If you’re craving Mediterranean food, check out Byblos Hawaii, a food truck that recently opened in Waikiki. The business specifically features Lebanese cuisine, according to manager Eman Rashed.
“The chef and business owner are both Lebanese, and Byblos is a city in Lebanon,” she explains. “Everybody who’s working here is from the Middle East and grew up with the food there. We’re keeping the flavors authentic.”
The food truck menu is simple — choose from chicken or beef and lamb shawarma, and opt for a sandwich or combo plate. Sandwiches come in pita bread, while shawarma combo plates ($20) include hummus, fries and a drink.
“The beef and lamb shawarma is 80% beef and 20% lamb,” Rashed says. “The way the shawarma is served inside the pita bread is different because they have different sauces. Chicken shawarma sandwiches ($13) come with garlic spread, pickles, tomatoes and parsley. Beef shawarma sandwiches ($14) come with tahini, which is a sesame paste, along with pickles, tomatoes and parsley.
“All of the dishes are dairy-free; the tahini doesn’t have any dairy,” she adds.
The food truck also offers falafel sandwiches ($12) and combo plates ($16) as a vegetarian-friendly option.
“The falafel is made of chickpeas, fava beans and a mix of herbs,” Rashed says. “It’s flavorful, and also has tahini, tomatoes, pickles and parsley. We make everything in-house except for the bread, but we’re eventually going to make all our pita bread in-house.
“Our plan is to eventually have multiple food trucks around the island, and eventually open a restaurant,” she adds.
Byblos Hawaii is currently open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. For updates, follow the biz on Instagram (@bybloshawaii).