big island coffee roasters

Last summer when I went to Hilo, I picked up Big Island Coffee Roasters' Puna Kazumura, which was a medium roast coffee.

While we enjoyed this, I was interested in trying their Medium Dark blends...

So on this trip back, I ordered their Road 1 Espresso (medium dark) and Stout Heart Dark (dark).

Can't wait to try these.

hilo

Over the weekend, I visited Hilo with my Aunties.

The weather wasn't forecast to be nice, so we often got caught in passing showers....

I was able to get my hands on some lychee from the Farmer's Market...so good!

We got to try some fruit mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen (Rainier Cherry (top), Mandarin Cutie (middle) and Saturn Peach (below))...all so good!

We were impressed with the rainier cherry, as the stem was still attached to the cherry but the seed had been pitted! The flesh of the cherry wasn't disturbed...amazing pitting technique!

I tried two different loco moco (for Satoshi)...a keiki moco (top) from Ken's Pancakes...meh! the patty was hard.as.rock. And Cafe 100's loco moco...

Cafe 100 apparently created the loco moco, so you know their version had to be good! (and it was! and it was only $3.50!)

Brought flowers to the family graves...

And visited with friends and relatives.

our main reason for visiting Hilo was to attend the hatsubon service for my Grandma, if you remember, she passed away last December.

I've written about hatsubon before here.

I also picked up some omiyage (souvenirs) for Satoshi and I to try when I get back to Japan.

Despite the off and on rain, it was nice to visit Hilo and reconnect with family and friends.

Thanks Aunty M for inviting me.

the rain bonnet

In Hawaii, when it rains, you will almost always see grandmas wearing these rain bonnets to protect their hair-dos.

Though I think this is more a cultural thing for the outer island grandmas than the ones on Oahu.

My 96 year-old grandma always has one of these in her bag. Always.

For those sudden showers that Hawaii sometimes has.

Cute, yeah?!

Love you Gram!

two ladies kitchen

Two Ladies Kitchen is mostly renowned for their strawberry daifuku and assorted mochi.

We recently received these assorted manju (baked/steamed sweet bean buns) from my Aunties who went to Hilo.

Most of them were filled with shiroan (white bean paste) or tsubuan (chunky sweet (azuki) bean paste).

They were good, but only one that was the most interesting to us was the top middle one that was filled with purple sweet potato.

Thanks Aunties!

hawaii shops & eats

Since my grandma moved from Hilo to Oahu, we don't go to the Big Island as much these days, but when we do, we always try to stop in at Big Island Candies (BIC).

They are the original shortbread cookie dippers (chocolate dipped shortbread) and also have lots of interesting but yummy indulgences there. In recent years they have started to dip their shortbread in dark chocolate too. (yeah!)

On our recent trip to Hilo, we made our stop into BIC, it was near closing time so there weren't many people in the store.

I bought some non-dipped shortbread to take back to Japan for my MIL and my host-mom. As well as some other items, one was...their brownies with coconut covered in dark chocolate! (I'll share with you the other item when I eat it!)

8 of these babies for US$10.75 +tax....kind of pricey, but worth every bite and on a humid and hot day like it was yesterday (in some places it was 90F (32C)), it was oozy chocolate finger licking goodness! (Of course, I shared with my mom and dad, so that they could both partake in the indulgence too!)

Have a great weekend!

hilo

Friday, I went with my Grandma and Aunty M to Hilo. It was the 3rd memorial service for my Grandma's sister.

Arriving in Hilo, it began to drizzle. While my Aunty went to get the rental car, I found this anole and wild orchid. These Hilo anole are so laid back, it let me take its photo and even posed!

After waiting almost 2 hours for our car (there were MAJOR hang-ups!) we were starving for LUNCH!

We drove to the nearest place...Don's Grill.

Luckily the place wasn't too packed and we were able to get seated right away.

It was my first time eating here and I tried their won ton mein. It was hot and the broth was nice, not too oily or salty. Their won ton mein comes with homemade won ton, spam, char siu, won bok, egg & green onion. It really hit the spot.

After lunch, we visited with some of my Grandma's friends and then with our relatives.

What interested me while my Grandma visited with her friend's were their plants...a blazing hibiscus, an anthurium whose "nose" was growing warts (doesn't it look like a cob of corn or a witch's nose?)

