I stopped going to farmer's markets because it was just the same vendors and items every time and I…read morecan only eat so much hand pulled noodle or Spätzle (shout out to Youpo Noodles and Little Sparrow, respectively). But I had a gift card on the verge of expiration at a vendor found only at the Saturday Ward Farmer's Market. Walking around hoping that there was new stuff, my optimism was rewarded when I founded Guaya, a seemingly new vendor selling Cuban style sandwiches, something definitely lacking in Hawaii's food scene. A quick google search to check reviews, which didn't bring up much but a legit interview on KHON rested my nerves. I ordered the only item on their menu: a Cuban sandwich, which is ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard in a pressed sandwich. After a short wait, out came a delicious, hot bundle of goodness. Full of flavor, balanced, with a decent crunch on the bread. The meats were tender, the cheese was perfectly melted and I didn't have to fly to Miami to get it. You probably should share this or limit your brunch to just this as it's a lot of food. The awesome owner also sells some merchandise off their website/instagram if you want to indulge in more than just food. So if you're tired of the regular same old food at farmer's markets, look for this booth and get yourself a tasty, tasty sandwich. Just eat some vegetables later as this isn't exactly health food.

Tried their Cubano for the first time. Wasn't expecting much, looked like a regular sandwich. I…read morewas wrong. It was DELICIOUS!!! So simple, yet so flavorful!!!

This little kiosk thing is located in the parking lot of the Pearl City Home Depot. We had a bunch…read moreof errands this afternoon, so we decided to get a late lunch here. My husband ordered the classic burger with fries, a side of fries for the kids, and I ordered the loaded Hot dog. Our total came out to a little over $30, and it wasn't at all worth it. I work in the food industry and know how much it can cost to buy and make food and what not, but this was unbelievable. We could have gotten a burger at McDonald's or something and it would have been cheaper and tastier. The hot dog was the smallest size hot dog in the market, and they charged $10! Even with mustard, mayo, 1 piece of bacon, and onions, it was definitely not worth it. I can't even explain how upset we were. We definitely will not be back here.

They are never open when they do and if you are park by there door they won't look for you and…read moredamage your car. They don't have no respect for other people personal property

Coming to the KCC Farmer's market in late January, I was surprised to find the layout changed so…read moredramatically. Besides several familiar sellers being gone, the number of vendors seemed to be less than I remember. Bringing a friend to this market, I wasn't sure whether he'd been here and I walked off to use the restroom which is now the one on campus. As I returned, my friend had wandered to this stand and generously shared what he bought with our other travel companion and me. He bought the Empanada especial which was crab (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&select=kWEPRzOWs2EtocPcEAaSLw), real crab meat, potato, smoked Gouda cheese, mayo, onion; it came with a delicious green chimichurri sauce (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&select=WS6EnU062gvtZnct4DPPog) that we dipped them in. Not expecting this treat, I first took a bite and it was tasty, not knowing the flavors and ingredients. We toasted our landing here (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=72&select=fpX7EDFfjUJTUwsveh5Elw) and started dipping it in the provided chimichurri sauce. Before you knew it, it was gone. Since we were walking the rest of the market, I didn't stop here and only got details about this business and what I ate from taking a photo of their stand (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=72&select=xnYnbxbbydTYYSmFCRZ-mg). I'll study this a little more before my next visit and we'll see what the special is when we return.

I decided to try Papi's at the Kailua Farmer's Market tonight (Thursday), because I was looking for…read morea quick dinner bite. They don't have a permanent location, and do pop ups at various locations. I love a great empanada, and have been getting mine from the "other" empanada store that opened in early 2024 in Kailua. These empanadas are really small for the $5 price 3 for $13), but that's the only "negative" about it. It's about 3 inches across, which is about half the size of a "regular" sized empanada. Empanadas are more of a snack anyway, but two or three would make a meal for me, just not at this size (lol). The taste and texture are really great. The crust is flaky and slightly crisp, like the outside of a biscuit or a pie crust, which is really nice. The fillings are very tasty, and they have a good variety. I tried the Greek empanada, and the Cochinila, which is a slow roasted pulled pork. They were both very good and flavorful. They provided a small dish of chimichurri, fresh, tart, and slightly spicy. Their special one is their crab empanada ($6), and if they're a regular at the Kailua FM, I may try that the next time. Overall, they're very tasty with a great texture, but a bit pricey.

When my boyfriend and I were in Honolulu and on a North shore tour we decided to stop by Crispy…read moreGrindz. The acai bowl was the perfect treat to hit the spot on such a hot day. We decided to get an acai bowl topped with granola, honey, blueberries and banana. The acai was like no other acai I had ever had! It was so thick, creamy and refreshing with just the right amount of sweetness and no icy texture at all. All of the ingredients tasted incredibly fresh, and every bite left me wanting another. While it is only a food truck there is a bunch of shaded seating nearby and other delicious food trucks right next to it. Service was also very quick and friendly. I would definitely come back to try out some of their other acai bowl combos next time!

Tried out the pastel from their food truck at the cinco de mayo festival in Kakaako (coz all the…read moretaco trucks had huge lines...) glad I tried this place out coz their pastel with cheese and beef was delicious!!! How the cheese kinda melted with the pastry and deep fried together - hmmm... I was hoping to try the coxinha. Maybe next time. The wait wasn't too long as well. The pastel came out fresh, hot and crispy with gooey cheese and well flavored beef inside. I would order from them if I saw their truck again.

