food punk

Cheap Eats in Hawaii

ange — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 03:25:26 +0000

Halo Halo

Cheap eats in Hawaii – it IS possible. Hawaii has a reputation for being expensive. There are tourists year-round just ready to max out their credit cards, pay for expensive meals and buy lots of gifts and souvenirs to bring home. But with the right planning and budgeting, you can totally sample all of Hawaii’s local foods without maxing out your credit card. Actually make sure you have cash on hand because many small restaurants and food carts in Hawaii take cash only.

Keep your eyes peeled for local festivals. Honolulu hosts a monthly night market on every third Saturday of the month. A local company called Street Grindz organizes the night market, they also host a monthly food cart festival that happens on a Friday during business hours. Check out their website for more details: http://www.streetgrindz.com

Koa Pancake House

If you love pancakes, you’ll have to visit Koa Pancake House. Koa is a local chain serving up pancakes and breakfast items all-day. Think of it as a Hawaiian IHOP. The set up at Koa is fast food style though. You order your food at the counter and it’s served up on a tray on paper plates. It’s fast and efficient. Just don’t order the red velvet pancakes. I usually love anything red velvet but the red velvet pancakes at Koa just taste too obviously made from pre-mixed batter. They left that gritty rough texture on the back of my teeth which always happens when I eat something extremely processed and artificial (except for spam, I guess!). Whenever you order a breakfast plate at Koa, a short stack of complimentary buttermilk pancakes comes with the plate. The free buttermilk pancakes tasted ten times better than my red velvet ones. They were fluffy and moist. Next time I’m ordering a breakfast plate with the buttermilk pancakes instead of eating all of them off my boyfriend’s plate. The breakfast plate comes with the usual Hawaiian meats: spam and Portuguese sausage, both were salty and scrumptious.

Koa pancake house

Red velvet pancakes, Koa pancake house

buttermilk pancakes, Koa pancake house

Koa Pancake house

We had to visit a Hawaiian McDonald’s just to see how it differed from McDonald’s on the mainland. The McDonald’s we visited was right next door to a Safeway and a Costco. We also poked around in both grocery stores to scope out some Hawaiian products. There was a whole aisle in the Safeway dedicated to different flavours of spam. At Costco, we found boxes of coconut water that were at least $10 cheaper than coconut water back home. We stocked up!

McDonald’s, Honolulu

At the McDonald’s, we found out that many of the Hawaiian items are served at breakfast: spam and Portuguese sausage. For lunch and dinner, they had an item that we haven’t seen before: saimin, aka – Hawaiian ramen noodles. The noodles weren’t as chewy as ramen, maybe this was because we tried them at McDonald’s, they’re probably freeze-dried noodles at the fast food chain. It was definitely different from any other McDonald’s we’ve been to. We noticed many people ordering this item so it’s a local hit.

Saimin, McDonald’s, Honolulu

Another item that we haven’t seen in Canada is the banana cream pie. The single serving pie had a crispy crust and the creamiest banana filling. I wish we got two.

Banana cream pie, McDonald’s, Honolulu

The mother lode of cheap eats can be found in Ala Moana Center. Ala Moana Center is the world’s largest outdoor mall. There are two main food court areas. Shiroyaki is the other main eatery – it’s a privately owned Japanese department store with a whole floor dedicated to Japanese cuisine: sushi, ramen, tonkatsu, all types of donburi bowls and much more.

Ala Moana Center, Honolulu

We ate at the main food court at Ala Moana Center. Like every mall food court, it’s a mish mash of all different types of cuisine, Chinese, Japanese and Western. But there were some chains that we haven’t tried in Canada such as the Jollibee. There was even a Häagen-Dazs shop. We bought some refreshing smoothies made with dole whip and fresh fruit.

Ala Moana Center

I had to try the shumai which they call pork hash here. They are basically double the size of the pork dumplings back home and much fattier. They were delicious but I couldn’t eat that many of them as two were already very filling. We also bought some barbecue pork buns but it turned out that they weren’t nearly as tasty as the juicy pork hash.

