Sam Choy is a world-famous chef and a good friend of Emerill Lagasse. Chances are you have seen him on the food network on one of their specials. He is also owner and proprietor of the famous Sam Choy’s restaurants. On a recent lunch excursion I found the best Hawaiian plate lunch on the entire island.
At their Nimitz location in Honolulu, I was pleasantly surprised at how short the wait was for lunch on a Friday. It must have had something to do with the fact the place is just huge. I swear they had a tree in there that was 15 feet tall, fake or not that is still huge.
I decided to go with the Hawaiian plate lunch and was not disappointed. First I was brought out some lomi lomi salmon, which is like a salmon ceviche. Many times when you get this, it comes with more tomatoes than it does Salmon, not this time. Next I got a side of ahi Poke, which is a mix of raw ahi, sesame seed oil, tomatoes and onions. This seemed to be a meal in itself as I found myself getting a bit full. Once they brought out the main course I had a feeling that I may be bursting at the waistline in a few minutes.
My main course consisted of a lau lau, this is an old Hawaiian dish where pork, pork fat and fish are wrapped in luau leaves from the taro plant, and these leaves are like spinach. This is then wrapped in ti leaves, tied and steamed. The result is a tender mix of tasty flavors that would make any vegan go back to eating meat. The lau lau had tiny bits of taro chopped up and mixed in, something I have never experienced before, but glad that I did this time. I was also served squid luau, which to some may not sound that good, but trust me when I say that it is awesome. It is squid cooked in coconut milk, which tasted very good. I was also served a desert of Haupia, which is like a coconut Jell-O sort of deal. Nice way to round off the meal.
I must say that I was every impressed at the amount of food that I got. The price was more than reasonable for the dish and the service was equally as impressive. I am definitely going back to try out other dishes in the future and would recommend Sam Choy’s to anyone wanting local cuisine at its best.
