Lanai Tabura: From Lānaʻi Talk-Story to Worldwide “Let’s Go” Energy

Lanai Tabura: From Lānaʻi Talk-Story to Worldwide “Let’s Go” Energy

If you grew up Hawaiʻi, you already know the type: one guy who can make the whole room laugh, host the party, talk story with aunty, then turn around and put you onto the best grindz you never knew existed. That’s Lanai Tabura—born and raised on the pineapple island of Lānaʻi—who’s spent decades building a career that sits right where Hawaiʻi culture lives: community, humor, food, and the simple art of making people feel welcome. 

What makes Lanai’s story different is how many times he’s reinvented himself without ever losing the local heartbeat. Radio. TV. Comedy. Acting. Food tours. A travel club. You look up and he’s doing something new again—still smiling, still talking like your cousin, still pulling you into the moment like, “Eh, come—we go.” 

The early lane: radio, comedy, and being “one of us”

Before all the food-and-travel headlines, Lanai was already a familiar voice in local media. One of the most talked-about chapters from that era was his radio partnership with Augie T—a duo that mixed jokes, daily life, and that fast Hawaiʻi-style banter that feels like home to anybody who’s ever listened to morning radio in the islands. 

That radio foundation matters because it explains everything that came after: Lanai’s gift is connection. Whether he’s on a mic, on camera, or walking you into a hole-in-the-wall plate lunch spot, the “host” part of his personality is real. He doesn’t just perform—he brings people along.

TV host era: making local food a whole lifestyle

For a lot of folks, Lanai’s face became the face of local food TV through Cooking Hawaiian Style—a show that helped put island grindz, local chefs, and family recipes into living rooms in a way that felt proud, not corny. It wasn’t “food TV pretending to be Hawaiʻi.” It was Hawaiʻi being Hawaiʻi, with Lanai as the perfect guide—funny, curious, and never acting brand new. 

And here’s the key: Lanai didn’t stay in one box. While he was hosting, he was also building a bigger ecosystem around food and culture—pop-ups, experiences, and projects that turned the “watch it on TV” vibe into a “go experience it” movement. 

The moment the mainland really noticed: Food Network + Aloha Plate

Then came that national spotlight—when the local boys and their food truck Aloha Plate took on Food Network and won The Great Food Truck Race (Season 4). Lanai, his brother Adam Tabura, and their friend Shawn Felipe didn’t just win money—they won legitimacy for Hawaiʻi flavors on a national stage. 

What people loved wasn’t only the food. It was the story: local upbringing, local hustle, and that “we can hang anywhere” confidence that island people understand. The win became one of those proud moments where you’re watching from home like, “Cheehoo! That’s us!” 

After that, Lanai kept leveling up—this time as a storyteller and producer. His documentary/special Ramen Yokochoearned major recognition, including an Emmy win tied to the Northern California chapter of the television academy (often described as a regional Emmy). 

The project is also connected with Redefined.Media and collaborator Andrew Tran, showing that Lanai’s not only the guy in front of the camera—he’s part of the creative engine behind it. 

And the subject matter fits him perfectly: food as culture, history, and identity. That’s what Lanai does best—he makes “what we eat” feel like “who we are.”

Acting and appearances: from Hawaiʻi screens to iconic shows

Lanai also has acting credits, including Hawaii Five-0, plus other TV appearances listed in his filmography. 

On top of that, he’s shown up in well-known food-and-travel media spaces—like Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations—and is credited as a host in the Street Food: USA episode set on Oʻahu. 

Put it together and you get the full picture: Lanai moves comfortably between local and global platforms, but he always brings that Hawaiʻi cadence with him.

What he’s doing now: food tours + travel club life

Today, two lanes stand out as “current Lanai” energy:

1) The Aloha Plate Hawaii Food Tour
Lanai is strongly tied to the Aloha Plate Hawaii Food Tour experience—a guided run through classic local flavors (think poke, Spam musubi, bakery stops, shaved ice, and more), positioned as a true “taste Hawaiʻi like locals do” adventure. It’s been promoted through major travel marketplaces and even highlighted as an Oʻahu adventure/experience by Hawaiian Airlines’ island guide. 

2) Lanai’s Travel Club (full-service travel agency + hosted group trips)
Lanai also runs Lanai\’s Travel Club, a travel community built around group trips, planned itineraries, and that same “go with the fun cousin” feeling—except now the cousin is taking you to Japan, Portugal, Korea, and beyond. The site positions him as an entrepreneur and operator of a full-service travel agency, and the public tour calendar shows multiple upcoming hosted trips. 

If you’ve ever traveled with a big local crew, you already know the magic: you’re never really alone, there’s always laughs, somebody’s always hungry, and every day becomes one story. That’s basically what he’s bottling and selling—community travel, Hawaiʻi-style. 

The secret sauce: local identity, global hustle

A big reason Lanai stays relevant is because he never treated “local” like a limit. In a profile about Hawaiʻi YouTube and media personalities, he’s described as constantly reinventing himself—diversifying into things like food tours, pop-up dinners, a travel club, and other ventures. 

That’s the blueprint right there: don’t wait for permission, build the lane you want, and keep the culture intact while you do it.

Why Lanai’s story hits for Ninth Island readers

For anybody living away from home—Vegas, Cali, the mainland, wherever—Lanai’s career is a reminder that Hawaiʻi people can travel far and still move with aloha. Whether you knew him from radio days, caught him on TV, watched the food truck win, or you’re seeing him now through food tours and hosted travel, the through-line is the same:

He’s a connector.

He connects generations (local-style talk story), connects cultures (food history), and connects people to experiences (tours and travel). And he does it with humor, humility, and that easy smile that says, “You good? Come, we go.”