Ala Moana Center

Pork hash, Ala Moana Center

Barbecue pork buns, Ala Moana Center

This was also my first experience at a Jollibee, a Filipino chain restaurant that serves an infamously sweet and weird dessert: the halo halo. I’ve only ever seen Anthony Bourdain eat a halo halo on TV and I have never tried one up until now. I’ve always been curious. The halo halo consists of a Hawaii staple: shaved ice mixed in with boiled sweet beans, evaporated milk, an assortment of jellies and for no particular reason, some cubes of custard. I liked the custard the best but I admit I was not able to finish this dessert. It was much too sweet, even for a someone with a sweet tooth like mine. I still can’t understand how all the flavours in the halo halo go together but I suppose it would be different for someone who grew up eating it. The other items we tried from Jollibee included the sliders, we ordered one spam slider and one pulled pork slider. Both of which were pretty skimpy on the meat but the sliders were great snacks.

Jollibee, Ala Moana Center

Halo halo, Ala Moana Center

Spam slider, Ala Moana Center

Pulled pork slider, Ala Moana Center

If you’re looking for cheap eats, you must check out any of the above choices. I’m partial to the night market for its liveliness and variety in food choices but you pick your favourite. Or better yet, let me know about your cheap eats finds on the island!

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Spam Musubi Overload

ange — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 06:05:33 +0000

Spam musubi, Marukame Udon

There’s a special place in my heart for spam. While I was an intern in the publishing industry, spam was the main ingredient in too many of my dishes to remember: grilled spam with instant noodles, fried spam and eggs, spam burritos, spam omelets, the list goes on. I have no idea what’s in spam but I know it’s one of the most addictive and versatile meats out there. Spam has been incorporated into local Hawaiian cuisine since World War II. Troops based in Hawaii during World War II needed a canned good in their kitchen that kept well and didn’t need to be refrigerated. Later on, the Japanese community in Hawaii created spam musubi and the cheap and delicious snack has become ubiquitous on the island ever since.

I’ve never had spam musubi until I went to Hawaii. I’ve always thought I would love it though, what’s not to love? I love spam and I love sushi. What I hadn’t expected though was these pieces of sushi are gigantic, each piece is as big as a slice of spam. So two pieces of spam musubi can make a pretty substantial lunch. It’s rumoured that President Barack Obama often snacks on spam musubi while he’s golfing in Hawaii.

Spam musubi, ABC Stores

Hawaii is all about comfort food and spam musubi totally fits the bill. We bought our first spam musubi at ABC Stores. Fresh ones are heated in a display case in the back and day-old spam musubi are available at a discount in a basket, refrigerated with the soft drinks.

Spam musubi, ABC Stores

I loved everything about the spam musubi as soon as I had my first bite. The salty meat offset by that al dente, chewy and bouncy sushi rice, the flavour kicked up a notch with the earthy seaweed.

Spam musubi, 7 eleven

We asked around the island and everyone had a favourite place to get spam musubi. Believe it or not 7 eleven was voted the most popular place. The spam musubi at 7 eleven has even won diner’s awards. The convenience store definitely has the most selection on different types of spam musubi, there’s teriyaki flavour and spicy flavour. I stuck with the classic plain spam musubi. It was just as delicious as the ABC spam musubi. Even though I ordered the plain flavour, there was still a sweet and rich sauce holding the salty spam to the rice, it was addictive and delicious. I can see why so many people love the 7 eleven spam musubi.

Spam musubi, 7 eleven

We also tried deep fried spam at the Honolulu Night Market. I loved the crunchy crust on the deep fried spam musubi but my ultimate favourite spam musubi on the island is from Marukame Udon. The spam is sliced and fried up just right, the sushi rice is tender but firm enough not to fall apart at the first bite. There aren’t any special sauces and other gimmicky things on the spam musubi, it’s just the meat, seaweed and rice, classic, simple comfort food.

