den phal

You may or may not know that the Japanese love to shorten words 

Dunno if the shortened words are easier to remember though

Most times I have to look up what the shortened word means or stands for

The other day when I bought these orchids it was labeled "Den phal" 

After looking it up it stands for dendrobium phalaenopsis also known as cooktown orchid

Can understand why they would want to shorten this word

Got these for O-bon

hawaii sights

Some sights...

orchids/phalaenopsis...

This white one is called Gu Keng Beauty.

And this purple one Taida Bird King.

Surprisingly, both plants' blooms lasted a long time.

hawaii sights

Popcorn orchid in full bloom at my parent's house...beautiful.

around the house

An interesting colored cymbidium that I found around the house yesterday.

It is also Father's Day here, hope all you fathers have a great day!

Have a nice week.

happy easter

I've seen "whole" rainbows before, but this is the first time to for me to see a "whole" rainbow, so close-up.

Another orchid started blooming the other day. This one is quite tiny, and hardly any fragrance.

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday.

hawaii cooks and eats

You may or may not have wondered what is causing these reddish/orangy sunsets and sunrises. It is apparently the pollution in the air. Most air pollution in Hawaii is known as "vog" or volcanic smog. This is the sulfur and smoke from the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island (Island of Hawaii) mixed with the rest of the pollution in the air. Who would have thought something so yucky could create something so beautiful?

Changing the subject, mom and I did some baking yesterday. She made okara scones (hopefully I can pry the recipe from her). And I made scones from "The American Test Kitchen Cookbook". The one on the left is the okara scone, kind of dense like an oat cake. The one on the right is the ATK scone made with lots of butter. The okara one wasn't too sweet and the ATK one was light and really buttery. Both would be a great thing to have for a quick breakfast or snack.

Leaving you with an orchid that bloomed a couple of days ago. I've put up pictures of this orchid in the past. Glad to see it bloomed again this year.

odds & ends

It's Sunday here. Just wanted to share with you some photos I took in the first week that I came home--it was raining off and on and cold.

The yellow flowers are called "popcorn" orchid. (They do look good enough to eat, yeah? They aren't edible though.) The green plant on the right top corner is called a jade plant.

Hope you are having a wonderful, relaxing Sunday. Have a great week.

diego's

One thing that I like to eat when I come home is Mexican food. In Japan, you can find some eateries, but they are not cheap and there aren't that many of them.

I noticed Diego's Taco Shop a couple of trips back but never got around to going to try them.

Today since my dad and I had to find our own lunch, I suggested we go and check them out.

We ordered the chicken torta, which is a kind of sandwich. A 6" cuban bread (kind of like a poor boy roll) is spread with refried beans, tomato, shredded lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, cheese and shredded chicken. The bottom of the sandwich was a bit soggy, but it tasted like a burrito filling on bread. I think the next time I go there, I'll try their burritos or crispy rolled tacos.

Today is the first day of spring. In Japan it is called Shunbun no hi and it is a National holiday. Just thought I'd show you some orchids that started to bloom around my parent's home. (Actually, I think these plants overheard my mom say that she was going to throw them out and bloomed in order to be spared!)

Diego's Taco Shop
719 Kamehameha Hwy.
Pearl City
Phone: 808.456-7578
Closed Sundays

UPDATE: as of 3/2012, this place has closed