This Cheap and Good Eats is brought to you by my recent trip to Oahu. This is the fourth time I’ve been to Oahu, and each time I go there, I can envision myself living there. Who can say no to sunny weather all year round?
BF rented a harley and we cruised around the island like we usually do. Of course we had Giovanni’s (which did not disappoint) and on another day, we cruised around the island again and tried Romy’s Shrimp Truck. It is located on the North Shore, near the Polynesian Cultural Centre. We noticed it had quite a bit of a line up when we went to Giovannis so we wanted to give Romy’s a try too. BF and I are like moths to a bright light when it comes to trying out places to eat that have line ups.
We noticed that they had HUGE prawns or pretty huge shrimp as options. Their shrimp/prawn platters are priced at about the same price as Giovanni’s shrimp, about $12. We shared a plate of butter and garlic shrimp. I think the taste that made it so delicious was the shoyu dipping sauce (sort of like a soya sauce base). It adds a bit of spicy kick to the flavours and makes you want to suck that shrimp dry of juice lol.
I guess they have huge prawns (or more selection: prawns or shrimp) because they have their own shrimp farm. You can walk to them from the eating area.
The drawback was that we were waiting for our food for a lonnng time (maybe about 20-30 minutes). They even had a sign at the cashier that said something to the tune of “we are not fast food- Romy’s is quality food so that is why you wait”. However, I thought it was definitely worth it because the taste was really good. It wasn’t too rich (like how Giovanni’s sometimes is) I guess because it wasn’t over the top garlicky.
Here is a picture of the garlic and butter shrimp. Get ready to drool.
After you are done, there is a nifty sink (well, maybe not so nifty, ingenious because its outdoors? Ghetto looking? You decide) so you can wash your hands of the butter and grease and garlic. I especially liked how they put the handwashing soap in a ketchup/mayonnaise container. Smart! You can see one of the shrimp farms in the back.
The next time I go to Oahu, I’ll probably have a difficult time deciding between Giovanni’s or Romy’s, now that I’ve tried them both.
Readers, have you tried Romy’s Shrimp Truck? Or do you always stick to the same shrimp truck that you know in Oahu- tried and true? Do you regularly go outside of Waikiki when you visit Oahu?
Where is this place in Oahu?
We usually eat in Waikiki – love the revolving restaurant and Kobe or Tanaka of Tokyo.
Have you been to Maui (our next Hawaii destination)?
@Steve Zussino- It’s on the North Shore
Near the Polysnesian Cultural Centre. I haven’t been to either of the ones you mention but I hear Tanaka of Tokyo is very good! I haven’t been to Maui but I hear such good things about it. When are you and Mrs. Grocery Alerts going to Maui? 
After baby?
Never been to Hawaii, never tired this food but sounds delicious! In fact I am drooling! lol I like the fact that they have that sign by the cashiers. If the food is good I don’t mind waiting for it.
@Aloysa- LOL that’s the goal of these posts, Aloysa! To make you drool! Yeah I was pretty content waiting for the food too- it didnt’ disappoint.
Awesome! I haven’t been to Oahu in years.
We would love to live in Hawaii, but the cost of living is so high. We probably have to look on the Big Island for cheaper housing.
@retirebyforty- There are surprisingly tons of foreclosures in Hawaii (though we weren’t actively looking). But yeah, certain places are ridiculously expensive (like an $8 million ocean front property!). The Big Island sounds nice, I haven’t been to it though but I hear things are much more economical.
Oahu! Lucky you!
Looks and sounds amazing…especially for the price! I’ve hear everything on Hawaii is so expensive…
@femmefrugality- Yeah the food isn’t cheap! Like certain fruit is expensive, milk is expensive. I remember gawking at the price of an apple compared to back home.