I regret always being too full to try the spam musubi at Shirokiya the privately owned department store in Ala Moana mall. There’s actually an entire food department upstairs at Shirokiya, they have everything from ramen to sushi. Everything in the department is definitely on my must-try list.

You can find spam musubi just about anywhere on the island which is perfect for my spam addiction!

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Dole Whip at the Dole Plantation

ange — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 06:25:11 +0000

Dole Plantation, 64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

Dole Plantation

64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

I was stuffed full from shrimp, ice cream and shave ice when we stopped by the Dole Plantation on the way back from the North Shore but I still managed to cram down some fresh pineapple slices and a bowl of Dole whip. We decided just to swing by the Dole Plantation as opposed to spending a day there as originally planned. We met a couple on the Lost tour who told us that the Dole Plantation is a bust with not much to do.

We arrived just an hour before closing, and the plantation really closes right at 5 pm on the dot, even if there are still guests in the pineapple garden outside; the doors to the gift shop lock and you have to walk around the building to get back out to the parking lot.

Dole whip, Dole Plantation, 64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

There are a few fun activities at the plantation though: a train takes you around the whole plantation, there’s a huge maze shaped like a giant pineapple and there’s lots to eat. We don’t have Dole whip in Canada so I had to try that. It’s pineapple soft serve and it’s served with bits of fresh pineapple. The pineapple adds the perfect tropical tang to the soft serve, it’s super refreshing in the tropical weather and really cools you down. The cafeteria style restaurant at the plantation also serves burgers and fries as well as loco moco and other entrees, they even have a kalua pork quesadilla.

Every hour there’s a pineapple demonstration, one of the Dole staff members demos how to properly cut open a pineapple, slice it up and clean and serve the fruit. Since watching the demo, my boyfriend has been slicing up the fruit like a pro.

Dole Plantation, 64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

The biggest shocker for me was that I finally found out that pineapples grow on the ground. It sounds naive but I have always envisioned pineapples growing on trees, I thought the spiky stem was the part that attached it to the tree. How silly of me. The pineapple garden behind the Dole plantation gift shop featured different pineapples from all over the world, brilliantly red pineapples, teeny tiny little pineapples and giant, spiky ones.

Dole Plantation, 64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

And just like everywhere else on the island, wild chickens are just running all about the gardens and the plantation grounds.

Dole Plantation, 64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

We also picked up some goodies to snack on later, some ham jerky flavoured with pineapple as well as some pineapple crunch white chocolates. The pineapple crunch was my favourite, sweet, crunchy and tangy. I’m not sure if you can buy them outside of Hawaii, but there happens to be a special on the Dole plantation website right now. If you buy 3 boxes, you get one free box. The chocolates also come in milk chocolate. Just in time for Christmas.

Dole Plantation, 64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

Pineapple crunch, Dole Plantation, 64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy, Wahiawa, Hawaii

I wouldn’t spend an entire day at the Dole plantation but it’s definitely worth a stop, if only just for that scrumptious Dole whip alone.

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Zippy’s: Zip Pacs and Napples

ange — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 04:22:29 +0000

Zippy’s, 1222 S King St, Honolulu, HI

Zippy’s

1222 S King St, Honolulu, HI

Zippy’s is a local chain in Hawaii and is touted to serve the best plate lunch around. They certainly have a wide selection of plate lunch options. Zippy’s is also the only restaurant on the islands that serves pastries from another local chain, the bakery, Napoleon. Napoleon Bakery makes these famous flaky turnovers called napples. They’re to die for.

Coconut napple, Zippy’s, 1222 S King St, Honolulu, HI

We chose the coconut napple. The sweet and creamy coconut cream filling in the middle of the napple was exactly what I had been craving. It was like biting into one of my favourite sweet coconut buns from the Chinese bakeries back home. The buttery and flaky crust was delicate and sweet as well.

