We did the South side tour in September, and really enjoyed it! Definitely for folks who love learning about food, and enjoy talking with creative, and hardworking business owners. I have to say that my husband, who isn’t that into food didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I did.
Our group leader was young, and passionate about food, and what she was doing. She has a particular interest in food trucks. I’m afraid I don’t recall her name...so sorry! A nice assortment of people joined us.
We visited Monkeypod Jams. We had beautiful baked goods, and jams. The owner spoke about creating her business, and the challenges of handling both the abundance, and the shortages of tropical fruits. The owner uses a rare type of white pineapple called the Sugarloaf. She cut one up for us...wow! So sweet! We made a point of buying several of the (expensive) fruit during our stay, and brought home a few to share with friends!
We stopped at a dynamite food truck in Koloa. Dim N Den Sum. It was my tastiest stop! It was raining hard, so we didn’t get a chance to chat much with the nice couple who own the truck. We did make a point of visiting the later in our stay. Just delicious,
We stopped at the local Kukui’ula Market, the only independent grocer left on the island. The owner seems to be a real community leader. She has a couple of local chefs who’ve set up shop within the market. There’s a healthy, fresh smoothie bar which was tasty, and then Makai Sushi. The chef there has personality plus, and it was fun to hear him, and the owner talk about buying fresh fish. We had Poke there. Just a beautiful dish!
The off to a gelato shop... I’m afraid I don’t remember the name...in Poipu shopping center. The owner has an interesting story, and really uses high quality local ingredients.
Finally we met at the Farmers Market at Kukui’ula shopping center. We talked with an amazing baker who has a croissant and baked goods booth. The customers were lined up to buy her products. We’re lucky she stepped away for a few minutes to talk with us!
We ate delicious food all afternoon. I thought it was interesting to hear the message from everyone we spoke with. Shop locally, eat locally, embrace the local culture!