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Gulick Delicatessen, a well-established Honolulu Okazuya now has a SECOND location, in the spot where Makino Chaya was formerly located on King Street. Gulick Deli still operates their original location on Gulick Avenue.

It takes up just the right-hand portion of Makino’s floor space, where the kitchen was/is, and is just a small take-out deli, not having anywhere to sit. The left side looks like they’re renovating to lease to someone else.

Here’s a few plates from Gulick’s King St. location…

Gulick Deli’s Shrimp Tempura, Hash Patty and Vegetable Tempura

Gulick Deli’s Chow Fun, Nishime, Ume Musubi and Teriyaki Burger.

All that came out to $10.

Makino Chaya is now bigger and better in Aloha Tower Market Place.

It’s back!…

Ooey-gooey Sunny Side Up on top. The only way to have it.

Witness the Macaroni Salad “Special Sauce” layered on the rice. Absolutely brilliant.

You can order with full options now, as the sign indicates in small print: choice of white or brown rice, classic, vegetarian or no-bean chili and how you want your two eggs cooked. No option for the burger patty.

When it was first introduced it was $5.50. Now, in typical Zippy’s inflated price fashion, it’s $6.50. Still, this is ALOT of food. I could only eat half and I was full.

Decadent, but sooooooo good.

Big Island Smoked Pork, served with a bowl of Poi… Broke Da’ Mout’!

Big Island Smoked Pork, also casually called “smoked meat” is a family tradition that goes back to generations of wild pig hunters and Paniolo ranchers on the island of Hawaii. It’s probably done a similar way on most other Hawaiian islands, and everyone has their own secret flavoring or method to make it their own.

Presented here by yours truly is the basic way to make smoked pork “Big Island style”.

Enjoy!

Big Island Smoked Pork (smoked meat)

The meat:

• Pork Butt, 5 lbs. or more, preferably boneless (easier to cut into steaks)
• Hawaiian Salt (rock salt)

The marinade*:

• Shoyu (use your favorite brand), 3 cups
• Sugar, 1-2 cups
• Fresh Ginger, 1 large finger
• Fresh Garlic, 5 large cloves, chopped
• Hawaiian Chili Pepper, 3 pieces

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a pot on the stove heated to medium. Add the sugar gradually and adjust to how sweet you want it. Make the shoyu/sugar ratio between 1:1 and 2:1 - the latter being less sweet. Up to you. You can also adjust the Chili Pepper heat to your own liking too. Again use your taste buds for best judgement! After the marinade ingredients are well incorporated and you’re happy with the flavor, put it in the refrigerator to cool at least to cool.

*In this demo I substituted the Shoyu and Sugar with a premixed bottle of Aloha Teriyaki Mango and Pineapple sauce, which has a nice shoyu-sugar balance right out of the bottle. All I added to it was the ginger, garlic and chili pepper. Never needed to heat it on the stove since the sugar was already incorporated.

Marinade base: Aloha Shoyu

Marinade flavor components (clockwise from bottom left): Hawaiian Salt, Ginger, Hawaiian Chili Pepper (very hot!), Sugar (Hawaiian Cane variety shown) and Garlic

I found this bottle of Mango Pineapple Teriyaki Glaze on clearance at Costco for a song ($1.97/half-gallon)! So I substituted the marinade foundation using this. So easy!

Prepare the pork butt…

5 lbs. of boneless Pork Butt well marbelized with fat (for flavor of course!)

Safety first! Remember to always wash your hands, cutting board and utensils thoroughly after handling pork. And don’t cut yourself, just the pork!

Cut the pork butt into “steaks” approximately 3/4″ to 1″ thick. There’s no rhyme or reason, but don’t make them too thin, or the finished pieces could end up dry. Here’s that same piece after the knife…

Boneless Pork Butt cut into steaks

While they’re spread out on the cutting board, sprinkle each piece lightly with Hawaiian Salt and lomi (massage) the salt into the all sides of the meat. This will add a burst of flavor to the finished product and also help the brining process. Be careful not to overdo it.

Place the cut up and salted pork butt into a pan deep enough to marinade them in (or you can put them in Ziploc bags if you prefer)…

The shoyu/sugar/ginger/garlic/chili pepper marinade begins to impart their ono flavor!