Coconut napple, Zippy’s, 1222 S King St, Honolulu, HI

We ordered Zippy’s plate lunch, called the Zip pac with two scoops of rice, macaroni salad with spam and fried chicken. This was the best macaroni salad I’ve had in Hawaii, it wasn’t too sweet, the macaroni noodles were al dente and not soggy, and the salad was not overly drenched with dressing like the other macaroni salads I’ve eaten in Hawaii.

Zip pac, Zippy’s, 1222 S King St, Honolulu, HI

I ordered this Zip pac for the spam but was surprised to find that the fried chicken was some of the crispiest fried chicken I’ve ever tasted, the skin was crispy but not greasy and the chicken meat was juicy and moist.

Zippy’s, 1222 S King St, Honolulu, HI

We also ordered the chili burrito which was mildly spicy and the perfect comfort food.

Chili burrito, Zippy’s, 1222 S King St, Honolulu, HI

There’s almost as many Zippy’s around the island as there are ABC Stores. It’s rumoured that even Barack Obama enjoys the plate lunch at Zippy’s. Zippy’s also sells their entrees as frozen lunches that you can buy at 7 eleven and other convenience stores.

Chili burrito, Zippy’s, 1222 S King St, Honolulu, HI

The service at Zippy’s was fast and friendly and I would totally visit again.

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Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin: First taste of the Berkshire hog

ange — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 19:16:36 +0000

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin

255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

The most amazing tonkatsu I’ve ever had is at this little Japanese restaurant, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin just off the main shopping strip in Waikiki. Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin is a Japanese chain specializing in fried breaded pork cutlet. I’ve had my share of fried pork cutlet, there are many Japanese restaurants and even food court booths in Vancouver that serve up some pretty delicious pork cutlet but Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin serves up this incredible thick-cut, super tender, super rich Kurobuta pork loin katsu in limited quantities, only 25 servings per day. Kurobuta pork comes from a specific pig, the Berkshire hog (aka the black hog) from Reading, UK. The Berkshire hog was gifted to the Japanese from the British government as a diplomatic gift. Kurobuta pork is superior in taste, texture and marbling. No wonder it’s only served in limited quantities at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin.

Sashimi, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

Appetizer tray, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

As we waited for our tonkatsu to be served, we decided to order some appetizers. We were just about to order some calamari when our server told us about some off-the-menu items. She brought over a tray and we chose the sashimi immediately. Being away from Vancouver made us very homesick for quality sashimi. The sashimi in Vancouver is top-notch but we soon found out that Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin’s sashimi is more than comparable. The fish was fresh, silky and delicious. We took our top savouring each delicately sliced piece of sashimi. Our favourite was the yellowtail tuna, so smooth and succulent, I wish there were more slices of it on the platter.

Sashimi, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

The condiment for the Kurobuta pork loin katsu was a freshly ground roasted sesame seed sauce. The catch? You have to ground the sesame seeds yourself. They armed us with a ceramic bowl filled with roasted sesame seeds and a little wooden grounder and off we went, crushing the fragrant sesame seeds to powder. Well, actually, I did a pretty poor job and barely ground up any of the seeds before our server walked by our table and chuckled. She took the bowl from me and showed me how to properly ground the sesame seeds, “Really put your strength into it!” She told me.

Sesame seeds, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

Freshly ground sesame seed sauce, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

When I finally finished grounding up the sesame seeds, they smelled rich and nutty, our server scooped in a spoonful of this secret sweet and savoury sticky sauce and our dipping sauce was ready! Our entrees finally arrived, my Kurobuta pork loin katsu looked amazing, thick cut and juicy. It tasted just as good as it looked, the meat was so tremendously moist. The pork was so juicy, I barely needed the sesame seed dipping sauce but since I worked so hard to ground it up, I had to try it. It coated the pork perfectly and enhanced the cutlet flavour. This katsu makes every other katsu I’ve had in Canada seem like insubstantial flappy pieces of scrap meat. The crust on the Kurobuta katsu was extremely crispy, it definitely tasted freshly fried. Even though the pork was so thickly cut, thanks to that amazing marbling, it still had this buttery, flavourful, rich melt-in-your-mouth quality. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Kurobuta Pork Loin Katsu, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

Most of the entrees at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin come with unlimited cabbage salad and you can choose any dressing you desire. We stuck with Italian dressing and this tangy pineapple concoction made in-house. But the true star of the meal was definitely that thick-cut Kurobuta pork.

