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Romy's Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp, Inc.

Years ago, there was only one shrimp truck on Oahu's North Shore that everyone knew about by name. A short time after this first shrimp truck became wildly successful, many others started popping up along Kamehameha Highway where a majority of Oahu's aquaculture farms were also thriving.  Today, some say the standard is still set by Giovanni's, but how do places like Romy's compare?

On a recent outing, while driving down Kamehameha Highway towards the beach, I immediately got the craving for some shrimp.  Not just any shrimp, mind you, but shrimp from one of the many trucks and stands that are in Kahuku.  After passing a couple of flashy trucks, I almost stopped at Giovanni's, but then the crowds forced me to go farther along the road (who wants to wait for 45 minutes when you're starving).  So I drove until I stopped here.

Romy's Kahuku Shrimp & Prawns, purveyors of fresh shrimp and prawns caught fresh daily ON SITE.  What does this mean to you?  You'll find out soon enough.

After placing my order, I made my way to tables off to the side to see everyone under the tent ravenously devouring their plates of shrimp.  After a wait of about 15 minutes, my number was called and I made my way back to the "shack" to pick up my plate of shrimp.

First up, the butter & garlic shrimp (US$11.00).

Fragrant chunks of garlic were spooned carefully atop a pile of shrimp (about 10 shrimp).  The shrimp were served with both the head and shell still intact, keeping them sweet and succulent.  The shrimp were indeed fresh, but I found them lacking any real flavor.  Something was definitely missing from the marinade.

Next, was a plate of sweet & spicy shrimp (US$11.00).

This time, the shrimp were slathered with a cloyingly sweet sauce with only the slightest hint of spiciness.  In fact, the base for this sauce was probably a Thai-style sweet chilli sauce with some sriracha mixed in to give it a little kick.  If it weren't for the freshness of the shrimp, this would have been pronounced a complete failure.

Being the only shrimp stand/truck on the North Shore that uses shrimp/prawns caught on site certainly gives Romy's the advantage in the taste department. Great service as well as great prices, give it a few more stars as well. The only thing lacking, in my opinion, was flavor.

Romy's Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp, Inc.
56-781 Kamehameha Highway
Telephone: 808.232.2202

Ted's Bakery

Many of you must be wondering what I was doing at Ted's Bakery.  After all, Ted's is on the other side of the island and I can easily buy Ted's Bakery pies at the local supermarket.

I actually took a drive out to the North Shore to eat at Giovanni's Aloha Shrimp, but once there, I discovered that the line was too long.  There was no parking, and judging by the number of people there, the wait was probably in excess of an hour.  Hungry and disappointed, I continued on, down the road, until I got to Ted's.

Ted's occupies most of the space that is/used to be the Sunset Beach Store, which has been around since the late 50's.  Ted's has been here for more years than I can remember and they are most famous for their cream pies -- most notably, the chocolate haupia cream.  When I arrived at the shop with a couple of friends in tow, there were a few tourists, and locals, ordering food and purchasing baked goods.  In addition to the pies and other baked goods, Ted's has a nice selection of sandwiches and plate lunches.

Since we hadn't eaten, and were starving, we decided to eat here.  The bento (US$6.95) sounded good, so that's what we all had.

The bento came with FOUR (!) scoops rice, a few pieces of chicken katsu, a piece of teriyaki beef, a piece of Spam®, and a piece of mahimahi.  The little containers in the middle of all that rice hold some chicken katsu sauce and some tartar sauce.  The first thing I have to say about this bento was that it was huge!  The second thing that I have to say about this bento is that it was delicious.

The contents of this bento were prepared fresh and because Ted's was a little busy, that meant a wait of about 7 minutes.  The chicken katsu was golden brown and crunchy.  Lightly seasoned, and not at all greasy.  The teriyaki beef was cut thick, the sauce was slightly sweet and meat was so tender.  The bento was worth its price for the teriyaki beef alone.  Awesome and delicious.  The mahimahi was dipped in egg, then pan fried -- once again, not greasy.

For dessert, I took home a slice of Ted's famous chocolate haupia cream pie (US$1.95).

Now, this is the best chocolate haupia cream pie that you will ever have.  The chocolate filling is chocolately, smooth and creamy, and doesn't really taste much like the pudding that it's probably made from.  The haupia on top, provides the perfect compliment to the chocolate.  On top of the haupia, is lots of piped whipped cream.  This is one of my favorites.  The only thing that I think needs improving is the "doneness" of the crust.  In my opinion, it could be baked a little darker and made a little flakier.  Other than that, this is one pie that can't be beat!

Next time you're on the North Shore, stop by Ted's for some of their delicious cream pies.  If you haven't yet had lunch, make sure to have one of their awesome plate lunches, or the BIG bento.  You'll be glad you did.

Ted's Bakery
59-024 Kamehameha Highway
Telephone:  (808)638-5974

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