skchai
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Posts posted by skchai
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Shoreline fish take on a starring role, by Wanda A. Adams
More on Elmer Guzman's pioneering book about local fishes and how to prepare them
Slain restaurant owner well-liked, by Timothy Hurley
Yukichi Ito of Hama Yu in Waikaloa on the Big Island was murdered by one of his employees.
Enjoy the Portuguese-style celebration of Shrove Tuesday a bit early today at McCoy Pavillion
SATURDAY SCOOPS: Pupu with a Portuguese kick, by Wanda A. Adams
A recipe for vinha d'ahlos in commemoration of the Festa
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You seem to be on the right track, Mongo. Brilliant job of searching without the "h".
One of the google listings is this biography of Sai Baba of Shirdi, which contains the following quote:
Kusha Bhau was fasting on an ekadasi day. And Baba asked him what food he took on such a day. Kusha Bhau said that he took kandamul, something like sweet potato. Baba deliberately distorted the pronunciation of the Sanskrit word as kanda which, in Marathi means, onion. So Baba picked up an onion an disked Kusha Bhau to eat it. The latter was in a dilemma whether to obey tradition which forbade eating of onions or the guru’s word. At last, as a way out, he sai do baba. If you eat it, I shall also eat”. Then both of them ate the onions. When visitors arrived, Bada made fun of Kusha Bhau saying, “Look at this Bamniya! (a belittling abbreviation of the word “Brahmin”) He is eating onions on the holy ekadasi day”! Kusha Bhau protested saying, “Baba ate it and so I did”. Baba categorically denied that he had eaten any onions. He said that he ate a sweet potato while Kush Bhau ate onions. To prove his contention Baba at once vomited and to the amazement of Kusha Bhau, pieces of sweet potato feel from Baba’ mouth and there were no pieces of onion!Shirdi is in Maharashtra, so IMHO this seems likely to be the root Vikram is referring to. Is it something like a sweet potato and does it taste unlike onions?
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Thanks for that very comprehensive rundown of traditional luau foods, Tad.
By the way, I really like your "I loves the Pork" image. Where does Kalua Pig fit into your pantheon of great pork foods?
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I hope Uncle Gene knows that he's dealing with important historical artifacts!
Seriously, I'm sure a lot of people have great memories of a lot of those things. . .
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Yeah, it takes about 10 squeezes to get a decent amount - never got the nerve to use the spoon, though. . .
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Another Kaori Shoji piece, this time about bento:
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Nowadays, it seems like they don't have any special combinations - you just add up the separate cost of the rice and toppings, and that's what you pay. I do like the fact that you can dictate the amount of rice you want - local people can eat huge amounts of rice!
I haven't seen any takuan at the Mo`ili`ili location - but they do have jars of "fukujinzuke" (mixed vegetables pickled in soysauce). You take as much as you want using a tiny pair of tongs. . .
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Welcome to the Hawai`i forum, Tani! It's nice to have a member of the Kaneshiro `ohana taking part here.
Here's a canned history of the Columbia Inn - correct me if I get any facts wrong!
The original Columbia Inn was opened on Beretania St. in Chinatown by Gentaro Kaneshiro soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and was passed onto Frank and Fred "Tosh" Kaneshiro. After they were forced to give up their lease, they moved to the historic 645 Kapiolani Blvd. location in 1964. This was originally the location "Times Grill", owned by Albert and Wallace Teruya of Times Supermarket fame. Both the Kaneshiros and the Terukyas were descendents of immigrants from Oroku Aza in Okinawa! The Kaimuki branch was opened a several years later. . .
