything from traditional Kalua pork during a luau to organic varieties of exotic mushrooms to unusual wine and cheese pairings. To help you a plan a tasty itinerary, here are the 10 best bites of Big Island.
1. Hamakua Mushrooms
You haven’t experienced the full flavor potential of mushrooms until you’ve tasted Hamakua Mushrooms. Here they grow organic, robust-flavored mushrooms in exotic varieties like Ali’i Oyster, Pioppini, Abalone and Gray Oyster using a unique substrate of corncob, wheat bran and grandis eucalyptus saw dust (which is again recycled into the soil after use as Hamakua Mushrooms is a sustainable business). Taking a tour of the facilities (must be reserved 24 hours in advance) allows you to peruse their store of unusual mushroom-infused products like cookies, butters, brownie crisps, chips, trail mixes and chocolate; see a video on the different stages of production; view a cooking demonstration; and sample the delicious mushrooms for yourself. Touring the Hamakua Mushrooms factory is a top thing to do on Big Island.
Volcano Winery cream cheeses. Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.
2. Unusual cream cheese blends with atypical wines at Volcano Winery
While wine connoisseurs might scoff at the creations made at Volcano Winery, those looking to enjoy delicious food and drink on Hawaii’s Big Island and have some fun will love its unusual approach. The family-owned and run establishment is blessed with nurturing volcanic soils that — while may be a challenge to grow on at first — have the potential to produce high-quality wine grapes, and even tea leaves, which they also produce. All fruits and leaves are picked by hand to ensure excellence. Some of their most unusual wines include their “Infusion” made with local Macadamia Nut Honey, Estate-grown Black Tea and mead wine; “Volcano Red” featuring 85% white and red wine and 15% on-site Jaboticaba berries for a wine that’s sweet, tart and spicy; and the “Hawaiian Guava Grape” combining white wine with local guavas. Make to sure to pair your tasting with a selection of house-blended cream cheeses in flavors like sun-dried tomato and fresh basil; smokey salmon with fresh dill; artichoke and Parmesan; dried cranberry and smokey bacon; and black olive and feta.
Marriott Waikoloa Beach kitchen garden. Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.
3. A seed-to-table meal at Hawaii Calls Restaurant & Lounge
Located in the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, the Hawaii Calls Restaurant & Lounge offers a unique seed-to-table dining program that goes beyond farm-to-fork. Executive Sous Chef Jayson Kanekoa likes to get creative, and as diners eat amongst the property’s kitchen garden — inhaling fragrances of coffee, basil, pineapple, chili and mint — they’ll be served delicious creations prepared from produce grown from seeds specially selected by Chef and local farmers. In fact, the restaurant works with a local farmer to ensure the crops they plant are only sold to the Waikoloa Beach Marriott.
Kona Coffee cherries. Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.
4. Kona Coffee
A top thing to do on Big Island is sip high-quality Kona Coffee, especially at Greenwell Farms, located in the heart of the Kona Coffee Belt. One of the oldest and largest coffee farms on the island with 70 acres (28 hectares), all coffee cherries — the fruit from which the coffee beans are produced — are hand-picked to ensure high quality. Visitors to the farm can enjoy free tours as well as complimentary tastings of their 100% Kona Coffee varieties. It’s an interesting way to learn how this world-renowned coffee is produced, as it’s a very in-depth process. If you’re on Big Island in November, don’t miss the Kona Coffee Festival, Hawaii’s oldest food festival with 10 days of culture, entertainment and delicious Kona Coffee.
Preparing the pork at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel’s Luau. Photo courtesy of Molly Egan.
5. Traditional Kalua Pork
Kona is one of the best places on Big Island to experience a traditional luau — as well as hearty Kalua pork. The pig (or sometimes turkey) is cooked in an underground oven called an imu, which gives the meat a tender, slow-cooked texture and juicy flavor.
The Royal Kona Resort hosts a traditional luau on select nights of the week, with tickets costing $85 per person ($68 for hotel guests), complete with fire dancing, a delicious buffet, open bar and Polynesian entertainment. For added fun, a Kona Submarine Adventure and Royal Kona Luau allows you to have a quintessential Luau experience as well as explore Big Island underwater via submarine.
