Helena's Hawaiian Food in Kalihi is the standard-bearer for traditional Hawaiian plate lunch. The restaurant has been serving the same food since 1946 — kalua pig, lomi lomi salmon, chicken long rice, poi, and pipikaula (dried short ribs) — and won a James Beard America's Classic award in 2000, recognising restaurants that have given their communities culinary identity for decades.
The food is heavy, filling, and historically rooted in the cooking of Hawaiian households. Nothing on the menu is fashionable and nothing pretends to be. Poi — fermented taro paste, the Hawaiian staple — comes with everything and is worth trying even if you find it challenging. The restaurant is cash only, opens only Tuesday through Friday for lunch and dinner, and closes when the food runs out. Get there before noon. It is in a non-tourist part of town (Kalihi), which requires a taxi or bus; the food justifies the trip.