JumblyJu

I've had that exact dish at the Pineapple Room and LOVED it!!! It was onaga, which is currently on the closed fisheries list in the main Hawaiian islands, due to overfishing. I think the real secret to that dish was the mayo. Most of my knowledge about papio, omilu and ulua are from my fiancee and his friends. They are ethically against keeping those fish as they take a long time to grow. We've often gone fishing and have caught papio and omilu, but they are never kept. In fact they participate in a state funded tagging project.

hi BaconFat, don't know what you mean by the rice being sweet, but here are my thoughts on "local" rice. - plate lunch joints probably cook their rice in 20+ cup rice cookers - they probably use whatever Costco sells, most likely a california grown calrose. and because they go through a lot of it, it's probably a fresh batch. - they use tap water to cook the rice. i'm not sure how maui gets their water as each island's water system is a little different. - maybe they add more water than usual? - (they probably don't do this but I like it) try adding mochi rice to your regular rice. i find it makes it a little more sticky and sweet. i'm not sure of the proportions tho, maybe 2c regular to 1c mochi? - i don't think they add coconut milk, unless it was a Thai place? Good luck!

How about haupia chichi dango. I think you just substitute coconut milk for the evaporated (?) milk.

Today the tomato pizza people had lasagna made with fresh pasta to take home (cold). I got the shrimp pesto one ($8.50/lb) and it came with salad. I assumed it should be reheated in the oven as it came in a foil tray (bento container). It came out dry and hard on the top as there was very little, if any pesto in the upper layers. There were many layers of pasta and only two of shrimp and pesto. I ate almost half before I found a hair and lost my appetite.

Are you looking for Chinese Puffed rice? Here's an article about it.

did it have little red chili flakes? It might be sweet chili sauce + mayo (kewpie maybe?).

Tsukiji Website Press release from Ala Moana:

I love drinking my coffee and tea (black) with sweetened condensed milk. It saves me from adding both cream and sugar. At Starbucks in Hawaii they'll add "thai" (sweetened condensed milk) to any drink for a fee ($0.55?). If you order their "thai espresso" they add milk along with the sweetened condensed milk. At Gloria Jean's in Hawaii their iced thai has espresso, sweetened condensed milk and frothed milk on top. It's deliciously strong, creamy and sweet!

In Hawaii it's called Mountain Apples. They're hard to find now days as most fruit comes from people's back yards. My aunty has a tree but the fruit is much smaller then the ones pictured. I have seen them at the Hilo farmer's market but not at any on Oahu.

According to an article in the Pacific Business News, the Tsukiji Fish Market and Restaurant in Ala Moana Shopping Center is open! I peeked in the restaurant last week, they had their doors open but the lights were off and it looked like they were training their staff. There were many large bouquets of flowers near the entrance. It looks like most of the area is a restaurant with a small front area a fish market, with cold cases similar to those in supermarkets. It's disappointing to me that it is a buffet as there already is a japanese buffet within throwing distance of Tsukiji's location in Ala Moana.

(this is my first post with pictures, I hope I don't screw it up) I had lunch at Chef Mavro's new restaurant, Cassis, here are some pictures: HOUSE SMOKED DUCK SALAD sliced duck, frisée, poached egg, pancetta, crouton, fennel seed vinaigrette (I asked for mixed greens in place of frisee) TAKO SALAD tako shavings, green papaya, Sumida watercress, tomato, ikura, yuzu vinaigrette FLOUNDER GRENOBLOISE sautéed with capers, lemon juice, parsley, broccoli florettes, crisped yukon potatoes (plate partially attacked by eater) GRILLED DAY-BOAT CATCH (Monchong) spinach, ogo-herb sauce The descriptions are from the web page. At the beginning of the meal the waiter explained that all the ingredients were from Hawaii with the exception of some of the meats. Also, the day boat catch fish was caught and served within 24 hours. The tako salad was a real treat. It's very rare to see that kind of tako served in a restaurant and to have it with Sumida watercress! It seems like the tako was bound together to form a log and cooked like that, then shaved for presentation. It was wonderful! (Edit: I had the wrong fish)

A little char on char siu is a good thing!

I forgot that I also bought a prepared (hot) lau lau ($7.50) from the Taro Delights guy. It had wild smoked salmon and chinese taro. I didn't eat it but the bf described it as "healthy". He didn't think it wasn't worth the price though.

kona coffee glazed macadamia nuts and a can of iced cappuccino on ice

I'm not a big maguro eater, I'm a hamachi lover. I noticed that Yanagi sushi has a sashimi special of chu-toro, it's not the super premium o-toro, but might be worth a try. I like Sushi Masa in Ward Center but not sure if he carries toro. I bet Yohei, Ideta, Maguro-ya or Sushi King would have a good maguro.

I like to eat poi mostly with salty Hawaiian food: kalua pig, lomi salmon, lau lau. I'm always dumbfounded when non-Hawaii folk say that they think poi is so bland. Aren't most starches bland? Rice, potatoes, pasta? Recently bought a 1 lb container of Hanalei poi for the bf to eat with a lau lau I got from the KCC farmer's market. I cringed at the $7 price tag but bought it anyway. I ate the rest of it solo and thinned with water and "seasoned" with sugar.

Went to the KCC farmer's market on Saturday for the first time in a long time. It was a lot more crowded then I remember. Picked up: - sunrise papaya ($1.80), my favorite! - Tamago ($4) from Restaurant Suzuki - pesto, tomato, fresh motz pizza ($5) from Big Wave tomato, so ono! - croissants ($3) from Bale I went to the market hungry and was more focused on food than on produce!

I live in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii.I've used RSIP and they're great! It gets pricey if you have to pay for your meal and the delivery fee (and tip) solo but if it's for an office order and the delivery fee can be divided, then it's pretty reasonable. There's two Chinese places I can think of off hand that deliver (that are not a part of RSIP): California Wok in Ala Moana Center and a place in City Square in Kalihi (can't remember the name). The pizza places that I know deliver: Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Domino's, La Pizza Rina.

Azeka's closed last year. Read about it here.

Sounds like it's Down to Earth and Kokua who need help with storage. If you keep your spices in sealed containers then the creatures/things/bugs that appear later were already there when you bought it. My parents have spices bought from supermarkets (McCormick, Spice Islands) that are old and never grow anything. Try buying a sealed jar from the supermarket? Also, I don't know how large DtE and Kokua's bins are but the spice containers at 'Umeke market in Kahala are a lot smaller than their bulk bins, so maybe your chances there are better?

Oooooh I luuuuuuuv gau too! Do you like to eat yours fresh or wait til it's hard then fry it in a little butter to make it crispy and soft? I like it both ways.

Honestly, I've never tasted taro mochi and don't know anything about how it's made! I'll have to go back and try some next time I'm at the farmers' market. ← skchai wrote about various local style mochi (including a picture of taro mochi) in this thread. HERE

I think young shoots are harvested and prized if they can be found. You might remember a couple of years back an elderly man died when he got lost in the Tantalus forest while "hunting" for these young shoots.

I have seen it in stores locally. I haven't looked recently but I'm sure it was being sold at the time of your post. I love love love the Taro Brand taro mochi! The best part is the kulolo in the middle! Unfortunately it spoils quickly so it's best eaten the day you get it.

Check out the Honolulu Advertiser's Best Restaurant Guide. Look under Neighbor Island dining for restaurants on Maui. My personal "must do" while on Maui is eat guri-guri from Tasaka Guri-Guri in Maui Mall. It's a creamy sherbert that's not hard like regular sherbert. It's soft and so 'ono!