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In Hawaii, every island has that special place to buy omiyage, or “gift” - usually food - to bring back as a treat for family and friends as a taste of your travels. From the Big island of Hawaii, one of those places to go is Holy’s Bakery in the Kapa’au area of Kohala for their awesome pies.
Fortunately for us folks living on (or visiting) Oahu, our local Star Market continues to ship in and sell Holy’s pies, including peach, coconut, and the most popular: Buttered Apple. Each hand-made, then frozen with plenty of TLC and ready to bake.
Diner “E”, in his generous spirit, brought this Holy’s Buttered Apple Pie to the office for us to try, which he bought from the Star Market in Ewa Beach, Oahu. He said there were only 3 in stock, along with 5 coconut and 5 peach pies. All at $14.99 each.
What you say? $14.99 for an apple pie? That is relatively steep, but this isn’t any ordinary apple pie. This is THE apple pie!
Behold the Holy’s Pie box, which this is exactly how it will look in your local Star Market’s freezer section…
Notice there’s no fancy plastic vacuum sealed wrapper or other high tech packaging method. This is old school. I wonder if there could be a loco moco with 2 scoops rice and mac salad under the hood here? lol
Pop the hood, and you’re greeted with a raw, solid-frozen, unbaked pie…
And no it’s NOT microwaveable!
Notice the steam vent slit, which actually you can’t see a visible puka, just the shape of where it’s located.
So what did it say on the label?…
Ah. Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour. So Diner “E” fired up the oven on preheat at that temp’, then placed it in there on top of a baking pan to catch any drippings…
Exactly 1 hour later, it’s done!…
Whew. Thankfully that vent in the top crust functioned properly, or this could have been a mess! Not that the interior of our office lunchroom oven was exactly in showroom condition itself, either. lol
It was left to cool down for about 10 minutes then cut to serve…
Now. You do see it says BUTTERED Apple Pie, right? As in 1 whole stick! See that white goo in the center. That’s butter fat my friends, drippin’ ‘n oozin’ out. Paula Deen, if you’re lookin’ at this, you know what I’m talkin’ ’bout!
Here’s a slice…
What you CAN see is that flaky crust, that is entirely unique to Holy’s pie. What you CAN’T see is the BUTTERYNESS, which permeates throughout the crust and filling via shear heat melting that ingredient (dabs of butter) through and through. Diner “E” made a great observation by pointing out this crust was similar to that of the Manju from Maui. I agree, it’s quite similar.
What’s most incredible is how fresh it tastes after coming piping hot out of the oven, regardless of when the the actual date of production was, or the lack of sealed packaging involved. While I can’t say how one of these tastes fresh off Holy’s assembly line and out of the oven, I’m certainly not complaining with this shipped-frozen-then-baked version.
Now, you don’t think we’d eat this pie “plain” do you?…
Yes. that’s American Cheese added in and melted on, my friends. It may sound or even look gross, but this is THE way to eat an apple pie! You must try it like this. Especially with that extra butter in Holy’s pie. It’s like sensory overload in the way the creamy characteristic flavor of the American cheese enhances the cinnamon, apples, brown sugar, and buttery, delicately-textured crust. Mmm, mmm, mmm.
Everyone who had a slice couldn’t get over how simple, yet delicous this pie was. We all unanimously agreed, whether it was just $5 or $15, Holy’s Buttered Apple Pie is one of the best we’ve ever tasted.
Holy’s Bakery, Inc.
PO Box 132 Kapaau, HI 96755
808-889-6865
*Also available at select Star Market locations on Oahu in the freezer section ($14.99 each for Buttered Apple, Peach or Coconut pies, each).
The Tasty Island rating:
(5) Superb. Worthy of repeat visits or purchases. (Broke Da’ Mout’!)
Related links:
• Frozen Apple Pie is a Big Island Favorite - Honolulu Star Bulletin
The official t-shirt design
The 6th Annual Waikiki Spam Jam was held this past Saturday from 4pm to 10pm on Kalakaua avenue, with streets closed off to traffic, block party style.
With Hawaii still holding the crown as the largest consumer of Hormel SPAM in the nation, it’s no wonder this infamous mystery meat is celebrated at such an epic scale as we see here.
Here I present a pictorial walkthrough of this year’s event!…
The Gordon Biersch booth
Gordon Biersch’s various SPAM-themed food items
Towards the end of the night, they were selling everything for just $2 each, so I bought a BBQ SPAM Slider to try…
Gordon Biersch BBQ Spam Slider: Guava Mango Chutney BBQ sauce, red onions, and SPAM in a sweet taro roll, $6 ($2 clearance price!). Was pretty good! They should have fried the SPAM more though (if at all; I think it was straight out of the can), as the BBQ sauce kinda’ overpowered the SPAM flavor as it was. But heck, for $2, it’s all good!
This has got to be one of the coolest ways to make use of SPAM can…
A SPAM tip can! Now when you finish reading my blog entries, you can kindly leave me a tip. Mahalo! lol
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, its… its..
It’s the Turkey SPAM MAN!
A SPAM JAM just wouldn’t be jammin’ without this…
I give that a “10 SPAM Musubi” Tasty Island rating! Witness the grill markings. Brilliant!
When you’re working on a SPAM Musubi assembly line, keeping the energy going with a couple cans of Red Bull can certainly help to keep things going!…
The Shack was in full force at this year’s event…
The Shack will soon be opening a location in the Waikiki Trade Center, next door to Zanzabar nightclub. Brendan, the owner, is that whacky guy in the back with the white visor.
The Shack was serving this very interesting SPAM burger…
The Shack’s SPAM Burger with Pom Frites (at least that’s what Brendan said it was) and 2 pickle wedges
You know what? That SPAM burger rocked! Good job, Shack!
Coconut Willy’s is a restaurant and bar with nightly live music, located in the Waikiki International Marketplace
Doraku Sushi booth
Giovanni Pastrami (from Lewers street) was offering two types of SPAM Pizza…
SPAM Pizza
Hawaiian” SPAM Pizza
The Giovanni Pastrami booth
As was the case last year, some of the food vendors didn’t include SPAM in their offerings, but mainly participated for the charitable cause and benefit of exposure. Here’s a “traditional” Greek Salad from the Leo’s Tavern booth…
Leo’s Tavern Greek Salad
and this beautiful tray of Baklava
Leo’s Tavern Baklava
The Simply Ono booth served up mostly traditional Hawaiian food and plate lunch fare…
I didn’t read the sign, but perhaps this Laulau has SPAM instead of pork in it?…
Simply Ono Laulau and Lomi Lomi Salmon plate
There were a a few non-food vendors, such as this Sarong and Pareo booth…
Hey, that pareo matches that girl’s blue hair!
Kapena was on stage providing the entertainment…
Kapena jams the SPAM Jam
There’s teddy bears, then there’s “SPAMMY” bears
SPAM logo golf tees, golf balls and a baseball
SPAM cookbook, pot holder and piggy, err, make that “SPAMMY” banks
That’s it. See you at next year’s SPAM JAM!
Related Links:
• Waikiki 2007 Spam Jam - The Tasty Island
• SpamJamHawaii.com
A few weeks ago, a practicing Jewish coworker made us a most-delicious pot of Matzo Ball Soup in recongition of Passover. It’s a simple recipe, with a basic chicken broth, along with chunky pieces of kosher chicken meat that came from the broth-making process, and the Matzo ball itself being made out of Matzo meal, egg and oil, combined, balled up, proofed, then cooked in the broth as seen here.
The Matzo ball, which looks like a meat ball, but isn’t, has a sort of glutenous texture to it, and takes on the “meatyness” of the broth quite well, making it think you’re eating a meat ball. It’s very filling, and would certainly hit the spot on a cold, rainy day, let alone a sunny day that we partook in it.
Matzo meal is made out of Maztos, which is that “cracker” you see dipped in the bowl. This is the brand Diner “Ang” generously brought along to serve with this awesome pot of Matzo Ball Soup…
Diner “Ang”’s Matzo Ball Soup
The Tasty Island rating:
(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)
Next >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Nathan’s Hot Dog + Little Caesars Pizza = Nathan’s Caesars?
Nathan’s Hot Dog
+
Little Caesars Pizza
=
Nathan’s Caesar Dog
While I can’t vouch for this being Kosher, this is indeed some mighty tasty stuff. Nathan’s hot dog is very salty and porky-fatty, which makes it such a fantastic combo with the chewy, toasted pizza crust it’s baked in. This is probably one of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had, and best of all, this pig-in-the-blanket variation is availalble for just $1.50 from anytown USA at a Little Caasars Pizza stand in a K-Mart near you!