Prawn tempura, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

My boyfriend ordered the jumbo prawn tempura. They were not kidding when they said jumbo prawn because just one of those prawns was practically the size of my arm. Despite their gigantic size, the meat was very tender and moist. The tempura batter was crispy and fresh as well.

Prawn tempura, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, 255 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI

We were so stuffed from this meal that we didn’t even have room for dessert. If you’re in Honolulu, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin is a must! It’ll completely change your perception of the fried pork cutlet.

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Rainbow Drive-In: Go-to place for Plate Lunch

ange — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 05:54:41 +0000

Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

Rainbow Drive-In

3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

The plate lunch is a staple in Hawaiian cuisine. Dating back to the islands’ plantation days, the plate lunch is a simple and filling meal eaten by plantation workers in the 1880s. Many of the plantation workers were from Asia so there was lots of Asian influence on the plate lunch, the meal could possibly have been an American twist on the Japanese bento box. The plate lunch consists of two scoops of rice, one scoop of super sweet macaroni salad and a protein, spam is popular. If a plate lunch contains more than one protein, it’s categorized as a mixed plate. The plate lunch is basically a loco moco without the gravy.

The Rainbow Drive-in, the neighbourhood eatery with the multi-coloured roof in Honolulu famously serves one of the best plate lunch in Oahu. The Rainbow Drive-in embodies everything about Hawaiian dining: casual, comfort food, usually eaten outside. The Rainbow Drive-In has been opened in Honolulu for more than 50 years and has been featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Hawaii Five-O and Lost. In an episode of Lost from the later seasons, Hurley and Sayid were filmed grabbing a burger and discussing how to get back to the island.

When the Rainbow Drive-in is not featured on screen, it’s a popular hang out for locals and surfers. Cars and trucks with surf boards in tow pull up and plate lunches fly out the window along with slush floats and fried chicken.

Cherry slush float, Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

It was so hot the day that we ate there, I couldn’t wait to slurp up a slush float: ice cream mixed in with slushies. We ordered the cherry flavour and it totally hit the spot: instant brain-freeze. The thing you have to remember about Hawaii is just about everything is extreme in flavour: desserts (and for some weird reason, macaroni salad) is 10 times sweeter than regular desserts, salty items like nuts or poke are very very salty. It takes some getting used to.

Plate lunch with fried eggs, Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

We ordered two classic Hawaiian dishes: the plate lunch and the mixed plate. Since we hadn’t had breakfast yet, we added two fried eggs to our plate lunch but a traditional plate lunch would only consist of rice, macaroni salad and a protein. The food is exactly as comfort food should taste, familiar, homey and delicious. I could eat plate lunches all day long. The spam (my new addiction) was perfectly fried, the runny yolks of the egg pulled everything together on the plate.

Mixed plate, Rainbow Drive-In, 3308 Kanaina Ave, Honolulu, Hawaii

The mixed plate featured three types of meat: fish, chicken and beef. The beef was the best thing on the plate, savory and succulent.

The Rainbow Drive-in is a must-visit in Honolulu. Make sure you order the plate lunch!

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Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center

ange — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 06:17:39 +0000

Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Polynesian Cultural Center

55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

I’ve always wanted to go to a luau. It’s hard to find one these days that are true to traditional Hawaiian culture, ones that are not kitschy, overpriced and touristy. From my research and recommendations, the Polynesian Cultural Center seemed to offer the best luau on Oahu. Along with the ticket price is entrance to the park. The Polynesian Cultural Center isn’t just one building, it’s a full-fledged theme park celebrating the culture of the Polynesian islands, Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, Samoa, Aotearoa (aka New Zealand), and Fiji. The Polynesian Cultural Center is located on the gorgeous North Shore of Oahu near Kualoa Ranch. I’ll never get enough of the breathtaking dramatic backdrops of the green rolling hills on Oahu, there’s something so captivating, majestic and inspirational about the scenery here; it’s no wonder we met so many people on Oahu who moved to the island because they fell in love with the place. The Polynesian Cultural Center is part of the Brigham Young University in Hawaii and is attached to the campus. You can take a tram tour at the park that takes you around the park and the University campus. We also noticed that the employees of the park wore name tags that stated their major area of study; and the majors ranged from biology to drama.

