As I mentioned in my intro post, finding places to eat in West Maui is challenging. Many of the small businesses in the area haven’t reopened, so much of your dining options are pricy resort restaurants. Thankfully, there are a few options available if you know where to look
I’m going to be honest with you all. Aside from taking a quick walk around the Hyatt Regency Maui to snap the photos that appeared that review post, we spent the rest of our time that day frantically looking for a place to eat dinner. I actually had a reservation for that night but, unfortunately, the restaurant called me earlier and informed me that they had to close for the night due to a family emergency. That’s a bummer, but family is everything, so I wasn’t upset.
Initially, I tried to find a replacement somewhere in Ka’anapali. But, everything was really expensive, such as Peter Merriman’s new restaurant in the Westin Maui, or super generic (and still expensive). Even in our hotel, all the restaurants were booked solid for days beyond our stay, and I don’t know how I feel about spending $40 for fried noodles.
Alas, after much searching online, Mrs. Island Miler stumbled onto Miss Arepa Maui. Venezuelan food is very uncommon in Hawai’i, so we decided to give the place a shot.
Miss Arepa Maui Location
Remember how I said most small businesses (dining ones, at least) haven’t reopened in Ka’anapali and Lahaina? Well, that holds true here, as Miss Arepa Maui isn’t in the area. Rather, Miss Arepa Maui is a bit further north in Honokōwai. For us, that meant taking a 3.3-mile, 10-ish-minute drive from our hotel, which isn’t bad. However, this was only the second time I’ve gone past Pu’ukoli’i. Ever. lol.
It’s worth noting that Miss Arepa Maui is in a strip mall, so parking is quite easy. However, it also means that they have limited space. There’s a limited number of seats both inside and outside. Luckily, the food here is pretty portable, so it’s not a deal killer if you have to take your meal to-go.
Miss Arepa Maui Menu
Miss Arepa Maui has a rather extensive menu. Of course, there’s a large selection of arepas, a side, a savory pancake, around half a dozen sides, build-your-own-bowl options, several empanadas, an extensive menu of soft drinks (including coffees), and several desserts. It’s worth noting that there are quite a few vegan options, too. I’m not going to lie, there’s so much interesting sounding stuff on here that it was difficult to decide on what to get.
What We Ordered
Ultimately, we decided on three arepas, an order of Tostones, and a couple of drinks. The owner warned us as we were placing the order that this would be too much food and that we should consider taking something out… but I didn’t listen and pushed ahead. I regretted not listening.
Anyway, first up, our drinks. Mrs. island Miler went with Chicha, which is a rice drink made with condensed milk, while I went with the Mint Parchita, which is a mint and passion fruit drink. Both were excellent. The Chicha was a bit sweet, which is to be expected of something with condensed milk, while the Parchita was fruity and lightly tart.
First up, let’s go over the arepas. I went with the Reina Pepiada, which is an arepa stuffed with chicken salad, avocado, and green sauce. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anymore of the chicken salad, so I was offered a La Catira (shredded chicken and cheese) arepa at that price, but with avocado and no cheese. The chicken was really dry and didn’t have much flavor. However, the green sauce on the side was outstanding! It really made me wish I could’ve tried the Reina Pepiada.
Mrs. Island Miler went with the Jack Fruit Hawaiiana, which is an arepa stuffed with smoked jack fruit with pineapple salsa. This is really interesting, as the jack fruit looks like pulled pork, and it was a pretty damn convincing facsimile. This was probably the best of the three we had.
Lastly, we decided to try the Hongos (mushroom arepa. Being a vegan option, that meant that the mushrooms would be cooked in oil rather than butter. While not necessarily a bad thing, I think sautéing in butter would’ve made it a bit more flavorful, as this one tasted like plain mushrooms.
We’ve never had tostones before, so we went for it. Here, they come crispy fried and topped with queso fresco. They were sublime. The plantains were so crispy and had a lovely savory-nuttiness to them. The queso added a mild creaminess to it all, which really did add to the dish. SO GOOD.
Miss Arepa Maui, Final Thoughts
Like I said earlier, I regretted not listening. We didn’t finish all of our food and ended up taking a bunch of it back with us to our hotel. Some came in handy later that night as a snack, but the rest went to waste since we were barely in there and over ordered again the following night. Anywho, while some items were kind of a let down, I would totally return to try other things, such as the Camarones (shrimp) arepa, Cachapas (corn and cheese savory pancake), Tajadas, and Mandocas (plantain and corn fritters with cheese). So, if we’re ever in the area again, Miss Arepa Maui will be at the top of the list.