Here's some more stuff I wrote on another thread:
We all have great memories of the Columbia Inns. They were sold in the 1980s by the Kaneshiro family to Kyotaru Corp. of Japan, a restaurant chain, which turned the Waimalu branch into a Kyotaru restaurant. Frank and Tosh Kaneshiro have long since gone on to the great Dodger Stadium in the sky. Though ironically the Inns were doing great business-wise, Kyotaru itself was teetering near bankruptcy by the late 1990s and they were sold off again. A bunch of people tried to have the Kapiolani branch turned into a State landmark, but they failed in the end and it became a Servo Pacific auto showroom. Fortunately, the Kaimuki location was bought up the brothers Tri and Thanh Nguyen who have kept it alive - as far as I know it is still open and doing well.When the Kapiolani location closed in 2001, they held a great farewell party in which Tosh's widow Bea and her children Eugene, Norman, and Dennis were there. They showed off the famous photo for one last time. The most precious ones centered around the "Round Table" where the regulars hung out. A lot of the photos featured the Los Angeles Dodgers, of which Tosh was perhaps Hawai`i's greatest fan. Wonder what ever happend to those photos?
If you're interested in researching more about the family history, you might try contacting the Hawai`i United Okinawan Associations, which has been instrumental in developing an "Okinawan Restaurant Project" and has featured information about Oroku Aza families many times in their newsletter.
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I am curious to know what the chinese writing on Chinese mirch's crockery means. Any body care to decipher?
The writing on Chinese Mirch's crockery is actually Japanese - "おいしい" = "oishii" means "delicious".
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wow, that is unlike any curry I have ever seen in Japan!
Sounds more like Hawaiian-Japanese curry....
How was the kimchi and curry combination?
It was good - went well with the tonkatsu. But the taste stayed with me for the rest of the day, which wasn't as good.
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I read somewhere that James Beard loved McDonald's fries (back when they fried them in beef tallow). Is that documented anywhere?
I think you're referring to the 1973 Time magazine cover story on the Big Mac. In it, they had Craig Claiborne, James Beard, Julia Child, and Gael Green evaluate McD's food. All of them gave surprisingly non-negative appraisals, though not exactly effusive either. John and Karen Hess used this in The Taste of America as one of their main pieces of evidence that the U.S. establishment was corrupted.
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Coco Ichibanya (Moili`ili Branch)
Moili`ili Plaza
1009 University Avenue Suite #2
Honolulu HI 96821
Coco Ichibanya specializes in Japanese-style curry, a completely different animal (or vegetable) than Indian-style curry, its distant progenitor. The history of Japanese-style curry is a fascinating one, but it dates from the 1860s and 1870s, a period when a wide range of foreign influences were being brought into Japan at the same time. Curry-type spices were actually introduced to Japan by the British, which is why curry even today is classified as a kind of yoshoku ("Western food" - the term really refers to foods that were brought into Japan from the West in the 19th century), along with tonkatsu (pork cutlet), omraisu (omelette rice), and croquette.
Coco Ichibanya is Japan's largest restaurant purveyor of curry, and is one of Japan's largest fast-food chains overall, with 800+ stores throughout Japan. It has five outposts in Hawai`i, its only locations outside of Japan itself. The Hawai`i locations are called "Curry House" in a (perhaps condescending) attempt to make the restaurant's name more pronouncable to non-Japanese. The Moili`ili branch is close to the University of Hawai`i, and is a popular stop for students, including but not limited to the huge number of Japanese nationals that study there.
The main feature of the Coco Ichibanya menu is its flexibility. It's basically mix-and-match. You choose the size serving you want, the sauce, and your choice from the following toppings: beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, shabu shabu (thinly sliced beef), "kalbi" (somewhat more thickly sliced beef), tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet), fried chicken, chicken katsu, fried squid, fried scallop. fried oyster, fried shrimp, fried fish, fried mini octopus, vegetable croquette, sliced garlic, spinach, kimchee (Korean-style hot pickled Chinese Cabbage), mushroom, mixed vegetable, eggplant, yuba-roll (tofu skin), cheese, natto (fermented soybeans), gyoza (potsickers), and mabo-dofu (spicy tofu). That's 26 in all, if you're counting. The cost of the toppings range 50 cents for sliced garlic to $2.50 for scallops. While "standard" single-topping curries are listed individually on the menu, as well a few "favorite" combinations, there is really no special incentive to follow these listings, as the price is totally basically the sum of whatever toppings you choose, plus a base price for your rice and sauce.
