Giovanni's Shrimp Truck

The Shrimp Truck

         The shrimp truck. You know, the white one with black scribbles all over it. Yes, Giovanni's Shrimp Truck on the North Shore of Oa'hu is probably the most famous shrimp truck on the north shore. Easily distinguishable from the 5 (?) other food trucks in the same shaded picnic area from the signatures written all over the truck. I wonder how those other trucks stay in business. Giovanni's has become so popular that they don't even use the local shrimp anymore. Instead they use frozen shrimp, but they still are the most popular. Now, Giovanni's actually has 2 trucks on the same stretch of highway, one in Haleiwa and another over by the shrimp farms. So after driving through Haleiwa, we turned around to pick up some other eats before hopping over to Giovanni's. The menu there is quite simple. You have the Shrimp Scampi, the Hot and Spicy, and the Lemon and Butter along with some drinks.

     

(12) Shrimp Scampi $12

        There was only one thing we had our eyes on when ordering: the shrimp scampi. This is their most famous and popular plate, with 2 scoops of rice and 12 shrimp all very generously lathered with garlic. Of course I start with the shrimp, because I was curious to see if the frozen shrimp were particularly special. The shrimp was pretty good, although it does taste like the stuff you can make at home. However, they were cooked practically perfectly, crisp and flavourful. But the garlic was the best part. All of it had the good garlic flavour without any of the bad. The shrimp were cooked in their shells, and was nicely crisp. You could eat the shells. In the end, the price was ok, and the food was pretty good. The only downside is that you get garlic breath after, which is a small downside. This is a 4/5 plate of shrimp. Overall, the food here is good, despite the shrimp, and is a solid option if you want shrimp.

Bottom Line: Good Shrimp

Tip: Shrimp Scampi!

Overall: 4/5

     

Matsumoto Shave Ice

Small Sign, but Big Lineup

          After visiting Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, which is probably the second most famous eatery on the North Shore, we decided to visit the most famous one. Yes, Matsumoto Shave Ice which is located in a mall on the main strip of Haleiwa. The business was started in 1951, so they have been around for a while. I hear they have also done renovations too, because the interior looks very nice. We visited it, and the line was pretty darn long. Luckily, it was really fast, and I you could look at souvenirs and stuff like that during the 10 minute wait. The Shave Ice prices were a bit pricier than Waiola Shave Ice, but they use natural fruit flavours. The souvenirs were pretty weird, but I still got a shave ice postcard because where can you get a shave ice postcard?

Lots of Options

Guava, Passionfruit, Watermelon shave Ice
 with Condensed Milk $3.50

         We ordered a Large Shave Ice with Condensed Milk (Snow Cap) for $4, we got passionfruit, guava, and watermelon syrups. Sorry for the weird photo, as it just looked so good we started eating before taking the picture. I'll start this off by saying you have to get the snow cap. It was so freaking good, nice and sweet, with a nice dairy flavour like you would gte from ice cream. I would prefer this over ice cream, actually. The ice was very finely shaved, about the same as Waiola, with no irregular chunks. This was shave ice that straight up melted in our mouths, with the nice texture. The syrups were where this place really hit the money. You look at some brightly coloured ice and think: this isn't going to go well. You look at these flavours, and everyone wanted to try some because it looked like actual fruit. This tasted like actual fruit too, as the watermelon had lots of watermelon flavours and was just the right amount of sweetness. The passionfruit was a food flavour too, with just a hint of sourness making sure the syrup was just right. Thej guava was probably my least favourite flavour, probably because it didn't suit my sweet tooth with the tartness being a bit stronger than the passionfruit. I say it was my least favourite because of personal preference, but in reality all the flavours tasted like actual fruit. Still, it was a good tropical choice, and was a nice alternative from the sweetness. Said fruity syrups were poured in a good size, with it going down to the very bottom and soaking all of the ice. There was no syrup just sitting on the bottom though, which was good. The ice didn't really melt until when we were finished the shave ice, with just a bit of liquid that you could drink. The portion sizes are pretty good, and if you ate a full meal you probably want to share one between 2 or 3 people depending on how much of a sweet tooth the group has. This was the best shave cic experience we had in Hawaii, and deserving of a 5/5, no matter how much of a tourist attraction it is.

