Posted by Robyn Lee, May 29, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Li hing mui and pineapple shave ice from Ward Farmers' Market. Photograph by Kathy Chan
I know it's just a pile of finely shaved ice soaked with flavored syrup in a paper cup, but ... no, it's so much more! I have yet to taste the simple, heavenly joy that is Hawaiian shave ice (not "shaved," just "shave"), but thanks to Kathy Chan's photos and descriptions of this refreshing treat, this simple combination of frozen water and syrup is the one food I want to try the most when I visit Hawaii.
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Posted by Emily Koh, April 23, 2008 at 6:15 PM
The commercial fishing industry hasn't been doing so hot in recent years. Fish like cod and king salmon are decreasing dramatically or disappearing completely due to overfishing to meet global demands. The effects of global warming are starting to become evident as well, and let's not forget the hubbub raised earlier this year over the high level of mercury in certain species like tuna or swordfish.
Enter the Kona Kampachi, a "designer yellowtail" bred in Kona, Hawaii. Fortune Magazine goes so far as to even dub it "the wonder fish":
It's not genetically engineered in any way, just well bred. It's sashimi-grade and sustainably farmed without hormones or prophylactic antibiotics. It's richer in omega-3 than just about anything else in the ocean and has no detectable mercury. It melts on your tongue, holds up on the grill, and is so rich in oils that it'll fry in a pan without butter.
Unlike most fish farms, the Kona Kampachi are bred "offshore"—in deeper waters, farther away from land—limiting their exposure to pollution to decrease the potential of contracting disease or contamination. Since they're not genetically modified, any fish that escape also won't impact the native population.
Already popular in the culinary world, it's been seen on the menus of restaurants from San Francisco, Denver and New York. As it is a premium product, it's a bit pricey—almost $20 for a pound—but the benefits might outweigh the costs.
Oahu's last dairy will be closing on February 15, causing all the island's residents to rely on imported milk. After its closing, Hawaii will only have two dairies, while as recently as 1980, Hawaii had two dozen dairies and was totally self-sufficient in milk production. "The decline in Hawaii's dairy sector and livestock industry in general comes amid rising feed, shipping and land costs, urban encroachment, environmental regulations, and stagnant sales."
Posted by Lia Bulaong, April 17, 2007 at 3:45 PM
Forget seared ahi steaks, mango salsa, and Pacific Rim Cuisine; Kaui Philpotts grew up in a sugar plantation on Maui and knows what real Hawaiian food is:
I ate impromptu picnics of fried shoyu (soy sauce) chicken neatly wrapped in waxed paper and musubi (perfect triangles of seaweed-wrapped white rice, like giant sushi) with my friend Lei on the steps of the VFW Hall in Wailuku after hula class. I ate tripe stew and day-old poi (the steamed and pounded corm of the taro plant), saimin noodles with bright pink fish cake, "plate lunches" of beef stew and chicken cutlets with sticky rice, and the Portuguese fried doughnuts called malasadas. I ate Spam, for heaven's sake, with musubi, eggs, or rice. (Hawaii leads the nation in per capita Spam consumption.) I ate real Hawaiian food—local food, the kind people who live in Hawaii actually eat every day.
This food is more than the pit-roasted pig and coconut pudding of the traditional luau. It's also more than the diet of the early Hawaiians, which was largely based on fish, poi, sweet potatoes, and tropical fruit. Local food is a multicultural style of cooking—one of the original fusion cuisines—much of it derived from the cooking of the immigrant laborers from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the Portuguese islands of Madeira and the Azores who came here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to work the sugar cane and pineapple plantations that stretched across the islands. It is modest, down-home food—but full of exotic flavors.
If you'd like to read more about Hawaiian food, my two favorite food blogs from the islands are 'Ono Kine Grindz and Big Island Grinds.
I loved reading this piece and was surprised to find that it was first published in 1994! Someone at Saveur decided they should start posting articles from the depths of their archives onto their website—whomever it was, you are my hero of the day. I'll be pointing to more of their articles as they turn up.
Photograph from Hellochris on Flickr
Posted by Lia Bulaong, March 23, 2007 at 8:57 AM
From the official SPAM UK site:
Frantic lifestyle? Need to prepare something fast for breakfast, lunch or evening meal? Or maybe you just want a traditional, comforting meal for the family in the colder weather.
Well, we’ve brought back the traditional SPAM® Fritter to fit just that bill. What’s more, all the hard preparation work is done for you – new SPAM® Fritters are ready to be ovenbaked for 15-20 minutes and served with your favourite vegetables or breakfast menu.
If you can't read the copy on the container in the photo above, the Fritters are described as "succulent pieces of SPAM® covered in a deliciously light and crispy golden batter." Truly, as Andrew said, the UK is the Hawaii of Europe when it comes to SPAM. God save the Queen!
Posted by Lia Bulaong, March 16, 2007 at 2:24 PM
Love or hate McDonald's, you have to admit they usually do a good job of integrating local specialties into their menus. McDonald's restaurants in Hawaii have lots of custom items on their menus—the breakfast menu alone has two dishes with SPAM: a SPAM McGriddle and SPAM served with eggs and rice—and they frequently get limited edition delights too. Pomai of Honolulu food blog The Tasty Island recently tried the current offering, the Haupia Pie: "Similar to their familiar Apple Pie, this item uses the same crust and turnover shape, except with this, it has a filling intended to (loosely) replicate the traditional Haupia dessert offered at a Hawaiian Luau. Upon first bite, you ‘ll notice the light, golden crispy texture and mild salty flavor of the crust compliments the sweet, creamy coconut-flavored filling quite nicely."
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 26, 2007 at 11:14 AM
"In 1962, Lou Groen was desperate to save his floundering hamburger restaurant, the first McDonald's in the Cincinnati area. His problem: His clientele was heavily Roman Catholic. In those days, most Catholics abstained from meat every Friday, as well as during Lent, the 40-day period of repentance that begins this week with Ash Wednesday. His solution: He created the Filet-O-Fish — a sandwich that saved his restaurant and eventually would be consumed at a rate of 300 million a year."
I've never really given much thought to the classic items on the McDonald's menu so it was a trip to discover that the Filet-O-Fish was invented by a franchise owner and not headquarters—the same is true of the Big Mac and the Egg McMuffin, as it turns out! And while it seems like a no brainer to me that Hawaii leads the US in weekly Filet-O-Fish consumption, I'm kind of surprised that Ohio comes in at number two, even if it is the Filet-O-Fish's home state!
