Before I continue, let me ask, is a single Hershey’s Kisses called a “Kiss”? Or do you still use the plural form and call it a “Kisses”? These are the questions that spin in my mind. lol

The local supermarkets and mega-marts have recently been promoting Hershey’s Kisses with Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts, putting them out on power aisle stacks and end caps. Of course this had a huge signature on The Tasty Island’s radar, so a package landed on our office’ snack table.

Hershey’s Kisses with Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts- 8 oz, $3.99 (sale price)

Actually Diner E purchased it, so big mahalo to him for that!

If you’re wondering why Hershey’s and Mauna Loa are on the same package, it’s because Hershey’s bought the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut company back in 2004. I did not now that! I need to read the business section of the newspaper more often.

While I’m not a chocolate fanatic in and of itself, if it’s got nuts in it, sign me up!

Let’s look under the wrapper and see what we have here…

I really dig the “Aloha” on the paper tag. Very nice touch. How’s about if they put “Honi Honi” which means “kiss-kiss” in Hawaiian. There ya’ go! On the right Kiss(es), you can see the Macadamia Nut protruding the chocolate shell, giving you the impression that the thing is “all nut”.

Let’s see how one looks by cross-section view…

Wow! Half of an entire Macadamia Nut. This one is “cherry”! Or, um, “nutty”! As it turned out, that was a lucky pick to cut in half, as most of the other Kisses in the bag had chopped nuts in bit and pieces in them. Enough to distinguish the nut’s flavor, but not as good as the ones with larger pieces such as that one. I’d say about a third of the ones I ate had good-sized nuts, while the rest were leaning toward bits and pieces.

The milk chocolate is Hershey’s standard issue, and one I have high respect for, both in quality, taste and texture. You can certainly distinguish a Hershey’s Chocolate from Hawaiian Host, that’s for sure. Both excellent in their own right.

At $3.99 for an 8 oz. package, that’s higher than their regular Kisses, and something of consideration when you can buy a 7 oz. gift box of Hawaiian Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts for around two dollars. Still, if you’re into Macadamia Nuts and the flavor of Hershey’s Chocolate, this is certainly something you need to try.

The Tasty Island Rating:

(2) Good. I’m glad I tried it. (Ono)

Note: Relatively high price and dominant Kisses with only bits and pieces of Macadamia Nuts gives this a lower rating.

Related Links:
• Hershey’s Kisses with Macadamia Nuts - Candy Addict review
• Nuts for Kisses - Honolulu Advertiser
• Hershey’s Will Join Mac Nut Industry - Star Bulletin

Coming soon! The Tasty Island “Hawaiian Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nut Smackdown”!…

Hurricane Popcorn

Jiffy Pop

With the the summer blockbuster movie season in full swing, I thought it was a fitting time to discuss popcorn.

Just as unique as SPAM Musubi is to the islands, another similar east-meets-west local favorite is “Hurricane Popcorn”. If you go to a movie theater here, chances are you’ll see the locals combining mochi crunch (a.k.a. Arare or Rice Cracker) with popcorn in their cardboard box tray.

According to Hawaii Popcorn Company, registered trademark name owner and maker of “Hawaiian Hurricane” Popcorn, it was created in 1991 in Kaneohe, having their beginnings serving this delicacy out of a pushcart.

Let’s take a closer look.

It comes in a box of three 6 oz. packages…

Each package looks to be ready for resale, including complete information on back and a peg-hook puka (hole)…

Unpacking it, you see it’s like a kit…

This “kit” includes a bag of standard-sized, plain, unsalted microwave popcorn, a packet (in silver) of Mochi Crunch and Furikake, an artificially-flavored butter packet and a folded empty plastic mixing bag to combine everything.

Here’s the contents of the mochi crunch and furikake packet…

Mochi Crunch is a lightly sweetened, soy sauce-flavored rice cracker. Furikake comes in a variety of combinations and ingredients nowadays, but the one used here is a very basic sweetened nori (dried seaweed) flakes (teriyaki style) and sesame seeds and that’s it.