Remove the cooled shoyu-based marinade from the refrigerator and pour it over the pork then toss to coat thoroughly. You can also lomi the marinade into the pork. Cover the pan with foil or plastic wrap (or zip up the bag) and place the marinaded pork butt into the refrigerator and and let it soak overnight or up to 24 hours. Perhaps you can let it marinade longer, but this is the longest I’ve done it.

Let’s get smokin’!

Traditionally, many big island folks have a “smoke house” that’s built specifically for this duty. Others have consumer brand smokers such as the Weber Smokey Mountain “WSM” model. Well, I’m just a casual smokin’ hobbiest, so what I have here is my method using an off the shelf Weber 22-1/2″ model Kettle Barbecue grill. Who woulda’ thought?!

The tools and fuel of this trade:

• Large, charcoal burning barbecue grill with a cover (in this case the Weber Classic 22″ kettle model)
• Smoking wood: Kiawe branches/logs and/or; Mesquite and/or: Guava branches/logs
• Charcoal briquettes (at least 5 lbs. worth to be safe)
• Lighter fluid or a chimney starter and newspaper (firestarter equipment
• A lighter or matches
• Small disposable foil pan for water
• 9″x13″ disposable foil service pan used to make modifications (see following instructions)
• Water

Because this is a low temperature smoking process of around 200 degrees F., you need to create a heat shield in the grill to protect the meat from burning or overcooking. Here’s how!

First you take an aluminum disposable pan and cut the corner walls so you can shape it into a “shield”…

Then you set up the grill for smoking like this…

In the photo above, about 10 briquettes of charcoal are placed on one side of the grill. Then “heat shield” pan is bent into a position over the coals at an angle to shield the charcoal flame-up area as shown. It’s held in place by the weight of the water-filled pan placed on one of the “shield pan’s” flap at the center. This looks strange, but’s it’s very effective at keeping the heat away from the meat and maximizing the smoking space in the grill. If this looks like too much extra set-up work for you, just go buy a smoker, but this does indeed work!

Now you’ll start the briquettes using the lighter fluid. Once they’re ashed over, place the cooking grate on the grill, and begin layout out the marinaded pork on the grate like this…

Notice how the aluminum heat shield below the opening of the grate comes right to up to that point, maximizing the effective smoking capacity inside the grill

Make sure to positions the cooking grate where the opening is over the charcoal, so you can add smoking wood without having to remove the grate every time. This will make life much easier here!

Once you have all your raw, marinaded (brined) pork spread out on the grill surface, you can add your smoking wood to the charcoal pyre through the opening as shown above. The initial wood I’m using here is Mesquite wood chips that have been pre-soaked in water.

As soon as the wet mesquite are added, it begins to smoke…

What else to do? COVER IT!…

Yes, cover it and set the vents underneath the fire and on the lid to full open position. You want as much air circulation as possible.

What do you do now? Go grab a cold beverage and let’s talk a little about smoking woods!

In Hawaii, three types of smoking woods are typically mentioned: Kiawe (same family as Mesquite, and the most popular), Guava (yes from the fruit tree’s namesake) and Lychee.

Here I have three varieties I’ve used for this particular smoking session..

Top to bottom: Kiawe, Guava and Mesquite (chips, pre-soaked in water)

The Kiawe shown above are smaller pieces that I prefer using for this duty, as they’re easier to add through that small opening in the grill grate. All these woods are very dense and fairly difficult to cut in comparison to other woods, whether you’re using an axe, handsaw or chainsaw. They’ll give you and your saw blade a workout!

The Kiawe - especially the large pieces - have the longest burn time of the three here. Because the Mesquite is store-bought, they’re already very dry and need the water soak in order to give off smoke. The Guava and Kiawe, found right in our backyard and/or given to us by relatives, still had residual moisture and therefore smoked naturally without the need for a water soak. But you could do that if necessary.

Part of the fun (yes it’s fun!) of smoking meat is the gathering of family and friends while the process goes on, and everyone anticipating the finished result. Also, something primal about tending to a smoking fire with meat on it is just, well, so satisfying and relaxing!

