hiatus

A medical emergency has kept me offline for awhile now. I'm fine and will be back to posting when I can.

made in hawaii

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you know one of my obsessions is soap.

I love buying the kind that smells citrusy, musky, clean...bigger bonus is if it is locally made.

I recently saw an article in the "Honolulu" magazine and they mentioned Filthy Farmgirl as a locally made soap.

I went online and ordered the "small" size because they didn't quite specify how big their bars were, these were US$3 each.

Anyway, another thing I like about this company is that they have free shipping! If you live in Hawaii, you know that free shipping is a rare thing.

I think International shipping will cost you something, but you should check their site to be sure.

So, I ordered 6 different bars and another bonus, they gave me a sample bar for my order over US$12.

Most of their bars are made on the Big Island (the Island of Hawaii) and it seems like some with goat's milk are made in Vermont.

When I chose the bars I chose the ones with "made in Hawaii" on their labels...they smell incredible and I can't wait to try them.

Do you have any obsessions?

no meteors

Were you able to see some of those meteors from that Perseid meteor shower?

No meteors to be seen over here...mainly because there was a nearly full moon lighting up the skies.

Oh, well, made for a great photo, even if it was blurry.

summer is here

It's been really hot the past couple of days...but, I am thankful that there is a slight breeze.

And no I am not talking about the type of "breeze" we have in Japan where the air circulating is just hot and sticky.

No, these are trade winds (or trades for short), cool and makes everything a little bearable.

Someone once told me that when you see wispy clouds it means the season is changing...with all the weird weather we were having a couple weeks ago, summer must now be here.

tango market

The thing about travelling in Hawaii is that I don't have cell phone service, I'm off the grid so to speak.

Can you believe my carrier wants to charge me nearly US$20 a day for me to use the phone in Hawaii just for roaming? And that isn't covering any data charges, or call charges, that is a totally different story.

Anyway, I was supposed to meet a friend at Tango Market at Ward Centre for lunch. The time came and went and she never showed.

I had a feeling she may have gone to the other Tango which is next to PF Chang's about half a block away from where I was.

And I guess I could've walked down to the other place, but in the back of my mind, I was worried that she would show up where we had talked about meeting and then I wouldn't be there.

So I stayed put, I ordered lunch, hoping she would show and ended up eating by myself.

I had the duck confit quesadilla stuffed with lots of goat cheese, corn, avocado and salsa. It came with mixed greens or pasta salad, I chose mixed greens.

With an unsweetened passion fruit iced tea my total came out to US$12.83 tax included.

I enjoyed this but would have loved it if everything was evenly distributed. The goat cheese (pretty sure it was goat cheese) was an overpowering ratio to everything else so I'm glad I chose the mixed greens to break the monotony of the quesadilla.

Bummed about not meeting up with my friend, who I found out later was at the other location, but I'm glad I got to check this place out...I'd definitely go back, hopefully next time with her.

Tango Market (UPDATE: 2014 this location closed)
Ward Centre
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.596.4888

antonio's pizza

My Flickr friend, Rex, told me about Antonio's Pizza, BFF, had been wanting to try it too, so the other day, I met her at her workplace and we went to check out this place.

When you walk in it is pretty dark, no air of any kind is on, your face feels like you may have a fever, it's that hot in there.

The guy at the counter, more concerned about eating his McDonald's meal and playing his Play Station games on the big screen television than taking your order, sits and stares at you like, "well?!".

No "hi how are you?", "is it your first time here?", "let me recommend...", New York attitude?! maybe.

There is no menu posted anywhere, so grab the take-out menu sitting on the counter and look it over.

BFF ordered the 9-inch with pepperoni, tomato and spinach.

I ordered the 9-inch with sausage, olive and onion.

With soft drink, our bills both came out to US$7.64 tax included.

The crust was a bit on the hard side, with lots of cornmeal around the edges.

And the cheese was oozy, but we think the sauce was really salty because after we finished, we felt like we had licked some sandpaper or something...blah!

