Kauai: Hanalei Taro and Juice Co.

Hanalei Taro & Juice Co. (Twitter handle: @hanaleitaro) is more than just taro and juice. They serve ono plate lunches! On our second day in Kauai, we asked the valet at our resort what’s a good spot for plate lunch, and they told us to drive to Hanalei and find this truck. Driving up and down the highway, I couldn’t find the truck and began to get frustrated. I found a small lot with 2 trucks parked but nothing mentioning they sold plate lunch. So we drove up to Hanalei’s Taro truck and I screamed out – do you sell plate lunch!?!? And surprisingly they did. Phew!!!

We ordered a mixed plate – kalua pork and chicken lau lau, a taro smoothie, and Taro mochi cake. I must admit that I’m not a big fan of lau lau, but theirs was the best I ever had. I don’t think I left any on the plate. The kalua pork was delicious, tender and juicy. Smoothie – the best on the island. I’ve never had a taro smoothie, and was hesitant to try it because I feared it would be made with milk (yeah, I’m lactose intolerant). Thank goodness I asked because there wasn’t any. Oh, I also tried the poi* – can’t have luau food without the poi, especially from a taro truck.

If you see the truck, stop by and grab a plate, or a smoothie. And don’t forget to pick up their Taro mochi cake if it’s available =)

* Poi is a Hawaiian word for the Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the taro plant (known in Hawaiian as kalo).