You simply nuke the microwave popcorn bag on high, which takes about 3-1/2 minutes. Then you let it cool so it doesn’t melt the plastic mixing bag. After about a minute to cool down, transfer it into the mixing bag, along with the mochi crunch and furikake and butter…

The instructions recommends to mix the dry ingredients before adding the butter (flavored, colored oil), which is what I did, and it combined evenly like a charm. Nice. You gently shake it around while holding the top of the bag closed.

And voila, Hurricane Popcorn!…

Hurricane Popcorn is like the non-meat equivalent to SPAM Musubi. It has the same complimentary contrast the nori provides, which in this case, instead of rice is popcorn, while the Mochi Crunch acts like the SPAM, providing that savory, robust element. It really is a perfect, genius match!

The best part of eating Hurricane Popcorn is at the end, where the Mochi Crunch-to-Popcorn ratio is much higher due to the mochi cruch falling to the bottom…

This is the point where you don’t share the bowl. lol

Popcorn tends to bring out the kid in us, where speaking of which, remember Jiffy Pop? I used to LOVE Jiffy Pop! I was shopping at Safeway on Kapahulu last weekend, when I came upon the popcorn section and spocked Jiffy Pop on the shelf. Wow, they still make that? Awesome! So I picked up a couple of ‘em to try once again…

This Jiffy Pop was $2.50 each, and there was just one flavor: butter.

Is that a teflon coating on the bottom?…

Here’s the instructions, which are under the cardboard lid label…

I remember as a kid, I always wanted to sabotage (but never did it, because I knew better) the foil by puncturing it before my sister started popping it lol…

So I followed the instructions precisely, and within under a minute it started popping away, taking just about 2-1/2 minutes to finish, which is “jiffy” indeed, beating out the microwave stuff by a minute!…

Another thing I remember was being afraid the thing was gonna’ explode on the stove, and I must confess, I kinda’ got a little nervous, even now. lol

There you have it, Jiffy Pop!…

I was rather disappointed in the quality of the popcorn with this Jiffy Pop. It’s manufactured by Con Agra, which might explain their lack of focus on this product vs. if it were manufactured by say, Orville Redenbacher. It was a little too salty and soggy and chewy in texture. Not horribly, but enough to desire better.

Still, it was fun making it, and certainly something you should try (again) just for old time’s sake. Even better if you have children. You’ll get a kick in their reaction as the foil grows with every explosive kernel. I can almost guarantee at least one of them will get scared and hide or run away. Lotta’ fun!

Well, it’s a Saturday, and I just might make it over to the Consolidated Ward to catch Bat Man: Dark Knight, tempted to smuggle in a “Hurricane Handy-Pack” of Furikake and Mochi Crunch!

Related Links:
• www.HawaiiPopcornCompany.com
• Jiffy Pop (Wikipedia)

Click on the poster above to listen to the music of The Tikiyaki Orchestra!

If you’re a fan of exotica music from the 50’s and 60’s by such legends as Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman & Les Esquivel, or surf rock guitar god Dick Dale, then I highly recommend you check out The Tikiyaki Orchestra. What started as a one-man studio band, has now turned into a true “orchestra” if you will, doing gigs all over California, where my friend “Tikiyaki” resides. He also owns a property in Hilo.

Jim Bacchi, a.ka. “Tikiyaki”, is the man behind this modern Polynesian Pop group, turning out catchy tunes such as “Mai Tais on the Moon”, “Crossing Kilauea” and “Ali’i Fire Dance”. Just listening to this exotic music will virtually transport you to a tropical island beach as you gaze out at the blue skies and ocean while sipping on a Mai Tai.

But what happens when the sun goes down? Head for the Tiki Lounge of course! It’s wonderful to see the Tikiyaki Orchestra now has a permanent place to gig at the “Hidden Village”, a banquet room located at the Kona Restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, California.

The Tikiyaki Orchestra kicked off their inaugural performance there this past Friday evening. Here’s some photos from the event…

Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki

The Tikiyaki Orchestra performs live in celebration of the grand opening of the “Hidden Village” at the Kona Restaurant in Huntington Beach, California. Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki

Jim “Tikiyaki” is the man in center behind the red pedestal on keyboards. He also plays lead guitar.

Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki

Kitsch Polynesian decor abound…

Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki

Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki

Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki

I dig Tiki Lounges.

