North Shore, HI – Shrimp Farms

On our previous trip to Oahu, Sonia and I took a day to drive along the North Shore to try some of the famous garlic shrimp trucks of Hawaii. You can read our reviews about the food trucks from that trip here. When planning a return trip to Oahu in November 2019, we saved one day to revisit the trucks, but in the end fate had something else in mind – the shrimp farms.

From our previous trip, I remember seeing signs for the shrimp farms, but it was the trucks that seemed to get all the love and attention. After doing some additional research, we were convinced that the farms were not to be missed this go round. However, since we spent our morning on a donut crawl followed by a few hours at the Dole Plantation, by the time we got to the farms, we only had time to check out 2 of them – Fumi’s and Romy’s.

Our first stop was Fumi’s, and since we got there between lunch and dinner time, there was almost no wait. In order to be able to compare the farms with the trucks, we tried to order similar dishes. At Fumi’s, we opted for the Butter Garlic Shrimp.

The shrimp were a nice size and came with a couple of scoops of rice, a serving of corn, and a wedge of pineapple. The portion size was similar to those at the trucks and was more than enough to share between the two of us. The amount of sauteed garlic and butter on top of the shrimp and scoops of rice was the right amount so that there was enough for every spoonful of shrimp and rice. Overall, it was a good meal. The lack of a line helped and already made this experience one to remember.

From Fumi’s we drove down the road to our next stop – Romy’s. Even though it was still between lunch and dinner, there was a long line once we arrived. While waiting, we also noticed several signs indicating that we should expect a wait before our food would be ready after ordering. Specifically, we were told a 10 minute wait if we opted for steamed items versus a 30 minute wait for the garlic shrimp. Of course, we still went for the Butter & Garlic Sauteed Shrimp, and it was definitely worth the wait.

The shrimp here were probably the biggest we had seen compared to every other place we had been. The shrimp came with rice and a dipping sauce and a ridiculous amount of garlic. The garlic here was chopped finer and sauteed longer than the one at Fumi’s which resulted in a nice crunchy topping for the rice and shrimp. Again, the portion size is enough to share with someone else.

While we didn’t order the prawns, someone at one of the tables next to us did and let us take a picture of them. They were massive. Should we make it back to Hawaii, Romy’s and those prawns will be our first stop.

For us the shrimp farms are more of a must eat when compared to the shrimp trucks. The size and freshness of the shrimps were a big reason, but also, the farms were less rushed in preparing the orders so that all the shrimps were cooked evenly and perfectly. If you want to try the best garlic shrimp Hawaii has to offer, Fumi’s and Romy’s are not to be missed.