Back to business now! This process takes a total of 4 hours at a temperature of approximately 200 - 220 degrees F. Here I’ve used a regular old meat thermometer to read the temperature of the “smoking” chamber inside the grill…

Whenever you add more “fuel” (the smoking wood and/or charcoal), the reading will jump over 220, but then it will drop down to around there. That’s fine. Keep a watch on the smoke coming out the top vent(s). When there is absolutely no smoke escaping, it’s time to add more smoking wood. Uncover it and simply place more of either variety shown previously through the opening in the cooking grate. If the fire seems to be weak (burning embers are dying), add a few charcoal briquettes, along with the smoking wood. This will help maintain the pyre. As soon as you see it smoking again, cover it!

After 2 hours of smoking time, it will look like this…

Brush with reserve marinade

Although not necessary, at this point you may brush them with some of the reserve marinade for additional moisture and flavor. What the heck, I did.

Keep it covered and maintain a lighter smoke towards the last 2 hours of the smoking time. When it’s done, they’ll look like this!…

All pau!

Notice how the pieces closer to the fire formed a darker crust, but that’s O.K., as these pieces are thicker than the pieces surrounding it. It’s ALL GOOD!

A close-up of finished pieces…

Remove and place in a pan…

Notice (above) the grill marks from the underside of the pork, and a golden-brown caramelized finish from the sugar and shoyu marinade.

Let it cool, then you’re ready for service, and/or you can store it away in Zip Loc bags (or even better in Seal-a-Meal bags) and store in the refrigerator or freezer for a future dining event…

Be sure to mark the name and date. This stuff is considered “gold” in the freezer!

These are actually not fully cooked yet. Similar to bacon, you need to pan fry it before you serve it. In the case of Big Island Smoked Pork, the best way to to it is to fry them until the edges are “papa’a”, or slightly burnt at the edges. That’s the best!

Slice into bite size pieces like this…

Notice the pink color inside and glazed edges. Perfect! All they need now is a quick pan fry!

Place a frying pan on the stove on medium-high heat. No is oil necessary, since the fat from the pork will melt and create its own. Add the sliced smoked pork…

All that oil came from the natural fat in the pork… so bad, yet so good!

Keep a close eye, as the sugar will caramelize and burn quickly, flip them as soon as they begin to crisp on the edges like this…

When they look like this on both sides, remove them immediately onto a paper towel to drain the excess oil. If you’re doing batches (most likely), keep draining the excess oil fat from the pan into a heat-safe container and discard properly.

My favorite accompaniment with Big Island style Smoked Pork is POI! The salty rich flavor and heat of the meat, followed by a chaser of the smooth texture, cool temperature and mild flavor of the poi is as perfect as it gets. But you can just as well serve them as a pupu (appetizer) just by itself. Another good accompaniment are sliced raw Maui Onions. Stir fry perhaps? Or you could get creative and use it as a substitute for bacon in recipes that call for that.

The wafting smell of smoked pork while they’re being fried in the kitchen will have everyone running in asking, “what is that? I want some!”. Before you know it, all your Big Island Style Smoked Pork will be wiped out, so make plenty! Trust me.. this stuff goes fast!

Only when the internet has “smell-o-vision” will you fully be able to grasp how good this local delicacy really is. The closest thing to it is bacon. Go fry some and tell me that doesn’t smell awesome? Of course it does! Well this BLOWS bacon out the door and takes smoked pork to another level. While it’s not exactly healthy due to the high sodium and fat, on occasion and in moderation, it’s one of the tastiest of indulgences that you’ll ever experience.

**In Memory of Uncle Jack**

McDonald’s, like many other international restaurant chains, are known to modify and make additions to their menu to cater to the demographic of the various regions they’re located. Hawaii is no exception with unique offerings such as McTeri Burgers, Saimin, Portuguese Sausage, Eggs and Rice breakfasts, and even experimenting with McD’s own version of the “plate lunch”.

Recently made available for a limited time at participating Hawaii restaurants is their new 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. Others who tried it while it was piping hot claimed the filling was a bit runny, but when I tried it, it had already cooled below scorch-level, so the filling had a chance to congeal a bit and “tighten up”. The coconut flavor is pronounced and fairly convincing of being “real”. Whether they use actual coconut milk or if it’s some chemical concoction made of extracts, I don’t know.