And these...bags for your clothes pins. Almost every home in Hawaii has these, handmade to look like a dress, it is hung by a baby's hanger.

Did you know that my mom's cousin is a local celebrity of sorts? He has a show for Seniors which covers Hilo events as well as cooking tips, you can view videos on YouTube now Seniors Living in Paradise. Pomai of Tasty Island also wrote about him once.

On one of his recent shows, he featured Hi-Ho Mongolian Grill, a new eatery in downtown Hilo, and wanted to take us there for dinner. Apparently this is a franchise, you choose your bowl (little khan, mighty khan and barbarian khan), fill it up with veggies, meat, noodles, and choose a sauce. Take the bowl to the stir-fry area and watch them stir-fry your food.

Each bowl comes with a bowl of rice and soup, and afterwards some pudding and fruit. Everything was flavorful and good. It was a great dinner, even my 93 year old Grandma ate all of her little khan, plus all of her rice and soup!

Of course, second to visiting with the relatives are the wonderful fruits and goodies you can find in Hilo.

My aunty bought these apple and coconut Rainbow Falls Connection pies at KTA (the local supermarket)..these were 6-inch types and my mom thought they were better than the Walaka ones we tried earlier this month.

We got these delicious fruits (pineapple, papaya & mountain apple) from my mom's cousin. (Thank you!)

Oh and that bottom left shot is my breakfast at Hilo Hawaiian, it is their US$4.99 special...bacon cheese muffin, 1/6 of a papaya, 1/3 of a banana and a little chunk of pineapple...everything was so delicious!

The rain didn't let up on Saturday either, we even tried to go to the Kinoole farmer's market, but ended up picking up some flowers then running to our car.

On our flight home, I noticed that a Maddie look-a-like was on board (Rowena, did you know Mads was on vacation without you??), though I think the dog was small kine breaking the rules outside of its carrier bag.

It was a great trip despite the rain, it was nice to see my relatives and I am glad my grandma got to see her friends too.

Hope your weekend was a good one.

Don's Grill
485 Hinano Street
Hilo, Hawaii
Phone: 808.935.9099

Hi-Ho Mongolian Grill (next to Low's International)
194 Kilauea Avenue
Hilo, Hawaii
Phone: 808.961.1777 UPDATE: as of 2012, this place is no longer in business

Rainbow Falls Connection
47 Rainbow Drive
Hilo, Hawaii
Phone: 1.800.397.9902

odds & ends

Just some odds and ends on this lazy Sunday.

We recently got to try some Two Ladies mochi from Hilo. My grandma's friend came to visit and brought these.

Satoshi wrote and said that he went to Takayama this weekend. There was snow. So much snow that the water wheel was frozen.

Here he is with his friend.

Leaving you with some flowers and plants from around my parent's house.

Happy Sunday and have a good week.

aloha & mahalo

Yesterday, I said "Aloha" to an old friend...(In Hawaii, "Aloha" can mean different things--hello, good-bye, love).

My friend helped me finish the 1998 Honolulu Marathon, as well as many other walking and running events that year. And in recent years, helped me take early morning walks whenever I came home.

"Mahalo" (thank you!) dear friend.

Changing the subject, on my recent trip to Hilo, we found these purple sweet potato at the Farmer's Market. A whole bag (with about 5 or 6 in it) for only US$1.00! Before steaming them, they were a light lavender color, and afterwards became this vibrant blueish-purple color. Super sweet and delicious!

hilo (part 2)

One of the fun things I like to do in Hilo is to visit the Farmer's Market downtown. There are many vendors selling organic fruits, vegetables, flowers and other food items.

The flower vendors are there everyday. On Wednesdays, some of the fruit and veggie vendors come out, but Saturdays are the best days to go--packed with vendors and buyers there is excitement in the air as you wander the little market. Parking is tight, so go early!

Shark's Nuts not only sells homegrown coffee and mac nuts, but also hand roasted or raw cacao. I got 8 oz. for US $10.

This is the best place to buy papayas too--6 for US$1.00! You won't find this price anywhere.

This woman was choosing a pineapple.

Here, another woman was picking out warabi (fern fiddleheads)

There was also mangoes and fresh organic rambutan--inside these prickly red compartments are juicy white fruits.

If you plan to visit Hilo, make sure to visit on either a Wednesday or Saturday! It is a nice place just to wander, you may even run into someone you know or make a new friend!