We found some more amazing eats during our second day in Kauai, HI. This day we explored along the East shore and took a helicopter tour (more on our adventures in another post!) We found some amazing gluten-free eats along the south/east shore of Kauai HI.
We started our day along the East shore with breakfast. After googling (got to love to google) we found a coffee shop that was able to modify and could make anything on the menu gluten-free as they offered gluten-free bread and wraps. Oh my, how amazing this find was! We even went back for breakfast multiple other days during our trip it was soooo good!!!
Gluten Free eats East Shore of Kauai HI
Java Kai is located on the East in the town of Kappa and also on the North Shore in Hanalei, HI. I believe I even saw that it is going to be coming to the south shore in Old Koala town! (or maybe that was wishful thinking). This is a must-stop! And I think by far my favorite coffee we had on the island. The line can get very long in the morning. This day we stood in line for maybe 20-30 minutes to order, but it was so worth it!!! We both got a blended coffee of the Wired Monkey. It’s bananas, coco milk, espresso, and Ghirardelli chocolate. Ryan opted for whipped cream and of course I held it as that was definitely not low fodmap!
Here is our Wired Monkeys (I am trying to re-create this at home, if I ever master it be assured this will be a post!)
Java Kai Eats
This day I got a 1/2 order of Kalalau avo (avocado toast with fried egg and bacon on it) on GF bread. I wished I had gotten the full order, but glad stuck with 1/2 as a whole would have been too large a serving of avocado for my low fodmap serving (I have found I can’t tolerate more than 1/4 of an avocado in a sitting). I wish I had gotten a picture of our food. At the time of this trip I didn’t have this blog yet, but believe me when I say it was delicious!!
Java Kai is really good at adapting drinks and food as needed. Some they can’t adapt though. Like Ryan got the Surfer girl on a bagel each time and there is an onion/spinach mixture that they were unable to take the onions out of as it was pre-mixed. So lesson of the story never be afraid to ask about substitutions and have a back up! The other mornings, I got and loved the Croi-Sean-Which on GF bread. This was a fried egg, tomato, provolone and bacon sandwich and it was sooo good! Again hindsight I wish I had gotten pictures.
One lesson we did learn is that you can order ahead online and pick up at their back pick-up window and then eat on sight. It was so much quicker!!
I wish we had bought some of their coffee to bring home with us! But I did find that you can order it online and they will ship to US free if order two or more kinds of coffee!!! This may be happening in the near future 😁.
Wailua Shave Ice
After breakfast, we did a hike and helicopter ride. We didn’t have lunch but did have one of our daily shave ice stops. This was our daily lunch of shave ice, who needs lunch when you can have shave ice 😁. Shave ice is a Hawaii staple and it’s Shave NOT Shaved, there is no d on the end. This day we found Wailua Shave Ice in Kappa on the East shore. Make sure when you are looking at Shave Ice locations that they use natural/fresh syrups and NOT corn syrup.
Wailua Shave Ice makes all their syrups onsite. It is traditional to have ice cream on the bottom of shave ice in Hawaii, but dairy of course so I always opted to not have this. I got the almond joy coconut, almond, and chocolate. There weren’t that many almonds on it so satisfied with the low fodmap serving of less than 10. And man was it so good! Ryan got a strawberry guava one, I did not try his as guava is not a low fodmap fruit.
The Dolphin South Shore Kauai HI
We explored a little more and than showered back at our condo. We decided to go to the Dolphin in Poipu. This was so good! We also went to the Dolphin in Hanalei on the North Shore (the original one). I think I enjoyed the Poipu Dolphin on the south shore more! It was all open-air seating the night was gorgeous and we got to watch the sunset from where we were sitting!
Again everything here was well-marked with GF options on the menu. The waiter was super helpful as well with talking with the chef about accommodations and what could and could not be modified. This was true at both the north and south shore, but for some reason, they were better about accommodating sides at the south shore. I got the fish daily special with Monchong as the fish. Wow! All I can say is it was amazing, so tender and flaky and slightly sweet-tasting fish.
What sides came with the fish?
It was so good!! I got the same fish when we were on the North shore! For my sides I got a baked potato without sour cream and they subbed the vegetables (due to onion/garlic in them) with a side salad and brought vinegar and olive oil to the table for dressing without my even asking! The service was great here!
What is Monchong?
Monchong is the name used in Hawaii for a pomfret fish. It is known to be a white fish with pinkish tones that is cooked up to be snow white and flaky. Monchong is firm in texture with a moderately sweet rich flavor. It is low in mercury but high in selenium. These fish are line caught, mostly in deep water and most often found in restaurants
We also got a complimentary bowl of edamame before our main dishes. We didn’t get a picture of these as they were gone before we snapped one! They were so good! And I still need to replicate them was sesame oil and Hawaiian sea salt (again another posting coming when I can master this!) We also each got a drink, and they were good as well I got a gin drink and Ryan got a bourbon cocktail.
Ryan got sushi. They also had an extensive sushi menu. Ryan enjoyed his roll. I honestly can’t remember what was in it. He also got sushi and enjoyed it when we ate on the North Shore of Hanalei as well!
Papalani Gelato and Sorbetto
We didn’t get dessert here as there was nothing that was gluten-free or could be modified to be gluten-free/low fodmap. I am a huge fan of ending a good meal with dessert. I did another quick google search to find a place that was still open as it was close to 8 pm by the time we finished dinner. Everything closes on the island by 8 or 9 pm. I found Papalani Gelato and Sorbetto 2 minutes away also in Poipu.
Man was this a GOOD find! It was so amazing and so fresh. We may have also gone here 2-3 additional nights 😁. I got Liloki (or passionfruit) sorbetto. It was so refreshing and delicious. This place was hopping, there was a line waiting outside. We learned that they only let one family/group in at a time to order. Each night this was the case of a line waiting. It is sooo worth the wait though so don’t be discouraged by the line. Also they let you try up to three flavors!
I love it when I can find dairy-free ice cream options at places! This is such a rare find and all ingredients are fresh and natural and made in-house. Again so many great finds and gluten-free/low fodmap eats. Hawaii is a great vacation spot for us gluten-free low-fodmappers! Stay tuned for more amazing eats!
