Savage Shrimp

Who would ever buy shrimp from the back of a truck? Well, I did and all I can say is you don’t know what you’re missing out on.

I’m pretty sure there’s like only one road to Poipu from Kalaheo. Savage Shrimp is parked in the dirt, right before you get to all the fancy resorts. There’s construction going on there now. They’re building condos. Sorry I can’t be more specific.

Personally, I wouldn’t have stopped, but my friend said that his uncle thought the food was good, so we decided to give it a try. They basically only offer 3 dishes: regular garlic, the hot “grasshopper,” and a “bahia” with coconut milk and Thai-like spices. All the dishes are about $12 and come with rice and a little salad.

Grasshopper - This is good. Not too spicy.

Bahia - At first, I thought this was really good, but there was too much sauce on the rice. It got to be a little too much by the time I finished it all, but the shrimp are a nice size and very delicious. I wanted more…

We took our food to go, but you can eat there if you don’t mind the wild roosters roaming around. There are a few tables and chairs in the dirt, but no one was using them.

Savage Shrimp offers good meals without all the fuss. The meals are cooked right in the back of the truck and you can watch while you wait. I believe there’s even a discount for locals. Apparently, shrimp trucks are more common in Hawaii than on the mainland. Something to try and if you don’t like it, then at least you’ll have a story to tell about how you ate shrimp from the back of a truck…