The Tasty Island rating:
(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)
Puka Dog with Orginal Garlic Lemon sauce, Pineapple relish, ketchup and Guava Mustard (click to expand image)
Or a whole lotta’ hype? That was the question running through my mind upon my first visit to Puka Dog in Waikiki this past weekend.
As you may know, the Travel Channel featured Puka Dog not once, but twice: the first being on “Hot Dog Heavens”, which featured their original Kauai location; and the second time most recently on Anthony Bourdain’s Hawaii episode of “No Reservations”, which paid a visit to this location on Oahu. Not to mention coverage by Bon Appetite magazine, Modern Bride and Travelocity.com, as well as various local media outlets.
Puka Dog’s second location here in Waikiki is located on Kuhio Avenue in the Waikiki Town Center , which is sort of interconnected with the labyrinth of small businesses on the back-end of the Waikiki International Marketplace. So if you’re coming from Kalakaua avenue, enter the International Marketplace and walk all the way towards the back end towards Kuhio and there they are…
Puka Dog Waikiki - Waikiki Town Center, 2301 Kuhio Avenue
The establishment consumes about as much floor space as a small Subway sandwich shop (probably even smaller actually), with predominantly a main service counter that includes all that’s needed to serve up their “simple” menu, and a few small patio tables to dine on both inside and outside the door. As you may notice there’s double doors, which indicate that this place can generate quite a line at peak times, as the manager on duty mentioned. Luckily I arrived at a post-peak 9pm, so it was slow. Which was nice, as it gave me time to really chat up with the staff on duty. This also made service as attentive as it could get. I felt pampered.
The 3-step ordering system is straightforward, as you can see by the menu board here (literally a “board”!)…
Click menu to expand size
First comes the bun, which here’s how that looks before and after the “Puka” (hole) is put into it…
The bun is like a roll-size version of a typical loaf of white sandwich bread; soft, airy and pliable inside, with that said type of brown crust outside. Just your basic white bun.
Taking it to nother level, we go to the next step, where to get that “puka”, this roll is basically impaled on one of these special heated metal rods that resemble some sort of medieval torchure chamber device…
This takes several minutes. As you see, it not only makes the puka, but also toasts the inside and heats the bun to make it more supple - that’s a good thing. It’s put on there with the paper wrapper on to help hold in the heat, which is also a smart idea.
I zoomed in too tight on this odd piece of kitchen equipment, as it’s really a complete “Puka Dog system” if you will, that also includes a conveyor-like heated roller element path below that which does double duty and cooks the hot dogs at the same time. They’re then stored in a warmer bin at the end of the run, here…
Skinless Polish sausages
It really is a neat, all-in-one system that I’m sure they have patents (pending) over. One reviewer on another site said (speculated?) the manufacturers who build McDonald’s industrial kitchen equipment are behind this “machine”.
Continuing on the order, I asked for some sauce and relish recommendations from Joanne, the very friendly and courteous manager on duty, to which she mentioned a few popular combinations (I can’t remember what those were), but in the end said, “braddah, just go with the flow, and get what you feel like.. you can’t go wrong either way!”.
Well, as simple as the menu itself is, there’s a subset of that 3-step system in the form of over 12 relishes and sauces you must choose from. This sort of negates that simplicity and makes the final decision on what to order almost a brain-buster.
As you stand there with your mind and stomach trying to come to terms of whether to make your dog taste fruity, or zesty and spicy, the prominent array of condiment taps on the main counter loudly reminds you of the many choices at hand…
Decisions, decisions, decisions…
I can see this alone holding up long lines, as customers constantly change their minds as their order is being taken. I was no exception, exchanging flavor requests more times than Barack and Hillary trade political jabs. lol
If you’re still not convinced you chose the right one, they do have a samples you can try before ordering…
Puka Dog relish and mustard samples
Having either Polish or vegetarian sausages to choose, I went with the Polish, which IIRC, according to the manager, was made from a combination of pork, beef and chicken. Pork eh? So I’m thinkin’ what goes better with pork but Pineapple, where you get that whole savory-sweet-tangy thing goin’ on.
So my final “condimental decision” was the original mild garlic sauce, pineapple relish, Guava Mustard AND ketchup, which they squeeze and pump into your bun before sticking in the dog. Here’s a cross-cut view of that Puka Dog…
So how is this much-discussed Puka Dog? Excellent. Much better than I expected considering the hype and sort of “gimmicky” concept the idea seems at first hand. What I think is key to my favorable impression is first of all that they toasted my bun nicely, which really punched the flavor of the savory, moderately-salty Polish sausage throughout the bun.
Some reviewers have complained that the bun-to-sausage ratio of the Puka Dog is too high (too much bun), but I didn’t think so. If they made the sausage just a tad bigger, that may dispell most of those sentiments, but for me, the ratio was perfect. The key was the powerful, wonderful flavor of the skinless Polish sausage itself, which pretty much predominated all else. Thank goodness they got the most important part of this equations - the hot dog - right!
As for the garlic lemon sauce, it seemed like a mayonnaise-based garlic infusion, similar to the one featured at the Great Hawaiian Hot Dog stand. I couldn’t taste the “lemon” in it though, probably because I had already sipped the lemonade before digging into the dog, so my palate was already acclimated to anything acidic.
The Pineapple relish had a slight texture to it; not like pickle-based relish, but at it had some texture and not as “saucy” like some of the other “relishes” available there. Pineapple turned out to be a good choice for the savory-salty Polish sausage, acting as an effective palate buffer, and tying everything together.
Next time I’d certainly omit the ketchup and perhaps even the garlic “sauce”, but even with that, as complex as all those flavors were, the fantastic flavor of the Polish sausage shined through it all and made the overall experience quite delicious and memorable.
As for size, this thing is massive. Look at in scale to my hand holding it…
I’d estimate the bun is approximately 8-9″ length end-to-end. The total package ‘got some heft to it as well.
I also ordered a the fresh-squeezed lemonade…
Lemonade station. I missed getting a photo of the lemonade squeezer, which is just to the right of here.
It’s a simple recipe of fresh lemons, granulated sugar, water and ice. I’ve read some reviews that said their lemonade was too sweet, but mine was perfectly balanced in all its components. The refreshing coolness and acidity of the lemonade is also a good compliment to the richness and complexity of the Puka Dog.
A Puka Dog and fresh-squeezed lemonade, $9.25
One thing you can’t deny is how catchy the name “Puka Dog” truly is. It’s marketing brilliance. With that, they have no shortage of collectible memorabilia for the visitors to take back with them…
They also have their own “Puka” version of Shave Ice, where they put ice cream, Azuki beans, tapioca balls and other goodies in a “Puka” in the middle of the Shave Ice. Wow. I didn’t get a price on that, but this is one professional-lookin’ Shave Ice machine, so I’m willing to bet they’re quite good at it…
As for suggestions, I’m wondering if they ever looked at our local sausage manufacturers such as Redondo’s? Also, while the fruity relishes are great for the tourist crowd, you now how locals love their teriyaki. They might wanna’ consider adding that flavor, and also maybe a Chili dog version. A portuguese sausage, eggs and cheese breakfast Puka Dog might also be a hit. They should also experiment with heartier bun recipes such as sourdough and other specialty seasoned breads, such as the ones Subway has introduced. Oh my, the possibilities!
It ended up being a hole lotta’ loot: at $6.25 for a Puka Dog, and $3.00 for medium-sized fresh-squeezed lemonade drink, this likely isn’t something you’d bring the entire family to on a weekly basis, but more of an indulgent, impulsive treat. Thankfully I received a 10% off Kama’aina Discount card for future visits, which is certainly an incentive to return.
Besides, I just can’t help but wonder how the other relishes that Puka Dog offers taste along with their fantastic Polish dog, as well as what their vegetarian dog tastes like. To which I’ll certainly indulge in this “treat” again.
Hype and price aside, I’d have to agree with their slogan that Puka Dog truly is “a Hole Lot of Flavor”.
