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Once a thriving sugar settlement, Keōmuku has been a ghost town since the early 20th century. Local lore blames the village’s demise on the disruption of temple stones at Kahe’a heiau by railroad builders.

Brought by Hawai’i’s Korean immigrants, kimchee is simply pickled cabbage, but for those who love hot – that is, VERY HOT – flavors, it is a “must try.” Traditionally, the cabbage is stored in tightly sealed jars and buried in the ground, then dug up as and when needed.

A rapidly expanding chain of local fast food restaurants, popular with islanders for decades.

The fortunes of Maunaloa mirrored the rise and fall of the pineapple industry. Recently, however, the town has been reawakened, with new shops, a park, a movie theater, and the upscale Sheraton Moloka’i Lodge.

Few meals in Hawai’i are served without rice, and those that are usually come with noodles. Indeed, noodles in hot broth with pork and green onions is a common dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and leftover dinner rice often reappears as fried rice for the next day’s breakfast.

Beautifully silhouetted by the mountains, Our Lady of Sorrows is one of the churches established on the island by Father Damien (see Kalaupapa National Historical Park, Moloka’i).

Meat, two scoops of rice, and macaroni salad. Those are the three essential elements of the plate lunch. Sold on every street corner in Hawai’i, it represents the melding of cultures, and the meat comes in many varieties, from teriyaki beef to pork and variously prepared chicken.

The staple of the Hawaiian diet, poi is made by pounding to a paste the corm of the taro or kalo plant – a task that is strictly a male preserve. Traditional Hawaiians believe their culture to be descended from a kalo plant, signifying the symbolic importance of this food.

Fresh from the oven and slathered with creamy butter is the best way to enjoy this wonderful bread, brought by Hawai’i’s Portuguese immigrants. Originally baked in outdoor brick ovens, it is now available at markets throughout the islands. Every family in Hawai’i, whether of Portuguese heritage or not, has its own Portuguese bean soup recipe. Brimming with beans, meat, and vegetables, it can be a hearty meal unto itself, especially when accompanied by a thick slice of sweet bread.

Wide range of local dishes and the best ice cream selection.