Check out this cool limited edition mug they have for sale…

The Tikiyaki Orchestra Hukilau Mug - Front and back

Tikiyaki’s absolutely gorgeous fiance (on the right) and her daughter (in orange)

Looks like everyone there had a “Tiki Wiki” good time!

For more photos and discussion about the Hidden Village grand opening, check out the Tiki Forum message board here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While The Tikiyaki Orchestra jams out “Mai Tais on the Moon”, Author Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi offers yet another fresh look at this classic exotic tropical drink in her new book, aptly titled “The New-Wave Mai Tai”…

I just received this press release (<–view/download the PDF at that link) announcement today…

****************************************************************

The New-Wave Mai Tai: New Twist on an Old Favorite

The mai tai — that most tropical of tropical drinks — has come a long way from the early days of Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber. Now Hawai‘i publisher Watermark Publishing has released The New-Wave Mai Tai, a refreshing concoction of more than 50 cutting-edge mai tai recipes, along with dazzling photos, first-person encounters and fascinating historical tidbits.

In this colorful, 138-page book, author Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi traces the rich, swashbuckling story of rum —the mai tai’s principal ingredient — and explores the origins of the famed drink, including the eternal debate over whether Trader Vic or Don the Beachcomber actually created it. Most important, she shares more than 50 innovative and easy-to-follow recipes that tweak the old classic with eye-opening new ingredients from schnapps to sherbet: the Mai Tai-Jito, Sassy Wahine, Smooth Shredder and many others. These creative cocktails from bartenders and watering holes throughout Hawai‘i go far beyond what Don or Vic ever
imagined.

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is an award-winning travel journalist who has covered Hawai‘i, Asia and the South Pacific for numerous local and national publications, including Travel + Leisure, Fodor’s, Contra-Costa Times, Chicago Sun Times, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, HAWAII, Hawai‘i Westways, Hawaiian Style and Modern Luxury. She is the author of 10 books about Hawai‘i; The New Wave Mai Tai is her second title for Watermark Publishing. Her first, The Hawai‘i Beer Book: Bars, Breweries & Beer Cuisine, was released in 2007.

The New-Wave Mai Tai (ISBN 978-0-9815086-1-0) is available for $15.95 at bookstores and other retail outlets, or direct from the publisher at www.bookshawaii.net. Contact Watermark Publishing, 1088 Bishop St., Suite 310, Honolulu, HI 96813; telephone (80 587-7766; toll-free (866) 900-BOOK; fax (80 521-3461; e-mail sales@bookshawaii.net.

****************************************************************

Just from what I’ve seen on the press release, the photography looks fantastic, as do the recipes, such as this “Mai Tai-Jito” from Duke’s…

If I go to Duke’s Waikiki Outrigger on the Beach this weekend, I’ll order one of these!

Other drinks mentioned in the press release that are featured in the book include the “Mango’d Mai Tai Blues”, “Pakini Mai Tini” and the “Smooth Shredder”.

Hey, I want my very own “Po-Mai Tai”!

“The New Wave Mai Tai” will be available in August 2008 at most local bookstores and retail outlets, and also directly online from the publisher here.

Related Links:
• The Tikiyaki Orchestra official site
• Kona Restaurant in Huntington Beach
• Tiki Central Forums
• Watermark Publishing

Since this is a food blog, I’ll start this post by sharing with you this beautiful tray of Choux Creme “Cream Puff” pastries our Nihongin tomodachi, Kachan brought for us yesterday as omiyage to celebrate July 4th. Arigato gozaimasu, Kachan! Oishii desu!

Kachan’s Choux Creme with Rasberry

Kachan’s Choux Creme covered in Chocolate

Yummy.

July 4th, 2008 was the first year for the Hawaii Kai neighborhood to host a community-sponsored Fireworks display. Food booths and entertainment were provided at Maunalua Bay Beach Park, located on the shoreline where Keahole street intersects with Kalani’ana’ole highway, across Roy’s Restaurant.

Following are some photos from the event.