ISLAND OF KAUAI
Poipu Shopping Village
2360 Kiahuna Plantation Dr.
KOLOA /HAWAII 96756
808-742-6044
Monday – Sunday
11 AM to 6 PM
ISLAND OF OAHU
Waikiki Town Center
2301 Kuhio Avenue # 2
HONOLULU/ HAWAII 96815
Phone: 808 924-7887
Monday – Sunday
10 AM to 10 PM
The Tasty Island rating:
(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)
Related links:
• PukaDog.com
• Puka Dog reviews on Yelp
• Puka Dog Hawaiian Style Hot Dogs on KGMB9 News
BBQ Mixed Plate from Yummy’s, $7.50
Actually grindz had from several different days.
The BBQ mixed plate above is from Yummy’s Korean BBQ, located at the entrance of Don Quijote on Kaheka street, near Ala Moana. Yummy’s has locations all over Oahu.
This plate was indeed quite yummy. There was so much on the plate, I actually split and shared it with my girlfriend. The chicken especially had great char-grilled flavor, moist and tender, and the Korean BBQ sauce they use is excellent. One thing I always love about Korean restaurants - and Yummy’s is no exception - is the assortment of pickled vegetables to choose. The kombu and cucumber selection here tasted kinda’ like Namasu.
As you see, they share space with Bale Sandwich.
Next on the table…
Mini Bento from St. Louis Drive In, $4.50
Not to be confused with St. Louis Delicatessen (the Okazuya) located next door (different owners). I actually drove here yesterday to grab a Chow Fun and Tempura Okazuya plate next door at the Deli, but they were closed, and I was bummed. A sign on the front said they’ll be returning April 8th. Probably went to Vegas.
St. Louis Drive In has so many menu items, it’s mind boggling. I should have ordered the “Japanese Plate”, which includes Sashimi. That would have hit the spot.
St. Louis Drive In. The wood door to the left is the entrance to St. Louis Delicatessen, who were closed on this day. Shucks.
Located at the Makai-Diamond Head side of 3rd and Waialae avenue
Next up…
Corned Beef Sandwich combo from Zippy’s, $4.70
I can’t call them “Jippy’s” with this deal. They’ve amazingly underpriced themselves here with this massive Corned Beef Sandwich combo, which includes fries and a drink. This isn’t any canned or packaged stuff, but the real deal, piled with thick slices of freshly boiled corned beef and cabbage, laid upon an onion roll bun buttered with mayonnaise.
This is actually diner “E”’s dish, as he proudly holds it up here after taking a few bites…
“Hurry up and take the damned picture… I wanna’ eat!”
This is a special that occurs only one day out of the month, so you need to check their website when exactly it will be available again. As you see, he gave this a solid 3 SPAM Musubi (very good) rating.
Finally…
Supreme Pizza from Costco, $1.99
Another one of Diner “E”’s grinds of the day. What can I say? It’s a buck-ninety-nine. It’s pizza. It’s “Costco huge”.
Personally I don’t care for the crust on Costco’s pizza, finding it to be “spongee”. Neither do I like their sauce. On the cheap, I’ll take Little Caesar’s over them any day. Of course if it’s free I’ll eat it. lol
Looking at the prices here, I think I need to rename this site “Honolulu Cheap Eats”. DDL would love that!
Or as they say it, “Kalua Pork Goes Mexican.” How about “Luau goes Fiesta”?
However you wanna’ word it, Taco Bell Hawaii recently introduced three new promotional items on the menu: Kalua Pork Soft Taco, Kalua Pork Quesadilla and Kalua Pork Grilled Stuft Burrito. Of course “available for a limited time only”.
I’m a sucker for experimental stuff like this, where corporate food chains take popular local delicacies and come up with interesting “fusion” creations in hopes of coming out a hit. So when I seen the TV commercial recently, it immediately put me into “gotta try that” mode.
Remember McDonald’s Haupia and Taro Pie? Must have worked because both items returned to the menu.
For the most part, Taco Bell’s extensive menu is really a lesson in 1001 different ways to assemble and name something else using the same ingredients. lol
Finally now with the introduction of Kalua Pork, we have an opportunity to remove the “mystery” out of the meat that is their conventional all-purpose seasoned ground “beef” (is it really just that?) filling.
And there is some sense of reassurance with this Kalua Pork, as you may notice it states on the poster that it’s supplied by popular local meat packing company, May’s, famous for their teriyaki beef burger patties and other marinated meats. The commercially-sold Kalua Pig brand most common in the local supermarkets is Keoki’s, and I wasn’t even aware May’s had a Kalua Pork product, until now.
To get this fix, I took a stroll down Kalakaua avenue last night and visited the Taco Bell/Pizza Hut located at the basement of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.
Your typical Taco Bell/Pizza Hut take-out counter…
Not that I can eat all of it in one sitting, still, I decided to get all three at once in order to do a side-by-side comparison.
First up we have the Kalua Pork Soft Taco…
Kalua Pork Soft Taco, $1.89
Good deal. Let’s look what’s inside…
Chunky tomato salsa, shredded lettuce and May’s Kalua Pork. Check. Let’s have a bite…
Ono! So far I’m diggin’ it. The crispy lettuce, cool, slightly acidic chunky Tomato Salsa along with the defined smoky flavor of the Kalua Pork matches quite well. The Kalua Pork was a little too lean, dry and chopped up for my liking, but for fast food, what can you expect. I think that chunky salsa is supposed to resemble Lomi Lomi Salmon, which it does in texture, but certainly not in flavor without the salted salmon. Overall as a package, this works.
Next up we have the Kalua Pork Quesadilla…
Taco Bell Hawaii Kalua Pork Quesadilla, $2.99
Again a good deal. Let’s look what we have in here…
Here the simplicity of just hot, melted cheddar and jack? cheeses melting over and through the smoky Kalua Pork really packs a flavor punch. That, along with the soft, toasted crust of the tortilla makes this one mighty tasty Quesadilla.
While Taco Bell’s OEM tangy and spicy Taco sauce helps introduce an extra dimension of moisture and kick, I really think if they offered something sweet like, say Mango Salsa, it would really compliment the pork. That, along with a generous dollop of sour cream on top would be perfect.
Same for the Taco. That chunky tomato salsa is good, but Mango Salsa, or any fruit-based salsa would be great in that. Pork and fruit go hand-in-hand.
Finally we have the largest of the three, the Kalua Pork Grilled Stuft Burrito…
Taco Bell Hawaii Kalua Pork Grilled Stuft Burrito, $3.79
This thing is huge. I’d say easily a half-pounder. Here you see the “grilled” tortilla wrapper…
Let’s have a bite…
Notice the ratio of “stuft” Spanish rice to Kalua Pig, in which the flavor of the starchy, slightly spicy rice comprises the bulk of it, while the Kalua Pork is more of a subtle add-on. I think this one needs a little recipe tweaking. Perhaps if they simply made this the wrapped up version of the Kalua Pork Soft Taco, with just a little of the rice and the addition of sour cream, that might work better.
Whew, I’m “stuft”, yet glad I got that off my chest. Next time you’re in town and run into a Taco Bell, give one of these a try. I recommend the Kalua Pork Soft Taco and Kalua Pork Quesadilla. Very good. With either one, ask them to add sour cream. It would be worth the extra 25 cents, and that would really kick ‘em up a notch. Bam! lol
All that’s missing in this equation is POI!
The reason I repeatedly insist on Mango Salsa and sour cream is because of this most excellent example of Kalua Pork Quesadillas I had recently at a local pub…
Kalua Pig Quesadillas with Sour Cream and Mango Salsa, $4
These were da’ bomb! Notice the cross-hatch grill markings, which not only look good, but offers a more balanced toasted flavor vs. the broader flat top method like its done at Taco Bell. That, along with the very moist and tender Kalua Pig, most fantastic sweet and spicy Mango salsa and creamy coolness of the sour cream is such a winner here. Taco Bell should look into implementing one of these grid/grate type of griddles.
And of course this isn’t anything new, as apparently Hawaii celebrity chef Russell Siu and Roy Yamaguchi already have fancier gourmet offerings of the dish.
Speaking of Kalua Pig, check out our neighbor’s pet pig named -yes - Kalua! I kid you not. That’s sick, yet cute at the same time. lol
Here’s Kalua at about 9 months old…
And here’s Kalua currently at about 1-1/2 years old…
Whoah! Yes, that’s the same pig. I don’t know if that dove in front really shows in scale just how HUGE he is now, but we estimate he currently weighs easily over 200 pounds. Yet he’s a gentle giant. The boy loves sweets. Especially fruits like bananas and especially chocolate. Goes nuts for chocolate, belting out loud squeals of jubilation whenever he even just smells the stuff. Like most pigs, he’s also very intelligent. His name may be Kalua, but he’s certainly not destined for the Imu!
