where jess ate

Located in Waipahu, Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering has been specializing in fresh, locally sourced ahi and aku since 1978. This gem of a place was one of the highlights of our Hawaii trip.

Tanioka’s isn’t conveniently located in Honolulu where most tourists would frequent. It was evident on our two visits that they’re popular with the locals. We only ventured over here since we were staying in Ko Olina and dining options were pretty limited to resort restaurants.

There’s no seating here as they’re purely a take-out operation. I recommend coming early before the lunch rush. The first time we came, there was an enormous line and everyone seemed to know the system. It’s a little overwhelming with all the choices but the folks behind the counter were patient and helpful.

Just look at this fantastic selection of poke! You can order them straight up or in a rice bowl (with regular rice, fried rice or sushi rice). Tanioka’s also offers a great selection of prepared food including ahi patties, crispy fried chicken, inari sushi and spam musubis. I came here with the intention of only ordering poke (a Hawaiian specialty consisting of raw fish mixed with various sauces/seasonings) but we left with a selection of other great offerings. We enjoyed the food so much, we came back on a second visit.

I’m a sucker for Seaweed Salad, so I picked up a container on the way to the cashier. In all honesty, I’ve never had a bad seaweed salad and this was no exception.

The first poke that caught my eye was the Crunchy Garlic Poke. Perfectly seasoned chunks of ahi  with bits of fried garlic, this was a garlic-lover’s dream. I enjoyed this so much that when we returned on a second visit, instead of trying something new, I had to order this again.

I also couldn’t resist ordering the Spicy Ahi Poke which consisted of much smaller pieces of tuna than the crunchy garlic poke. It was also heavier on the sauce which made it the perfect poke to accompany a bowl of rice. While I really enjoyed the spicy ahi as well, it was the crunchy garlic that won our hearts.

The last poke we tried was the Sesame Tako Poke. Naturally, this was my dad’s choice (he always has to order octopus if it’s on the menu). Unlike the ahi poke’s, this one consisted of previously frozen octopus (if it’s not fresh, restaurants/grocery stores need to specifically label that it’s been previously frozen). While it wasn’t as chewy as I had expected, it just wasn’t my favourite. But for what it’s worth, my dad really enjoyed it.  

I’m a huge fan of inari so when I spotted a container of Spicy Ahi Inari, I quickly snatched it up. The deep fried tofu pockets were filled with a bit of rice, spicy ahi poke and topped with green onions. SO good!

After ordering some poke, you’ll pass by the hot food station. There’s no way you can walk past this station without picking something up! We ended up picking up two scoops of Fried Rice to supplement our lunch. Well-seasoned thick grain rice with egg, bits of spam and peas, it really hit the spot.

Tanioka’s was our first experience with Spam Musubi and it may have just spoiled us for the remainder of the trip. Everyone else’s spam musubi just couldn’t live up to this. They fry their spam in teriyaki sauce which gives it this sweet carameliziation with some of the glaze dripping over the rice.

If you’re staying on the southwest region of Oahu, I highly recommend making a trip out to Tanioka’s as it was one of my favourite spots on the island. Their spam musubi and pokes were some of the highlights of our Hawaii trip. Just make sure you get here early to beat the lunch rush!

At a glance:

• Specializing in poke and other prepared Hawaiian foods since 1978
• Located in Waipahu on Oahu
• No seating; take-out only
• Open 7 days a week (but closes before dinner time); crazy busy during the lunch rush
• Their poke and spam musubi was the best of the trip
• Must-orders: crunchy garlic poke, spicy ahi inari and spam musubi

Ratings (out of 5):

• Food: 4 stars
• Service: 3 stars
• Atmosphere: N/A – no seating, takeout only