Hanai Tours

A diamond in the ruff. A wonderful experience. We loved this food and history tour.

My foodie brother and I went on a Chinatown food and history tour with Ed.
This guy was so informed and well-​read, he had a lot to teach us about Hawaiian history. Loved that. He also was good about reading his audience and taught us the real history of the area that we found fascinating. The technology incorporated was a nice addition. Ed didn’t have a big personality, which would’ve been a colossal bonus, but it was still good as is because he was very kind. Portions were good, go hungry!
We thought a couple of the restaurants could’ve been more unique. The Dim Sum place was the most interesting and authentic feeling. The dessert at the end was unbelievably delicious, and the owner/​server was nice to us. At another place on the tour we ate a plate of orange chicken. We were much more into eating foods we’d never heard of.
A few days later we went to a couple of restaurants that would’ve been awesome inspirations for additions (Ono Hawaiian Foods on Kapahulu Ave and Jawaiian Irie Jerk Restaurant on 11^th & Harding). Obviously, those places weren’t in walking distance of our tour but a restaurant more along those traditional, authentic lines would’ve been great spots rather than the first (corporate-​ish) place we went.
Our recommendations would be that Ed becomes the trainer and managerial aspect of the business, and hires people with big personalities to give the tours. Also, more importantly, he needs to have the money and ordering part figured out beforehand. It was awkward because we had to stand outside or hear him talking as he tried to remind restaurant owners what he was there for and that payment had to be taken care of later. It decreased the smooth, confident feeling tour-​goers should experience. Prepare for a bit of awkwardness and waiting around time when it comes to entering and leaving establishments.
Overall, it was very good and we would do it again.

I went on the Chinatown Desserts, Tropical Fruit and History Tour. Ed is passionate about the downtown Honolulu and Chinatown area, and sharing its history. This is evident throughout the tour. After the tour, I felt a greater appreciation for where I am. The desserts were an added plus throughout the walk. I Highly recommend Hanai Tours for visitors and Hawaii residents.

A small group of friends and I decided to shake things up a bit and play «tourist» in our own backyard.
But rather than hitting up Waikiki, driving around the island, or laying out at the beach (been there, done that!), we thought it would be fun to check out the cool what Downtown & Chinatown has to offer.
A quick note about this rag-​tag group of mine:
2 girls are «transplants» from the Mainland and have just exited the «honeymoon» phase of their residency. That is, they’ve done the mainstream tourist thing and are comfortable enough with showing their visiting friends and family the same «Waikiki-​North Shore-​Matsumoto» itinerary.
1 girl is born & raised on Maui so she’s familiar with probably more than your average transplant/​visitor, but there are still things about Oahu that she hasn’t yet explored.
Although our fourth friend is originally from the Midwest, she’s been living in Oahu for so long, her kamaaina street cred is better than mine!
As for myself, born & raised here in Honolulu, but recently relocated back from the mainland after double-​digit years. There’s a whole lot about Oahu that didn’t exist back when I was a kid (nightlife on Hotel Street!!, Kakaako!!, etc.), so lately it’s been a lot of «rediscovering my hometown.» And while we all work in downtown, our work schedules doesn’t really allow for us to take more than an hour for lunch. By the time 5pm rolls by, all we want to do is veg out in front of the TV and pick at our Lean Cuisines.
Anyway, when the opportunity to learn more about our ‘hood and more importantly, to EAT at places we’ve always said we’d try («one day») came about, we were more than eager.
If you like LEARNING, Hanai Tours is for you. If you like EATING, Hanai Tours is for you. If you like casual strolls & have an Instagram account, Hanai Tours is for you.
Ed, the tour guide, will meet you at Arts at Mark’s Garage. He’s a really easy going, soft spoken guy at first. But then when he gets into the history of Hawaii, the evolution of Chinatown, the sordid and fascinating past of Downtown, you can see his passion for the community and things only get livelier from there!
His tour narrative covers ancient to present day Hawaii. Little known facts, public information long forgotten and anecdotes are tied into the particular street/​food stop on the tour. It’s kind of like VH1’s «Pop Up Video» come to life.
Along the tour, we stopped at these awesome fusion restaurants:
— Restaurant Epic: The misoyaki butterfish is THE TRUTH. Can’t decide between Hawaiian or Filipino food? Get the kalua pork lumpia! Chef James personally greeted us and presented the dish to our group. A great guy, a great restaurant. I will definitely go back again.
— Duc’s Bistro: I had never had a banana blossom salad before (nor did I know it existed). I will be having it again and again, trust me. Fresh, unique, authentic, perfect. From the outside, Duc’s Bistro looks like a hole in the wall, inside is a different story. A humble, fine dining experience, Duc’s was the first «white table cloth» sort of restaurant in the area. They even served us escargot! Triple bonus that Duc himself stopped by our table to say hi.
— Little Village: OK, I’ve been here before (I think we all have), so yeah, this place is legit. Best Chinese food on the island. Spicy pan fried beef and pot stickers are not to be missed. By this stop, I was feeling pretty special when the owner came out to say hi & to present the dish to us.
— Downbeat Diner: They can make any of their regular items vegan. We had the barbeque chicken sandwich. I actually didn’t even realize it wasn’t real chicken until afterwards. A few of us also paid a little extra for a cocktail & milkshake. Again, the owner for this establishment took the time to say hi and to tell us about the diner (when they expanded to include a bar/​performance area, they built the room so that it was acoustic friendly: staggered walls, padded sections on the ceiling).
— Soul de Cuba: Lala from Soul de Cuba is awesome! The artwork is awesome! The flan & the guava empanadas… sweet baby jesus. Just… OMG. So damn good, you’re going to get into a fist fight with your friend over the last bite. The flan was my particular favorite. Thick, rich, just the right amount of sweet. Delicious.
At first I thought that having to share dishes with my friends wouldn’t be filling. I mean… I can have more than a sample, you know what I’m sayin’? But by the end of the tour, I was STUFFED. It was a good feeling!
I’d definitely recommend this for tourists/​visitors to the island who are tired of Waikiki and want that «local» experience.
I also would recommend this to locals… it’s good to re-​discover Hawaii’s history & maybe learn a thing or two. It also give you a chance to finally dine at places on your «to-​do» list.
Check them out at:

I love finding new things about my own backyard (or adopted city in this case) and, even though I have worked in Downtown for quite a while, I had never really explored the Chinatown neighborhood until joining some coworkers on Ed’s tour.
This was the perfect way for me to learn more about Honolulu’s Chinatown and the city as a whole while enjoying my other favorite pass time — eating GREAT food. The food was wonderful (banana blossom salad, who knew???), the group was small, and the company was good but my favorite part of the experience was the history presentation Ed gave us at each restaurant.
This was a far more interesting story than your basic text book history lesson. Ed went into detail about each stage in the neighborhood’s evolution with knowledge gained from his own experience working to revitalize the area. He even timed the walking, restaurants, and presentations to match together seamlessly. You can actually look out at the theatres and buildings that Ed is telling you about while eating your seriously amazing food.
This was great experience whether you recently arrived in Honolulu, are visiting the island, or want to see more of that town you love and THINK you know all about. Ed will surprise you with some interesting tidbits that will change the way you see Chinatown for the better!
Ed told us that along with the restaurant and history tour we went on, there is a Pau Hana tour coming up. I just might have to come back for seconds!