Can you eat cheaply in Hawaii?

The US may not be at the top of your bucket list, but if you’re a cruise passenger, there’s a good chance you could end up in Hawaii.

Many cruises stop or end in Honolulu, while others are devoted solely to cruising around the Hawaiian Islands.

I’ve landed in Hawaii courtesy of a generous door prize at an Australian Society of Travel Writers lunch.

The trip includes economy flights for two from Sydney to Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines, side flights to Kona, and five nights of accommodation.

Mindful of the low exchange rate (about US65¢ to one Aussie dollar), plus mandatory taxes and tipping, my husband watches hours of YouTube food videos to help us eat as cheaply and authentically as possible.

On paper he has scribbled the things he wants to try, in no particular order:

1. Taro (purple)

2. Spam musubi

3. Loco moco

4. Poke

5. Plate lunch

Being a sweet tooth, I add malasadas.

Our holiday starts on Hawai’i, aka the Big Island, at the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort. It reminds me of Nusa Dua in Bali, but more isolated.

We only have two nights here and I didn’t do enough research. Hire cars are all based back at Kona Airport about 40 minutes away, and ride shares are scarce.

The only option for exploring nearby towns for cheap eats is to rent a Tesla from the resort, costing about $A320 for six hours.

On the roadside not far from the resort we find an outpost of Manuela Malasada Company. Tick! These hot doughnuts can be eaten plain or with fillings such as haupia (coconut) and jam. Three set me back about $24.

After sightseeing along some scary winding roads, we arrive in the town of Waimea just after sunset. We’ve seen TV commercials promising the best poke (diced marinated raw fish) in Hawaii is at supermarket chain Foodland, and a friendly staff member lets us try a few varieties.

We buy one bowl of ahi shoyu poke, one of spicy ahi poke, and a bag of furikake wonton chips for $25, which is about the cost of one poke bowl in a restaurant. We head back to the hotel to eat it overlooking the Pacific Ocean. For $43 we add a salad and two non-alcoholic drinks from the deli section of the resort’s Piko Coffee and Bar.

For three nights in Honolulu on Oahu we are staying at Prince Waikiki, a short stroll from the giant shopping complex Ala Moana Centre. This is about 10 minutes from Honolulu’s cruise terminal.

At Ala Moana we find a branch of Musubi Cafe Iyasume selling the popular snack spam musubi, which is basically marinated spam on sushi rice. It’s a bit salty for my liking. One teriyaki musubi and a bacon and egg musubi cost $10.

Food prices are more expensive in Hawaii because of the freight costs, but the price of everything seems noticeably higher than on our only previous visit, in 2013. My benchmark is a slice of red velvet from The Cheesecake Factory on the tourist strip of Kalakaua Avenue. One slice, with tax and tip, sets me back $22.90.

Coffees cost an average $9-$14 depending on size, location, and whether you get added flavours: mac nut is popular. Island Vintage Shave Ice outside the Royal Hawaiian Center serves up classic icy desserts I’d argue are better than the more famous ones on the North Shore; prices vary according to toppings, but expect to spend $15.

In the colourful neighbourhood of Kaimuki, a serve of Chocolate and Vanilla Bakery’s ube banana bread sets us back about $13. It’s not quite taro, but it is purple, so that’s another item ticked.

The buzzing Ohana Hale Food Truck Park at the quieter end of Kalakaua Avenue is where we find garlic shrimp and our first plate lunch, which comprises a protein (fried chicken) plus rice and macaroni cheese instead of the traditional macaroni salad.

Several friends recommend a trip to Marugame Udon, where you can watch your food being prepared. Two bowls of udon, a tempura snack and two drinks cost $66.

ABC Stores are prolific around Honolulu, selling everything from alcohol to Hawaiian shirts. The affiliated Island Country Markets bills itself as a “full-service deli and gift shop”.

It’s a bit like eating at a fancy IGA or Good Grocer. One night we dine in on prime rib loco moco (white rice, beef and gravy topped with a fried egg), fish tacos and haupia pie for $59.

I have extended the trip by paying for two nights at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, an insanely busy oceanfront hotel comprising five towers and more than 3000 rooms. Checking in here is more hectic than queueing for a budget flight.

It has a hard-to-beat location on the Waikiki beachfront next to the calm waters of Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon. There’s a food truck here, so we share a barbecue chicken lunch box and Dole Whip, which I have been hooked on since realising the pineapple ice confection is dairy-free. Lunch costs about $50.

Breakfast isn’t included at the Hilton, so we head over the road to the International House of Pancakes. This is my 10th visit to the US, but my first to IHOP, a breakfast, lunch and dinner pancake chain founded in 1958.

We share the combo of two cinnamon pancakes, eggs, bacon and hash brown. The filter coffees with free refills are surprisingly drinkable. Breakfast comes to $60. It’s good enough to warrant a repeat visit for our final meal before flying back to Sydney.

+ Sue Yeap was a guest of Hawaiian Airlines and Hawaii Tourism. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.

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