Frommer's shopping in Oahu

Bookstores

In addition to the local stores, Waldenbooks has six branches on Oahu, including Kahala Mall, 4211 Waialae Ave. (tel. 808/737-9550); Windward Mall, 46-056 Kamhameha Hwy., Kailua (tel. 808/235-8044); and Waikiki Shopping Plaza, 2250 Kalakaua Ave. (tel. 808/922-4154).

Edibles

We recommend Executive Chef (tel. 808/596-2433), in the Ward Warehouse, and Islands' Best (tel. 808/949-5345), in the Ala Moana Center. Both shops contain wide-ranging selections that include Hawaii's specialty food items.

Bakeries -- If you're looking for a bakery, Saint-Germain, in Shirokiya at Ala Moana Shopping Center (tel. 808/955-1711), and near Times Supermarket, 1296 S. Beretania St. (tel. 808/593-8711), sells baguettes, country loaves, and oddball delicacies such as mini mushroom-and-spinach pizzas. The reigning queen of bakers, though, is Cafe Laufer, 3565 Waialae Ave. (tel. 808/735-7717). Nearby, old-timers still line up at Sconees, 1117 12th Ave. (tel. 808/734-4024), formerly Bea's Pies. Sconees has fantastic scones, pumpkin-custard pies, and danishes. For warm bread, nothing can beat Foodland, 1460 S. Beretania St. (tel. 808/949-4365 for the bakery department), where R. Field is located. The Foodland bakery flies in dough from Los Angeles's famous La Brea bakery and bakes it fresh at this location, so you can pick up fresh-from-the-oven organic wheat, rosemary-olive oil, roasted garlic, potato-dill, and other spectacular breads.

Fish Markets -- Safeway on Beretania Street has a seafood counter with fresh choices and a staff that takes pride in its deftness with prepared foods. (Don't be shy about asking for a taste.) The prepared foods (fresh ahi poke, seaweed salad, marinated crab) are popular among busy working folks heading home. Foodland on Beretania Street occasionally offers good buys on live lobster and Dungeness crab, fresh ahi and aku poke, ahi sashimi and steaks, and a wide variety of fresh fish and shellfish, including whole snappers and oysters when available.

Fashion Boutiques

For those looking for unique, personal style, the following are the "hot" new boutiques guaranteed to offer exclusive (and somewhat unexpected) fashions that you won't find anywhere else.

Flowers & Leis

At most lei shops, simple leis sell for $3 and up, deluxe leis for $10 and up. For a special-occasion designer bouquet or lei, you can't do better than Michael Miyashiro of Rainforest Plantes et Fleurs (tel. 808/942-1550 or 808/591-5999). He's an ecologically aware, highly gifted lei-maker -- his leis are pricey, but worth it. He is the consummate lei designer who custom-creates the lei for the person, occasion, and even destination. (Many of his original designs have been adopted by the Chinatown lei-makers.) Order by phone or stop by the Ward Warehouse, where his tiny shop is an oasis of green and beauty. Upon request, Miyashiro's leis will come in ti-leaf bundles, called pu'olo; custom gift baskets (in woven green coconut baskets), and special arrangements. You can even request the card sentiments in Hawaiian, with English translations.

The other primary sources for flowers and leis are the shops lining the streets of Moiliili and Chinatown. Moiliili favorites include Rudy's Flowers, 2722 S. King St. (tel. 808/944-8844), a local institution with the best prices on roses, Micronesian ginger lei, and a variety of cut blooms. Across the street, Flowers for a Friend, 2739 S. King St. (tel. 808/955-4227), has good prices on leis, floral arrangements, and cut flowers. Nearby, Flowers by Jr. and Lou, 2652 S. King St. (tel. 808/941-2022), offers calla lilies, Gerber daisies, a riot of potted orchids, and the full range of cut flowers along with its lei selection.

In Chinatown, lei vendors line Beretania and Maunakea streets, and the fragrances of their wares mix with the earthy scents of incense and ethnic foods. Our top picks are Lita's Leis, 59 N. Beretania St. (tel. 808/521-9065), which has fresh puakenikeni, gardenias that last, and a supply of fresh and reasonable leis; Sweetheart's Leis, 69 N. Beretania St. (tel. 808/537-3011), with a worthy selection of the classics at fair prices; Lin's Lei Shop, 1017-A Maunakea St. (tel. 808/537-4112), with creatively fashioned, unusual leis; and Cindy's Lei Shoppe, 1034 Maunakea St. (tel. 808/536-6538), with terrific sources for unusual leis such as feather dendrobiums, firecracker combinations, and everyday favorites like ginger, tuberose, orchid, and pikake. Ask Cindy's about its unique "curb service," available with phone orders. Just give them your car's color and model, and you can pick up your lei curbside -- a great convenience on this busy street.

Hawaiiana & Gift Items

Our top recommendations are the fabulous, newly expanded Academy Shop, at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St. (tel. 808/523-8703), and the Contemporary Museum Gift Shop, 2411 Makiki Heights Rd. (tel. 808/523-3447), two of the finest shopping stops on Oahu -- worth a special trip whether or not you want to see the museums themselves. (And you will want to see the museums, especially the recently expanded Honolulu Academy of Arts.) The Academy Shop offers a brilliant selection of art books, jewelry, basketry, ethnic fabrics and native crafts from all over the world, posters and books, and fiber vessels and accessories. The Contemporary Museum shop focuses on arts and crafts such as avant-garde jewelry, cards and stationery, books, home accessories, and gift items made by artists from Hawaii and across the country. We love the glammy selection of jewelry and novelties, such as the twisted-wire wall hangings.

Other good sources for quality gift items are the Little Hawaiian Craft Shop, in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, and Martin and MacArthur, in the Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Surf & Sports

The surf-and-sports shops scattered throughout Honolulu are a highly competitive lot, with each trying to capture your interest (and dollars). But we can't live without them.

For a complete listing of Frommer's-reviewed stores, visit our online shopping index.

Frommer’s is America’s bestselling travel guide series. Visit Frommers.com to find great deals, get information on over 3,500 destinations, and book your trip. © 2006 Wiley Publishing, Inc. Republication or redistribution of Frommer's content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Wiley.

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