At $1.09 each, it’s certainly worth a try and pretty darned “coco’nutty” good.

According to the dates on the bottom right of the sign, this item is effective from March 12 to May 7, 2007.

The Haupia Pie looks to be an offspring, not only of the Apple Pie, but of their previous limited offering, the Taro Pie…

McDonald’s Taro Pie

This made its debut in Hawaii back in 2005, and was said to have actually been a spin-off from a Sweet Taro Pie item that an executive discovered on the menu while visiting a McDonald’s franchise in China.

Shown above are two samples I bought to try. Similar to the Haupia Pie, it has a piping hot, sweet and creamy filling, except in this case it has small (and farely sparse) chunks of white taro in it. The filling itself looks to have been colored artificially purple to more closely resemble the Hawaiian Taro. While I won’t say this tasted like a “Poi Turnover”, the taro flavor was suttle yet still pronounced enough to be identifyable.

Personally I’m not too fond of sweetened taro, so I’d say the Haupia Pie was my favorite of the two. And while exciting and exotic these offerings inspire, the traditional Apple Pie is still my overall favorite, as I think the chunky soft apples and spicey cinnamon has more character than any of these two offerings.

Still, kudos to McDonald’s of Hawaii for trying new concepts. Any chance we’ll see a “McSpam Musubi” next?

Aina Haina McDonald’s, the first location to open in Hawaii in 1968. Here it is as at stands today.

Hana hou means to repeat, do again or encore in Hawaiian. It’s often used at live music concerts as crowds repeatedly cheer on the band “Hana Hou!” to request an encore song set.

In the case here, I’ve added “Hana Hou” to the category list. This will be used to identify posts that have been modified with added photos due to return visits, or updated information, such as if the establishment has moved, closed, etc..

I recently returned to Makino Chaya at Aloha Tower Marketplace and have quite a few additional photos added to that set. You can check them out here.

Also added are a photo of some Kiawe wood logs at the Kalua Pig BBQ grill entry here.

Photos and commentary were also added to the Teddy’s Bigger Burgers Waikiki entry here.

Finally for today, several more photos have been added to the Char Hung Sut entry here.

Yard House recently opened their debut Hawaii location in the newly built Waikiki Beach Walk on Lewers Street. Offering 130 varieties of beer on tap, an exciting food menu, rock and roll music and plenty of fun, the formula is bound to succeed, which is evident by the crowds that have already buzzed the place.

Upon entry, you’ll be greeted by a host or two who offer to either sit you at a table or private booth for dinner, or you can opt to seat yourself at the beer tap bar, which is certainly the center of attention here.

There’s plenty of attractive folks to look at, plus also provided for your viewing pleasure are 42″ flat panel TVs located throughout the establishment. This will certainly be a popular place to be for Super Bowl Sundays. The ambiance is rather open feeling, with a wood tavern theme and contemporary paintings adorning the walls. Lighting is ambiant without being annoying.

The only part that actually was annoying was the excessively LOUD rock and roll music blaring throughout the place. While it’s a good way to draw attention from outside, once you’re in and seated, you find yourself having to yell over the music in order to carry a conversation, turning the place into a yell fest. The good thing is the music selection fit my taste for rock music quite well.

All that beer needs a source, which is partially evident by the piping which runs from the bar to to a “keg room” on the right side of the restaurant…

Now these guys are SERIOUS about beer! Here’s the keg room just behind that wall…

An interesting technology is used in the delivery system here. Those black boxes on the wall emit ultrasonic sound waves into the supply lines that keep them clear of mineral deposits that the water from the beer would otherwise leave behind. The entire room itself is kept at a frosty cold temperate. You can see into the room through windows inside the restaurant.

Your uncle Joe’s beer ice box in the backyard ain’t got nothin’ on these guys!

You can order your beer three different ways. By the pint (16 oz. glass), a “Half Yard” which looks like a stretched out, super tall wine glass, or the “Six Pack” which is a preset sampler set of six different brews in 12 oz. glasses.

