Giovanni's Aloha Shrimp

Today was a wonderful day to take a drive to the North Shore.  Why?  Because it was a holiday and I didn't have to go to work...because it was a nice sunny day...and because I had some out of town guests.  So I decided to take them to eat at Giovanni's in Kahuku.  Now this place has no real address.  Well then how exactly do you find it?  Just keep driving down Kamehameha highway, past the Polynesian Cultural Center (if you're coming from the Windward side) until you see the sign.

Ask any local about this place and most will tell you that it serves the best shrimp scampi around!  I do have to agree that it is one of the best, and the added bonus is that it all comes from a grafitti covered truck.

Now this place is not exactly known for it's decor.  A few plastic picnic tables under a couple of tents...definitely not enough space to seat everyone who comes here.  Here's a look at the crowd that's just beginning to form when we arrive at 12:15 pm.

We were lucky that there was only one person in line ahead of us.  As I approached the truck to order, I glanced at the menu...still the same 3 items that I remember!

Well, I was going to order #2, Hot and Spicy shrimp (read below..."super hot, NO REFUNDS!!"), but was told that they only had #1, Shrimp Scampi today (US$11.00).  So that's what I had with hot sauce on the side.  As I waited for a table to become available and for my number to be called (I was #235, when we got there they had just announced #229), the people started to arrive.  In a matter of minutes a whole throng of people appeared!

After a 15 minute wait, they called my number.  As I went to retrieve my plate of shrimp scampi, I overheard the order taker telling customers in line that it would be an approximate wait of 45 minutes!  Now that isn't so bad.  The last time I was here, I had to wait a little over an hour!  And here is what I was waiting for....

What I got was 2 scoops white rice topped with a bit of scampi sauce, a lemon wedge, and half a pound of shrimp scampi served in the shell.  I had 12 pieces of shrimp and it was delicious!  The shrimp was fresh and done just right (not overcooked!) and the sauce was buttery and full of garlic!  Sinful?  You bet, but worth every mouthful!

The only let down was that the side of hot sauce was not hot at all!  It seemed like some generic hot sauce mixed with melted butter.  Hopefully the next time I come here they have the hot and spicy, otherwise, I'll just have to make due with the shrimp scampi which isn't a bad consolation after all.

Giovanni's Aloha Shrimp
Kamehameha Highway, Kahuku

Comments

[Min]

Ono ono!!:)

[Min]

Hey i saw u posting a comment asking for good peranakan food in S'pore.A pretty good one in a restaurant setting will be Blue Ginger Restaurant...one of the shophouses in Tanjong Pagar Rd.Have fun trying:)

[Wena]

wah! so delicious! u have to try out the butter prawns in singapore. it's so crispy that you can literally eat the skin.

[Reid]

Min,

This was delicious. In fact, there are more trucks that have opened along the side of the road in recent years to compete with this one! I'll be sure to try Blue Ginger when I go to S'pore. I was told by another friend that it's quite good!

Wena,

This is delish! I'll be sure to include butter prawns on my list of "to try" foods. Any idea where I should eat them at?

[Wena]

reid, seriously, i have no idea. i seldom goto singapore so i wouldn't know where to eat good seafood. perhaps renee or umami will provide some ideas?

[creen]

Hi Reid,
Wow, this looks ono! On my recent O'ahu trip last month, I remember passing by this very shrimp truck and thinking, oh that must be a good place to try! I was unable to convince my lunch companions to stop there, so we ended up at L&L instead. Now I know where the real deal is...

[Reid]

Creen,

There are other trucks around the area as well that I have not tried. I've heard they are just as good, if not better, than Giovanni's. I'm not willing to try them though, preferring to stick with the one I know and love!

[Reggi]

does anyone know if Giovanni's Shrimp Trcuk will ship out thier famous shrimp sauce

[Reid]

Reggi,

I know they used to have a mail order business, but with change in ownership of the company, I'm not so sure. They used to sell the sauces in the stores here, and if they still do, perhaps you can have someone send you a few bottles.

[leilani]

Wow, this site looks nice. The picture of the shrimp plate look delicious! Not really what I see since I work at Giovanni's. Nothing bad.

[Reid]

Leilani,

Thanks for the compliment. Were you the one that served us the day we were there? Whatever happened to the hot and spicy? =(

[Pam Kapana]

Aloha...Have u try the new brazilian bbq restaurant at McCully? It was awesome the best food ever!!!

