There are so many delicious foods to eat when you are in Hawaii. And one of the most famous things to eat when you drive around the north shore of the island, is at one of the many shrimp trucks. There are quite a few different trucks to choose from, and there’s a huge debate as to which one is the best. But among the handful of different shrimp truck options, one of the most famous is Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck.

I have driven past this shrimp truck in Kahuku many times, but for some reason I have never stopped before to eat there. One reason is because, I would normally fill up on other plate lunches or Hawaiian poke from Kahuku Superette (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIvn7n7cIeQ) before ever arriving at one of the famous shrimp trucks.

But little did I know, there is now a second branch of Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck in Haleiwa, Hawaii, and that’s exactly where I happened to be when I saw it. So I didn’t get to go to the original one, but many of the reviews I read said that they use the exact same recipe. One morning we decided to go to their truck and find out what the hype of the north shore shrimp trucks were all about.

I arrived just as they opened, so that we could get the most fresh food, and also so that we wouldn’t have to wait in line – sometimes there can be big lines waiting for the shrimp trucks in Hawaii – especially when a big bus of tourists unloads to eat there.

Their menu is quite simple, you just have a choice of shrimp scampi, the hot and spicy version, or the lemon shrimp recipe. Though the hot and spicy was tempting, I decided to go for the most famous recipe, shrimp scampi. My lunch came on a plate with two scoops of rice, partnered with 12 succulent shrimp, all anointed in an extreme amount of garlic caked on. The aroma was impressively garlicky, and as a garlic lover I could not wait to eat them.

Some people decided to take the shell off the shrimp before eating them, but we decided to eat the whole thing with the shell on, that way you don’t miss any of that delicious garlic. The side of hot sauce was alright, but it was a little too vinegary for me, so I don’t think it went all that well with the shrimp.

I’m not an expert when it comes to the shrimp trucks on the North Shore – this was my first time to eat at one. But, for my first time eating at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, I can say I really enjoyed the shrimp scampi, and I would definitely come back to eat it again.

Address: 66-472 Kamehameha highway, Haleiwa, Hawaii 96712
Website: http://www.giovannisshrimptruck.com/
Open hours: 10:30 am — 5 pm daily

Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network

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Char Hung Sut is the place in Honolulu to get Hawaiian manapua. Check it out here: http://migrationology.com/2014/03/char-hung-sut/

Honolulu is just a small city, but it offers such a diverse land of amazingly delicious food. there is plenty of Hawaiian food, Japanese food, Korean food, and Chinese food – as well as fusion food that’s Hawaiian style Chinese food. Char Hung Sut has been around for very long time, and they’ve been serving up classic Hawaiian style baozi known as manapua.

Located in Honolulu’s Chinatown, on the outskirts, the restaurant continually attracts a crowd of hungry locals. It’s just a small restaurant, and it’s only a takeout restaurant, but everyday, there are plenty of locals who come to get a box of goodies. The menu is very simple,
Char Hung Sut mostly sells manapua (the steamed buns filled with char siu), mai tai soo (small dumplings that are baked and filled with char siu), pork siumai (delicious dumplings filled with pork), and half moons (which are little half moon shaped steamed dumplings). They also have chow mein on the menu, but of all the times I’ve ever been there, I’ve actually never had the chow mein – have you had it? Let me know how it is if you have!

So anyways, on my last visit to Honolulu, Hawaii, we stopped by Char Hung Sut in the midmorning to grab ourselves a treat. Like I mentioned, it’s only a takeaway restaurant in Honolulu, so you first tell them everything you want, they box it up like a present and then wrap a ribbon around the outside before they hand it to you. Normally I would grab my box of Char Hung Sut and head to the beach or back home to eat, but this time I decided to unwrap my gift right there to get a first fresh bite of all the goodies.

I began with the pork hash (siu mai), a delicate little dumpling of fatty pork covered in a thin noodle like wonton wrapper. The meat was sweet and juicy, with such amazing pork flavor that burst with every bite. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been a fan of the pork hash. I accidentally forgot to order a side of spicy Chinese mustard because I love it with pork hash, but I forgot. Next I took a bite of the half moon, as it was called on the menu. It was a thick rice paper wrapper, a bit too thick in my opinion, and then filled with bits of char siu and lots of water chestnuts. Wasn’t my favorite item in the box. Next I dug in for a bite of the mai tai soo, another famous treat at Char Hung Sut. This was actually my first time to order it here, but I had read many reviews of people who had ordered it and loved it – so that’s why I decided we need to have some too. It was the only baked item that we ordered, so the outer crust was flaky and baked instead of gooey steamed. It was quite good, but a little too sweet for me.

Finally, saving the best thing for last, I took a bite of the main event, the manapua (bao). These Chinese baozi style steamed buns are huge and meaty. The first bite not only included some of the bread, but also a big chunk of char siu (which is the sweet red Chinese barbecue pork). The manapua is the real reason I eat there, it’s always my favorite item!

Char Hung Sut, Honolulu, Hawaii
Address: 64 N. Pauahi Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
Phone number: 808 538 3335
Open hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 5:30 am — 2 pm, Sunday from 5:30 am — 1 pm, Tuesday is closed

Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network

Get my FREE street food guide: http://wp.me/Psd9b-4pl
Follow my adventures on http://migrationology.com/blog & http://www.eatingthaifood.com/blog/
Bangkok 101 Guide: http://migrationology.com/ebook-101-things-to-do-in-bangkok/
Thai Food Guide: http://www.eatingthaifood.com/eating-thai-food-guide/

Thank you so much for watching this food and travel video by Mark Wiens. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss my next tasty adventure. You can subscribe right here: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=migrationology