Additionally, the nearby King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel also hosts a fun Island Breeze Luau. The waterfront provides a scenic backdrop to an expansive buffet, open bar, Polynesian arts demonstration, cultural dances from around the island and a symbolic representation of King Kamehameha’s arrival.
Donkey Balls. Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.
6. Donkey Balls
Don’t worry, no donkeys are harmed in the creation of Donkey Balls. The Donkey Balls Factory & Store makes some of Hawaii’s most delicious candy onsite from creamy Guittard Chocolate. Watch through the see-through glass factory as workers make these tasty treats, and enjoy free samples of the different varieties (if you don’t see samples of a flavor you want to try, just ask). They also offer a line of Boars Balls, which, like the Donkey Balls, have interesting folklore attached. Some top flavors to try include “Salty Balls” (milk or dark chocolate coated in Hawaiian sea salt); “Crusty Balls” (milk or dark chocolate with a layer of toffee added); “Prickly Balls” (dark and white chocolate with pineapple); and “Flaming Balls” (milk or dark chocolate rolled in Cayenne pepper).
Dinner at Kilauea Lodge. Photo courtesy of Kilauea Lodge.
7. German-Meets Hawaiian
One of the best eating experiences on Big Island is the restaurant at Kilauea Lodge. Here, Chef Albert Jeyte mixes his German heritage with Big Island’s local bounty to create a Europe-meets-Hawaii fusion-style cuisine. Many of the ingredients are locally-sourced, allowing for fresh, flavorful dishes. The ambiance of the restaurant is also a draw, with kitschy decor, cozy couches in front of a stone fireplace, local artwork, and polished wood tables with small lampshade candles. Start with homemade bread before moving on to an appetizer of Hamakua Mushroom caps stuffed with cheeses, smoked ham and turkey, and herbs before moving on to the fresh catch of the day, Big Island grass-fed veal shank or schnitzel infused with antelope. Pair your meal with a wine from their expansive list. Tip: Save room for one of their homemade desserts, as you’ll choose from a sweet display cart that will make it impossible to say no.
Big Island Bees. Photo courtesy of Jessica Festa.
8. Big Island Bees Honey
Big Island is home to a number of tasty sustainable operations, one of which Is Big Island Bees. They make pure, single floral, organic honeys with bold flavors, as blended honeys or honeys produced from a variety of flowers tend to have a more diluted flavor. Because Big Island Bees doesn’t filter their honey it’s filled with phytonutrients, organic compounds that promote health and wellness. At Big Island Bees, you can peruse their museum for a background on bees and honey-making; savor free samples of honeys like Ohia Lehua, Wilelaiki Blossom and Macadamia Nut Blossom; and browse their shop for honey-inspired gifts.
Poke. Photo courtesy of www.bluewaikiki.com.
9. Poke
Poke means “to slice or cut” in Hawaiian, with the dish featuring cubed raw fish — typically ahi tuna marinated in sea salt, soy sauce, onion, seaweed and nuts. Usually eaten as an appetizer or snack, almost any restaurant on the Big Island that serves local food will have poke on the menu. Don’t leave without sampling some for yourself, as it’s one of the most quintessential dishes of the Big Island.
Carrots. Photo courtesy of Ed Yourdon.
10. A Farm Tour
Big Island has a rich farm culture, with locals growing a variety of crops from the destination’s volcanic soil. The best way to experience this is through a Big Island Organic Farms & Merriman Tour. This excursion takes you to two organic farms — Honopua Farm for produce, lavender and flowers, and Kahua Ranch for range-fed sheep and cattle — before heading to Merriman’s Restaurant in Waimea for a four-course, locally-inspired meal. Some items from the menu include a salad made with Honopua Farm spinach and Maui onion; grilled Big Island Mahi Mahi topped with Nakano Farms vine=ripe tomato; braised Kahua Ranch Lamb with local Hamakua Alii oyster mushroom; and Long Ears Coffee Cheesecake. The tour gives a delicious taste of local culture!
*Jessica’s trip to Big Island was hosted by the Big Island Tourism Board. She was not required to write this post nor was she compensated by the tourism board. All opinions are her own.