marukai

I think this may be the last Marukai post for my trip...tried their fried saimin the other day....US$2.69.

Good amount of noodles, ham, kamaboko, some egg and veggies...though it was REALLY salty and the green onions were RAW, which left a really onion-y taste in my mouth.

I tried it...it was okay, don't think I would get it again though...If you get a chance to try this, let me know what you think.

marukai and other stuff

I don't know about you, but the first thing that needs to get adjusted (besides my internal clock) when I come home are my feet (sorry for the ugly pic of my ugly feet). Not wearing slippers a.k.a. zori or anything similar for long periods of time in Japan, makes itself apparent with blisters between my big and 2nd toes as well as on the sides of my feet where the zori straps touch.

I power walked the length of Ala Moana Shopping Center the other day in a wooden thong and ow...that is what happened...oh, the remnant sunburn line?? That is what happens when you wear ballerina flats on a scorching Spring day in Kyoto...amazing how tan I can get on my feet but nowhere else...

Wednesday's lunch was from Marukai...Mini korean chicken US$2.59 + tax...7 pieces of super crunchy chicken slathered with a spicy sauce. Musubi made from gobo, red ginger and some edamame, and a few slices of takuan...so cheap and so good!

How green is your house? Ours got greener last year. Not only do we have solar panels (which I found out we've had since 1979!), but mom just installed some photovoltaic (sp?) cells.

She had been wanting to install some but was waiting for the price to go down and for someone to start installing them on homes (apparently when they first came out they were only installing them for businesses) She said her electric bill is super low now (US$30 a month). (Way to go Mom! I wish our apartment building in Japan would do something similar.)

marukai

Marukai is a Japanese-American grocery store on Oahu. They import foods from Japan, Asia and also have some items which are "local" and imported from the mainland too.

I remember when my mom used to collect the Marukai arare bags to turn in for merchandise...boy, that was way back when.

It used to be that the best part about shopping there for me, was to to be able to buy the Japanese foods and condiments. Anyway, now that I live in Japan, the best part about shopping at Marukai are the bento (boxed meals).

For today's lunch, I got the mochiko chicken and musubi (US$2.29). Mochiko chicken is a local-style fried chicken but the batter is made from mochiko (sweet rice flour).

Just outside of the store you will also find these two ladies cooking up andagi. Andagi is the Okinawan donut (without a hole). They also make Andagi dogs, the Okinawan-American version of the corn dog. (US $2) Both, the bento and andagi dog really hit the spot.

This one looked quite burnt, but actually tasted good and not too oily either. The batter around the dog was sweet, so there was no need for ketchup.

In order to shop inside of Marukai, you need to be a member. (I'm not to sure if they have passes for the day which you can buy if you are just visiting the Islands.)

Marukai
2310 Kamehameha Highway
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.845.5051