On the day we went, I chose a kind of baroque combination of tonkatsu, eggplant, spinach, and kimchee:
My wife chose the much more restrained combination of fried squid and mushrooms:
You also choose the amount of rice you want 300 grams (about 2/3 of a pound) is the standard serving, which adds a base price of $3.75. If you want more, you can increase in increments of 100 grams, for a price of $1.00 per unit. As the menu reminds, you each increment comes with a proportional increase in curry sauce, enough to "cover" as much rice as you're getting. You can in fact order a "plain curry" without any toppings for the base price, though few people do so. On in other hand, if you want less rice than the standard serving, your only choice is 200 grams for $3.25, or 50 cents less than the standard - one of few "non-linear" pricings on the menu. If you order 1300 grams of rice and successfully eat it (the "1300-gram challenge"), you get it for free and also get your picture on the wall:
I'd hate to be there when someone loses the challenge, if you know what I mean. . .
The easiest part of the choice is the sauce, either mild or regular. The regular sauce is very good - more or less the same kind you would get from your House or S&B roux brick, but less turmericky and a stronger meat flavor (primarily pork, I think). The mild is just that - yellow rather than brown, with a weaker flavor. Actually there's no real choice, because if you like Japanese-style curry in the first place, you're going to want the regular, which is at any rate only slightly hot. If you want more information on how Japanese-style curry tastes, or how it's prepared at home, check out this thread from the Japan eGullet forum
The Moili`ili Branch is in the Moili`ili Plaza, more commonly known as "Puck's Alley". There are always ladies waiting on a bench outside the shop window. They're not dour because of the restaurant; they're dour because they're waiting for the bus in the hot sun and a weird person is taking their picture.
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Thanks, pakeporkchop, you're a real archive of important local restaurant information!
Haven't had the Zipmin in a long time. In fact, if I recall correctly, I think that it's not even on the menu any more, though I need to double check that. While plain saimin is still on the Zippy's menu, they've definitely de-emphasized saimin a great deal from the days in which they had a number of "Saimin Lanai"s.
I did have Shiro's dondonpa several months ago at their Palama outpost, and while the toppings and broth were still good, I was disappointed in the noodles, which were a bit flimsy and weak (though "homemade").
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Essential for pork adobo - lots of garlic and whole black peppercorns.
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By the way, as far as I know, all of Roy's Restaurants on the mainland are co-owned by Roy himself and Outback. All those in Hawai`i are solely owned by Yamaguchi. Not sure about the restaurants in Japan and Guam.
Somewhat strangely, Roy also used to own the franchise to all the Outbacks in Hawai`i, though eventually sold them back to the main company. Certainly doesn't fit his well-cultivated culinary image, but in the end it seems like it turned out to be a good business deal for him.
A lot of people have wondered how Yamaguchi can keep up quality given his every-expanding chain, and his branches on the mainland have met with a mixed reception. However, most seem to be profitable. Furthermore, the reputation of his local restaurants has not slid at all. He still claims to cook nearly every day, though constantly moving from kitchen to kitchen.
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Thanks for the link, Sweet Willie!
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On the Kona side, one unpretentious place that's really off the usual tourist track is the dining room at the Manago Hotel in Captain Cook - real old-style plantation cooking with a lot of local seafood prepared simply. The hotel itself is also one of the oldest in the state, still run by the Manago family, charming and very inexpensive. Very popular with Oahuans on their Big Island getaways.
Also, if you're looking for a change, Cafe Sibu is a nice, very casual Indonesian place in Kailua-Kona.
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Short reply - dunno. I'm basing it on hearsay, though hearsay from multiple sources. The deli is apparently an offshoot of a the similarly-named Brent's Deli in Northridge, SoCal. You might take a look at that website to see if that seems like the right kind of place, though strangely it doesn't refer to the Kailua location . . .
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Maybe it's a coincidence, but Michael Stern just (as in day-before-yesterday) posted a review of Mitchell's on the Roadfood site. You didn't run into him while you were there, I presume? Maybe he's tailing you guys. . .
