FrogPrincesse in the Big Island 2024

[MaryIsobel]

24 minutes ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Day 3 (Thursday)

 

We started the day with a nourishing breakfast of (island) eggs & bacon, supplemented by POG (which tends to be very sweet; we liked Sun Tropics a little better than the classic Meadow Gold, although they are very similar) and toast with lilikoi (passion fruit) butter from Liko Lehua (which is located in Hilo). We also had fresh papaya and apple bananas which are more aromatic and creamy than the (Cavendish) bananas we get on the mainland.

 

 

We decided to go see ‘Akaka Falls that day, which are located north of Hilo and an hour drive from where we were staying at. I didn’t take pictures of the falls but they are spectacular, 300+ foot falls. The trails around the falls are very lush and beautiful, although they were partially closed for renovations during our visit. One of the native fish (o’opu, a type of goby) is apparently able to climb up these very steep and tall falls by using a little  suction cup on their bellies, which is quite a feat!

 

 

After our visit, we drove back to the charming little village of Honomu. On our way, we passed a goat farm, Honomu Goat Dairy, which was unfortunately closed that day. In Honomu, we spent some time with a very friendly blind cat who needed a lot of attention, in a store that had a beautiful selection of vintage glass objects, and finally at Mr Ed’s Bakery which I had never had a chance to visit before, although it’s been in business since 2000. I wasn’t so much interested in the breads; it was the collection of homemade jam that wowed me. As a home jam maker myself, I couldn’t help but marvel at the huge selection of jams (over 150 varieties) made in small batches using the local fruit (you can read more about it here – essentially, he uses whatever fruit his neighbors bring him and isn’t afraid to experiment!). We were handed lots of samples and left with a few jars: the poha berry mentioned in the article, lychee for my daughter, and mango lilikoi for my husband. I would have bought more if I didn’t already have a pantry full of jams at home! The creativity of this was inspiring (this is only part of the collection!). 😊

 

 

 

 

I have never seen such an amazing collections of jams! I love anything passion fruit but the fresh fruits and even the frozen puree are rare to non-existant where we live, which makes it all the more desireable.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Next up was the tropical botanical garden in Onomea Bay. Now Hawaii has some pretty fantastic botanical gardens, but this one takes the cake so to speak. The garden started as a 17-acre plot of land that was purchased in the 1970s by a family that slowly transformed it into their own version of the garden of Eden, preserving the natural beauty as much as possible, and creating trails with a machete through the (already beautiful and lush) existing vegetation to reveal a tiered waterfall, and adding an insane collection of orchids and other tropical plants to the mix (everything grows in Hawaii!). The trails eventually lead to a rugged beach of black rocks which is beautiful in its own right. I could have spent countless hours there exploring and marveling at all the plants. So much beauty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we stopped at Papa’aloa Country Store and Cafe for a late lunch based on the recommendation of our friends. I liked the little store that was selling a lot of local food items, but our lunch of kalua pork tacos was quite underwhelming, and my lilikoi lychee drink a poor choice unless you love sugar and artificial flavors. The ginger beer was a bit better.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way home we drove down to Laupahoehoe Point, a village located at the end of a ravine that was tragically obliterated during a tsunami in 1946. That place is beautiful but has a very eerie vibe to it. They decided to not reconstruct the village after the tsunami, unlike Hilo, which was rebuilt post tsunami.

 

 

 

One more stop at Rebecca’s to restock on produce, and we were back home. That night we weren’t very hungry and were happy to snack on leftover poke and fruit.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

10 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

I have never seen such an amazing collections of jams! I love anything passion fruit but the fresh fruits and even the frozen puree are rare to non-existant where we live, which makes it all the more desireable.

 

I had never seen anything like it either. And I loved the philosophy of not wanting to let anything go into waste, and transforming it into delicious jams! There are so many types of fruit in Hawaii that aren't available commercially, it makes for some very unique jams for sure. 

Edited May 13 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Day 4 (Friday)

It was finally time to head out to the beach! We picked the south end of Anaehoʻomalu bay which has the advantage of being relatively uncrowded, protected, and offering some shade (which is rare). It is also famous for the honu (local turtles). And they were in the shallow waters, sunbathing (no pictures, but you will have to trust me on this!). We explored the beach and had a refreshing swim; some snorkeled.

