Typical Plate Lunch Dishes
“Plate lunch” is a special plate of food that locals like to eat for lunch or dinner. In a lot of senses, plate lunch is the Hawaiian version of fast food (like McDonald’s and Burger King), except some dishes can in fact be healthy. The most accessible plate lunch restaurant chain is L&L Drive Inn. Other popular joints are Grace’s Inn or Rainbow Drive-In. These restaurants are also similar to fast food joints because they are typically take-out restaurants where you walk in, order at the counter, and take your food home with you or to a park or the beach to eat.
All plate lunches come with a large scoop of rice and a scoop of “mac salad,” which is the Hawaiian version of coleslaw (just substitute the cabbage for macaroni). Regular sized plate lunch dishes are always filling — especially if you decide to order a combo plate, so if you’re not so hungry it would be wise to order a “mini plate,” which is normally about ¾ the price and ¾ the size of a regular plate.
The following are the typical fares available at a normal plate lunch joint:
BBQ Chicken: At least 2-3 chicken breasts are marinated in delectable barbecue sauce and then grilled.
Chicken Katsu: Small, thin chicken strips are coated in a flour mixture and then fried to make some delicious, boneless fried chicken strips and then served with a tangy katsu sauce (that tastes like a mixture of ketchup and barbecue sauce)
Loco Moco: Beef patties are served with an over-easy egg on top.
Meat Jun: Thin strips of beef are dipped in an egg batter and then fried and often served with a special teriyaki sauce.
Kalbi: Thinly sliced beef ribs are marinated in barbecue sauce and then grilled to make a yummy, beefy meal.
Mahi: Grilled Hawaiian fish filets that are often cooked in a garlic sauce.
Kalua Pig: The Hawaiian version of pulled pork, often served over a bed of steamed cabbage.
Lau Lau: Pork or chicken wrapped in a kind of spinach and ti leaf and steamed to perfection. Unwrap the ti leaf and eat the rest. Yum!
Choose from any of these great meals and enjoy!
Comments Off