Here they have the “Six Pack” selection of the day taps tagged…

Here’s a few pints…

The beer list is so long, I can’t even remember ones we ordered here. lol

If beer isn’t your thing, they also have a variety of specialty drinks and a comprehensive wine list.

Just as emphasized as the beer here is the food, to which they have quite an extensive menu. Here’s the service kitchen, located in a room in back with a window for curious patrons to peer in…

On the last visit, we stopped only for short time. With that we ordered their Onion Ring Tower…

They’re beer-battered, not bread crumbed which is a nice change and stacked on a steel rod platform with a steel base. It’s accompanied by a ranch and smoked chipotle dipping sauce. I especially liked the chipotle sauce. Most impressive were how sweet the onions were. They must have been either Maui or Vidalia. Really ono.

They offer a great variety of appetizers, burgers (which I’d like try next), steaks, pastas and other dishes.

Based on the buzz that’s already been stirred and the crowds that’s been packing in, the Yard House looks like it will find great success at it’s new home in Waikiki. Definately check them out next time you’re in town.

You can make Kalua Pig either the traditional way in an Imu (underground oven) or the easier faux method using liquid smoke in a conventional oven. Well leave the hard labor and the liquid smoke behind this time, as I’ll show you how to make Kalua Pig using a barbecue grill!

The natural smoked flavor from the Kiawe (or mesquite) is unbeatable, and it’s relatively easy to do, only requiring a few simple steps, time and some TLC. If you like barbecuing (like me), this should be a fun and rewarding project!

Tender, moist and smokey Kiawe-roasted Kalua Pig… Ono!

What you will need for the fire:

• A large coal-burning barbecue grill that has a cover (in this case, I’m using the classic 22″ Weber Kettle Classic)
• Kiawe Wood Logs (if you don’t have this, use mesquite wood chips found at most grocery and hardware stores)
• Charcoal
• Disposable foil pan
• Lighter fluid
• Newspaper (to start burning coals)

What you will need for the pig:

• Pork butt (bone-in with plenty of fat is preferable for better flavor), in this demo, I’m using a 5 pound cut.
• Hawaiian rock salt
• Ti leaves (prepared by washing thoroughly and stems cut off), enough to completely wrap the pork butt(s)
• 18″ width heavy-duty aluminum foil

First, prepare the pig…

Begin by laying a large sheet of foil on the work surface. Then layer the Ti Leaves on the foil as shown above. Place the pork butt on the Ti Leaves, then sprinkle Hawaiian Salt on all surfaces of the Pork Butt. Enough just that it’s evenly, but not heavily covered (don’t over salt it!). If you want, you can lomi (massage) it in. Make sure the fat-side is up when wrapping it (as shown).

To wrap it all up, first gather up the Ti Leaves and wrap it over the pig, leaf by leaf, then hold them together with one hand, while with your other hand, bring up the foil to form a “packet”, which will look like this…

One thing critical in how you wrap it is that you provide a sealed “bottom” to retain all the flavorful juices from the pork. If there’s a leak on the bottom, the juices will drip off and your pig may turn out dry. So keep that in mind.

Finally, using a sharp knife, poke holes on the TOP SIDE of the packet to allow the smoke (flavoring!) in. Poke all the way through until it penetrates the meat. I’ve made 8 holes here.

Repeat this process for however many pork butts you plan on cooking. In this demonstration, I only made one. I’d say the 22″ Weber I used could fit about 4 total.

Put wrapped up pork butts in refrigerator and prepare the fire…

Before you begin, remember to WORK SAFELY. Just cook the pig. Not yourself or your house!

Build the fire by laying a (small) bed of 10 charcoal briquettes on one side of the bottom grate, with the Kiawe log sitting on top of it. Drizzle the coals and kiawe with enough lighter fluid for a light soak, then get the fire started with a crumpled newspaper on the side.

Here are several pieces of dried out Kiawe wood logs (hana hou photo added 3.13.07)…

The shorter dark ones on the left came from a more mature tree and are much more DENSE, hence they burn much longer. They’re a struggle to cut, even with a chainsaw; almost like cutting a metal pipe.