A small arsenal for the house party, including paperless firecrackers, morning glory sparklers, fountains and ground bloom flowers…

The games are on at Kuliou’ou Beach Park…

Shootin’ some hoops before the fireworks start shootin’…

The grass strip in front of Maunalua Bay Beach Park’s parking lot…

The grass lawn in front of Roy’s Restaurant…

Food & misc. vendor booth tents…

Quite a crowd…

A squall forms off the shore of Niu Valley…

Anticipation is high for the start of the fireworks display…

The featured entertainer on stage was Hawaii Kai resident, Henry Kapono…

Emcee duty was provided by Hawaiian KINE 105fm’s Billy V. and KGMB news anchor Kim Gennaula and husband/weather guy, Guy Hagi…

Without further ado, let the show begin!…

The pyrotechnics were staged off a barge located fairly close to shore, not far from the Kaiser Estate in Portlock….

The reflection off the calm waters of Maunalua Bay DOUBLED the intensity of the fireworks….

It was a fantastic fireworks display which lasted a good 20 minutes. I heard the company who did the Hawaii Kai show also did the Ala Moana show. I hope they do it again in Hawaii Kai next year!

Earlier that day I fired up some chicken on the grill…

My preparation is simple: just Hawaiian Salt, fresh cracked pepper and a little shoyu. Nuff. Winnahz.

That was a fun 4th of July Friday! I hope yours was as well.

Au (a.k.a. Kajiki or Pacific Blue Marlin) sauteed in canola oil (left side), and lard (right side)

Last week I did a post about rendering pure lard from pig’s fat, hoping to become enlightened by the said virtues of cooking with it.

As mentioned before, Diner E swears the best Akule he ever had was one his friend pan-fried simply with garlic and lard, which he claims was just awesome.

Going through various online articles and message board threads, it appears unanimous that lard is superior to commercial cooking oils and shortening not only in flavor, but also for your health,

Since fresh hooked Akule wasn’t available in the supermarket over the past week (it just was at Marukai a few weeks ago!), I went with Au (a.k.a. Kajiki or Pacific Blue Marlin) to test what this hype about lard is all about.

What I like about using Marlin for this test, is that it can be a dry fish if overcooked, so it was the perfect choice to gauge the benefits of cooking with lard.

So I prepared two dishes to sample with: Macadamia Nut Crusted Au (Marlin) with a Mango Salsa and Sauteed Au (lightly seasoned with garlic salt and cracked pepper) with Ginger-Infused Ponzu (citrus soy) Butter Sauce and Stir-Fried Bok Choy (Chinese cabbage). Note that I didn’t include a starch (like rice), as I wasn’t out to make a meal out this.

Here’s about 3/4 lb. of fresh Au Fillet…

The other set was seasoned simply with garlic salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Here’s a spoonful of cold rendered lard…

After hitting a hot pan, it quickly melts, resembling regular cooking oil…

The other pan (not shown) had Wesson® Canola Oil for the this comparison.

So I sauteed them until golden brown and cooked through, then plated them up for the taste test.

Here’s the Mac Nut Crusted Au, served with Mango Salsa (store-bought from Costco, fantastic B-T-W!), sauteed in Canola Oil…

A close-up of a cut piece from the plate above..

Mac Nut Crusted Au with Mango Salsa (Canola oil)

Here’s the Mac Nut Crusted Au with Mango Salsa, this one sauteed in lard….

A close-up of a cut piece from the plate above..

Mac Nut Crusted Au with Mango Salsa (lard)

And here’s the Au with Ginger-infused Ponzu Butter sauce and stir-fried Bok Choy, sauteed in Canola oil…

A close-up of a cut piece from the plate above…

Au with Ginger-infused Ponzu Butter sauce and stir-fried Bok Choy (Canola oil)

Au with ginger-infused Ponzu butter sauce and stir-fried Bok Choy, this one sauteed using lard…

A close-up of a cut piece from the plate above…

Au with ginger-infused Ponzu butter sauce and stir-fried Bok Choy (lard)

So what’s the difference?

First of all, the lard seemed more forgiving about NOT burning the fish while in the medium (just below medium high) heat pan. Whereas the Canola oil began to darken the macadamia nut crust on the fish much faster. Actually, the underside of the Mac Nut Crusted Au on that plate is dark brown.. almost burnt, but not quite. Of course I plated it with the good side facing up. Even if you look at the non-crusted Au in the Ponzu butter sauce, you can see the one sauteed in Canola oil is a bit darker. They say lard has a higher smoking point, so that must be why it’s more forgiving here.

