I recently wanted to purchase Hawaiian food plates for my coworkers. I initially tried ordering it from someplace, but, I needed the plates on a Thursday and most places make their plates on Fridays. I decided that with the help of a couple of local businesses, I could make my own. I purchased laulau from Lee’s Chop Suey on Lanikaula–yep–that place that makes the good manapua also makes a good laulau. I then asked my friend Tina from 33 Omao Catering to help me with the kalua, poi, and lomi salmon. I bought containers from Hopaco and I was set.

I cooked the rice before I went to sleep. In the morning, all I had to do was heat up the kalua and the laulau while I got ready for work. Then I portioned out the rice, kalua, and laulau into individual containers and was ready to take it to work! I hope everyone was happy with the food. It was really easy and if you don’t mind putting in some time to put everything together, you’ll save a few dollars compared to buying a full plate. Since I was purchasing 12 plates, saving a few dollars on each plate added up to a significant amount! If I can do it, you can too! Living Hilo Style.