25 Hawaiian Eateries Your Stomach Will Love

Hawaii is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. According to officials at the Hawaii Tourism Authority, a record 9.3 million visitors traveled to the islands last year. There are six major islands to visit in Hawaii: Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and the island of Hawaii. Each has its own distinct personality and mouth-watering culinary options. In case you don't know where to begin, here's a list of 25 establishments you and your stomach can't afford to miss.

Giovanni's Shrimp Truck in Kahuku and Haleiwa has three items on their menu: their famous Shrimp Scampi, the "No Refunds" Hot & Spicy Shrimp, and Lemon Butter Shrimp. Giovanni's Shrimp Scampi comes with a dozen shrimp marinated in olive oil, fresh chopped garlic, and lemon butter. It's served with 2 scoops of rice all drizzled with a garlic lemon butter and caramelized chunks of tasty garlic.

Sugoi is the Japanese word for "awesome" or "wow" and is an apt description for the famous fried garlic chicken. The fried chicken is tender, crunchy, and juicy. Your breath may not appreciate you after, but your stomach and taste buds will thank you. Sugoi's garlic sauce is so popular, they actually bottle it up for sale. Food comes out pipping hot, prepared in their open kitchen.

Sheldon Simeon, Hawaii's golden boy superstar, recently opened restaurant Lineage. Here, the Top Chef alum dishes out cocktails and food inspired by his family and upbringing in Hilo. Chef Sheldon's Poi Mochi is served with shio Koji chicken liver pâté and furikaki.

The Pig and the Lady began as a farmers' market stand by Andrew Le-a 2014 James Beard Rising Chef of the Year semifinalist. Its' brick and mortar location in Honolulu has since become a must-visit restaurant for locals and visitors alike. Serving contemporary Vietnamese food, be sure to try a unique pho French dip sandwich or the Duroc Pork Chop marinated in spiced guava leaves then grilled with local prawns, pickled pearl eggplant herb sauce, and chrysanthemum leaves.

"Broke da mouth" is the pidgin phrase used to describe how good the food is. You can imagine just how good a restaurant's food is if they decided to name it 'Broke the Mouth.' The mom-and pop shop on the Big Island in Kailua-Kona has huge portions and specializes in Garlic Furikake Chicken. The chicken is flavorful, crispy, savory, and very juicy. The meal pairs wonderful with their Okinawan purple yam salad.

If you like Japanese food, make sure to visit the Shiokiya Japan Village Walk. It's the closest you'll get to Japan with their 50+ stalls of authentic ramen, curry, sushi, gyoza, and crepes, among others. Well-known Japanese chains have set up shop there. There's even an indoor beer garden. It's conveniently attached to Ala Moana Center, the largest open-air shopping center in the world.

Hanalei Taro & Juice Company is as fresh as it can get. Hanalei Taro is a food truck that is part of the six generation family farm, W.T. Haraguchi Farm. All of the dishes served at Hanalei Taro are original creations based on family recipes. They use fresh taro, fruits, and vegetables from their Haraguchi Farms and other various Kauai Grown farmers. They also use local beef and lamb from various Kauai ranchers. The menu features an ever-changing menu depending on what is fresh. Expect authentic Hawaiian food such as lau lau, kalua pig, poi, lomi salmon, and kulolo.

Chef Kyle Kawakami is a classically trained chef bringing gourmet food to Maui in the form of a food truck. Maui Fresh Streatery uses all local, fresh, and seasonal ingredients to take the concept of farm to table to the next level. The menu is constantly changing with new dishes from around the world being rotated in about every two weeks. Chef Kyle posts his new menu and location every day on social media.

Cafe 100's specialty is Hilo's famous Loco Moco. They've been serving up the Hawaiian-style comfort food since 1946. The no-frills lunch counter restaurant has more than 30 varieties of the traditional Hawaiian dish! Food comes out quick and in a simple and to the point Styrofoam box.

Porky's food truck has three menu options that redefine what a hot dog and grilled cheese sandwich should taste like. Both the number one and two are basically hot dogs with pineapple relish topped with kalua pork and their signature sweet or sweet and spicy BBQ sauce. The grilled cheese uses Havarti and muenster cheeses combined with a double layer of handcrafted, slow roasted kalua pork, grilled onions, all sandwiched between two pieces of toasted cheese bread with signature sweet and spicy BBQ sauce.

Helena's opened in 1946 and has since become a James Beard Foundation winner. Helena's has all the must-try Hawaiian staples. The Pikaula ribs are bone-in short ribs that burst with flavor. The lau lau aka pork salted and steamed in taro leaves is a must-order. Don't forget the kalua pig, which is cooked in a traditional imu for hints of smoky flavor. Add on an order of poi, a traditional, staple food of Hawaii made from pounding a taro plant.

There are multiple Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice shops throughout Maui and even one on the Big Island. They make their own the ice, filter the water, and craft the syrups. Ululani's shave ice is very smooth and melts in your mouth. The company uses only locally-sourced products from their fruit, to the ice cream, and the toppings. The shave ice tastes like you are eating real fruit since they do not use any artificial sweeteners or syrups.

Leoda's is the go-to pie shop on Maui. They use only farm fresh and sustainable ingredients and work with local providers for ingredients to make their pie. Any pie from the case is available in 3-, 5- and 9-inch sizes. They also sell freshly baked banana bread, as well as sandwiches. You can count on Leoda's to always have a line out the door for their sweet and savory pies. Some favorites include the Lilikoi Creme, Olowalu lime, macadamia-nut chocolate, coconut cream pie, and chicken pot pies.

