Sam
Choy's Breakfast, Lunch and Crab
We had been in Hawaii for over a week without finding any lau lau. This
is a down home Hawaiian dish of cured beef, taro, fish, and other
goodies wrapped in ti leaves and steamed. We once had some great lau
lau at a football team fundraiser, but this time we had been out of
luck. Then, we had a few hours to kill between our inter-island flight
and our flight back to the mainland, and we wanted lunch. Someone
recommended Sam Choy's. It was near the airport on Nimitz highway, and
we wouldn't have to deal with Honolulu traffic.So, we arrived at Sam Choy's neon palace. It was huge. It glowed in the dark, even though it was light outside. We stepped inside. There was a boat with tables on the upper deck. It was dwarfed by the airport hanger dimensions of the space.
We settled down and ordered margaritas. What else could we order in a place like this? They came, they were great. Then, we looked at the menu. There among the fish dishes, the fried foods, the spring rolls and the crab, was our lau lau. It was great. It was like being at a football fundraiser.
We also had the gigantic fried oysters which were freshly fried and the soft shelled crabs. Neither of these dishes is particularly Hawaiian, but they were both well prepared and appropriate for the place. Then, feeling guilty for all that fried food we had a seared ahi salad with crispy noodles, tofu, shredded carrots, bean sprouts and other goodies. It was very refreshing, and it was nice to have one of our favorite island dishes on our last day.
As you might expect, the key lime pie was perfect. It was sweet and tart and sticky, just as it should be. We were ready for our close up in economy class on the flight home.
Since then we consider Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch and Crab our prime en route eatery in Honolulu. We have yet to try any other of Mr. Choy's restaurants, but this one was a pleasant surprise. Not only is it near the airport, it serves all day, and it has great, exuberant food.
