Did you know: Spam was a household staple in Hawaii during World War II, but it wasn’t until 1982 that the late Barbara Funamura created the now-popular Spam musubi in her shop on Kauai called Joni-Hana, according to Kelly Kakalia, co-owner of The Musubi Truck.

“Joni-Hana is in the Kukui Grove Shopping Center,” says Kakalia. “This genius invention (Spam musubi) quickly spread to all islands in less than six months after Funamura’s first few sales. The Musubi Truck features our elevated interpretation of the original Spam musubi.”

The Musubi Truck opened in 2020 with the idea of combining popular local dishes and turning them into a fun, fresh and easily accessible musubi meal, per Kakalia.

“Da Bomb Musubi ($13) is one of our most popular dishes,” she says. “It’s a musubi that includes kalbi marinated Wailua beef, kimchi cucumbers, carrot and a side of spicy aioli.”

Another popular choice is the deep- fried OG ($6) — OG meaning original Spam musubi — which is panko crusted and topped with kabayaki and furikake. Other menu items include poke bowls ($8), bentos ($6), ahi katsu musubis ($14) and more.

“Customers also like our lychee slushes ($3) — we add li hing mui on top if they like it,” Kakalia says.

Recently, The Musubi Truck launched a pay-it-forward program called Feed Our Keiki in an effort to feed 2,000 local keiki during their school break. Every $5 donation to the food truck would purchase a meal of Spam musubi, chips and juice for one child.

“We almost reached our goal; we were short by just a few hundred,” Kakalia says. “We saw the need and decided to make this a permanent program. Coupons will be collected each month by the Kauai Skate Ohana — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization — to be distributed to youth programs throughout Kauai.

“Your help and support are enormously appreciated; thank you for spreading aloha,” Kakalia adds.

You can find The Musubi Truck in Old Kapaa Town on Kukui Street from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. To learn more, visit themusubitruck.square.site or follow @themusubitruck on Instagram.

The Musubi Truck

4548 Kukui St., Kapaa
808-378-8328
Instagram: @themusubitruck
Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Mondays-Fridays
How to pay: Cash, credit cards, Venmo
How to order: Website, in person or over the phone