I have absolutely nothing at my disposal beyond Google, but I can still try. If nothing else, I can help with a bump.
http://www.hawaiiguide.com/freedo~1/hawspk.htmlu'au
{noun} Hawaiian feast, named for the taro tops always served at one. This is not an ancient name, but goes back at least to 1856, when so used by the Pacific Commercial Advertiser newspaper; formerly a feast was pa'ina or 'aha'aina.
I would probably use pa'ina or 'aha'aina instead of lu'au.
I also saw this which might help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_lunchThe term plate lunch took me here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/dining/12plate.html“The cultural significance of the plate lunch is that it illustrates Hawaii as a special place where all of our mixed cultures share their foods with one another,” said Matthew Gray, who runs Hawaii Food Tours, which ferries tourists to Oahu’s plate lunch outlets and other lesser known haunts. “Instead of referring to Hawaii as a melting pot, I prefer to call us a salad bowl, where we all get to share and showcase the individual flavors, aromas and histories of our food.”
The Hawaiian plate lunch traces its roots to the 1880s, when giant fruit and sugar companies controlled much of the local economy. Among other factors, the decimation of the local population by disease made the companies desperate for plantation workers, and they drew a labor pool from China, Japan, Portugal, the Philippines and other areas.
For workers who toiled under harsh conditions, lunchtime was a respite, with hearty portions of rice matched with whatever meat was left over from dinner the night before.
No idea if your story is in the past or present, but if it's from back during these times, this might help to know.
And then I found this
http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/ which will probably help you no matter what.
I hope that helps some.