Canoe pageant, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

We arrived at the Polynesian Cultural Center shortly after lunch. We drove there but the park also owns a fleet of coach buses that can pick you up from all over the island, you can purchase transportation options as part of your ticket. We got to the park just in time for the canoe pageant which only happens once a day. The pageant featured a float for each island, dancers on the float danced in the island’s traditional form of dance and each float traveled down the canal that ran the length of the park. I loved the Samoa dance the best, especially at the end when the dancers rocked the float so hard that the paddler steering the float fell right into the water!

Boat ride through park, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

There are many other fun activities at the Polynesian Cultural Center. My boyfriend really wanted to do the Tongan spear throwing. It was almost like he was on an episode of Survivor. One of the park officials gave a quick demo of how to throw the spears, and hands out a bunch of long wooden spears to participants and off you go. Other activities we managed to squeeze in before dinner was a boat tour of the park, we also rowed canoes and caught a few of the shows. There was even a coconut demo where we got to sample some fresh coconut.

Fresh coconut, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Then finally it was time for the much anticipated luau. At the entrance of the luau, we were greeted with leis and an usher showed us to our seats in the giant dining room. Luaus have been part of Hawaiian culture since the 19th century, they are large feasts accompanied by entertainment and music. Luaus used to be religious celebrations but in 1819, King Kamehameha opened up luau celebrations to all his subjects, regardless of religion. The Polynesian Cultural Center offers a number of different luaus, I chose the Ali’i luau based on the menu and the dinner program. I really wanted to try the famous Hawaiian dish, the kalua pig, the pig is barbecued whole in an underground pit.

Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The Ali’i luau also featured a presentation of the King and his court along with the ceremony of unearthing the kalua pig. The host of the luau was very thorough and informative in explaining the history and significance behind luau traditions. I also loved the seating arrangement at the luau, seats were arranged family style in long tables that seat up to 8 people. It gave us a chance to meet other people and find out what everyone else had been up to on the island. We met a nice couple vacationing from Germany as well as a couple visiting their brother who lives on the island. There was also a couple of women from Ohio sitting at our table who gave us tips on where to see sea turtles.

Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

As the royal court and the King arrived on stage at the luau, we were served the most delicious and moist taro buns. I’m not exaggerating. I didn’t think much of the little purple buns placed at our table until I finally bit into one, they were so soft and moist that I didn’t even need butter. There was a slight sweetness to the buns from the taro paste. Our host on stage explained that the little buns were made of taro poi, which is a Polynesian staple: pounded taro paste.

Taro buns at Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Luau buffet, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The luau buffet consisted of steamed white fish, mango chicken, steamed rice, teriyaki strip loin, and my favourite, kalua pork. There was also a wide selection of salads and fruit. We went straight for the pineapple.

Unearthing the kalua pig at the Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The kalua pork was everything I expected, smoky and moist, super succulent and flavourful. I couldn’t get enough of it. Half my plate was filled with big scoops of it.

Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

There were also small plastic cups filled with poke. We tried poke multiple times on the island, even at Costco! My boyfriend hated it, writing it off as too salty. But we both loved the poke at the Polynesian Cultural Center, it tasted more mild than the poke at other places.

Poke at Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

The dessert table was impressive, laden with chocolate cake, pineapple bars, coconut cake with haupia sauce and bread pudding and of course baskets of those sweet, moist taro buns. The coconut cake was my absolute favourite, moist, rich and sweet.

