Wednesday, July 13, 2011

hawaii gathers

One of my mom's cousins had come over from the Big Island, so my Aunty M put together a gathering for all that could come for dinner.

Since no one wants to be slaving over a stove in these times, my Aunty M1 ordered some bento from Natsunoya Tea House.

I've never been to the tea house, but hear it is a great place for parties/gatherings up in Alewa Heights and is one of the last remaining Japanese tea houses in Hawaii.

The bento was filled with teriyaki beef, shrimp tempura, purple sweet potato tempura, fried chicken, curry croquette, namasu, nishime, tamagoyaki, rice and pickled ginger.

Way too much food, but most everything (except the nishime (too salty) and chicken (too bland) was delicious. (UPDATE: reheated the chicken for dinner next night and it was hard but tasted a little better)

We also had some 2009 A to Z Pinot Noir, light bodied and spicy.

For dessert my mom made an orange-pineapple cake, a very moist and refreshing cake topped with vanilla pudding, crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges.

And one of Mom's cousins brought a Ted's Bakery Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cream Pie, not as good as their Chocolate Haupia Pie but still delicious.

It was a great gathering, great conversation, lots of laughs and lots of food.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oooh, yum! I would like to have a recipe for that pineapple-orange cake. Is there somewhere a link to the recipe?

Sandy

jalna said...

Such a great idea to order bentos!

K and S said...

Sandy this is a similar recipe, she just made it in (1) 9"x13" pan instead of the (3) that are written in the recipe.

Clean-up was so fast, Jalna :)

Take care you two.
Kat

Japan Australia said...

Nothing better than a family gathering and a great meal together. Sounds like you had a lot of fun and some great food!!

Japan Australia

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, Kat! <3
Sandy

K and S said...

love family gatherings J-A, it's what makes coming home more special.

you're welcome Sandy :) hope you like it.

Take care you two.
Kat

Rowena said...

Feast! Did the cousins bring something from the Big Island? All of a sudden I'm thinking of shops like Two Ladies Kitchen and Big Island Candies.

K and S said...

They brought the Ted's pie Rowena, but Two Ladies...mmm!

Take care.
Kat

K said...

Yum, love the bento box! The sweet potato tempura especially!

Rowena said...

Never been to Ted's...yet. Chocolate haupia pie sounds so good right now!

Deb in Hawaii said...

Mmm...your Mom's pineapple cake looks and sounds wonderful. ;-) I went to a Slow Foods event at that tea house--it is a great place for groups and parties.

K and S said...

the sweet potato was very good K!

if you ever get a chance to try them I hope you like them Rowena!

she likes to make that cake Deb in Hawaii, so easy and delicious!

Take care everyone!
Kat