(trying to) live pono

Do you try to do the right thing?

In Hawaii, there is a saying "live pono".

If I'm not mistaken, there are several meanings, but for me, it means to "do the right thing".

The other day, I went to the market and bought a salad, a container of poi (mashed taro) and the salad came with a dressing packet (which was free with purchase of the salad).

The line at the checkout had a slight hiccup, and the guy before me needed to get something price checked.

When everything finally got sorted out, he paid then left.

Then the cashier proceeded to ring my items up.

I am usually good about watching when the cashier rings things up, because sometimes the price on the shelf isn't what is scanned, but on this day, I wasn't paying attention.

The cashier gave me a total, I paid then went home.

As I was eating my salad, I pulled out my receipt and realized that the cashier had charged me for the dressing and hadn't charged me for the poi!

So, the next day, I went to the store and explained what happened and that I wanted to pay for the poi.

The manager was so thankful and almost started crying as there had already been several shopliftings earlier that morning. (eep!)

She then tried to give me a case of water (using her reward points) for being so honest, but I refused it because I was only there to pay for the item that I wasn't charged for, not to receive anything for trying to do what was right.

I know I probably should have gone back the same day, but I'm still glad I went back to do the right thing.

Have you ever had something similar happen to you? Did you live pono?

(yet more) danshari

I donated more things to my mom's church.

Like all these stuffed animals...

Did you have these Koala Me thingies? (top right picture)

They could cling on to things...

And my Hello Kitty "collection"...I think these were from Happy Meals.

Hello Kitty and her boyfriend Daniel.

I know I've written here that I wasn't much of a Hello Kitty fan, guess I was mistaken...oops!

I don't remember if I had to eat separate Happy Meals to get the pair, or if they came together for one Happy Meal...krazy yeah?!

I loved them because they were dressed up in different cultural (bridal?) costumes.

Not all of these Hello Kitty dolls were in pairs though (if you know what year these were from, don't say it out loud, don't want anyone to know how old I am...)

I hope the ones that have pairs will be sold together.

And I hope all will find good homes.

teapresso bar

Met up with Sheri of Happy Little Bento since they are visiting for the summer.

It's been a couple of years since we were in Hawaii at the same time, but it is always nice catching up with her and her family.

We met kinda halfway of where my parents house is and where she was staying....so we met up in Waipahu at Teapresso Bar.

I'm not sure if this is a local company or a mainland one, but they boast all non-gmo, no powder, brewed to order boba teas & coffees with vegan, gluten-free & organic options.

I tried their Iced Tropic Osmanthus sweetened lightly (25%) and large boba (tapioca balls)(because the small ones weren't ready yet).

This was super floral & refreshing, perfect for the sticky humid day it was.

I was trying to pinpoint where I have had this flavor and when I got home looked online.

Osmanthus is the sweet olive or what the Japanese call kinmokusei, my favorite Autumn flower!

Not that I've ever tasted the flower before, but the fragrance while drinking the tea was just that.

Anyway, if you've ever wondered what kinmokusei tastes like, I would suggest you try this.

WARNING though, it is super heady, so I understand why not everyone likes this fragrance.

Her kids made these cute origami of a bird/box and top.

And they also gave me these great snacks.

Look at the size of this Chinese Pretzel, which I think is made by Family Grocery Store in Kaneohe.

Oh em gee...so many good memories of my mom when she used to make these.

Luckily, we haven't gotten rid of all of Mom's kitchen stuff so it was nice to pull it out of hiding and see how teeny it is compared to the pretzel that Sheri had given me.

I hope we'll be able to meet up again next summer.

Thanks for today Sheri & family!

Teapresso Bar
94-366 Pupupani St. #105
Waipahu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.517.4040
Hours: Sundays-Thursdays 10:00-21:00, Fridays-Saturdays 10:00-23:00

black sheep cream co. (again)

This past Saturday was my last full Saturday in Hawaii so...

BFF and I made another ice cream run.

This time around I tried the Mocha Roca...mocha cream with homemade almond brittle.

The guy scooping the ice cream wasn't as generous as the other guy was the past two visits.

Still, this place doesn't disappoint.

Please stay in business because we'll be back next year.

update

Saturday, I received an enthusiastic message on the phone from JCCH (Japanese Culture Center of Hawaii) to thank us for our donation...

Too bad I wasn't home to take the call, I would've mentioned that they should train their volunteers to be as cheerful.

Still, I'm happy they called.

elote fries

Tried the Elote Fries at La Tour Cafe recently.

Elote is a Mexican Street Corn...grilled corn slathered with a creamy sauce, topped with cotija cheese, garlic, cilantro & chili.

Having never tried elote, I was curious about this version.

La Tour Cafe's version is crispy pomme frites (french fries), cotija (mexican feta) & sour cream sauce, charred corn & jalapeno, red onions, cilantro, elote seasoning and crispy garlic (there was also a grilled lime to squeeze over everything).

This was spicy, garlicky goodness.

I'm glad I tried this and would definitely eat this again.

teruya's andagi

Got together with some of my aunties yesterday for lunch.

Aunty M1 hosted and bought vegetable bentos from Teruya's Andagi.

Apparently they used to sell foods when Shirokiya was actually a store with their food hall upstairs on the East side of the Ala Moana Shopping Center.

The food and andagi were great but spending some time with my aunties, even though we are all not related was priceless.

Thanks Aunties!

Teruya's Andagi
1104 Pensacola Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808.389.1714
Closed Sundays
Hours: Mondays-Fridays 10:00-15:00, Saturdays 9:30-13:00