Hawaii: Maui

We’ve been to Oahu, Maui & Hawaii (the Big Island) many times.  Here’s info about Maui.  What’s interesting about Maui is that although there are concentrations of people, there are also vast spaces of emptiness (fields of sugar cane, empty dessert like areas, etc.).  You can find everything from the swap meet/craft stall open air market to the luxury mall, inexpensive motels to high end resorts, and hole-in-the wall restaurants to Denny’s/Outback Steakhouse to one-of-a-kind gourmet establishments.  You can have as much adventure on every front (land and sea/pool)  as you want.  (I’m only putting a few notes – We went to a lot more places.  Write if you want to know about something specific that’s not here.)

Restaurants Maui

Koiso Sushi Bar

*Koiso Sushi bar  (amazingly fresh fish, After eating the fresh, raw, shrimp the chef cooked the heads for us – see photo below.)

*Nick’s Fishmarket (very fresh catch, good wine selection, flaming strawberries – see general posts for pictures)

Ko at the Fairmont

*Ko at Fairmont (Hawaiian, fusion, unusual dessert selections & good plating; $39 tasting menu)

Caramel Miranda dessert with Miranda - Mala Ocean Tavern 2006

*Mala Ocean Tavern (really good hamburgers & Caramel Miranda)

Caramel Miranda dessert with Miranda - Mala Wailea 2009

*Mala in Wailea (same great food but doesn’t have the same fun energy – more serious, more quiet)

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Other finds:

Dessert menu Aloha Mixed Plate

*Aloha Mixed Plate (great view & inexpensive, delicious food)
*Da Kitchen
*Sam Sato’s (for dry noodles)
*Maui Tacos (puts our local Wahoo Fish tacos to shame)

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Bakeries Maui

Peach turnover and Adzuki manju

*Sam Sato’s (We tried the adzuki manju which were great & the peach turnover which were a bit underbaked.)

*Four Sister’s bakery (donuts! they will fill one with custard if you want… different types of filled buns)

*Maui Bake Shop (traditional French – didn’t try anything, just went in to look around… everything looked standard… one of the patrons said that he stops there every time he’s in Maui… they recently changed hands)

Home Maid bakery manju

Home Maid bakery mochi

*Home Maid Bakeries: Go to

the one on 1005 Lower Main. It’s th

e central bakery and has a huge selection. Part of it is similar to the bakeries in Chinatown or Mexican bakeries in NM and CO where you get a tray and pick things yourself.

Coconut empanadas

*Moana Bakery in Paia  (open all day – traditional pastries but some have interesting fillings – coconut empanads)

*Ba-Le: I must have missed the bakery because I ended up at a food court. They had some steamed filled buns (look like bao) and many flavors of tapioca.

Other activites:

*snorkeling Molokini – We have snorkeled Molokini a few times and it’s different now than 19 years ago.  However, the variety & quantity of fish you’ll see makes the trip worthwhile.  We took a different snorkeling trip that didn’t go to Molokini and even though they said it would be better, it wasn’t.  So, if you only have time for one thing, Molokini is worth doing.

*whale watching:  There are many companies that do whale watching and they all hae guarantees.  We chose the Pacific Whale Foundation because they directly support research and preservation.  If you join, rather than just go on the trip, you will receive a discount on the trip and anything you purchase (both at the Lahaina ship and the one near the aquarium).

*Maui ocean center: This aquarium is comparable to others.  It is set up so that you start at tide pools and head downward into the ocean.  The talk given by one of the personnel about sharks (toward the end of the aquarium layout) was excellent.  He really knew his stuff.

*Lahaina:  The banyon tree, Wo Hing Temple mseum

*Iao Valley state park:  Easy hike, Nature center (very small, some interesting things), Kepaniwai park & heritage gardens

*Paia  (pah-ee-a, with emphasis on the last syllable “a”):  cute shops, lots of places to eat, nearby windsurfing area (great viewing)

*Haleakala:  We woke up and saw the sunrise once.  It was great.  Unfortunately, you do have to wake up very early in order to get there and to get parking.  It’s still worth driving over to visit even if you miss sunrise – there are the Nene (native bird), the protea farms, and natural beauty of the area.

Flowers from Kihei farmer's market

*Farmer’s markets & Protea farms near Haleakala