I'm glad we tried this place, but both of us agreed, there is definitely better pizza out there.

Antonio's Pizza (UPDATE: as of 2013 this shop not in business)
4210 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.737.3333

breathe

Been helping my mom's church with some tsukemono making this week as well as more cooking for their upcoming bon dance this weekend.

Just wanted you guys to take a deep breath and enjoy the sunset...hope your week is going well.

i spy

So, we have some papaya growing, right?!

There aren't any fruits to speak of after it blossomed but I'm still hopeful.

Anyway, my farming technique is to throw seeds into the dirt and if something grows then goodie!

I recently threw in some watermelon seeds into the same hole that I planted some papaya seeds and voila!

I spy watermelon sprouting amongst the papaya...hopefully next year I'll get to taste this.

UPDATE: the evil yard man has weed whacked the watermelon and papaya seedlings...sigh, need to start over (insert pouty face)

crayons

Have you opened a box of Crayola crayons recently?

I did and was amazed at that different names they have for several different crayons these days...like "macaroni and cheese"? WT?

Um, I've never had macaroni and cheese growing up so I was not familiar with that fake orange color...

And "robin's egg blue"...we don't have robins in Hawaii, so I've never seen their eggs either...

And "tickle me pink" sounds more like a nail polish name than a crayon, don't you think?

My thing is when kids go to school to learn names of colors, are these color names used? I can't see myself asking a friend to borrow their "macaroni and cheese" crayon...I know times have changed but these crayon names seem kinda unusual to me.

aaagh!

Saw this moth flying towards me...and screamed.

Not sure what type of moth it is, but have never seen one in Hawaii before.

Do you know what it is?

blue ginger

It isn't something you can eat but it is called Blue Ginger (Dichorisandra Thyrsiflora).

I'm not sure if the flowers have a fragrance but the stalk looks almost like bamboo.

There are taller versions of this in my parent's yard but their original plant was brought over from my father's parent's yard on the Big Island many many moons ago.

Glad to see it is still around.

grylt

We had another errand to run on Friday, so we stopped into GRYLT (grilled) in the Manoa Marketplace.

Some of my twitter friends had tweeted about it and they sounded good so we went to check them out.

Um, if you open at 11:00, I think you should be ready for business, not still running around behind the counter at 11:15 when we walked in the door.

The Braised Kalbi sandwich which is on their menu and apparently the special sandwich of the month, was not available...I can see if we came mid-day after the lunch crowd, but at the beginning of the day?! WT?!

I ordered the Mediterranean salad with shrimp, it was supposed to come with caramelized pecans, bleu cheese, balsamic onions, sun-dried tomatoes, apple slices and baby spinach...please caramelize the pecans they were totally stale and soft because they weren't caramelized.

Partly our fault for not checking, but utensils should be given with items being taken out...luckily we ate at home...we ordered more things but I won't go into much detail only to say that the steak they served was very tender.

These guys have only been open since mid-June, but if things are this spotty, unorganized and slow, I don't know that they will last...hope to see you around next year when I'm home.

GRYLT (UPDATE: 2018 this location closed)
Manoa Marketplace
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.988.7832

the patisserie

Taking a little break from baking, we went to pick-up some lunch from The Patisserie.

They opened a little cafe in Waimalu, I think some time last year.

Mom ordered a roast beef sandwich on honey whole wheat, she chose all the veggies and added some swiss cheese.

Dad wanted a turkey sandwich on honey whole wheat, we also added all the veggies and kept his sandwich without cheese. (no photo)

Their sandwiches were packed with meat!

Another good thing is that they wrap each half in parchment paper, so you could save your other half if you were having dessert...ahem!

I ordered the B.L.A.T. on 10-grain, I didn't get to chose veggies but I opted not to put any cheese in there.

I loved this sandwich, it may look like it was mostly lettuce but there was avocado and crispy bacon in every bite!

Of course, we also ordered a slice of black forest cake, a slice of apple pie and a chocolate donut.

Mom thought the black forest cake was so-so.

