Our Hawaiian Food Tour

We don't get Hawaiian food on the mainland, so we took full advantage, blew our diets, and indulged for just about every meal. I've seen a few things in the frozen section of Oriental food markets in bigger cities on the mainland - poi, lau-lau, manapua - but never fresh, and there are some things you can't get at all.


Our first stop was Boyd's Fish Market in Oahu. Some of the local places are like deli's, and they have food behind the counter. There was another customer in front of us at Boyd's, and he was very friendly and helpful about other places to try. He said that his favorite food is lau-lau mixed with macaroni salad (?) Pictured is lau-lau, poi and lomi salmon. The lau-lau was good, but we thought we could do better. Hence, our trip became a search for the best lau-lau on Oahu. Lau-lau is kahlua pork with a large portion of fat, and a small piece of butter fish wrapped in taro leaves. It's tied in ti leaves to retain moisture while cooking, but that part is thrown away before eating. Lomi salmon is tomatoes, onions and salmon (all raw) cubed very small and tossed with Hawaiian salt. It can be made on the mainland easily, although I wouldn't trust raw fish bought at most places. But it's good with cooked salmon, too - then it's called "phony lomi."



Lots of people we asked recommended The Highway Inn for the best local food in Oahu, and we liked their lau-lau better than anyone else's. One of the brands sold at Walmart was our second favorite. We tried "squid luau" here - one of the local girls at the resort said it was her favorite food. It reminded me of cream of spinach soup - but the cream is coconut milk, and the spinach is taro leaves. It has tiny pieces (corn-sized) of squid. It's the first time I've had squid and enjoyed it.



On Kaua'i, the best lau-lau we found was from Pono Market. This is lomi salmon and sushi. There was poki (raw ahi fish with a strong-tasting seaweed), poi and lau-lau, too - but they aren't pictured here. We never did get to try another place recommended in Kaua'i called Ohana Diner. We had to leave too soon.



This is a plate lunch from L and L Diner in Oahu. A plate lunch includes two scoops of rice, one scoop of macaroni salad, and some meat - this is eggs and Portuguese sausage, but it could just as easily be spam. The one on the right is a kahlua pork and cabbage plate lunch. Now I understand why the guy at Boyd's Fish Market said he liked macaroni salad with lau-lau - they probably come together on the same plate. However, none of us could ever bring ourselves to tamper with our lau-lau. We get it too seldom. We tried the L and L Diner on Kaua'i, too, but they don't have all the Hawaiian food; they're actually part Chinese fast food at that particular one. Maybe L and L's are independently owned?



Zippy's is an Oriental/Hawaiian fast food place. They have things like musubi (rice pressed into bricks and other shapes, sometimes topped with spam, or with things mixed in).



The triangular rice is musubi. The bowl has cubed ahi fish covered with a hot/spicy shrimp sauce.



Only in Hawaii . . . this is a taro pie from McDonald's. I opened it up to see what was inside. It tasted mild, like soft potato cubes, but sweetened. Sort of a cross between their apple pie and a potato pie.



Who knew such a thing existed?? Haupia is coconut pudding squares, so this is like coconut ice cream. If haupia ice cream was available on the mainland, I'd be in trouble.



Hawaiian food has influences from all the cultures who moved to Hawaii in the 1800's - besides their own fish, poi and coconut, they have sushi from Japan, dim sum from China, and malasadas and sausage from Portugal. Leonard's in Honolulu has the reputation for the best malasadas - but it has to be fresh and still warm. Otherwise, it might as well be a donut without the hole.



We got ours just out of the oven, and we ate them standing in the parking lot. Our fingers were sticky - and I didn't get a picture. So I found this one on the internet.



Everyone told us that shave ice originated in Hawaii, but it's supposed to be shave ice, not shaved ice. This was the best shave ice we found in Kaua'i - so how come their sign says shaved ice???



Jo-Jo's has taken shave ice to a new level. They put ice cream at the bottom, shave and pack the ice by hand, use great syrup, and then top the whole thing with haupia (coconut) cream. It's worth driving to Waimea for.



Lappert's is a local ice cream company.



This is Kaua'i Pie (their specialty; coffee and chocolate swirl) and a coconut macadamia fudge swirl. Lappert's are all over in Hawai'i.

Hawaiian Coast

We spent a week in Oahu, where we have family roots, and we drove around the island. The beaches are so varied; they all look different - some are rocky, some have black sand, some have walls to soften the waves, some have palm trees, some have flowers. We also spent a few days in Kaua'i, where we have no family ties, but it was beautiful - they don't call it "the Garden Isle" for nothing! There are plenty of secluded beaches outside of Waikiki, especially in Kaua'i.

These pictures are out of order.

Waimea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon" of Hawai'i. It's in Kaua'i.




The Pali cliff in Oahu where ancient Hawaiian warriors jumped to their deaths rather than surrender (I think this was when the first Kamehameha united all the islands by conquering them.)




