Honolulu Gluten Free

4/12/2018

I was looking for vitamin SEA, sun, and delicious food, so what better place than Hawaii? I decided on Honolulu and stayed in Waikiki for some well deserved R&R. Read on to see where I stayed and ate during my short but delicious stay in Honolulu.

My Hostel

Rooftop patio at The Beach Waikiki Boutique Hostel

I stayed at The Beach Waikiki Boutique Hostel, a hostel on the southern end of the Waikiki area. I found it to be the perfect spot to stay, being only a block from the beach and 10 minutes from the center of the tourist area.

The hostel offers free tours every day of the week, and if I had more time, energy, and less desire to hunt and devour all the delicious gluten free food in Honolulu, I might have gone on the tours.

I stayed in the 4 bed female dorm with an attached bathroom. The bathroom was all tile and it was nice and clean. Housekeeping came everyday to clean the bathroom and floors.

Ensuite bathroom in a dorm room at the hostel

There was a fridge in the room itself so I could store all my gluten free leftovers I collected during my stay without fear of it getting lost among hundreds of other take out boxes, or worse, stolen and eaten by another hungry hostel-er.

It was a social hostel and the tiny lobby was always buzzing and filled with folks ready to go on adventures with you.

For $35-$39 a night for a bed it was an amazing deal.

Day 1 - Beach Picnic

My beach picnic in Waikiki

I knew I wanted something that I could enjoy at the beach, so after a quick Google Maps search I found the Food Pantry was just a short walk away from the hostel.

The Food Pantry became my go to spot for a quick, cheap meals while in Honolulu.

The store has two parts, the convenience store section that resembles a 7-11 and the super market section, which was more of a traditional grocery store.

Inside the main grocery store section, there was a hot food station which included rotisserie chicken, fish, pork, and rice. I made sure to read the food labels carefully to ensure there was no gluten containing ingredients. Some didn't have labels, so I passed on those. Some of the things I was able to eat included grilled salmon with rice and hot dog musubi.

In one corner there was a pre-made/pre-packaged poke section. And after reading all the labels 10 times, I saw some pokes were not marinated in soy sauce.

Dinner from the Food Pantry

After checking out with the cashier at the Food Pantry, I took my meal to the beach and found a spot under palm trees to enjoy my picnic. Shortly after scarfing down my meal I fell asleep to the ocean waves softly crashing onto the sand.

When I woke up, I was hungry again. (Story of my life.) So I went back to hostel to clean up and venture out for more food.

I went to the King's Village Farmers Market hoping to find some dinner to eat, but mostly happened upon fruits and coconut tapioca cups. Which is all fine and dainty and looked delicious, but I was more in the mood for something savory and more filling. So back to the Food Pantry for poke and coconut water, before I headed back to the hostel for a good's nights rest.

Day 2 - Gluten Free Poke

With the wonderful people of Ahi Assassin Fish Company. (From left to right) Uncle Henry, Revan, myself, and Tyler.

After looking up every poke place in Honolulu and searching all their websites, I found ONE poke place that advertised gluten free poke, Ahi Assassin Fish Company.

Ahi Assassin is a 40 minute walk or a 20 minute bus ride from the Waikiki area. It's in an unassuming strip mall near the University of Mona. The store is tucked in the corner on the 2nd floor and only a few flags hanging off the balcony really calls your attention to the shop.

Fresh, locally caught tuna

Upon entering the tiny shop, I asked the attendant at the counter if there was gluten free poke available, as stated on their website. He said he didn't have any already made, but would gladly make some. And that's where the magic began.

A gentleman who was slicing fish up in the kitchen, Uncle Henry, pulled out diced tuna from the fridge and Revan, the other shop worker, pulled out sesame oil, salt, pepper, and vegetables. They got cleaned bowls and utensils to mix my poke. They asked how I would like it and I was so overwhelmed by the gratitude of them accommodating my Celiac disease, I wasn't even sure. I said however they thought would make it delicious and boy was it.

