Giovanni’s: Shrimps that could be lobsters

Giovanni’s, 66-427 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Giovanni’s

66-427 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Parked amongst a mini pod of food trucks on the side of Kamehameha Highway is Giovanni’s shrimp truck. It’s the white one covered in graffiti. I picked Giovanni’s out of the other shrimp trucks based on the rave reviews I read on Urbanspoon and Yelp. This place has a serious following and I can see why.

The graffiti on the truck is all the signatures from Giovanni’s customers over the years. The truck is covered completely by autographs, you can tell the place has a lot of fans. Giovanni’s fits right in with the laid-back beach culture on the North Shore: casual street food, perfect for eating outside.

Lemon butter shrimp, Giovanni’s, 66-427 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Lemon butter shrimp, Giovanni’s, 66-427 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

We ordered the lemon butter shrimp plate and the shrimp scampi. The shrimp come with the shells still intact (unfortunately, no heads though), trapping in all the juicy goodness. The shrimp meat is dense like lobster. The lemon butter shrimps came with lots of lemon wedges and melted butter dipping sauce.

Shrimp scampi, Giovanni’s, 66-427 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The shrimp scampi was doused with lots of tasty roasted garlic and loads of butter and herbs. The dense shrimp meat was not overshadowed by this pile of ingredients though and the fresh shrimp flavour still shone through.

Wild chickens running around near Giovanni’s, 66-427 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

What I will never get used to in Hawaii is the wild chickens running about. The lot where Giovanni’s is parked is filled with lots of squawking roosters and hens. I don’t know what stops people from catching one of these birds and cooking them up for dinner.

Giovanni’s, 66-427 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Our shrimp plates also came with (the almost mandatory in Hawaii) two ice cream scoops of rice. The plates were excellent light lunches before more beach lounging and our next food stop.

This truck is Giovanni’s second location. The first location is closer to the beach and is parked on a plot of land that Giovanni bought, making Giovanni’s a mainstay on the North Shore of Oahu. It’s possible to visit both trucks at once, they are only 6 minutes drive away from each other. I know where I’m going the next time I have a massive shrimp craving.