Plate Lunch

Plate lunch is an original, traditional Hawaiian dish consisting of two large scoops of white rice, macaroni salad that is heavy on the mayonnaise, and one meat-based entrée. If a plate has more than one entrée, it is then called a mixed plate.

The dish stems back to the 1800s when sugar companies made plantations in Hawaii, attracting workers from all over the world. Since the immigrant workers didn't like sandwiches and similar American foods, they would place leftover rice and meats into metal tins with compartments, and plate lunch was born, based on the Japanese bento box tradition.

The meat of choice is usually roast pork, pork adobo, kalua pork, a hamburger patty, beef teriyaki, or Portuguese sausage. Plate lunch is not just an ordinary dish, but a culturally significant one, bringing people of various cultural backgrounds together.