I must note, I was fair about the cooking method as well, using the same heat (medium) and type of saute pan (stainless steel) for both the oil and the lard.

How did they compare in taste and texture?

I tend to cook my fish just under medium, so with that said, both were moist and tender, but the lard version seemed a bit more “buttery” in texture if you will, while the Au sauted in Canola oil seemed a bit “tighter” if you will. Just a bit. Not much though.

Taste-wise, in my opinion, the Au that was sauteed in lard had a slightly richer and “expressive” flavor, but just by a slim margin. Just enough where someone might ask, “how did you cook this”? My girlfriend prefered the ones sauteed in Canola, noting that it tasted lighter, which she preferred. She also immediately knew which one was in lard and which one was cooking with oil in an initial “blind” taste test I administered to her. So that alone says, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.

I don’t think the lard version “blew away” the Canola Oil, though. At least not here where they were sauteed in just enough cooking fat so as to not burn in the pan. Actually, I was a little more generous in the amount of lard used in order to impart its flavor more. So with that I also added an equal amount of Canola oil on that side.

I think if you deep fry or use lard in a pie crust, where it becomes more of the consumed part of the food, is where you’d really notice the difference. Perhaps I’ll try fish ‘n chips next time, if I render enough more fat to deep fry with. That’s the only reason I didn’t try that, is I didn’t have enough lard for it on this first run.

As for the dish itself, the Au with the Mac Nut crust and Mango Salsa was awesome, and so was it with the ginger-infused Ponzu butter sauce. Honestly, I would order either of these two dishes in a restaurant. I really liked the how the fruity mango complimented the Mac nut. My girlfriend really liked the latter, actually preferring it switched, with the Mac Nut crusted Au in the Ponzu butter sauce. Switched around either way, it was delicious.

The Mac Nut crusted Au was easy to make. Season the Au lightly with salt and pepper, then dip in an egg wash, then in a bowl of finely chopped Macadamia nuts and pat it on until evenly coated. Normally Panko (bread crumbs) are added into the mixture, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I just used the nuts. Nuts. Then sauté until golden brown and cooked through. Plate with the Mango Salsa (or Ponzu butter sauce, up to you) and garnish.

chopped mac nuts..

The ginger-infused Ponzu butter sauce is easy. Bring 1/2 cup Ponzu (store-bought) to a boil, then reduce to simmer and add minced ginger and 1 tablespoon of cold butter and whisk until the butter melts and is fully incorporated. Let stand for at least 10 minutes to bring out the ginger flavor. Whisk again just before plating. The Au that was plated with that was seasoned with garlic salt and fresh cracked black pepper, then sauteed. After the fish was done cooking, I stir-fried coursely chopped Bok Choy quickly (just until wilted) in the same pan.

Well that sure was a tasty test!

**************************************************************

About a week ago, I also sautéed Monchong in lard just to get a taste of cooking with it.

Monchong a.k.a. Pomfret is one my favorite fish. It’s flesh is white and it tastes similar to mahimahi, except it’s more oily, making it a bit more flavorful, tender and delicate. Because it’s oily, it’s a great fish for steaming, though sautéing like we’re doing here is great too. It’s usually brought in as by-catch from longline ahi boats, so it’s not always available. Surprisingly, when it is, the market price is amazingly very affordable. Wahoo! Oh, that’s Ono. I mean, woohoo!

Here’s a 1 lb. cut of Monchong that I picked up from the Kapahulu Safeway. It’s seasoned lightly with Hawaiian sea salt…

Then I dredged it in flour and off into the pan..

Notice how nice and golden brown the color is. This seems to be one of the benefits of sautéing with lard.

I plated it with a ginger and cilantro chinese pesto sauce..

Here’s a look at a cut piece of this Monchong up close…

How did it taste?

Extremely moist and buttery-tender, though the monchong is already an oily white-flesh fish, so cooking it in motor oil would probably taste just as good. Actually, I’ve prepared this same dish a few times before, except I steamed the Monchong. It’s awesome like that.