[Pam Kapana]

The name is Tudo de bom (what is that mean?)but the food was great!!!

[Reid]

Hi Pam,

Welcome! I haven't tried that place yet. I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to try it. BTW, I'm not so sure that I know waht the name means...

[Gayelyn Savoie]

I live in Washington and used to be able to order bottles of Giovanni's shrimp scampi via internet. Our computer crashed awhile back and I haven't been able to find the site since. Can someone let me know if there is still a website I can start ordering from again?

Thanks

[Reid]

Hi Gayelyn,

You may want to try and call Giovanni's directly. The number that's listed in the local directory is (808)293-1839. I'm not sure if you've heard, but there have been many problems with the company lately and I believe it's under new ownership. I haven't seen the sauces for sale in the stores recently, however, I can check on it for you and let you know.

[Horacio]

I've been trying to get to their website (www.giosauces.com) and called the phone numbers also. No luck. I used to order the scampi sauce and hot sauce thru their site. I am all out and having withdrawal pains. Last summer, the lady in the Haleiwa Shrimp Truck told me they were going to start selling thru Safeway Stores in the mainland. Haven't see them there. If anyone can find these in any store, please reply. I'm in California and am dying for some.

[Sarah]

Ono grind for sure! I just got back from Oahu a few days ago and I already miss it! That scampi is wonderful. The pics make me miss it more. Great site! Mahalo for all the info.
Sarah

[Reid]

Hi Horacio,

Thanks for stopping by. As far as I know, Giovanni's has stopped producing sauces as of late last year (Nov-Dec timeframe). I can't find any in the stores here, and I checked them all. I still have a couple of bottles in the kitchen cabinet that have not been opened! Good thing I saved 'em for a rainy day!

There was some trouble at the company which was reported in the local newspapers a few months back. I thought nothing of it at the time, but I do know that the ownership has changed and I think that's why no more bottled sauces. =(

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for visiting and for the compliment. Yes, this is indeed delicious. I do have to make mention though that if you had gone early last year (from Jan thru summer 2003), it was even better. They also served the hot and spicy at the shrimp truck at that time as well (which has not been available on all my subsequent visits).

[Horacio]

Reid,

I spoke to the lady that runs the Haleiwa Shrimp Truck. I found her number in the Yahoo Yellow Pages search. She is in Pupukea, just north of Haleiwa. She told me that no more bottle sauces for sale "for right now" until they get a new bottling company. But she sells already marinated shrimp for customers to buy and cook at home. Good news for Southern California - she also told me they are opening a Giovanni's Shrimp Truck in Venice Beach in "a couple of months" - whatever that means in Hawaiian time. Maybe next summer. I've been experimenting with my own scampi sauce creations but no luck yet. Can't wait for the real thing.

[Reid]

Hi Horatio,

Thanks for the information. If Giovanni's is moving to Southern California, all I can say is, "WOW!". You're right about Hawaiian time...should be more like six months to a year if you're lucky!

[Mike]

Could someone deconstruct the sauce and find out what that stuff is made of? Also, how much is that lady charging for the bottles of sauce?

Mike

[Reid]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for stopping by the site. On the bottle that I have in my kitchen cabinet, the ingredients are listed as follows:

Olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and white wine.

Normally, ingredients are listed in order by amount. What this means is that the larger the quanitity of the ingredient, the higher it is on the list.

That said, since the bottle is 8 ounces, I would say that olive oil makes up at least half the mixture. I would probably start with about 1/4 cup of lemon juice and a little less than a 1/4 cup of white wine, with the garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Good luck in trying to replicate the sauce.

[Mike]

I thought the sauce had butter in it. haha. Now that I know what ingredients are involved, I think I saw a similar recipe online that could be tweaked up. The problem now is, I've forgotten how that plate lunch tasted.

I think that the lemon juice is added into the sauce last. Olive oil and the white wine and the garlic should be boiled together. Shrimp is put in last. I'm sure there's more in the sauce than just those ingredients.

Have you ever tried to deconstruct it Reid?

Mike

[Margarito]

I was in hawaii last year and I remember seeing an internet address with giovanni's sauces and products. Do u happen to remember or know the address? By the way, best shrimp scampi I have ever had.
Margarito