Dessert at Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

Bread pudding at Luau, Polynesian Cultural Center, 55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, Hawaii

After dinner, there was a fire dance show called Ha, Breath of Life. The Polynesian Cultural Center park closes at 6pm but the gift shops remain open, we had just about an hour to wander around the gift shops before the fire dance show started. There were also photo stands selling the day’s pictures. Throughout the day, photographers are found throughout the park taking pictures of guests doing activities, they sell these pictures at the end of the day for $15 to $25 each. It was a little steep for us so we didn’t purchase photos even though I loved the photo of us with our leis at the entrance of the luau.

The show, Ha, Breath of Life was incredible, totally worth the ticket price and it really completed our Hawaiian experience.

If you ever get a chance to check out the Polynesian Cultural Center, make sure you spend the day there and attend one of the park’s delicious luaus.

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Honolulu Cookie Company: Classic Shortbread with a Pineapple Twist

ange — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 18:13:34 +0000

Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

Honolulu Cookie Company

1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

I first noticed the Honolulu Cookie Company’s iconic pineapple shaped gourmet shortbreads on Momofuku Milk Bar’s instagram page. Honolulu Cookie Company uses local Hawaiian ingredients in their pastries. I love shortbread and I love macadamia nuts so I was determined to try some of these cookies.

While we were shopping in Ala Moana mall, everywhere we turned we saw Japanese tourists carrying bags and bags stuffed full of Honolulu Cookie Company gift boxes, one lady was carrying so many bags of the cookies that she could barely make it up the escalator. We had to see what the hype was all about so we made our way to the mall’s Honolulu Cookie Company shop.

As soon as we walked in, we were hit in the face with the buttery aroma of baking shortbread cookies. Later, we found out this was because a little toaster oven on the top shelf at the back of the shop was baking up cookie dough just to lure customers into the shop. Honolulu Cookie Company’s shortbread cookies are baked and packaged offsite at a factory and delivered to each store.

Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

Another thing that caught our attention was the bell they rang at the till every time someone received a free gift after their purchase. If you purchase over $50 worth of cookies, you get a free little bag of cookies, if you buy over $100, you get a free box of cookies. We tried super hard to add up our purchases to $50 but couldn’t justify buying a giant cookie jar of cookies just for a free little bag of cookies. We were able to pick up a few boxes of cookies for friends and family and some for ourselves.

Free samples, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

The great thing about Honolulu Cookie Company is the free samples. They have little bins all over the store filled with all the various flavours of cookies they sell. We became particularly addicted to the mini chocolate chip cookies. They were bite-size and utterly melt-in-your-mouth, it truly was impossible to eat just one. We found ourselves wandering into Honolulu Cookie Company stores all over the island just to sneak some free samples.

Milk chocolate coconut dipped shortbread, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

It’s appealing that these cookies are both buttery and rich but also somewhat delicately light, even the chocolate dipped ones. We loved the white chocolate dipped coconut cookies and ended up buying a box of them to snack on. We were partial to the cookies featuring Hawaiian ingredients like coconut, pineapple, macadamia nuts and the Kona coffee bean.

White chocolate coconut dipped shortbread, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

My mom loves coffee so we bought her a box of Kona coffee shortbread. The cookies had the same sweet flavour as coffee ice cream, some of them were chocolate dipped and others sported a whole Kona coffee bean in the middle.

Kona coffee shortbread, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

Mango shortbread, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

The tropical fruit cookies were delicious, I loved the little cube of dried fruit that was pressed into the middle of the buttery cookie.

Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI

The plain shortbread cookies are also scrumptious as well and equally addictive.

My boyfriend kept wondering why each cookie was individually wrapped, he claimed it only slowed him down as he devoured a whole box. The individual wrapping definitely kept the cookies fresh though, each one as crisp and rich as the day we bought them.

I still crave these cookies and I’ve eaten a million of them. They make the perfect Christmas gift too! If you’re not in Hawaii, Honolulu Cookie Company products can be purchased at select Tommy Bahama stores in the United States. Check the Honolulu Cookie Company website for details.