As for the Chinese Ginger Pesto sauce, that stuff is great on just about any white meat, whether its chicken, pork or fish. I poured a little too much of it on this plate though, where it kinda’ drowned out the virtues of the lard - if there were any - which may have enhanced the flavor of the Monchong. Not that this a bad thing. Heck, I gotta’ admit this lard-sauteed Monchong and Chinese Ginger Pesto dish rocked!

I’d say lard is certainly something to at least try, as it just might add that “oomph” your dish needed. Of course, anything cooked in fat, whether it’s lard or vegetable oil, should be consumed in moderation. But when taste and texture are what counts most, lard is something to consider.

Related links:
• Praise the Lard
• The Skinny on Fats (Benefits of Lard)

Primo Beer Island Lager 6-pack bottles, $8.99 (sale price) at Foodland in Aina Haina

Back in January of this year, I wrote about the return of Primo Beer to the Hawaii market. But what I think was a blunder is that either the bartender or server at The Shack Hawaii Kai screwed my order up (very rare to happen there) and brought us something else on tap in that draft pitcher.

Reason I say this, is that recently I returned to The Shack and ordered Primo on tap again to retry and received this…

And this second time around was WAY BETTER and far different than that first time try in back in January. This one was much “fruitier”, with a smooth bite, neutral finish, while being slightly sweet, zesty and fragrant. Nice, nice, nice. It tastes more like a hand-crafted microbrew than a mass-produced product.

So recently while in Foodland Aina Haina, I noticed they (finally) brought in 6-pack bottles of Primo, which were on “sale” for $8.99/pack (regular 11.99.. ouch!), which puts it a few bucks more (sale price) than green-bottled European brews.

This is also the only size available in stores, as there are no “cold packs” (12 bottles) or cases. That is, unless you ask the clerk for a case from the stock room.

Thankfully, upon tasting this bottled version, it tasted exactly like that >second< draft pitcher I had from the shack, and looked the same in color, sans the “head”…

Notice I poured it into a collectible “Triple 777″ glass I got from my recent trip to Vegas at the microbrew restaurant in Main Street Station Hotel & Casino where we stayed. This is fitting, as if you stay there, all you see is locals who will likely know what Primo Beer is. lol

Along with the great new recipe (I really like it!), another appealing selling point is the cool label and classic logo they retained on the brown bottle…

That is one cool beer label! And if that ain’t cool enough for you, check out the cap!…

I’d like to see one of these added on to Zack (Ozzy Osbourne) Wylde’s Les Paul!…

And you don’t think I’d have a Primo beer without pupus, do you?…

Smoked Tako…

Dry Ika…

Smoked Ika (squid rings)…

From Tamura’s Market…

So next time you’re in the supermarket, swing by the liquor department and see if they have the new Primo Beer 6-pack bottles in stock. If get, pick one up and give it a shot, then let us know what YOU think!

And if you’re on the mainland or elsewhere around the world asking how to get this beer, my only answer is to come to Hawaii. Apparently the production (it’s brewed and bottled in California, so go figure) is currently limited and available to our market only. Hey, think of it as a good excuse to take a Hawaii vacation!

Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino Las Vegas - a view at night from the Palms

…often returns to Hawaii. Or perhaps doesn’t return, depending how you did in the casino.

Whew, Just got back from Las Vegas and what a blast!

As a first-timer here, everyone was telling me “beginner’s luck” this and that, but still, I didn’t do much gambling, as it’s not my bag. At least with what little I did, on my last night out at the Palms Playboy Hotel & Casino, I finished out winning enough to put me “ahead” and not in the hole. So not bad.

We booked our trip through Vacations Hawaii, which included a 5 day and 5 night stay at Sam Boyd’s Main Street Station Hotel and Casino…

That card is the hotel room key

The package included R/T airfare with their own charter, Omni Air International airlines. With that, you might think “sardine can flight”. Yep., you’re right!…

Omni Air International/Vacations Hawaii Las Vegas charter - Boeing 757 coach class

How those “big braddahs” lasted over 5 hours in flight sitting in one of these chairs is beyond me.. but they did! Speaking of “big braddahs”, our flight was ALL LOCALS. I’m pretty sure almost everyone onboard were familiar with the words “mahalo”, “howzit” and “Spam Musubi”. lo

At least it included an inflight meal, which offered a choice of ham or turkey sandwich, along with crackers and cheese and a chocolate bar and juice, soda or water. Not bad. It also included a “dessert”, which was ROCK HARD FROZEN ice cream cookie sandwich. Actually pretty good, once it softened up.