Lastly, while we’re on Taco Bell, check out this hilarious logo spin-off I Illustrated a while ago…
Here you can order the “Tako Supreme”, which comes with extra Ogo.
Plato Con Taquitos
Dixie Grill had a good thing going at the highly visible and often very crowded Ward location. So when restauranteur Bill Wary, who also owns Auntie Pasto’s decided to try this new concept we have here as Tio’s Garage & Taco Station, it seemed a bit surprising. Why? To compete with Compadres and Wahoo’s just a block away? According to our server on this visit, his wife is the mastermind behind it.
Well, this ‘New Mex’ concept has some serious popularity shoes to fill here, so let’s check it out.
As you see, they’ve retained the movie theater sign from the former Dixie Grill, using catchy phrases to draw attention. Here it reads “WARNING: RITAS MAY MAKE YOU SMILE”.
There’s an outside seating area on the Halekauwela st. side of the establishment…
And here’s the bar area and doorway to the kitchen inside…
The main dining area…
Our party of five were seated in a partitioned, more private area located at the Mauka end of the place…
When we arrived at 11:30am on a Monday a few weeks ago, the place was mostly empty except us. Is this a sign? With that, service was prompt and friendly.
Like most Mexican restaurants, we were immediately served complimentary tortilla chips and salsa…
Complimentary “bottomless” tortilla chips and salsa
They were generous with this, providing two baskets and salsa dishes so each end of the table had their own, and refilling it soon after we gorged through it.
As far as taste, texture, etc., these were just OK. The chips were served at room temperature; not warm, but at least they were crisp. The salsa had a fine consistency with a pronounced Cilantro and cumin? or chili powder flavor, or some spice that slightly stood out. Otherwise a mild-flavored salsa.
So what’s on the menu? Enter ‘New Mex’. The theme here as described says: ‘New Mex’ varies from traditional Mexican, Tex-Mex and Cal-Mex cooking. However, many New Mexican dishes are similar to Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, such as enchilatas and burritos. ‘New Mex’ emphasises the use of green chile and red chile, depending on the ripeness when the chile is picked. Compared to neighboring styles, green chile is perhaps the defining ingredient of New Mexican food. Heavier use of Cilantro and relaxed use of cumin and tomatillas is important.
OK, we’ll keep that in mind.
So let’s order. Diner “A” chose the Traditional Stacked Enchilatas…
Traditional Stack Enchiladas - Three corn tortillas layered with shredded beef (and/or cheese and/or chicken) with traditional green (or red) chile sauce, melted cheese, topped with (or without) fried egg. Served with beand & rice, $10.50
Diner “AC” went with the Burrito De Fajita…
Burrito De Fajita - A large flour tortilla filled with tender marinaded slices of top sirloin (or tender breast of chicken) with jack cheese, sauteed bell pepper & onions. Served with guacamole & sour cream, $12
Diner “C” ordered the Spinach & Artichoke Enchilada…
Spinach & Artichoke Enchilada - Two corn tortillas filled with grilled artichoke hearts, a souffle of spinach & diced onion, topped with green chile sauce and melted cheese. Served with rice and beans, $12.50
Diner “E” and yours truly ordered the Plato Con Taquitos…
Plato Con Taquitos - Four rolled corn tortillas filled with tinga beef (or chicken), deep-fried. Topped with Chipotle cream and a side of Jalapeno jelly. Served with beans and rice, $8.75.
Diner “E” also ordered a side of Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob…
Grilled Corn-on-the Cob - With cilantro butter, $3.00
And how was all that? We all were unanimously unimpressed. This so-called ‘New Mex’ concept seems lost. All our plates seemed a mixture of trying too hard at not trying hard enough.
The beans had absolutely NO flavor. Poi has more flavor than these beans. Adding salt barely helped, and although there were bits of bacon in it, for some reason you couldn’t even taste that. The rice was also nothing to write home or here about. A slight spice to it, but still lacking character.
Out of everyone on the table, diner “C” was the most satisfied with her Spinach & Artichoke Enchilada dish, which I can’t explain because I didn’t try it personally. Note her rice is green. It is greener on the “other side”. lol
Diner “AC” only could finish half of her massive Burrito De Fajita.
Diner “A”’s only complaint was that he ordered his egg “Huevos” over-easy with yolk cooked through, which you’d think with the place being slow, they’d get the order right, but they ended up serving it sunnyside up. He didn’t bother to send it back, opting to just eat around the yolk.
On my Platos Con Taquitos order, I requested 2 chicken and 2 beef. The chicken version was moist and tender, but the beef was dry. Also, the deep-fried tortilla was too crispy-hard, not really complimenting the texture, but interfering it. Kinda’ like using a kettle-cooked potato chip for dipping. Know what I mean? It’s saving grace was the Jalapeno jelly, which added a nice sweet and zesty contrast to the cruncy tortilla shell and meaty filling. This dish could be great with a little tweaking.
Diner “E” chose all beef for his four Taquitos, which as I said above was dry, so he was the most disappointed of all of us with his dish. As for the grilled corn-on-the-cob, whatever this “Cilantro butter” is all about, he didn’t notice it.
While I like to give restaurants the benefit of the doubt based on timing and logistics (who’s cooking, how busy, etc.) on first visits, first impressions still count. While the service, ambiance, prices and portions at Tio’s were satisfactory, the food itself just barely made par for the course, with the likes of ‘Tex Mex’ Compadres and even Taco Bell easily beating this ‘New Mex’ thing they’ve got going on at Tio’s. If things don’t work out, I’d recommend Bill go back and fire up the barbecue pit and re-open the place as the “New Dixie Grill”.
With that, I’ll generously give Tio’s…
The Tasty Island Rating:
(1) Average
Tio’s Garage & Taco Station
404 Ward Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
808-596-8359
www.TiosGarage.com
Corned beef brisket and cabbage, with potatoes ‘n’ carrots, and drizzled with American yellow mustard. Prepared 1.18.08
In honor of our new University of Hawaii head football coach and former defensive coordinator, Greg McMackin, let’s indulge in a fantastic dinner of corned beef and cabbage!
No, not the canned stuff. The REAL stuff. Corned Beef Brisket. The classic Irish-American dish we all know and love, made famous for celebrating on St. Patrick’s Day. The luck of the Irish!
Corned Beef and Cabbage simmering in the pot, fully-cooked and ready to serve many hungry Hawaii Warriors fans! Well, at those in our house!
The classic corned beef and cabbage is really easy to make. This is truly a one-pot dish.
In a large covered pot, boil, then simmer your favorite brand of corned beef brisket in water, along with the seasoning packet (usually included) for about 2-1/2 hours (depending on size). Check for tenderness by cutting a small piece off the end. When you think it’s about done, add cut potatoes, carrots and cabbage and simmer for an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until the veggies are all tender. I also add whole peppercorns and a few bay leaves for additional flavor.
When everything in the pot is fully cooked and tender, remove corned beef to cutting board and let cool a bit, then slice into serving sized portions and plate with cabbage, potatoes, carrots and drizzle corned beef with yellow American mustard. You can add rice to go along with it, but the potatoes in the pot should be enough starch to fill you up.
Mmmm.. mmm, McMackin’, Florida Gators’ Tim Tebow smackin’ good!
Greg McMackin, the new head coach of the University of Hawaii Warriors football program, replacing June Jones, who has taken position as head football coach at SMU in Texas. Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Star Bulletin.
Beef. Mac. Smack. Whatever you call it, we have faith. We believe. And we’re ready for the the new season!
Go Hawaii Warriors!
Hot on the heels, err, make that bowl of yesterday’s Gyudon, I present to you my very own creation here in what we’ll affectionately name SPAM Donburi! I’m not sure if anyone out there has done this before, as I couldn’t find one online with proof. So I figured, what the heck; if SPAM tastes great on a musubi, it’s gotta’ work as a donburi, right?
So this morning I put on my “Doctah’ FrankenSPAM” lab coat and went to work.
I took the basic Gyudon broth recipe, which is 2-1/2 cups of water, 1 packet of dashino-moto, 5 tbsp. each of shoyu, mirin and sake, and simmered thin, bite-size slivers of SPAM in it, along with sliced onions and shiitake mushrooms. Simmered it long enough for the onions to soften and the SPAM to cook through. Test-tasted to make sure the SPAM absorbed some of the flavor from the broth and that it tasted cooked. Poured all that over hot rice, along with extra broth, and topped it with Beni Shoga.