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Leonard’s: that Heavenly Pouf called the Malasada

ange — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 03:24:20 +0000

Leonard’s, 933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI

Leonard’s

933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI

Leonard’s makes these impossibly fluffy poufs of heaven called malasadas. Malasadas are Portuguese doughnuts, deep fried and covered in sugar. The pastries were likely woven into Hawaiian cuisine in the 1800s when Portuguese immigrants moved to Hawaii to work on the islands’ plantations. Malasadas are almost as ubiquitous as spam musubi in Hawaii but I had read about Leonard’s in Lucky Peach and made it a goal to try the place. There’s a recipe for the donuts in Lucky Peach but I can’t imagine duplicating this deep fried goodness at home.

Leonard’s is located near a residential area so we just parked down the block and walked to the shop. I’ll never get used to the tiny geckos scurrying across the sidewalk in and around the concrete cracks.

Leonard’s, 933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI

As soon as we walked into Leonard’s, we were hit in the face by a waft of rich, buttery aroma. I scanned the bakery display cases for malasadas and was disappointed not to see them in the display cases. I was afraid we got to the bakery too late and the donuts were sold out. Then I saw a small menu sign near the entrance and I realized the malasadas were freshly fried to order. So we ordered four donuts to share along with some other pastries.

Leonard’s, 933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI

We sat on the bench outside and gobbled up our other pastries while we waited for our malasadas to be fried up.

We picked the Portuguese sausage bun because it reminded us so much of the hot dog buns we buy from Chinese bakeries back in Canada. We’ve noticed a heavy Portuguese influence on the food in Hawaii, in fact the Portuguese sausage is a staple in traditional Hawaii breakfast plates, they even serve it at McDonald’s. The Portuguese sausage meat is not as fatty as a hot dog, the meat is firmer than the soft canned meat of spam but it’s equally salty with a slight kick of spice.

Leonard’s, 933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI

We also ordered a pineapple and cream cheese strudel that was flaky and light and filled with the sweetest pineapple filling. I’ve never had cream cheese with pineapple and was surprised that the two flavours go so well together.

Malasada, Leonard’s, 933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI

Finally, our malasadas were ready and I couldn’t wait to dig in! We ordered four donuts: original, cinnamon, li hing and a malasada puff which was a filled donut, I chose haupia filling.

Malasada, Leonard’s, 933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI

Malasadas are made of the fluffiest, most eggy dough, the freshly fried doughnut is so soft and pillowy when it was served to us, that I was afraid I was going to crush it with my hand. The inside of the donut was light as air, filled with a web of this light, feathery eggy texture, it is sort of like the inside of a French cruller but even lighter. The outside of the donut was coated in so much sugar that I got it all over my mouth and some on the tip of my nose as I greedily gobbled up malasada after malasada.

The cinnamon sprinkled malasada was just as delicious as the original. The li hing topped malasada had a bit of a salty kick to it. Li hing is a Chinese salted plum. My grandma always had a bag of the stuff in her purse when we were little. They’re little salty snacks that make your lips pucker. The li hing powder sprinkled on the malasadas was sweet as well as salty though. I have noticed that li hing is very popular in Hawaii, many pastries, ice creams and desserts feature the flavour. The fact that li hing powder is being mixed in with a Portuguese pastry is just another example of Hawaii’s diverse culinary landscape.

Malasada, Leonard’s, 933 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu, HI

For our filled malasada, I picked the haupia filled malasada. Haupia is a coconut milk pudding. There was so much filling in the soft pastry that some of it squirted right out and onto the floor when I bit in. The sweet coconut was delicious, not too sweet and a great compliment to the sugary doughnut. The malasadas are just as scrumptious on their own though. I can probably eat a dozen in one sitting.

I’m not sure how I can go back to eating regular doughnuts!

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Marukame Udon: Noodle Gamer-Changer

ange — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 04:35:04 +0000