Custom gluten free poke

They mixed my tuna with sesame oil, onion, green onions, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and pepper. So simple but oh so perfect. And perfectly safe. Something us Celiac-ers can be so paranoid about when eating food. I hung out with the crew for awhile as I saw locals come in and out to order their poke.

During my chat with Uncle Henry, I found out that the tuna he was slicing and dicing was caught that morning by owner Josh. How amazing is that? Fresh and locally caught.

Tuna caught that day

Locals recommended other poke places to try, but I would definitely come here for poke. They go above and beyond to accommodate your gluten free needs and even if you're not gluten free, come here for their fresh ingredients and amazing service.

Night 2 - Dinner & Milkshakes

Dinner at the hostel

On my way back to the hostel I stopped by the Safeway supermarket to get food to cook up in the hostel's communal kitchen. Groceries in Hawaii definitely cost more than the mainland, but I did find chicken that was on sale. Two pounds of chicken to be exact. Since it was only $5.00 I bought it and figured I could invite other hostel goers to dine with me. I mean what hostler doesn't like free food?

When I got back to the hostel with my groceries, I invited every hostel stayer I saw to have dinner with me. The table ended up having hostlers from Germany, Canada, Denmark, and Korea. We dined on (gluten free) teriyaki chicken and rice and shared wine and travel stories.

Attack of the chocolate milkshake from Volcano Shakes

After dinner, some of us were in the mood for dessert. We asked the front desk what they recommended and they suggested Volcano Shakes.

Volcano Shakes is known for their epic towering milkshakes, which includes a s'mores milkshake decked out in marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. I asked the shop if any of it could be made gluten free, like the s'mores sans graham crackers, and they were honest and said the cross contamination risk was way too high and suggested a plain chocolate shake. The plain chocolate shake was delicious and safely satisfied my sweets craving.

Day 3 - Gluten Free/Vegan Desserts

Showing off the beautiful papaya bowl

I went to the complimentary hostel breakfast to see if there was anything I could eat, but it consisted of bread and muffins. I sipped on tea and ran into the girls who had come to dinner the night before. We decided to go to the beach to boogie board and to snap some photos. We went Kaimana Beach, as per the suggestion of a local, but found the sand to rough. We walked back to Queens Beach where the sand was much softer.

The delicious and gorgeous treats from Coffee shop 831

After some fun at the beach, we went back to the hostel to clean up and get lunch. We first grabbed some savory food at the Food Pantry (I told you it became my go to place for food) then ventured off to Coffee Shop 831 for coffee and desserts.

After seeing a photo of the papaya bowl on Google Maps, I knew I had to check out Coffee Shop 831. Between the five of us, we ordered two papaya bowls, an acai bowl, a raw vegan chocolate pudding with chia, and a Okinawan sweet potato cake. Make sure to order the papaya bowls and acai bowls without granola if you want it to be gluten free.

Inside Coffee Shop 831

I fell in LOVE with the raw vegan chocolate pudding with chia. The sweet potato cake was also delicious, especially with the drizzle of chocolate sauce. The papaya bowls were gorgeous and the fruit was refreshing after a day at the beach.

With Avery the Pom

We hung out with the adorable Avery the Pom (follow him on Instagram here) before going back to the hostel for a nap. Life's a beach eh?

Night 3 - Drinks in the Rain

Enjoying my Mai Tai despite the rain

After our nap, we met up at the hostel rooftop for pizza night. I obviously didn't indulge in the pizza, but enjoyed some leftover chicken and rice. After my new friends had their fill of pizza, we headed out to get drinks at the famous Duke's.

Being a Friday night it was packed. The a bar area was first come first serve for tables and the outside patio next to the beach was via a waiting list. We waited only 20 minutes before we scored a table.

We all ordered drinks and I personally ordered a mai tai. I mean we are in Hawaii aren't we? The staff came over and said it was going to rain soon and even when it did start sprinkling, we sat it out. We were the last table to leave and it was only after it started pouring. We joked with the staff and asked if we got something for being the last table to leave the rain and they comped us a dessert!

We went a little crazy and went back into the rain to dance. Because "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

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