Main Street Station Casino is one of 3 sister Sam Boyd hotels located in the downtown Las Vegas area, along with the adjoining California Hotel & Casino, and a block up, the Fremont, located at the center of the Fremont Experience.

Main Street Station Hotel & Casino - Casino area

Our room was located on one of the lower floors on the north side, overlooking the beautiful freeway and the Mount Charleston range.

One thing you don’t see in Hawaii that you see all over Vegas are MASSIVE billboards…

Many of them now are high tech, and employ massive electronic video screens.

The room itself was spacious and clean, with two comfy queen beds, although I was disappointed there wasn’t a refrigerator. Wassup wit dat? I was going to request one (or a room change), but didn’t bother, as we didn’t spend much time in there, except to sleep, anyway. But still. Points minus for that. Otherwise, the staff was very friendly and accommodating and (quite large) property nicely kept and presented.

Actually, when it comes to hotels in Vegas, “property” truly is an understatement. These arent “just properties”, but more like CITIES… KINGDOMS… PALACES… TEMPLES, or any other grand term you can think of. The gist of it is, most hotels here are, on an architectural and social, and economic stature level, bigger than life.

We got to visit all the major names on the strip, including the MGM Grand…

The New York…

The Paris…

Could this slot machine, located in the Paris, be the biggest in the world?…

The Venetian…

This may look like day time, but this is actually at night, and “sky” is painted on the ceiling and lit up to appear like it’s daylight. Amazing. I just missed a couple being serenaded in a gondola (shown just leaving that bridge in the background).

Attention to detail is the name of the game in hotel design in Vegas, as shown here of this Michelangelo replica painted on the ceiling of a junction area on the lobby level at the Venetian..

The Luxor…

The Mandalay Bay…

The Excalibur…

Of course, we had to catch the water fountain show at the Bellagio…

Gotta’ dig how they have those “power blasts” that almost sound like fireworks when they shoot high and straight upwards. The stereophonic, hifi sound is also fantastic, with weatherproof speakers mounted above in the street lights surrounding the massive pool fronting the hotel. We caught two “performances”, including one that was opera and one a pop country song.

If you stop by the Bellagio, don’t forget to check out the garden at the backside of their lobby main entrance. It’s almost surreal…

What’s amazing is just about ALL the foliage in here is LIVE, not fake plants, right down to the moss that makes up this bear’s vest…

Even those sunflowers are all REAL!

They even had this miniature version of the hotel grounds, including a working fountain show!…

In downtown, we “did” the Fremont Experience, as well as the Fremont Hotel, Plaza and Golden Nugget.

Fremont Experience on a busy Saturday night

The Golden Nugget has a new attraction at their pool in the form of a water slide where you travel through a shark tank via a clear acrylic tunnel. There’s some huge sand tiger sharks in that bugger…

Click on image to see the sharks! Note, those two sand tiger sharks are at least 8 ft. in length. Huge.

Hawaii never escapes you when you’re in Vegas, as is (again) evident by this ABC store located on Fremont street…

And there’s certainly no shortage of all that is sexy and cool in Vegas. Check out this very cool “Smokin’ Chopper” they had on display in front of Rub BBQ restaurant and bar in the Rio Hotel and Casino…

Kikaida ain’t got nothin’ on this side car motorcycle!

Speaking of BBQ smokers, how about the food? Well, our Vacations Hawaii package included a voucher good for 3 meals a day at any of Sam Boyd’s stable of hotels…

Notice the date is punched through the entire voucher book, and is no longer valid after that. So, sorry, but you can’t pass any unused vouchers here on to a loved one who might be visiting Vegas a month or two later.

Even without vouchers, these casinos know how to draw people by offering mad prices in their restaurants, like this!…

$7.95 Prime Rib, including All-You-Can Salad Bar and Dessert?! Oh my, this would never last without the primary income of a casino here in the islands.

Most of our vouchers were used at the Garden Court Buffet, since it’s located conveniently in the Main Street Hotel where we were staying…

Garden Court is heralded as one of the best buffets in the SB chain, so lucky us.