And how did this SPAM Donburi taste? Ono! A little salty, since I used regular SPAM. But oh man.. the combination of the SPAM with the Shiitake, onions and Beni Shoga is a winner! Add that tasty, broth-enhanced rice as the supporting act and this bowl rocks!
Next time I’ll try using the low-sodium SPAM (or Tulip). I also may add an egg in there, either in raw form and let it cook with the other stuff like Oyako Donburi, or cook an omelet on the side and then slice it up and add it with the other ingredients in already-cooked form. Perhaps some Furikake sprinkled over it might work too.
Seriously, you should try it. Especially if you’re a SPAM-with-rice fan. This is certainly an interesting and unique twist on it.
See Nate what you got me started on! 
A thick, juicy slab of medium-rare prime rib
The classic American Thanksgiving Turkey feast is undeniably fantastic. The question is, how soon do you want an encore? If you’re asking me, after about two weeks of re-reinventing turkey leftovers, I’ve had enough until, perhaps, Easter. With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to move on to the next level: Prime Rib!
Of course, “prime” is a misnomer if you’re cooking a standing rib eye roast at home, as most cuts sold at the local supermarkets and big boxers are graded as “Choice”. O.K, fine then. Even though it’s “Choice Rib”, we’re still calling it “Prime Rib”. It just sounds better. Ha!
The following recipe and cooking method is a finely-honed hybrid of one I got from The Plaza Club (courtesy of mom), and also reading recipe after recipe, and watching several done on TV cooking shows. This method works like a charm, as I’ve done this 5 times already, never failing to get a perfect medium-rare finish, with a delicious, flavor-packed crust, and overall quite honestly, one that EVERYONE at the dinner table always raves about.
The seasonings are simply Hawaiian Salt, fresh cracked pepper, garlic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
So let’s get our roast on!
Where’s the beef? Here it is…
This is a 9.67 lb bone-in choice grade rib eye roast, which went for $6.99/lb. on sale. Sliced properly, this was more than enough for our 10-person Christmas party. Notice the fat layer cap on top has already been pre-trimmed by the butcher. Most rib eye roasts in the market nowadays come that way. Also notice the marbeling and deeper layers of fat within, which are sure to provide tons of flavor and moisture inside.
Notice it’s on a roasting rack, which sits nicely within a roasting pan. You don’t need the rack, as you can sit it on its own bones, but I find the rack keeps it nicely away from its own drippings, making it easier and less messy (of drippings) afterwards to remove.
Before you’re ready to cook it, remove it from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for at least a half hour. You don’t want to start the rib roast from too cold a temperature, or the inside will remain raw and the doneness will be uneven.
Place it in the roasting pan (with rack if you have one).
Now let’s season it. Begin by taking whole, peeled garlic gloves and slicing them into manageable slivers (see following photo), then use the point of a sharp knife and poke a slit about 3/4″ deep (not too deep) into sections of the rib roast and insert the a garlic sliver (or two) into into each hole. Do it one at a time as you insert the garlic, or you might lose where all the other slits are. Start from the underside (bone side)…
… and work your way across in evenly-spaced rows, making your way to the top-side (fat side)…
After you’ve evenly “plugged” the entire rib roast with garlic, rub it lightly with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This will help the salt and pepper adhere to it and infuse with the meat. If you don’t have that, regular cooking oil should be fine. I wouldn’t use butter, as butter burns faster, and may result in a burnt crust.
Now generously coat the rib roast with Hawaiian Salt and fresh cracked pepper. Not too heavy on the salt; use a sprinkling technique. That should be perfect. You can go as light or heavy with the cracked pepper as you want. I think the more pepper the better. Here you can see how I do mine…
That is one HAPPY rib roast!
Recap: garlic placed in sliced “pukas”, EVOO rub, Hawaiian Salt and fresh cracked pepper. That’s it.
Time to hit the heat.
By far the most important tool you should have when cooking a prime rib is a meat thermometer. It takes all the guess work out of how long and/or hot to cook it. With that, I use a simple, yet very accurate analog Cooper meat thermometer, with detailed reading all the way from 0 to 220ºF.
Here, I’ve stuck the oven-safe thermometer into the very center of the rib roast, careful to get the probe end right in the middle of the meat WITHOUT touching the bone…
Don’t let it touch the bone, as the bone carries a higher heat and will give you a false reading. Notice the internal temperature reading dropped to about 40ºF after it was inserted, below the 80º room temperature reading it was at.
So what internal temperature are we shooting for to get a perfect medium-rare? As soon as it hits 120ºF remove it. You can even as low as 110ºF if you like it “bloody” rare on the very inside. With that 120ºF goal, notice that I placed that temperature at the “12 o’clock” position, which makes it that much easier to check through the oven window.
O.K., the rib roast is all seasoned up and the thermometer placed and ready to sizzle. Great. Let it sit there. Now fire-up your oven on BAKE or ROAST (not broil) to the hottest it will get, which for most home ovens is about 500ºF. What this high temperature will do is sear the outside and create a crust that will seal the juices within the meat. Sounds good, right? Once the oven is preheated to temperature, place the rib roast in there…
Now close the oven door and, if you can help it, DON’T open the door! Roast at 500ºF for 30 minutes, then reduce the tempurature to 325ºF. That’s it. It will take about 1-1/2 hours total cooking time for most rib roasts to reach that magical 120ºF internal temperature. Plus or minus of course, depending on your even, the size of the roast and other slight variables. That’s why the meat thermometer is such an invaluable tool in cooking perfect “Prime” Rib. It takes all the guesswork out. Just watch for 120ºF and yank it.
This really is an easy job, as the oven does most of the work, but I still would recommend keeping an eye on it. Especially if you’re not familiar with your oven. If you notice the outside is starts to look like it’s burnt, like getting blackened scorched areas, simply cover it with tin foil, wrapped around the thermometer so you can still see that.
Well, time’s up, the thermometer hit 120ºF, time to turn off the oven and remove it!..
Looks great. Now don’t go cutting into just yet! Patience my friend. You need to let it stand for about a half-hour to rest. Cover it with tin foil as it rests on the countertop (in room temperature conditions). This will retain the heat. During this resting period, not only will the residual heat continue to cook it, but it will also allow the juices to redistribute within the meat fibers, so you lose less of that as you cut into it. You DO want succulent, tender and JUICY prime rib, right? This resting period will almost guarantee that! By the time it fully rested, the temperature reading went up about 7ºF, finishing out just under 130ºF when the thermometer was pulled out.
Now get that HUGE cutting board out, and your best meat-cutting knife. Or, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING AN ELECTRIC KNIFE…
This wonder-gadget is very affordable (you can get a basic one from those Wal guys for about $10). The advantage of an electric knife is that its reciprocating cutting action requires less pressure on the meat, resulting in less “juice” loss. This is also an invaluable tool for carving, yes, turkey! Of course, be careful and cut THE MEAT, not YOUR meat (as in fingers). lol
Before you cut slices for serving, first remove the rib bones in one fell swoop. Start from one end of the bones, then just saw away, following the bone as a guide. This makes it SO MUCH EASIER to cut the main part into serving size slices. Sorry, I didn’t get a picture of this step. Next time! But folks, the meat around them bones is arguably the best part. But sorry, the chef gets that! Ha ha!
Time to serve! Using your wonderful electric knife, slice away to each person’s desire…
I cannot even describe how absolutely ONO this tastes!
What’s beautiful about cooking it medium-rare like this, is that there’s actually more medium sections towards the ends, as this cut shown in the photo just above was taken nearer to there, resulting in more medium-medium-rare doneness. There were certainly a few folks who wanted medium, if not well done, so they got the end slices. Us “bloody and still moo’ing” folks opted for the rarest center cuts. Like “buttah”!
So what do you serve with prime rib?
Of course, Au Jus. I make mine “semi-home-made”, using half packaged and half from scratch using the drippings from the pan. What I do is make a pot of the packaged (just add water) stuff on the side. Then with the drippings in the pan, drain the fat (oil), then add about a cup of red wine to deglaze, scraping off the fond “yum yums” from the pan and stir, letting the wine reduce just a bit. Then add about 2 cups of beef broth and about a pat of butter and salt to taste. Stir until that reduces just a bit, skimming off any more fat (this takes a little effort) using a spoon. Then combine this pan-made au jus to the packaged one simmering on the stove. Oh my God! Just pour this on mashed potatoes or rice and it’d be good! lol
Pour Au Jus in a gravy boat for service. Also serve with (bottled) Horseradish.