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Mahalo, pakeporkchop. You're the first person I met that had a clear answer to that question. And it sounds quite plausible as well. So then saimin in Chinese characters would be "細麺". In Japanese, this is pronounced "saimen" (though probably some Japanese people might read it as "hosomen"), which might explain why a lot of local people actually say "saimen" rather than "saimin".
Also, it is quite possible that Shiro was the creator of the dondonpa - it has been on his menu for a long, long time. I recall it being on the Zippy's menu a long time ago as well, but it's no longer there, which may mean that it was never something that was that important to them. Thanks again!
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A big welcome to eGullet, pakeporkchop.
Thanks for the link to the Tony Chang article. I’ve always admired “What's Cooking around Town” at the Hawaii.rr.com site for its great information and stories – and it’s becoming a real resource for the people on this site as well! Would you happen to know how to get copies of his newsletter, "Woktalk"?
The teppanyaki plate lunch idea is a real interesting innovation – it definitely qualifies as “upscale”, although Tae’s seems to have been able to keep the price down to “normal” place lunch levels. I’ll definitely try it next time I head out to Daiei. I was surprised that the potatoes in the steak roll are raw – how do the customers react to that? Are they completely raw or partially cooked? It looks from one of the pictures in the story that they may spend some time on the grill.
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Spam gets Competition, by Jaymes Song (AP)
The battle between Tulip and Spam commences. Please check out the Hawaii SpamBlog thread for more info.
Scout Leader Herb Yasukochi gives his recipe for local-style "scout stew" featuring beef chuck, short ribs, and Portuguese sausage, seasoned with ginger, soy sauce and tomatoes. Also tips on how to bloat spaghetti noodles and carbo-load hamburgers.
By Request: Soy beans give dishes healthy, bit of green, by Betty Shimabukuro
Recipies for edamame.
New food options at UH pleasing, profitable, by Beverly Creamer
A subject dear to my heart - new "Ono Pono" lunchwagon in the "Sustainability Courtyard", and other new initiatives.
QUICK BITES, by Wanda A. Adams
Todd English guests at Sam Choy's annual benefit for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
2 isle chefs nominated for culinary honor, by Betty Shimabukuro
Beverly Gannon and Peter Merriman are both nominated for James Beard Awards best chef, Northwest/Hawaii.
Chef honors his 'brother' at mentoring fund-raiser, by Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Todd English talks about his participation in Sam Choy's fundraiser for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and about his own "Big Brother", Bruce Cross.
Taro production hits record low, by Vicki Viotti
Flooding, apple snail, and taro pocket rot to blame. Production has dropped in the long run from 14.1 million pounds in 1948 to 5 million last year.
Liliha grocery stocks Jewish-style food, by Wanda A. Adams
Thanks to Mazal's Kosherland (yes!), kosher foods of all kinds are finally available to the local public, with a particular emphasis on Israeli products.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Corned beef dishes that are uniquely 'ours', by Wanda A. Adams
Ms. Adams writes a very nice column about how Hawai`i locals have adopted canned corned beef and cabbage into our cuisine in ways that would shock the St. Paddy's day crowd.
QUICK BITES, by Wanda A. Adams
D. K. Kodama's Sansei empire opens its fifth outpost in the location of the former Third Floor at the Waikiki Beach Marriott.
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Though I should mention at least Brent's on Kailua Rd., which many feel is the best kosher-style deli in the state.
Indian Food Brands
in India: Cooking & Baking
Posted
Interesting story here on Indian pickle manufacturers:
All in a Pickle and Spoilt for Choice
Also, there is turmoil in the Patak's pickle empire as the late Lakhubhai Pathak's children squabble over ownership of the company:
UK's Indian pickle story turns sour, by Rashmee Z. Ahmed
Not to mention former PM P.V. Narasimha Rao being cleared last last year of charges of cheating the late Pathak. . .
In the United States, Patak's is distributed exclusively by Hormel through its World Food brand (Hormel did not buy up Patak, as I erroneously said in another thread).