Oahu




Oahu




Oahu




The Na Pali coast on Kaua'i - it's inaccessible, so you have to either get on a helicopter or boat to see it. We did a dinner cruise on catamarand-ish boat.




From the resort we stayed at on Oahu

Hawai'i Pictures

This was probably not the typical Hawai'i tour. This was my mother and siblings exploring our Hawaiian heritage, so it was a week before we even stepped onto a beach, and Waikiki was almost an afterthought.

I met my mother's cousins and aunts who I've heard about all my life, but finally got to know. We indulged in Hawaiian food (that will be a post of its own), and visited sites of historical/cultural interest. We talked to an uncle about our family tree, both Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry. We saw live Hawaiian music and came home with stacks of CD's - Iz, Keali'i Reichel, Hoku Zuttermeier, Lopaka Keli'ikanaka'ole, Amy Hanaiale'i, Ledward Kaapana (who is apparently distantly related to us!)

We all felt a strange and strong connection to the land, and got emotional at certain points - when a young man blew a conch shell, viewing the Na Pali coast, being in the room where Queen Lili'uokalani was imprisoned when the Americans overthrew her monarchy, our final departure from Hawai'i. History is always fascinating, but in this case, it feels like my personal history, the history of my people, and my queen.

Here are just a few interesting highlights. I'm doing a whole food post later, and I'll do a separate post of just scenic photos.



These chickens are everywhere; they run wild. There are different theories about how they became wild and so abundant. They request that people not encourage them by feeding them. Don't feed the chickens!



Iolani Palace, the only real palace where monarchs lived in the entire US. Queen Lili'uokalani was imprisoned in a room here for two years.



There are adorable little churches built in the 1800's by early missionaries all over - this one is in Hanalei. We were all unimpressed with Hanalei's shopping district (more of a generic beach scene rather than Hawaiian), but the scenery away from the tourist areas is lovely.



Kahiko Hula! There were lots of these statues around Oahu; this is one of the many at the Aloha Tower shopping center.

I went to the symphony today

And as I sat there, listening to the passionate strains of Dvorak's New World Symphony, I saw a vision of the Meaning of Life. Everything was clear: the nonsense of the world made sense. I don't remember any of it now, of course, but that music must be good for something--eh, what?

(I got to see Mark O'Connor live! In concert! And I got to shake his hand! Which calls for more than one exclamation point!!!)

Have you not heard?

We're reading through the prophets right now in my Old Testament class. I didn't realize how many poetic treasures there there are hidden in these books. Take this dramatic part of the second chapter of Nahum, for instance. It's talking about the destruction that will finally come upon Nineveh, the proud capital of the Assyrian empire, after years of her tyranny over Israel. You might want to read it aloud.

Shields flash red in the sunlight!
     See the scarlet uniforms of the valiant troops!
Watch as their glittering chariots move into position,
     with a forest of spears waving above them.
The chariots race recklessly along the streets
     and rush wildly through the squares.
They flash like firelight
     and move as swiftly as lightning.
The king shouts to his officers;
     they stumble in their haste,
     rushing to the walls to set up their defenses.
The river gates have been torn open!
     The palace is about to collapse!

Or, on the other hand, look at Zephaniah 3:17, which may be my new favorite verse. Read it quietly to yourself and ponder its promise:

The Lord your God is with you,
     he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
     he will quiet you with his love,
     he will rejoice over you with singing.

I love the fourth line especially. It's such a beautiful thought, and it makes such lovely poetry. Such things there are buried in those minor prophets...

Taking a Blogging Break

I'll be in Hawaii for a few days . . . :)

How to Repair a Paperback Book

Another Great Wiki How-To:
How to Repair a Paperback Book

I'm going to try this.

The Cutest Teething Post Ever

http://seahorsepelkey.blogspot.com/2008/10/teef.html

'Fair' Warning to Palin

This was posted on a message board. Here are a couple of quotes from the article, which you can read here:

"During Thursday's debate, the press will be listening so hard for a Palin version of 'macaca' that they probably won't even hear what Joe has to say."

"Here's the rule of thumb: When a liberal misspeaks, it's a slip of the tongue. We all make mistakes. If you are a conservative, however, you commit an unforgiveable sin that must be revisited a thousand times until you are out of Purgatory – or office, whichever comes first."

Creative Reading

Miss M is reading a book aloud to herself. She makes it up as she goes. Here's a bit of what I'm hearing:

"I'm an archaeologist. Are you an archaeologist? Come in. Have a donut or something."

"Please, policeman, will you tie my shoe?"

"Oh, Mommy, it couldn't be that! It's my beard! We'll stick it on with tape so you can be an archaeologist."

I have no idea why she's stuck on archaeologists; we haven't been talking or reading about them. Or beards either, for that matter.