I lucked into this video while searching Youtube for something interesting about Hawaii. It’s great – she finds rambutans at the Lahaina Produce market (LahainaProduce.com) over by the Pu’ukolii Sugar Train Station. Rambutans are one of the most delicious fruits in the world. I have trouble deciding which is best – rambutan, dragon fruit, or longan. I can eat almost a kilogram of each of these amazing tropical fruits.

She mentions that the food baskets are $30 if you go there and stop by in person. If you order online – they are $20, and you can pick them up in person – or, they can deliver them to your Maui hotel, home, or other location for $10. Not bad!

I know when I was living both on Oahu and Maui, I was constantly on the lookout for fresh fruits and vegetables, and I would go anywhere to find them. There were markets on North Shore, downtown, and some local markets away from town that we used to head to on Oahu. On Maui too – we knew about a couple of fresh food markets that were open certain days of the week.

What I loved most was driving around the base of Diamond Head and seeing tables in front of houses with a sign saying – take some – free mangoes, coconuts, avocados, mountain apples (rose apples), and even pineapples! Awesome – right?

The Kula area of Maui – up to 4,000 feet on Haleakala Volcano – has exceptional fruits and vegetables. In particular, one place worth a trip is Kula Country Farms (KulaCountry.com). They have a wide selection of good things to eat. Don’t miss Maui onions while in Maui – they are the best in the world, and go very well with Ahi Poke – a raw tuna dish that you also must try while staying in Hawaii. You can find it at Safeway and in the deli’s of the big supermarkets, but usually better quality ahi (tuna) if you go with a restaurant and pay more for it.

Also, while you’re up on Haleakala stop at one of the small diners along the road – that look like someone’s home. They are someone’s home, and I’ve never had a bad meal in one. Great atmosphere and lovely weather – as the ambient air temperature is usually 5-10 degrees cooler in Kula than areas at sea level.

Aloha…

Vern