Hawai'i: Tsukitate Mochi at Shirokiya

My flight left Hawai'i in the evening, and in the morning, my mom drove us to Shirokiya. "You gotta eat mochi for good luck," she said.
So we got a few bags of their fresh Tsukitate mochi...some to share and some for us. Sold in five or ten packs, they break down to $1 apiece.
Plain, but wonderfully chewy and sticky. We ended up eating most of it in the car, heheh. This car has been home to many a good snack and meals.
Too bad we didn't store kinako powder or salted nori sheets in the passenger seats. Would have been so wonderful to wrap in the nori or sprinkle with kinako!

Shirokiya
1450 Ala Moana Boulevard
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 973-9111

It's Awfully Cold.

Yup, definitely not in Hawai'i anymore. Just got back late last night to Manhattan. Boy, it's chilly here!! Wish I could have just had one more avocado smoothie and one more bowl of my grandma's shark fin soup. But for now, off to celebrate life: ice skating with Abel and NYE at Robyn's. Plenty more Hawai'i posts to come :)

Happy New Years! ^_^

Hawai'i: Gecko Books & Comics

Super thank you to Risse and the Anonymous comment in regards to Gecko's! I incorrectly thought they closed when I drove past the former location on Waialae two weeks ago...it turns out they just moved down the block and around the corner. WHEW!
Mom and I stopped by late one afternoon with mom to picked out a whole bunch of comics. They have an incredible vault of used Archies that I've not been able to find anywhere else. This place is a gem :)

Gecko Books & Comics
3613 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 732-1292

Hawai'i: Samurai Sherbet

My younger cousin, Victor, surprised me with a cup of Samurai "Maui Style Sherbet" the other night. He bought the bulk pack from Costco so there was plenty to go around. I haven't had this stuff in forever. They used to sell it at the cafeteria at Punahou...I'm pretty sure that's where and when I had my last cup.
This one is the Strawberry-Banana Swirl, though they come in a bunch of other flavours like Kona Coffee, Lychee, and Chocolate-Haupia Swirl. It's like a cross between ice cake and "normal" sherbet. Read this Star Bulletin article on how the Samurai business got it's start...article was published in 1999...feels so long ago, yet I remember reading this same article in hardcopy newspaper when I was in 8th grade!! Crazy ^_^

Samurai Product List

It was a...

...Lazy Sunday...
...so lazy we could barely raise our chubby cheeks and muster energy to stand up in the heat.
Roll over, stomach up. Someone is bound to scratch our bellies. Ahh, paradise ^_^

Hawai'i: Jewel or Juice

Breakfast at mom's favourite spot in town for Açaí Bowls. This little nook on the corner of Waialae and Koko Head Avenue used to be a cell phone shop...glad to see Jewel or Juice took over and put the prime location to better use ;)
The couple who own the shop are just the nicest people, and the prices are pretty good compared to the competition. We split the 24 ounce 'Regular Açaí Bowl' for $6.50. Whereas the one from Lanikai Juice (Kahala location - not Kailua, which is supposed to be better), was soup/smoothie-esque, the one from Jewel or Juice was super thick, with a texture akin to sorbet. I'll be back! But for now, off to dim sum at Tai Pan with my grandparents ^_^

Jewel or Juice
3619 Waialae Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 734-1700

Hawai'i: Liliha Bakery

Mom and I spent yesterday afternoon dropping off gifts to friends, relatives, and clients. We wanted to stop somewhere for a little snack, a drink, maybe shave ice between gift giving...but nothing was open.
the restaurant side of the bakery

Until we swung by Liliha Bakery! I love this place. And so do many people ^_^
We made it there just in time, 15 minutes before they closed at 6:00pm for the holiday. Most of the baked good cases were quickly emptying out, though I spotted chocolate cake doughnuts, cream cheese jello squares, azuki bean muffins, and green tea rolls. A lot of whole pies were still available.
But the main attraction here is...COCO PUFFS!!! The bakery sells about 3,000-3,6000 coco puffs a day. Is that crazy or what? I remember growing up they used to be about $.85 a piece, now they're about $1.30 each. And they seem smaller too. Or maybe that because I've gotten bigger. Haha. Definitely take a peek at this Star Bulletin article from 2000.
Every time I come, I plan to try something new. But the plan never works and I always walk out with coco puffs. Something to be said for consistency :)
We got four coco puffs - one for each of us. Cool chocolate pudding, choux pastry and the world's most wonderful chantilly: yolky, creamy and sweet with just the right hand of salt. I'd gladly eat the chantilly alone by the pound!
Ahhh the joys of a coco puff ^_^ We didn't spot any green tea puffs...does anyone know if they still make those? Check out the filling on that one!