 

 

Then we changed and headed straight to Merriman’s in Waimea. Peter Merriman is one of the chefs who started the Hawaii regional cuisine movement in the early 90s (together with Sam Choy; Roy Yamaguchi; Alan Wong; my personal favorite, Jean-Marie Josselin; and a few others), applying the farm-to-table model at a time where most of the food was imported from the mainland, and “continental cuisine” was reigning supreme in fancy restaurants at resorts. This wave of new restaurants with chefs who were interested in understanding the local food culture and ingredients had the result to revitalize the local farms, transforming the local economy. What used to be mostly sugar cane, pineapple, macadamia nuts, coffee is now a lot more diverse with anything from mushroom to chocolate. Now it’s a lot easier to find local (and meats, etc) produce on the islands, at farmers markets of course but also in the local supermarkets.

 

 

 

The restaurant was Merriman’s first restaurant in Hawaii before it opened branches in Oahu, Maui, Kauai. It is by far the smallest and least touristy of the bunch. It is located in a small yellow cottage in Waimea and has a very unassuming façade. When it opened in 1998, there wasn’t much around it in terms of other restaurants, but since then it has attracted a number of other interesting establishments.

 

There is a little patch of herbs against the building (previous picture) and an open area where they grill things in the summer using this pretty cool swinging grill contraption called a schwencker (link) (next picture, in the middle).

 

Another thing I really like there is that they put the farmers at the forefront. They have pictures of the various farmers they have worked with for decades now displayed at the entrance with the quote from chef, “my heroes have always been farmers”. More information about them here.

 

 

 

I like going there for lunch because it is more casual than dinner, and they don’t frown upon you if you aren’t completely dry or still have sandy feet. The staff is wonderful – attentive, and genuinely interested about making your experience the best it can be (I always have a few food-related questions and they are both knowledgeable and quick to share any information I am curious about - cooking technique, ingredient, etc). I find my visits inspiring. Excellent service makes a huge difference, and they definitely have it there, even at lunch. On a previous visit, I wanted to buy their cookbook but they were out, sadly. Imagine my surprise when they let me buy their signed copy! 😊

 

 

 

On this trip, I was on a mission to try all the Mai Tais so of course I ordered their rendition of the Mai Tai. I always thought the passion fruit foam was a little weird but it’s their signature drink, and it’s a decent Mai Tai. Worthy of note, they use a macadamia orgeat. The rums are local and we will leave it at that. 😊 At my insistence my daughter had a fancy, non alcoholic fruit punch and she loved it!

 

 

I started with the broccoli cheddar soup, which didn’t especially feel Hawaiian but tasted delicious, nonetheless.

 

 

The stand-out starter there is the kalua pig quesadilla which is served with a little bit of kimchi on the side (Merriman’s kalua pork recipe is my go-to, and the "secret" ingredient is slowly cooked sweet onions, which make it irresistible).

 

 

The Caesar salad with the fried croutons was also very good.

 

 

The pork saimin was comforting, full of umami. This dish is typically Hawaiian and draws influences from ramen.

 

 

I had the fish of the day – it looked deceptively simple but was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I like food that is simple and highlights the ingredients, so this is definitely my kind of place.

 

 

My daughter had the burger and a side of roasted potatoes (delicious).

 

 

 

Dessert was this decadent pineapple macadamia nut bread pudding. I do not usually care for bread pudding but anything with fresh pineapple and macadamia nuts is worth eating. I wasn’t disappointed. 😊

 

 

[rotuts]

@FrogPrincesse

 

Thank you for the menus 

 

and thank you for trying the pork.  Is the pork 

 

is the pork ' local heritage ? '

 

everything looked delicious , and well thought out

 

Id go there for lunch over and over just to try everything.

 

the prices look very reasonable  considering other menu's offered here recently.

 

and food in Hawaii isn't cheap.

 

this is the place id pick over and over.

[FrogPrincesse]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

@FrogPrincesse

 

Thank you for the menus 

 

and thank you for trying the pork.  Is the pork 

 

is the pork ' local heritage ? '

 

everything looked delicious , and well thought out

 

Id go there for lunch over and over just to try everything.

 

the prices look very reasonable  considering other menu's offered here recently.

 

and food in Hawaii isn't cheap.

 

this is the place id pick over and over.

You are welcome! And you are right, the prices are very reasonable, especially for Hawaii.

 

The pigs are Berkshire kurobuta breed and are raised in Maui (Malama Farms), on pastures. There are also lots of wild pigs on the island (pua'a that were brought from Tahiti 800 years ago) and they are more a nuisance than anything else.