The apple pie that Dad ate, he said was good.

And the donut that I ordered was moist, though the chocolate that was piped in the center was way too sweet for me.

My only peeve was the refrigerated case with the donuts in them had some moths in there (alive!)...eew!

The prices of the sandwiches were really reasonable, the veggies fresh and delicious too.

We'll be back for sandwiches and cakes, and maybe donuts if they clean out that case.

The Patisserie (UPDATE: 2014 this shop is closed)
Waimalu Shopping Plaza
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.484.1299

phở my lien

This week I'm kinda busy helping my mom bake and get things together for O-bon and her church's bon dance which is next week.

Last week, she kinda injured her shoulder (nothing major just from overuse) so I had to help the ladies at her church cook chili in her place.

Most days, I usually take her around to do some of her errands...lifting the heavy items and doing the driving.

Tuesday was the only day this week that I had free to meet up with my Aunty M1 for lunch.

We decided to try Phở My Lien, a Vietnamese place in the Westridge Shopping Center.

I had seen a photo that one of my Flickr friends had taken of her food and asked her about it.

Apparently this shop was in Waikiki before and moved out to Aiea last year?!. With the weather being too hot for phở, my Aunty and I chose bún (rice vermicelli) dishes.

I chose Bún chả giò (topped with spring rolls) while my Aunty chose to top hers with grilled chicken (sorry don't know the name).

I loved all the fresh herbs (mint, thai basil), bean sprouts, peanuts and lettuce tucked underneath the bún.

Really refreshing and filling!

It was nice catching up with my Aunty and trying a new place...we'll be back.
(Thanks for lunch Aunty!)

Phở My Lien
Westridge Shopping Center 2F
Aiea, Hawaii
Phone: 808.488.4900

hawaii drinks

Tried this Big Swell IPA by Maui Brewing Co. 6.8% alcohol

Fruity with a little bitter after taste...good.

Note to self: need more chips to go with this.

yogurtland

Two years ago, Yogurtland teamed up with Tokidoki which I wrote up here.

This year it is with Hello Kitty (Sanrio)...cute Hello Kitty & Chococat spoons and cups.

Sunday's weather was perfect for some fro-yo and chatting with a good friend.

things I'm liking (disliking)

Some random things I'm liking and disliking starting with the disliking...

Pizza slices served from the warmer when infact, a new fresh pan comes out right in front of me while I'm ordering at ZPizza.

If there is a next time here, I'm ordering off the menu instead of just slices so I can get some "hot" food.

Kit N Kitchen's portuguese sausage mushroom spaghetti...while I enjoyed the "stuff" on top of the pasta, the consistency was a bit too soupy for my liking.

I did enjoy the bite of pork chimichurri that my cousin's wife gave me though, tender and lots of garlic flavor.

How cute is this one?! I think it is a french bull dog?!

Just sat there while I snapped its pic while sticking its tongue out at me.

Loving the fig relish from Deb...so good with some type of melty cheese.

It also went nicely with baked chicken nuggets too...thanks Deb!

Lastly, loving the miniature plumerias I see on my walks...so cute!

What are you liking (disliking)?

ZPizza (UPDATE: 2018 closed)
Ward Centre
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.596.0066

Kit N Kitchen (UPDATE: 2018 closed)
1010 University Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.942.7622

hawaii re-visits

Last year I wrote about having lunch with Nate at Lam's Garden.

Yesterday, we met up at Lam's Garden and he brought his cute grand-daughter along too.

We again ordered the minute chicken with cake noodle...so good. Cake noodle is something I don't see often in Japan, so good!

Stuffed bittermelon, Nate's favorite...these bittermelons were...bitter! but very tasty, though I think I like Nate's recipe for stuffed bittermelon better.

Ika (squid) with sin choi (pickled mustard cabbage). This was my first time trying this but I really liked it.

The squid was chewy and the sin choi had a sweet sour flavor, really tasty.

It was nice to catch-up with Nate and to meet his grand-daughter.

Thanks for lunch Nate!