Came to the north shore quickly and decided to stop by the food trucks. This truck is located…read moreacross from the pizza truck near the red tables. Quickly glazed at their menu and decided for the traditional ground beef with chimichurri. Waited only a couple minutes and it was done. Very tasty and loved the sauce. I overheard someone ordering the cheeseburger empanada and I thought oooh I'll be back for that next time. Get service as the woman working was asking what I ordered from another truck. She seemed very nice!

We had the asparagus and mushroom empanadas and they were amazing we ordered another orderread more

Saw them at the Blaisdell Wed market. Had a large amount of people waiting so I decided to check…read morethem out. After talking to the super friendly and helpful worker decided on the Chorizo, Chicken Tiki and another one I forgot lol All 3 were crispy on the outside and tasty inside! The chimichurri sauce made it even better!

At the Honolulu Farmers Market on a Wednesday evening. If you're in the mood for some empanadas,…read morePapi's Empanadas is your place! They have lots of different kinds to choose from. I tried a Lobster empanada and also a Beef empanada. Both tasted great! The workers are friendly and the food tastes great!

Is the food here good? Yes, the Quesataco Dorado, Mini Quesadilla and Consume are good…read more Does the Consume come with your order? No, menu is a la carte. Is this place worth waiting an hour and a half or longer? I don't think so. My lunch buddy and I decided to come here the Wednesday after Ohana Hale Marketplace opened up again. This was during the extension of the second Stay-At-Home order. After reading about how long people wait to order food from here, we decided to arrive at 10am. I got there earlier but I was on a call with a client so I stayed in my vehicle. Luckily my lunch buddy is always early and went inside to stand in line. Even though we were early, she was still 3rd in line. Now the wait begins... One hour passed and they finally opened to take orders! They took the first and second persons order. Third persons order was taken after first person received their order. This continues down the line. This is why you have to wait so long to order here. They seriously need to figure out a new system because if they don't, this will be their downfall. The food is good but I don't think it's worth the wait as mentioned above. Price is also on the high end for what you get. Overall, great to support local during this time but it'll be awhile before I come back again.

Yay! Finally got to try the hype on the mainland. There's another place that has this too, but it's…read moretoo far for me to get to. They opened at ohana market place last week and they already had a huge following. I attempted to go on their 3rd day and the line went out the door and then some. Since I was outside and the line was barely even moving, I decided to leave, especially since I read someone waited for 3 hours. I'm going to die from a heat stroke out there and I wasn't even prepared to wait that long. Then they were closed for a few days and was going to reopen on a Thursday, which ended up being the day of lockdown 2 on Oahu, and ohana market was now going to close completely, so they decided to open the day before! Score! I was so disappointed prior to that cause I was so close to trying until I saw they were going to open up before the place closes down. I was prepared this time! I went exactly when the marketplace opened and b-lined it to their spot! I scored and was the first in line! Lucky for me, they opened a little earlier than expected so the wait wasn't that bad - I say 40 mins tops! The menu was pretty small. It's either the Birria tacos for 4.50, quesadillas for $5, or the broth for $4. They have all of their lemonades and limeades and they start at $6 each. The limit was 10 tacos and I ended up getting all 10 along with 2 broths and a guava limeade. The total for all of this was a whopping $62. My jaw almost dropped. Lol. They also took orders 2 at a time so that's why the line barely moved. I hope they can find a way to be a little more efficient with this. I think they used maybe a 6" tortilla so it's not super big or super small either. The flavors were good and so was the broth. I really enjoyed the guava limeade that was recommended by the cashier. You can tell they use fresh limes in their drinks. I liked how I ordered too much so it came in two containers with limes and radishes. Perfect cause I forgot to tell them to separate 4 in a separate container since it was for a friend. I would come back again on occasion. It's kind of a lot of money for tacos, but it is addicting. I must say - I got myself into an entanglement with Birria tacos this week and I want more! Anyway! Some tips for you! Go when the mall opens so you don't have to wait 2++ hours and be disappointed or wait till the hype dies down. There's also 2 other people that sells this from their homes and 1 other restaurant that sells this twice a week in wahiawa. There is definitely more demand for this than people who actually make these. I hope more places jump on the Birria taco train!

Have you been searching for authentic street tacos? If so, this is the place to get it!…read moreAt first, I was scared to go because it's a food truck just off lagoon drive and going at night when businesses are closed *yikes* for a woman. But boy was I wrong. There's a lot of cars passing by and I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The menu is both in Spanish and English. Although I do speak some Spanish. Parking was no problem since the warehouse behind and around are closed. I ordered the tripas (guts) and lengua(tongue) tacos, chickens tamales, chicken nachos, and cachete(beef cheek) burrito which were all as I remember eating in Cali (closest to the border). I think I'll stick to just tacos next time, the burrito was FAT. Order extra hot sauce! Oh for drinks I also got the Boing!guava spritzer and the guarana soda. I mistook the guarana as Guyana (guava in Spanish). But guarana is a Brazilian fruit as I learned after I started drinking it. They were both enjoyable and good to drink while eating tacos. I will most definitely return, maybe again this week! I see they just added esquites to their repertoire so I gotta go! Well post pics of the esquites later!

Finding good Mexican here in Hawaii can be a challenge. Glad I found this place. I had the…read moreTuesday special. Four tacos, any meat, for $10 and change. Everything was on point! Good tortillas, plenty of meat and toppings. I had the Carne Asada and chorizo. I HIGHLY recommend this place ti anybody who is looking for authentic Mexican food. Located just past the Keehi Lagoon Rail station (on the right)