Bottom Line: Awesome Shave Ice
Tip: Condensed Milk (Snow Cap) is the best!
Overall: 5/5

Char Hung Sut

Front and Large Sign

Menu

          One day on our trip to Hawaii, we decided to make the short trip out to Chinatown. After boosting our appetites through looking at pig heads, green frogs and fresh salmon, it was time to try some of Hawaii's Manapua. Manapua is practically Char-Siu Bao in Hawaiian, and there was one place that stood out above the rest: Char Hung Sut. Char Hung Sut has been around for over 70 years and always have been well known for their Manapua. When we walked into the "restaurant" it was obvious this wasn't a sit in eatery or an actual restaurant, and they do take out only. Luckily this Chinatown in Honolulu isn't very sketchy at all compared to Vancouver's Chinatown. There were a bunch of nice older ladies making the products, one guy steaming the items and another lady who took orders. The pork they were using looked like ground pork, and the items were premade ready for take out. I have no problems with premade food as long as it isn't too unhealthy and tastes good. One good sign was that they were still siting inside the steamers. After pointing us towards the chalkboard on the wall, she tried to get us to buy every single item on the menu. Luckily we stopped her after getting a nice assortment of items to sample. While Char Hung Sut is famous for their Char Siu Bao, they also do a few other porky and non porky items. A little variety is good, just like the prices here for everything, as we paid about $10 for everything, and filled us up as a snack. We were in and out within 3 minutes due to the quick service and lack of lineup, but I have heard that lines pick up later in the day.

       

Sui Mai/Pork Hash 80 cents

Half Moons 80 cents

     Once I picked up the box filled with all of our goodies, I went to photograph them within 5 minutes while they were still hot. Maybe putting them into a large bamboo steamer keeps them warm, or maybe we just lucked out. All that matters was that our box was hot. The wax paper that prevented the box from sticking to the food was a nice touch. The first item we tried after getting to the nearest waterfront park was the Pork Hash. At 80 cents a piece, these were pretty small, but I guess you get what you pay for. In this case, we got a mini Siu Mai, which was practically what this was. Nice and hot, these little one bites were nice and tender, not overcooked at all. The flavours were good, and were pretty juicy being steamed. They were solid, reasonably priced and met the criteria for a 3.5/5.Moving onto the half moons, which were 80 cents each. They definitely looked like half moons, and were filled with mostly water chestnut. Well, this wasn't very impressive at all, but edible. Serves me right for ordering that at a restaurant that does mostly pork items. The water chestnut was a little crunchy and the outside layer was soft, but even the people that know this dish weren't very impressed. In the end, a 2/5. 

Large Manapua $1.80

Look at The Size!

         Finally, we get to the main course, the big boys, the Manapua. And boy, were these some huge char siu bao. The picture doesn't really show you the beauty of these. Just imagine the average 2 inch or so Char Siu Bao, take 3, and put into one massive bun. That was legitimatly the size of this bun. It was a great value, for $1.70, and had a good ratio of bun to pork. It wasn't one of those places where you get a sandwich and end up with a slice of ham on 2 pieces of bread for $5. Inside the bun, the pork was stringy like Pork Floss, and looked like it had been baked in an oven. No worries though, as the shredded pork was without a doubt one of the best Manapua/Char Siu Bao I have ever eaten. There was enough pork for you to get some in each bite, and it was really juicy. You really shouldn't judge this book from it's cover. The sweet char siu flavour was just right, not overly sweet or salty and there really was no liquid inside the bun. Just pork and bread, with the bread basking in the flavour of pork, softly complimenting it perfectly. While the bun was a tiny bit dense, it didn't put off the Manapua very much. Overall, everyone liked the Manapua and came to a 4.5/5. Very good but not quite nearly perfect.In the end, if you find yourself strolling through Honolulu's Chinatown, it is well worth the short walk to get some of their famous Manapua

Bottom Line: Good Manapua, Ok Everything Else
Tip: Stay with the Manapua
Overall: 3.5/5 Total, 4.5/5 Manapua