Highway Inn (Kaka'ako)

Sorry for the Trash Lighting

          After a failed adventure out to Pearl Harbour and the museums and attractions, we were sad and hungry. The main attraction was cancelled due to high winds, even though we had reserved our tickets. Although we ended up going to one of the museums at the memorial, it was decided we would have to get up at 6 am the next day to get tickets. So with the disappointment, we headed to Highway Inn for a traditional Hawaiian meal. Highway Inn is now known as one of the best places to get Traditional Hawaiian Food as Helena's was closed. Upon arrival, we found out that the only parking was pay parking. You can only imagine the happiness when we discovered that you could validate the ticket if you ate or went to any of the stores in the strip mall. As we entered, we were seated immediately in the last table next to the live music! Woo hoo! We were given a brochure which led us through the pronunciation of the names and what they were. On the menu were local plate lunches, sandwiches and breakfast. As the line formed outside, we ordered two combo plates which had everything. Oh, and the photos were messed up because I dropped the phone on it's camera.

Lomi Salmon, Sweet Potato, Haupia, Lau Lau, and Poi ~$15.50

Chicken Long Rice $3.75

            The first order was the Lau Lau combo plate. All plates came with choice of rice or poi (fermented pounded taro), lomi salmon (raw diced salmon and tomato) or a salad, and sweet potatoes and haupia (a coconut dessert). We got the Lau Lau Plate with poi, lomi salmon, sweet potatoes and haupia. This was about $15, but we added a chicken long rice for $3.75. This was just a bunch of clear chinese vermicelli  noodles that came with shredded chicken and chicken broth. Starting with the Lau Lau, or pork and butterfish steamed in taro leaves. They had a chicken Lau Lau, but they were out, and who doesn't like pork belly? The pork inside was so good, melting jn my mouth. However, I couldn't taste any butterfish at all, but what do I know about this? The taro leaves were something new, which was a bit bitter but still very soft and edible. I would give this a 5/5, because it was just really really good and seriously tender. Moving onto another part of the plate that I liked, the Sweet Potato. This resembled a french fry cut thick and diced. The outside was a little bit crisp, while the inside was very soft and potato like. I'm not sure if it was deep fried or what, but lets just say it was really good. I may be a bit biased because I like practically anything resembling a potato, but this was another solid 4.5/5. Moving on to the big bowl of purple stuff. This was poi, and poi, was it thick. I have no idea it would be hard to get out of a spoon, especially when it looks like grape juice and milk. This is without a doubt an acquired taste, with a bit of sourness and bitterness, this was more of a sauce than anything. More on that coming soon, but anyways, it was thick, sour and lacking an appealing flavour. A 3/5 in my books. The final part of the savory part of the plate was the lomi salmon. This was a fresh mix of indistinguishable raw salmon and some very salty tomato. I have no idea why it was so salty, because it hurt my taste buds. You could still feel the salmon and tomato, but it was really hard to eat on it's own. This is where the poi came into play. While the lomi salmon would be a 1.5/5 on it's own but with the poi soaking in some of the saltyness, the poi now gained flavour and the lomi salmon became less salty. If this is the way you are supposed to eat it, they would be a 4.5/5. Onto the savory item that wouldn't fit on the plate, we have the chicken long rice. It was normal in a way, with some nicely cooked noodles, but the shredded chicken was a bit dry and the broth was a bit salty. It wasn't as bad as the lomi salmon though, a 2.5/5. Onto the final item, we have the haupia, or coconut pudding. It looked like a big piece of jello but definitely didn't eat like one. This was one heck of a rich dessert, creamy in a way and filled with some real coconut flavour. Everyone liked it even though it was a bit heavy. In the end, we gave this a 4/5, and the whole plate and side was good.

Pipikalua $3.75

        Unfortunately, I somehow forgot to take a picture of the kalua pig plate. Oddly I took a picture of the item that didn't come on the plate but not the plate of food itself. It looked about the same though as  the other plate, except with some shredded pork, rice, and a salad. Anyways, for this plate which came with the kalua pig, we got the salad, sweet potatoes, rice, haupia, kalua pig (duh) and a add on of pipikalua, which was like grilled beef jerky. This plate ended up at about $20 just like the last one. To get the rice out of the way, I can just say it was pretty good, but people have different preferences so I can't rate this. A bit dry for me though. Moving on, the kalua pig was lretty good when it went with the rice, and especially well with the poi. Very tender, with a bit of salt in a generous portion. It is a 4.5/5 without poi or rice and 5/5 with the poi. The salad consisted of some nalo greens and a citrus based dressing. The greens were pretty fresh like they should be, and went pretty well with the dressing. However, this was nothing special, a 3/5 so stick with the lomi salmon. Now onto Highway Inn's "most popular" dish, the pipikalua. This was a nice portion, for around $3.75, but I can't say this was their best item. It was pretty tender, but couldn't achieve the fatty melt in your mouth feeling even though it was pretty fatty. However, this didn't mean that it wasn't good, because it definitely was, with some pretty tender flavours and a bit of fatty juice. You could eat it on its own with the flavourful but not overly flavourful beef. A solid 4.5/5. The other 2 items, the sweet potato and haupia were consistant with the other plate. A very good 4.5/5 plate. In the end, we got a food filling meal at Highway Inn at reasonable prices. A good way to cap off an unlucky day.

Bottom Line: Good Food and Prices

Tip: Try Poi Dipping

Overall: 4.5/5