<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
We go to hawaii every year with our 10 year old celiac daughter. I don't
know anything about oahu but we stay in maui all the time. We have also
stayed at the Grand Wailea 3 times.
I will pass on any information that I can think of, but please feel free to
e-mail me with any specific questions you might have.
The first time we stayed at the Grand Wailea, I contacted the head chef and
he was pretty accomodating. I had frozen GF foods shipped directly to them
but I think it was a waste of time and money. The problem with the Grand
Wailea is that their restaurants are pretty upscale and not really kid
oriented. They do have a japanese restaurant however, you might want to ask
about that, as we ate japanese tepanyaki at the Hilton Waikoloa with my
daughter and it was fun and very easy to accomodate her. They just cooked
all of hers first with no soy sauce and it was quite good. I have also been
told that Nick's Fish Market at the Kea Lani is very good and very
accomodating. (also upscale)
Roy's in Kihei is known for very good food. You can ask your concierge to
call and make reservations and let them know of your needs. They are very
accomodating (also for kids) and will be prepared for you when you get
there.
There is a vietnamese restaurant in Kehei also that has rice noodle dishes.
Very good.
Do Not eat french fries anywhere in Hawaii without asking first. They coat
all of the fries with flour seasoning to keep them crispy. Except for
McDonald's.
Just thought of this one. In the cannery mall in Lahaina there is a Mexican
restaurant also and a quick Japanese take out who will clean the grill and
make chicken and rice dishes without sauce that are GF. There is also a
Safeway right there.
In Kahana which is a little further than Kaanapali there is also a Roy's and
next to it a little cafe called Ashley's internet cafe. Ashley's has the
BEST shave ice and also cooks up Kalua pig and Lau Lau pig or chicken with
rice on the side that makes great take out. Yummy! Just let him know what
you cannot have. He was really helpful.
In Kihei, there is a health food store called Hawaiian Moons on the main
street. Also right next to it is a Maui Taco. Hawaiian Moons has some
bread and cookies, etc., but I have found it to be way easier to pack one
carry-on with all of my GF foods in it. I take cereal, bread and donuts
from kinnikinnick, and cookies, crackers etc. The Grand Wailea will put an
extra refrigerator in your room if you ask for it. I think they charge
25.00 a week. I'm sure the hyatt would do the same. We usually just buy
lunch type food and keep it in the fridge and eat lunch on our lanai. It's
just easier.
The Grand Wailea also has Dip n Dots and great smoothies for the kids.
Their buffet breakfast is also very nice and has many options as well.
Sorry for all of the rambling. I am just adding things as I think of them.
I hope this is helpful information and please e-mail me if you have any
other questions.
Most cooking in the islands is done by roasting, so a luau should be no
problem if you just look at what is being served. Poi is from a plant root,
so is ok. Just don't eat the rolls if offered.
I lived on Oahu in the 70's with 2 Celiac children, and no understanding
health food stores. I had no problem feeding my children at home or eating
out.
I have visited resorts on Maui since I became a Celiac, and had no
problem in restaurants as long as I was clear what I did and did not want on
my salads and with my dinner. I even ate at a Beni Hana style place, and
the cook cooked my meat before the other people's seafood just to
accommodate my seafood allergy.
There are good health food stores on Maui - look for "Down to Earth" near the
airport and in Lahaina - there may be more that we didn't find. Lahaina Fish
Market restaurant would not help, but 2 doors down in Kimos we explained our
needs to the hostess and were well served. Outback Steakhouse is a good pick
as well. Watch out everywhere in Hawaii for Soy Sauce, Shoyu and Teryaki!!!
J W Ihilani is AWESOME, but we have never eaten there. We kept our sailboat
at the marina. There are NO STORES anywhere near the hotel, except the little
marina store which is useless for you. Pearl City has a Down to Earth
store. It's about 9 miles from the airport on the way to the Ihilani in KoOlina.
I would email the hotels NOW and inquire about dining. They are all good
hotels, so you should be ok, but again, I like to write to them ahead of time,
asking for a response from the head chef or restaurant manager. We do that when
we are going to other islands, but in Maui we had a condo with kitchen.
Bring snacks. We are leaving Hawaii after a 3 year tour with the Navy
because we find being gluten and dairy free here is a pain and expensive.
1. THere is a health food store across from the Shopping Center in Kahului
(where the airport is) that has an Old Navy in it. The Health food store
is called Down to Earth in the name and is in a small strip shopping
center. Pretty big selection.
2. Bring your Van's or Safeway shopper card and the Safeway gf list (in the
archives) and by many things there.
3. Check out the Honolua Store (a 100yr old plantation worker store) in
Kapalua on Office Rd at lunch time or before about 3pm. They serve either
hot or take out Filipino food. My husband is Filipino and so we know that
most Filipino food is gf. In particular, we ate the Chicken, Beef, or Pork
Adobo with Rice almost every day (since it was heaven to not have to cook
and it was delicious). I am allergic to wheat but my daughter is very
sensitive to gluten - she never had a moment of discomfort or diarrhea.
Adobo is made with meat, fish sauce (which is gf), spices, and pineapple
(just a little) and is great. You can also buy WantWant rice crackers there
that are gf (the sugar coated Want Want's sold here in Va. now contain
wheat starch so we can't eat them, but the ones at this store must come
from Hong Kong as they only contain rice flour, sugar, salt).
4. You can get plain grilled fish, chicken or a hamburger many many places.
We usually packed a gf lunch for road trips to Haleakala or Hana, but often
found things we could eat along the way.
5. Check out the Maui Bake Shop in Wailea if there are non-gf-ers in your
party. Great French pastry shop that had lovely salads with feta cheese
I do have a nice carry-on cooler type bag
that I had gf pretzels,my tuna in foil packaging,gf crackers and gf trail
mix bars that did get x-rayed but no big problems. The things that did get
looked at were the bags with the curling irons and hair dryers. Since you
have a little one who is celiac I would probably bring the cereals and mixes
she likes just to be on the safe side,but the Down to Earth did have mixes
too. Down to Earth is in a Corrugated Tin building so look for that. It is
on the right side on Dairy Rd as you leave the airport and it has a well
marked sign. Lahaina also has a smaller Down to Earth but I didn't go in as
I already got supplies. The Down To Earth website is www.downtoearth.org
and it is a great wealth of information with addresses of all their stores
on the Hawaiian islands. Hope this helps.
* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *
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