The Hawaiian Fusion

Often enough, when we hear "Fusion", it equates to when non-authenticity and creativity that may or may not end up being delicious, (i.e. the chef doesn't know what he/she is doing).

However, in Hawaii, I found fusion to be the best way to describe the food today. 

The Native Hawaiians are the first settlers in Hawaii from Polynesia, who actually just takes up around 10% of the Hawaii population today; residents that were either descendants of the early European settlers or migrants from U.S. mainland are around 25% of the population; those with Asian ethnicity are in fact close to 40% of all Hawaiians! And the last major race composition is indeed those with 2 or more ethnicities, approximately a quarter of all population. 

With a long history of immigration movements, resulting in an extremely diverse population, it's not surprising to see the cuisines begin to blend as well! Especially with street food and small eats representing the taste of the people, I found Hawaii to be a constant mix of flavors. 

• Musubi

Simple, cheap and addictive. Musubi is basically the Hawaiian take on O-Musubi or Onigiri, which is rice balls often filled and wrapped with seaweed. Except the key ingredient here is Spam, obviously not Japanese, but quite fascinating in terms of why spam was introduced and widely consumed/regarded as comfort food. As the World War 2 unfolds, many regions are unable to maintain fresh food supply, especially imagine the attack at Pearl Harbor and the islands' reliance on importation. Canned precook meat, Spam, became the solution. 

To many people today, spam still means childhood food. And to the younger generation of Hawaiians, as early as school age, their afternoon snack is covered in the magical fairy dust of Japanese influence, Spam Musubis. 

There are countless places that sell Musubis, including 7-11. But if you ever run into Iyasume Musubi Cafe, be amazed at the variations of Musubis it has today! 

Picture from left to right includes: 

Original Spam, Kimchi, Cucumber, Egg/Tomago, Original Spam, Avocado with Egg, Onigiri

• Poké

Poké, usually in the form of a poké rice bowl, is diced and marinated raw fish. Not without resemblance to sashimi, poké is mostly ahi (tuna) and at times tako (octopus) based. The most original flavor would be Shoyu (soy sauce), followed by Spicy, Miso and Wasabi. Leveraging Hawaii's natural abundance of fresh seafood and building on the love for plated food, Hawaiian developed their own version of Chirashi bowl, laying delicious flavorful raw fish on top of a bed of rice. 

Ono Seafood in Honolulu, Oahu

Eskimo Candy in Maui 

• Poké Flatbread

This is a beautiful mistake that I had in Honolulu. Not knowing there is a place for Italian, Japanese and Hawaiian on one dish. The Shoyu Poké is sprinkled on a Mozzarella filled flatbread. For some reason, it works. I guess it's the Hawaiian Fusion. 

• Garlic Shrimp

Another Hawaiian classic street food. Often sold from a food truck, Garlic Shrimp comes as a plated dish with 1 scoop of rice, in this case 1 scoop of macaroni salad and plenty of big shiny shrimps. With pineapple, scallions, garlic and some delicious spiciness, the Hawaiians brought a tropical twist to stir fried shrimp. 

• Hawaiian Creative Fusion @ Roy's

As much as I love how street food represents the local taste and culture, one night we decided to try out the famous Roy's in Waikiki. Knowing it is designed to be Hawaiian Creative Fusion, most items on the menu exhibit either ingredients or techniques from Chinese and Japanese cuisines. 

Begin with crispy Shinsato Pork Belly as appetizer

To my absolute favorite of the night, Roy's Trio - Hibachi Grilled Salmon, Misoyaki "Butterfish" and Roasted Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi. Three fresh fishes presented with varying texture and different flavors. And of course, served with rice. 

In the end, the dinner concluded with a mainstream American dessert - Chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. 

• Local Ingredients Brunch @ Heavenly

Heavenly is a cute café full of island surf culture décor and embracing local ingredients and conscious healthy cooking. 

House-made brioche turned into honey french toast topped with various local fruits

Local Shinsato pork belly with farm eggs benedict 

• Some good pies - Leoda's 

Another staple American dessert adopted in Hawaii and reborn with the tropical flavors. This bakery in Maui used pineapple and macadamia nuts to recreate the gooey consistency of a traditional filling and put it in the middle of a crusty pie. 

At times Polynesian, at times Asian, yet Hawaii still retains some mainstream American. As generations passed by and cultures begin to co-exist harmoniously, what we find today on these islands scattered in the middle of Pacific should be proudly called originally Hawaiian.