Moon & Turtle is a tapas-style restaurant that specializes in using local, farm-to-table ingredients. Chef Pomasaki, who was born and raised in Hilo, worked in the kitchens of chef Roy Yamaguchi and chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa before returning to open his restaurant. The restaurant may only have about 10 tables, but it has a full bar and ever-changing menu. Some specialties include smoky sashimi, eggplant pork, and wild boar fried rice. Don't forget to save room for their famous passion fruit pie.

There are 120 different varieties of vanilla's that grow throughout the world. Only two are commercially produced. Hawaiian Vanilla Co., the first commericial growers in the U.S., cultivates both and offer luncheons in conjunction with their farm tour or visitors can visit and order off their menu sans tour. Try their Vanilla Lemonade, Vanilla Ice Tea, Vanilla milkshake made with real vanilla or order a Vanilla Citrus Bourbon Chicken Sandwich topped with Vanilla Caramelized onions and served in a Vanilla Sweet Bread Bun with a Vanilla Mango Chutney Aioli.

For more than 50 years, Rainbow Drive-In has served some of the cheapest and tastiest Hawaiian plate lunches. Their award-winning fried rice typically sells out before the morning is over. If you're looking for breakfast, the Portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice is a Hawaiian breakfast staple. Their most popular Mix Plate comes with BBQ Beef, Boneless Chicken and Mahi Mahi and includes two scoops of rice and macaroni salad.

Kouign amann (pronounced kween ah-mon) is a pretty obscure French pastry that comes from the coastal region of Brittany. At Kona Coffee Purveyors, you can have a taste of the Kouign amann by Belinda Leong, James Beard award finalist. The pastry is basically a puff made with butter and sugar in the center and baked inside and looks like an inside-out cupcake. This location has unique local flavors you can't find elsewhere.

Nui serves authentic, Italian food on the Big Island. Chef Gino Cipriano, who was born and raised in Sicily, creating recipes that were inspired by his family. Nui Italian is the only restaurant on the island to make Roman-style pizza. Nui imports their flour from Italy where it is then is mixed with a specific temperature of water and yeast in a 4 hour process to create dough that is aged for 72 hours. It is then carefully folded into rectangular pans and baked at over 600 degrees to create a bubbled texture. The addition of oil in Roman-style pizza gives the crust more weight, flavor, and a crispy crunch than a Neapolitan pizza.

If you make your way to the quiet Island of Molokai, you'll find Molokai Hot Bread being served behind the Kanemitsu's Bakery in a dark alley window after 8 p.m. The late-night bread serves as Molokai's nightlife. The huge Molokai bread is like humongous dinner rolls filled with your choice of cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, blackberry, and or strawberry sauces. The piping hot bread comes served in a plastic bag.

Located in Kailua-Kona, Kona Butcher Shop offers grab-and-go items as well as ready-to-cook seasoned meats and sides. They source local meats from Niihau, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Hawaii Island. Grab some Niihau lamb, Maui venison, or grab one of their many sandwiches at their deli section. A recent sandwich of the day was a thinly sliced Hawaiian Hogs pork, with Akaka Falls Farm lilikoi-habanero aioli, heirloom tomatoes, local organic mixed greens, and shaved fennel, onion pickle on fresh wheat French bread.

ONO Seafood is a hole-in-the-wall shop that specializes in poke. It's no-frills with a straight to the point and simple menu with eight options to choose from. The fish is fresh and very affordable. Expect to grab and go as there are only two tables outside.

Herringbone's menu is created by "Top Chef" alum Brian Malarkey, but Waikiki is the only restaurant outside the mainland U.S. that has local Hawaiian dishes. The Ray Ray pancakes are my favorite item off their brunch menu. The mochi pancakes are crispy and chewy, topped with seasonal berries and drizzled with lilikoi (passionfruit) butter syrup.

Jackie Rey's is a must-visit when in Hawaii. There's something for everyone on the menu. The restaurant is known for working closely with local fisherman to get the freshest fish and seafood coming into the restaurant. Some of the stand out dishes from Jackie Rey's dinner menu is the Seafood Trio-a tower of grilled fresh catch, crab cake, shrimp kabob, sweet potato, and Thai coconut sauce. The Ahi Poke Tower is picture-friendly with chunks of fresh tuna, avocado, tomato, crispy wontons, and tropical drizzle.

Peter Merriman, a pioneer of the farm-to-table Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement, opened his namesake fine-dining restaurant on the Big Island in 1988. Since then, he has opened eight restaurants on four islands. Most of the restaurant's recipes were created by chef Merriman in his home kitchen. Parties of four or more can order the tasting menu, which includes: Waimea Fresh Farm Cucumber & Lobster, Peter's Original Caesar Salad, Kauai Shrimp Korean Style with Spicy Ginger Soy, Ahi Ginger Poke, House-Made Cavatelli Pasta, Avocado & Vine Ripened Tomato, Wok Charred Ahi, Macadamia Nut Crusted Kampachi, Hawaiian Butcher's Cut of Filet, Grilled-House-Made Chimichurri, Jalapeño Whipped Potatoes, Chocolate Oblivion Torte, and Pineapple Bread Pudding with Toasted Macadamia Nuts.

Java Kai uses locally grown, organic beans in their drinks and roasts them daily on-site in small batches. The signature Mac Nut Latte pairs well with any of their healthy burgers and sandwiches. The BBQ Taro Burger is a must-order. There are also fresh, organic juice and smoothies along with a number of vegan and gluten-free items.