If you’re using Mesquite chips, use more coal (about 25 briquettes) and add the chips only when you’re ready to cook. Pre-soak the chips in water (for smoking).

When the lighter fluid has fully burned off, the coals are almost ashed over (white) and the Kiawe is burning consistently (usually takes about 30 minutes), it’s ready for the pig…

Place a foil pan filled with water next to the fire. This will create some steam in the chamber that will help keep the pig moist. Place the cooking grate on the grill then place the wrapped pig on it. In this case, the fire was REALLY HOT, so I kept the pig on the opposite end. This is INDIRECT cooking, where you’re only using the fire as heat source. DO NOT place the pig near the flame up area (shown on the left side).

If using Mesquite chips, this is the time to sprinkle them over the burning coals. It will immediately begin smoking.

Cover the grill.

Notice the billowing Kiawe smoke!

With the heat source on one side and the cover on, you’re basically turning your grill into an outdoor oven. Albeit, one with all that flavor-enhancing Kiawe smoke!

Set all the vents open, underneath and on the lid. Let the “Kalua’ing” begin! It takes about 6 hours for the pork to fully cook and reach fork-tender, fall-apart consistency. Because of this long duration, you’ll need to feed more Kiawe and Charcoal to the existing burning coals every hour or so. The charcoal briquettes can be slipped through the side opening of the grate, but you’ll need to remove the grate when adding the larger Kiawe log. You want to keep the heat inside the grill (not the meat) maintained between 250 to 325 degrees maximum. If in doubt, use a BBQ temperature gauge. I use the “hand-testing” technique, as I’ve done this many times already.

About 5 hours into the cooking time, it looks like this…

As you see, I’ve just fed more charcoal and a new chunk of Kiawe. The existing burning embers will eventually start to burn the new batch. The foil wrapper has taken on a bronzed color from the heat and billowing smoke created by the Kiawe wood (or Mesquite Chips if you use that). That new chunk of Kiawe will burn long enough for the final 2 hours of cooking it needs.

Remember to keep the grill COVERED throughout the cooking process (even though it’s tempting to look!). This is how you maintain and keep a stable cooking temperature. Only uncover it when you need to add more coal and/or Kiawe or Mesquite.

After approximately 7 hours, it should be done. Check it by opening the foil slightly and taking a fork to it, try to “pull” the pork. If it shreads easily, it’s done! Remove the pork butt(s) from the grill, bring into kitchen and prepare to shred the meat. Here it is just unwrapped. Yum!….

IMPORTANT! Before you open the foil, poke a whole on the bottom of the packet and drain the precious liquid into a clean transfer pan that you will use to shred the pig in. Then set the packet down, open the foil and Ti leaves and remove the cooked pork INTACT and place in transfer pan with cooking juices…

Discard foil and Ti leaves.

Using two forks, shred the Kalua Pig (that’s what it is now!) in the pan while it’s still hot. Taste test for saltiness. Adjust with more if necessary. After several times, you’ll get the hang of how much salt to use at the prep’ stage. Remember, you can always add, but you can’t subtract.

The finished result will look like this…

After shredding, that (originally) 5 lb. pork butt filled this entire 9″x11″x2″ deep pan… that’s alot of Kalua Pig!

That’s it. All pau cook. Now time to kaukau!

Notice how moist it looks. This is why you need to retain those cooking juices, so you can mix it with the Kalua Pig. Whinnahz.

This might be a good time to bust out that Squid Luau and Poi!…

If done properly, you can get “almost as good as the Imu” results in the oven thanks to the liquid smoke. Yet this barbecue grill method tastes that much closer to the Imu thanks to the natural smoke, without nearly as much work.

Hana hou photo added 3.13.07…

A full pan of about 13 lbs of Kalua Pig made from two very large pork butts. Next to it is a fresh bowl of 3 lbs. of Taro Brand Poi, which currently costs 11.99/bag at Costco. Ouch. The pork butt was on sale at Foodland for $1.49/lb. Cheap! Most of that pan will be bagged and frozen for a luau we’ll be throwing for a family visitor from the mainland a week from now.

Note that it took longer than 6 hours to cook those larger pork butts (about 8 lbs. each). Taking about 10 hours total and using more coals and Kiawe.