Side dishes we like are roasted potatoes (which can be done in the same pan with the prime rib), mashed potatoes, baked potato and/or of course, rice. Veggies can be anything from various preparations of broccoli, asparagus or mixed green salad. The simpler the better. Make the star the star: the Prime Rib.
Here’s a photo of a past Easter Sunday Prime Rib feast I prepared, so you can see the entire spread, as it should be shown…
In closing, I’ll say the Prime Rib is a sure guest-pleaser, and easy to do RIGHT as long as you have a meat thermometer, preferably an electric carving knife, and stick with basic seasonings. Even just Kosher salt and pepper would work. But garlic helps! Never mind any other herbs or getting fancy. No need. Let the beef speak. Prime Rib, next to a great steak is the ultimate speaker of all that is BEEF!
So what holiday do we have next? New Year’s Day! And you know what happens then! The Sugar Bowl! Go Warriors! And there’s only one thing that goes with that.. SASHIMI! and POKE! That will be my next post.
Tender slices of beef sirloin, flame-grilled to perfection
Most of us Oahu folks are already familiar with those “$6 steak plate” operations popping up all over the island. You’ll often find them at vendor carts or parking lot grill-outs fronting the neighborhood supermarkets.
Well, the “steaks” have now been raised up a notch in the form of what we have here as Blazin’ Steaks restaurant. Yes, a restaurant. Or should we call it a “Steakhouse”?
Blazin’ Steaks is located on the mauka side of N. King st., across the Kalihi post office, next to the new Honolulu Ford dealership. It’s in what was originally a Pizza Hut restaurant (obvious by the architecture), then superceded by several Filipino restaurants, among other tenants.
Blazin’ Steaks, located at 1314 N. King St., across the Kalihi post office
But don’t walk in expecting to compare them to the likes of Hy’s, Ruths Chris or Morton’s. You won’t find “high maka maka” white table cloths or tableside Caesar salad preparations here. At its core, this is really a take-out operation that just happens to have a nicely appointed dining room with cool air conditioning to sit down and enjoy your meal.
There’s also no wait staff. You simply walk in, order at the front counter, wait for your food, then grab a seat and enjoy, or take it to go.
Here’s the front counter…
The kitchen is in back and out of sight.
The decor is elegantly simple and contemporary, very clean, and even includes a large flat screen TV…
Blazin’ Steaks’ dining room
I’m guessin’ Richard put that TV in not only to entertain his guests, but also so he doesn’t have to call in sick on the day of the Sugarbowl and Superbowl. Ha ha! busted! I tell you, das’ one smart buggah! lol
The menu is simple and streamlined, with everything on it (excluding the 10 oz. steak) running an easy-to-breath (and still have mula for Christmas shopping) $6 bucks!…
.
Blazin’ Steaks menu board
The steaks are simply seasoned with salt and pepper and flame-grilled to order, which you’re asked how you want it done: rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well, or well done. There’s also grilled chicken with a variety of sauces to choose, and catch-of-the-day grilled fish. Everything grilled. Love that! It doesn’t mention a combo’ plate, but you can order that for just a bit more, as you’ll see.
My friend and coworker diner “E” took us here not only to try for the first time, but also as a Christmas present “treat”. Big mahalo braddah “E”!
Time to hit it. I ordered the standard $6 steak plate, which includes 2 scoops rice, green salad and medium drink. Medium-rare steak and ranch dessing on the salad…
8 oz. steak plate (medium-rare) with rice and green salad (Ranch dressing) with drink, $6.00.
Diner “A” ordered also ordered the $6 plate, his opting for medium-well doneness (you’re killing it!) and Thousand Island dressing…
8 oz. steak plate (medium-well) with rice and green salad (Thousand Islands dressing) with drink, $6.00.
Diner “E” ordered a steak and chicken combo plate, which costed just a $1 more…
Steak (medium-rare) and Chicken (Korean BBQ) combo plate with rice and green salad (Italian dressing) with drink, $7.00.
Regardless of chicken, swoon over and witness the steak.. the steak! Back to it, he ordered his chicken in the style of Korean BBQ, which involves the application of a sweetened shoyu and sesame-flavored sauce. He commented that the chicken was tender and moist with nice char-grill markings adding punch, and overall, “oishii desu”! Hoo ha! With the combo, you get half the quantity of each, meaning 4 oz. of steak and half the amount of a regular chicken plate.
All our plates were made to order, which took all about a leisurely 8 or so minutes for pick-up, so when they arrived at the front counter, they were piping hot. What’s helpful not only to the cooks in back, but also to the patron, is that they clearly mark the top of each clamshell plate what is what…
As you see, the top left says the item: (left to right) mr=medium-rare, kc=Korean chicken, mix; 8 oz. steak; 8 oz. steak. And the top right indicates the dressing: (left to right) Italian, Ranch & Thousand Islands. So surely our order can’t be messed up. And it wasn’t.
Also take note of the black color of the plate, providing that much more elegance and presentation value…
In fact, all three of us savored every tender slice of the steak (and diner “E” the chicken). The beef sirloin cut is simply seasoned with just salt and pepper. That’s all we could taste, and it’s perfect that way. Not like Teriyaki meat or Cajun this or that, but STEAK in all its beefy, meaty glory. And they slice it thin, which not only makes it look like more, but makes it easier to chew.
In the top photo macro shot of my plate, you can see how perfectly it was cooked to medium-rare, with a char on the outside, and slightly pink inside. And so, so tender. Just perfect.
And they got all our requested levels of steak doneness correct. High-five to the grill mastah’!
The only thing we noticed was that the rice had too much water, making it soggy. But no biggy. At least it was piping hot, like they just finished cooking it. Perhaps that’s why. It didn’t have time to steam out.
The salad is simply shreds of Iceberg lettuce, with your choice Ranch, Italian or Thousand Islands. While that alone isn’t going to win any awards, it does its job well: to compliment and complete the meal.
Keeping with the streamlined, cost-cutting approach, there’s only one condiment station at a table in front. That includes A-1 steak sauce (my favorite!), Korean BBQ sauce, Ketchup, Thai Sweet & Sour sauce, Worcestershire sauce, shoyu, tobasco, salt & pepper. Eh brah, where da’ chili pepper water? Nah, joke. Da’ A-1 nuff!
I met Richard, the owner and man at the helm. Nice guy. He said he’ll be opening another location in Windward City Shopping Center and also in Kapolei. Smart buggah. He said Blazin’ Steaks is a franchise, so if you see another “Blazin’ Steaks” other than the locations mentioned above, those have different owners.
When we arrived, there were only folks ordering plates to take out, but there were also TONS of orders coming in by phone, as was evident while we waited for our order. Within a few minutes at least 20 plates stacked in plastic bags were brought out atop the counter awaiting their hungry owners to pick them up. By the time we left around noon, the place began to fill up.
At a time when plate lunches are breaking the magic $5 price point, it’s refreshing to know for just a buck more you can have this carnivore’s dream plate. As you chow away at every tender morsel, the bargain-basement price, along with the rather nicely-appointed restaurant interior makes you wonder how you’d ever again want to fork-over easily 3 to 10 times the price at some “fancy-shmancy” joint for essentially the same thing.
$6 steak plates is great, further sweetening the deal with a nice, clean place to sit down with family and friends to enjoy it. By all means stop by Blazin’ Steaks in Kalihi, where it’s not just sizzlin’, but totally blazin’ and highly recommended!!!
Blazin’ Steaks
1314 N. King St.
(next to Honolulu Ford)
847-2529
Phone orders welcome
More on this: Staking out some great steaks (Honolulu Star Bulletin)
*Date and time of visit: 12.27.07 @ 11:30am.
The Tasty Island Rating:
(3) Very Good. Considerable of another visit or purchase. (Supah’ Ono!)
Dave Choo enjoys a SPAM lunch with Anthony Bourdain
Anthony “Bad Boy” Bourdain and crew were in the islands a week ago taping a Hawaii episode for his hit Travel Channel show, “No Reservations”. With that nickname inserted in quotes, I need not re-explain what’s already known about him. See the next link if you don’t.
