Mea'ai

Recently spent some time in Maui, Hawaii for a friend's special wedding. Of course, as per usual, one of the highlights of the amazing vacation was the FOOD or "Mea'ai" in local lingo. I am a complete seafood lover. Unfortunately, back home we are limited to Salmon - usually farmed or a species of Pacific salmon. Thus, I was thrilled to tantalize my taste buds with the flavor Hawaii local fish had to offer.

On the day of our arrival we decided to check out "Whaler's Village" in Kaanapali. It is a very touristy part of Maui as the center is nestled in the middle of resorts. We decided on Cane & Taro. Similar to most restaurants on the island, Cane & Taro offered 'farm to table' fresh local fish and produce.

Monster Garlic Prawns & Fettuccine: Roasted butterflied Prawns on Fettuccine tossed with Garlic Cream Sauce & Maui’s farm fresh vegetables. Drizzled with Cilantro Pesto.

Nom Nom! So yummy! The prawns were a little over cooked but they were huge! The cilantro pesto was tantalizing! I was not a fan of the pasta, but really as I said during the meal - you don't come to the islands for pasta.

One of my friends had one of the "Catch of the Day Chef's Specials". We can't remember what fish exactly was served but we still talk about the meal. What we do remember, however, is the tasty polenta that created the bed for the fish. I just recently found out that polenta is made from boiled cornmeal. I guess that will be on my list of must cook in the near future.

Another place we really enjoyed and would definitely recommend is in the town of Paia. We stopped here after watching the big waves on Hoopika beach and exploring the infamous Road to Hana. The Paia Fish Market Restaurant is nothing what you would expect from looking at it from across the road. It looked to me like a fancy hoity toity fish restaurant.


It was nothing of the sort. The restaurant had a real community feel even though it was obvious there were many tourists flocking to the site. You walk in and a huge menu board with tons of choices posted. The restaurant is known for their award winning Mahi fish burger. I had never had a fish taco before - thus I was feeling adventurous. I was thoughroughly impressed with our meal and the small town atmosphere this fantastic restaurant had to offer. If you are in Maui - you must stop here!

The Mahi on the burger bun was HUGE!!!

OHHH nom nom.