Liliha Bakery
515 N Kuakini St
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 531-1651

Christmas Day Dinner...

...at home. Just my mom, dad, and sister. Christmas Eve is when we go out for the big family dinner and gatherings. But on Christmas Day, it's just the four of us and a lovely dinner at home. Dad makes his special "sour plum lemonade" (pictured above). It's simple: li hing mui, tons of fresh lemon juice, seltzer, and a bit of sugar. Wine, candles, whole roast turkey, mashed potatoes (with lots of garlic) and gravy, salad, and plenty of steamed rice. The only super local part of our meal was dessert: Coco Puffs from Liliha Bakery! ^_^

Gingerbread Party...

...at Kelly's home! Super thanks to Kelly's family for hosting, and for the tasty Island Manapua lunch. Love, love happy local food :)
Look at all the cookies that were made! I'm not much of a gingerbread cookie maker...but everyone else made some real awesome cookies...including Kelly's iphone!
Neato, huh?
These are some of the ones I made.
But then I got distracted by lunch! ;) All from Island Manapua -> chow mein...
...pork hash...
...and baked manapuas, both char siu and kalua pig (one with the red dots are kalua pig).
Kelly's dad found one mutant manapua - it was bottomless!
Cookies and polaroids from Shann...
...And one bazillion thanks to Shann for the ride yesterday morning (I am SUPER SORRY about the "miscommunication"!!!!!! ;)

Island Manapua Factory
2752 Woodlawn Drive
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 988-5441

Mele Kalikimaka ^_^

Warm and sunny Christmas in Hawai'i :) Buddy says 'hello'!

Signs of Construction

This is where I've been spending most of my time this past week.
This soon to be home is a family project we've been working on for long, long time. Usually we build in central locations, this is the first project that is literally all alone. It's kind of creepy, kind of cool. And a lot more complicated!
My parents like to take on these projects - build crazy awesome homes for fun. The whole family gets into the project...it's super exciting when everyone in the family works in some facet of real estate, whether it be on the development, sales, contracting, or architectural side.
This is why my life is perpetually in boxes. I think I've moved at least a dozen times, all around the east side of Oahu.
The home has been taking a particularly long time...but hopefully that just means it will be amazing when finished!
Fingers crossed ^_^

Merry Christmas tomorrow! :)

Hello, Mochi!! Happy Hearts Mochi! ^_^

My mom is absolutely crazy for mochi, and I'm pretty sure that it is because of her that I am just as addicted to mochi. Since I've got here, we've had our share of various types of mochi for breakfast, mochi for lunch, mochi for dinner, and always, mochi with dessert. Last week, Jamie (who owns The Bead Gallery, go check it out!) hooked me up with some fresh, gorgeous mochi from Happy Hearts Mochi, a locally run business that does mochi to order.

I was tempted to eat the whole thing by myself in one seating, but I waited for my mom, and we devoured it in the car. No worries, we saved a bite of each for my dad. So ono!
This is the mini-bento sampler. One each of the peanut butter mochi, and three types of haupia mochi. So cheerful looking, never fails to make me smile :)
The Strawberry & Azuki Mochi comes individually packed...ahh so cute!!
Removed...
...and bitten! A super juicy, fresh strawberry is wrapped in azuki bean paste, and then supple soft and chewy mochi. Man, you guys in NYC are missing out ;)
Next up is the Peanut Butter & Azuki Bean mochi. My mom REALLY liked this one (I like the Haupia ones more)...but we both agreed that the Strawberry Mochi is without a doubt, #1.
Ay-yah...look at that...enough to make you swoon. Peanut butter in the center, azuki bean paste in the middle, and fresh mochi outside.
The other three mochis were all different flavours but shared a common haupia center. This haupia is killer. Smooth and not too sweet at all, creamy. You gotta refrigerate them otherwise it'll go bad quick. First one up: Hazelnut Coffee Haupia Mochi...
...bitten! Check out that haupia, you can do no wrong :)
Then, the plain Haupia Mochi...
...simple, classic, ono.
And now my dad's favourite, the Chocolate Haupia Mochi, with a layer of chocolate cream/pudding tucked in the bottom...
...it kind of reminds me of the chocolate from Ted's Chocolate Haupia pies...only better.

Super thanks to Jamie for the mochi! This totally made my Hawai'i trip...read more on Hapa-Hale, the Honoulu Advertiser blog, and check out this seasonal pumpkin-haupia mochi. Awesome ^_^

Happy Hearts Mochi
Website
Can order here