According to a story publshed a few days ago by the Star Bulletin, his itinerary here included:
• Side Street Inn
• New Uptown Fountain (SPAM files)
• Paradise Cove Luau
• Lewer’s Lounge
• Bailey’s Antiques (where he bought a $2,500 Aloha shirt!)
• Jack Thompson’s B&B (Big Island)
• Lava-Side Inn (Royal Gardens on the Big Island)
Dave Choo, editor-at-large for Hawaii Business Magazine, was one of the lucky few chosen to host a segment, which he recommended they visit Uptown Fountain in Kalihi. According to Dave, the focus of this particular segment was on Hawaii’s love of SPAM. How ironic this happens on the day I had just posted (see previous entry) a ‘SPAM Musubi Showndown’. This is a perfect follow-up!
‘No Reservations’ arrives in Kalihi, a.k.a, “God’s Country”. 12.07.07.
The show begins… roll ‘em!
Dave explains the menu items to Tony
Items ordered at New Uptown Fountain included, yes, a SPAM Musubi, which Dave said Tony really enjoyed. They were also served the house special: SPAM Omelet over 2 scoops of rice, with curry poured over and topped with Kim Chee. Whoah!
Dave noted how professional and polite Tony was; actually almost “geekish” at first impression. But as soon as the camera was on, his bad boy persona came right out. He joked the entire time and even posed for pictures and signed autographs for folks. Very cool.
In Dave’s new blog, he mentions that Anthony also did the following while here:
• The north shore of Oahu for a barbecue with big wave surfers (cool!)
• Puka Dog (Kauai?)
• Ono Hawaiian Food (Oahu)
One thing they missed that really should have been covered was a segment on lunch wagons. Say from Tsukenjo’s and grind ‘em at Ala Moana Beach Park.
Dave and Tony share some Hot Monkey Love
I’m really looking forward to the finished product when it airs on the Travel Channel in 2008. Aside of that Paradise Cove Luau visit, hopefully as a whole it won’t be just another “touristy” travelogue, but a real-life look at hardcore “local style” Hawaii cuisine and lifestyle, as told through the eyes and stomach of a hardcore kinda’ guy. As a fan and regular ‘No Reservations’ viewer, I’m willing to bet it will be, how can I say?… bad *beeping* @ss!
For an absolutely brilliant, fully-detailed report of Anthony Bordain’s visit to New Uptown Fountain, check out Dave’s new blog, Choo On This!!!
Photos in this entry are courtesy of Dave Choo. Mahalo!
Front to back: SPAM, TULIP and TREET Musubi
Back in 2003, a new kid, umm, make that can in town entered Hawaii’s ever-popular luncheon meat market by the name of Tulip Luncheon Hash “with Real Bacon”. With Hawaii statistically being the nation’s largest consumer of Hormel’s SPAM, the distributor of Tulip thought their product, which is imported from Denmark, would be a formidable contender to grab some of that market share.
Soon after its debut, the Honolulu Star Bulletin held and published a TULIP vs. SPAM blind taste test, with results having SPAM maintain its dominance by their judges, both by familiarity of its flavor, and more importantly its brand name. Still, Tulip did prove its worth and stood up to SPAM on almost all aspects, even winning over one of the judges. What Star Bulletin DIDN’T do in that likely fun and tasty (hey, I like that word!) showdown was to pit the two against each other in their truest form… as SPAM MUSUBI!
Funny enough, as long as TULIP has been on our store shelves, this is the first time I’ve tried it, hence why this entry was thought up. Also, I don’t eat luncheon meat that often, but when I do, 95% of the time it’s a musubi.
Another peculiarity is the name: SPAM Musubi. What about “TULIP Musubi”? Or “TREET Musubi”. Does that sound right? Me thinks not. No matter what it’s made out of, it just HAS to be called a SPAM Musubi! What do you think?
So my friends, the saga continues here in 2007, where here I present the first (as far as I could currently NOT find in GOOGLE) comparison of not just SPAM vs. TULIP, but also vs. TREET “SPAM MUSUBI” showdown!
TULIP was on sale at Times Supermarket for $1.99 per can. Regular shelf price was $2.79. I don’t know how much the SPAM or TREET costs, as I already had them in my pantry. TREET is usually the cheapest. I was a bit surprised to find that Foodland no longer stocks TULIP. Neither did our local Safeway.
Looking at the 3 contenders’ unique rectangular-shaped cans from top view…
…you see how TULIP (left) and TREET (middle) share identical tins, which I’m guessing are supplied by the same packaging manufacturer. The unique SPAM can (right) is just a tad wider, but SHORTER than the other two. This may have one think the SPAM has more (or less, depending how you slice it!) than the other two, but in fact they’re all the same in net weight at 12 oz. each.
Like all good food packaging goes, a handy recipe (or two) are provided on the back of the cans…
Must say, in all its 56 grams of fatty glory, that TREET Reuben Sandwich sounds pretty darned good!
Here we reveal how these logs of processed porkies appear out of their colorful tin skin…
The first thing I noticed was TULIP’s absence of any slimy gelatinous “mystery goo” in the can, and was rather dry. TREET had the most “mystery goo”, followed by SPAM which had some, but not as much as the TREET. Just when you thought the mystery was only in the meat. LOL!
Cutting it up. The most common thickness to slice this “local style” is about 1/4″ thick, straight and even across the log. In fact, due to SPAM Musubi being so popular in the islands, there’s even a SPAM Musubi slicer out there, which is made of multiple wires strewn across a lever arm that slices the entire brick in even slices in one fell swoop. Cool. Or you can do the “Waianae Cut” and just cut the whole brick in half. There you go.. two MASSIVE slices of SPAM. lol!
While (like hot dogs) claiming to be “fully cooked” out of the package, to fully enjoy it, luncheon meat should be pan-fried to a golden brown finish in a little bit of cooking oil…
TULIP at front center, SPAM at top left and TREET at top right
Looking at the slices before they’re browned, you can see variations in color and marbling, with treet being noticeably darker. The SPAM is distinguishable from the other two by its wider profile. So with that, if you were to cut all three in equal 1/4″ thick slices, you will indeed get a tad bit more SPAM. lol
Here’s the three fully browned and cooked…
SPAM bottom left, TULIP bottom right and TREET top center
To make this fair, along with the key “musubi” comparo’, I had to try each slice cooked plain like this as well, which I’ll share the results of later.
Now that they’re all fried up, it’s time to make some Musubi!…
Here we have all the essential ingredients: Nori (dried seaweed), Shoyu, Mirin, sugar (in the brown bowl) and an acrylic SPAM Musubi maker molding kit. Behind that package of Nori is a bottle of Rice Vinegar, which I ALWAYS add just a little to the pot of cooked rice to prevent it from molding and prolong its counter life.
Begin by cooking 3-5 cups of white medium-grain rice (I used Hinode, the island favorite!). Make sure you add the proper amount of water, as it’s critical that the rice has enough moisture to hold together when pressed in the musubi maker. Too dry and it will fall apart.
5 cups of cooked Hinode rice
When it’s finished cooking, let the rice fully steam and cool a little, then sprinkle just a little rice vinegar (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) in the pot and “fluff” the rice to combine the vinegar evenly. Now make all your musubi rice molds by pressing in the acrylic musubi maker, one by one, until you have enough to accommodate however many slices of SPAM/TULIP/TREET you’ve cooked.
Prepare the Teri’ glaze. Some folks make their SPAM musubi without the simplified teriyaki glaze, but most vendors in stores make them with it, which really punches out the flavor . I prefer it with it as well.
Simplified Teriyaki glaze for SPAM Musubi:
1/4 cup Shoyu
1/4 cup Mirin
1/4 cup Sugar
Add all ingredients in pan on low heat and stir to combine until sugar melts and reduce until it becomes a slightly thickened glaze.
Give the cooked SPAM/TULIP/TREET slices a quick soak on both sides in the pan of Teri’ glaze…
Looks ono already! Take them out evenly coated, slightly “wet” and transer directly onto your formed musubi rice…
SPAM front center, TREET top left and TULIP top right
Notice how the teri’ glaze soaks into the top layer of the bed of rice… this my friends is “oishii-ville”. LOL!
Finish them by cutting (approx.) 2″ wide strips of nori and wrap. Use a little water on your fingers to help the Nori to bind.
Pau. Itadakimasu!…
Here’s the Tasty Island taster’s results!
