I’m not a huge fan of Waikiki because there are so many other wonderful less touristy areas to explore in the Hawaiian Islands – although I will admit to its convenience in hotel rates and lots of easy access without need for a car for shopping and food. So I understand and accept its logistical appeal. But, the best food I’ve ever had on the island of Oahu is up in the North Shore, at the various shrimp trucks in Kahuku. So get to it and rent that car when you are in Oahu.
Last time I went to Hawaii in 2008, I stopped at Romy’s. I picked Romy’s over the others at the time because it had a larger variety in its menu. This time in 2011 I tried out Giovanni’s based on my sisters’ friends’ recommendations. Truthfully there were also a lot of support votes for Macky’s, but it was out of our way based on other activities we planned so that’s that. Hello Giovanni’s! You could concievably map it out to visit 3 trucks in Kahuku (add in Romy’s and also Fumi’s) since they are close to each other and even on the same road, but Giovanni’s is the first you’ll come to as you drive up north. It is an unassuming white truck with signatures from visitors all over it, with a roofed wooden open dining area (the kind you might expect in a public park) right next to it.
As soon as we got there around 11, I leapt out of the car to order since there was no line… and 15 minutes later there would be one six people deep. Ha! We ordered one of each of the three flavors they offer: the simple lemon butter shrimp, the garlickly shrimp scampi, and the hot and spicy shrimp. Plan ahead and bring wet naps- you’ll want those even though they do have a sink to wash up after peeling and eating. Our favorite of the three was the shrimp scampi. I also learned that my youngest sister, over the past 3 years, has become more masterful at peeling shrimp then I. I can’t believe my motor skills are already slowing down.
What we didn’t expect though is that there was also a sweet grilled corn stand along with the truck (and a few other open air “stores”) which was the best thing I ate in Oahu this time. It lives up to its shrimp neighbor by also being extremely messy to eat, except instead of having super messy fingers you have a super messy face. The corn made me feel so much better about my reduced shrimp peeling level.