Comparison in plain, cooked form:
FLAVOR PROFILES
3 musubi being most to 1 being least (obviously)
Most salty flavor:
SPAM -
TREET -
TULIP -
Most “Porkiest”:
SPAM -
TULIP -
TREET -
Most “Mystery Meat” like:
TREET -
TULIP -
SPAM -
TEXTURE PROFILES
Most moist:
TREET -
SPAM -
TULIP -
Most fibrous and/or chewy:
TULIP -
SPAM -
TREET -
OVERALL PERSONAL FAVORITE (plain)
(and this isn’t a compound result of the scores above)
SPAM -
TULIP -
TREET -
Comparison incorporated as a MUSUBI:
3 musubi being most to 1 being least (obviously)
Compliments (enhances)…
the rice:
TULIP -
SPAM -
TREET -
the nori:
SPAM -
TULIP -
TREET -
the teriyaki sauce:
TREET -
TULIP -
SPAM -
OVERALL PERSONAL FAVORITE (as Musubi)
(once again, this isn’t a compound result of the scores above)
SPAM -
TULIP -
TREET -
Comments
Times Supermarket didn’t have any regular TULIP in stock on my visit, so I had to go with this 25% LESS SODIUM version here. I’m guessing that probably gave it an unfair disadvantage, but still, at least I got an idea of what the stuff is all about. I’ll certainly get a can of the regular TULIP next time and add it to this comparo’ just to be fair and complete.
I must say that Tulip struck me as very DRY, which as you can see in the scores was given a 1, but in reality it was more like -1 in comparison to the others. It certainly was a contender for 1st place in MUSUBI form, but absolutely behind SPAM in and on its own. Some have said the bacon flavor was pronounced, but I didn’t really have that impression; probably again a result of this being the lower-sodium version. It WAS the most “ham” like. Which can be a good thing, depending how you’re using it in the dish.
TREET was the most “Hot Dog” like in both flavor and texture. It just had that “what is this stuff?” thing going on. I gave it 1st place in the “compliments teriyaki sauce” category, as this one really NEEDED that other element of flavor to make it work, and it DID help it in the Musubi. I actually really liked that TREET Musubi!
As you see, SPAM won both the PLAIN and MUSUBI categories. I may be biased towards SPAM (as probably many of us are) because I grew up with that stuff. Still, I believe even someone who’s never tried any of the above would, 9-out-of-10, choose SPAM over the other 2 if given this same taste comparison.
Don’t get me wrong. Each one is has their own individual qualities (aside of any drawbacks), and worth the price, if they’re on sale (I’d never buy any of this stuff at regular price). I actually enjoyed each one in their own way, even enjoying TREET now more as an adult, where which as a kid, didn’t care for at all.
If most locals were given the three musubi varieties here in a blind taste test, I’m willing to bet most would know which brand is which, as they’re all certainly unique in their own way. And I do like all of them for their individual characteristics.
Still, brick-for-brick, wrapped-in-nori-with rice, eggs-with-luncheon-meat-for-breakfast (and perhaps until I get my hands on “regular” TULIP), SPAM is still king and STILL the one and only SPAM MUSUBI!
Okahara’s Saimin - Pomai’s “Deluxe” version
Hawaii’s supermarkets carry two prominent brands of locally-made, FRESH Saimin: S&S (now owned by Sun Noodle) and Okahara’s. What I mean by fresh is the noodles, in which they’re mostly cooked, only requiring a quick dip in boiling water to heat them up. This also means this type of saimin requires refrigeration or freezing for storage.
So enter Okahara’s, which we have here as the “Saimin Lovers Pack”…
As you can see, it’s similar to how S&S packages their fresh Saimin, in what I’ll call, “Semi-Ready-to-Eat Saimin”. Just add garnish.
Inside of this bag, you get 9 packages of 4.5 oz. single serving Saimin…
Each individually-sealed package contains fresh 4.5 oz. of pre-cooked Saimin noodles and a packet of powdered broth.
Let’s start with that broth, because that’s the most important part! Now I’m not a chemist, but if you ask me, this is basically HON DASHI, or Bonito Fish Soup Stock, in powdered form. Here’s the ingredients to Okahara’s “Soup”: Salt, MSG, Sugar, Powdered Bonito, Powdered Soy, Powdered Onion, Caramel Coloring and Green Onion (made in Japan).
Common! That’s just Dashi! Da’ kine’ you use fo’ make Miso Soup. I know it! Don’t get me wrong. Not knocking it. It’s just really so basic, that it begs you to add more stuff to your saimin, as you can with the all the garnishes I’ve added.
Here’s how the contents look unpackaged…
The ingredients for these pre-cooked noodles are: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Ascorbic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin added as dough conditioner), Water, Salt & Potassium Carbonate.
“Cooking” this type of saimin simply requires a quick 2 minute boil in water, then serve. The instructions say to add the powdered soup into the water with saimin as it boils, but I opt to mix it directly in my serving bowl with hot water, so I can adjust the intensity of the broth. That’s the “Ramen” in me. lol
That first bowl I pictured above was my girlfriend’s, as she doesn’t care for green onions, so I kept them whole (for presentation purposes), which she simply fished out.
Here’s my “Supah’ Deluxe Saimin”…
Okahara’s Saimin - Pomai’s “Supah’ Deluxe” version
“Supah Deluxe Saimin” eh? So what do we mean by that? Well my friends, it’s all about the toppings. The “icing on the cake” if you will.
First witness not 1, not 2, but EIGHT pieces of fried SPAM. That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Then take hold of not 1 but FIVE slices of Kamaboko fish cake. Throw in half of a hard-boiled egg and CHOKE green onions, and that’s it. These are the CORE ingredients of what we consider “Local-Style Saimin”. Another popular (local style) meat option to SPAM or luncheon meat is Charsiu (Chinese roast pork), which is actually my preference, but I didn’t have any on-hand for this occasion.
So how does Okahara’s compare to S&S? In my opinion, along with a few of my coworkers, Okahara’s broth has more flavor. S&S is bland by comparison. But really, we ARE just talking about a basic Dashi broth, aren’t we? Also, as many locals often do, adding shoyu for a “boost” is protocol. Also keep in mind that I’m a Japanese style Ramen fanatic, so Saimin “broth” really is substandard for me, but hey, that’s only if we’re nitpicking. I still love this stuff!
If you’ve ever been to Hamura’s on Kauai (they won a James Beard award), then you get a sense of what Okahara’s tastes like. This is just your everyday Saimin that does what it’s supposed to do: taste like Saimin, do a great job at it, and most of all, satisfy your hunger. It does that, and does it on time and on budget. This package of 9 single servings cost just $3.99 on sale at Marukai. What a bargain!
It really comes down to how you garnish Saimin to your liking. Right out the package it isn’t going to “wow” you. But when you “Go Fo’ Broke” like I did here, then it’s the ultimate.
A while back I posted an entry about S&S’ ready-to-serve bowl…
S&S Saimin - Ready-to-Eat Bowl
Well, Okahara’s also has a competing product…
Okahara’s Saimin - Ready-to-Eat Bowl
Renote in the S&S bowl that I added Menma, which are marinated bamboo shoots. Otherwise it includes the 1 piece of luncheon meat, Kamaboko (fish cake) and green onions.
Now, looking at the Okahara’s Saimin ready-to-eat bowl, it includes Kamaboko, along with a significantly-more generous helping of sliced luncheon meat (like SPAM), along with a generous amount of sliced eggs (omelet), along with fresh sliced green onions. Nice. These ready-to-eat bowls are a godsend for work, and BLOW any “Cup Noodle” stuff out the park. Now if they’d only do this with Ramen!
A great way to enjoy Saimin, which I learned from a friend a long time ago, is to enjoy it along with a hamburger. Instead of french fries, have a Saimin!
Yes, Saimin is one of the true culinary icons that represent Hawaii’s plantation heritage, where cultures blended and came up with the perfect comfort food. Gotta’ love Saimin!
P.S. If you want to see one version of “non-soup” Saimin, that would be in the form of the Somen Salad…
As you can see, this Somen Salad is from Zippy’s. It’s made up of Somen Noodles, which are skinnier and more delicate than Saimin Noodles, garnished with chopped ham, Kamaboko, egg, cucumber, and green onion, served over a bed of mixed green lettuce, along with a sesame and shoyu dressing that you pour over it upon digging in.
The other version is the local style fried noodles, which I’ll post later when I order some.
Last nigh