An assortment of Italian, Greek and American antipasti style salads, along with a bass covered in Marinara sauce in the center

Of course what I’m showing here is just scratching the surface of this $2-out-of-pocket buffet. There’s everything from local food (Kalua Pig, Hawaiian Beef Stew, Manapua), to southern fried chicken and collard greens, roast beef, omelet station, pizza, fresh fruits, salad bar, pastries, pies and soft serve ice cream. Something for everyone, that’s for sure.

And if this “budget” buffet weren’t enough, we also had the dinner buffet at the MGM Grand Buffet, and the Carnival Buffet at the Rio, which were both just under $28 for a selection that’s just head spinning. Prime Rib, made-to-order steaks, Teppanyaki station, crab legs, you name it, they had it. The latter even included an “Asian Soup” station that had a most delicious made-to-order Pho. These “mega buffets” blow whatever we have here on Oahu through the dinner table cloth.

Once again, it’s the attention to detail that is most impressive here. Just look at this trellis design adorning the ceiling at the Garden Court restaurant…

As for Omiyage, I went by a few folk’s suggestions and stopped by Trader Joe’s in an off-the-strip strip mall…

And picked up a bunch of snacks…

Also got a couple of things from Vegas 808, a store located on the mezzanine level of the California Hotel…

Many folks like to bring home beef jerky from here, but I find Honolulu has enough beef jerky already, and not that much of a novelty…

So instead we got several cans of the Cinnamon Bagels and Smoked Salmon Jerky…

They also had these dried beef and pork items…

Vegas 808’s Cinnamon Bagel…

Smoked Salmon Jerky…

If you’re a Hawaii expat living in Vegas, you may miss the beach, but apparently you’re not missing the grinds, as was apparent by a few “local” plate lunch stands located in the outskirts of town…

At this particular place named Maui Rose, they had the usual suspects, including Loco Moco, Chicken Katsu, Kal Bi (it’s operated by Korean Americans), and what you see above, all at a reasonable price with decent portions.

Scoping out the restaurant chains around the city and outskirts of Las Vegas, there were just a few names I noticed that we DON”T have here on Oahu.

One of those that I finally got to try was In-N-Out Burger…

They’re named “In-N-Out” because of their simple menu which includes just a few burger options, fries, milk shakes and soda. That’s it. I like that.

So how was it? First of all the burgers are griddled, not flame grilled, so minus points on that. They’re topped with a savory onion mixture that taste like the Lipton powdered soup mix in flavor. This adds lots of flavor, but I’m not sure if it really helped it or detracted from it. Perhaps an acquired taste. Must say the fresh lettuce and tomato, along with a supple bun certainly helped it, but otherwise it was a more greasy, yet slightly better burger than McDonald’s, for whatever you take that as. And fries? They tasted undercooked, as their process involves cooking them from scratch potatoes. They were also undersalted, adding to the blandness. Even with the addition of salt which they provided, it hardly helped, nor did ketchup.

Then again, at the time of our stop here, I wasn’t exactly hungry (yet), so that may have contributed to my less-than-stellar opinion of the food. If for anything else, In-N-Out is easy on the wallet at just under $4 for a burger, fries and drink.

In-N-Out was actually a stop we made after visiting Hoover Dam…

Which is fed by the waters of Lake Mead, which as you can see by the “bathtub ring” of the whitened rocks where the waterline once was, that it’s getting frighteningly low….

Doing double duty, not only were we here for a vacation, but also to attend a family member’s high school graduation, which took place at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center…

I noticed the flower vendors there at the graduation were selling fresh Orchid and fake Kukui Nut leis….

Orchid Lei prices? $20 per single strand and $30 per double strand… OUCH!

Anyway, congratulations to our 2008 graduates!

To sum it all up, Just being able to see all those spectacular hotel grounds, along with the fantastic shows, buffets and thrill of gambling, either as a spectator or player, made this past week’s Vegas vacation one to remember. If you haven’t been there yet, do it. If you have, and plan on returning again (and again), good luck!

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For your convenience, here’s an easy-to-read map of Las Vegas strip and downtown…

Click to view full size map (2MB image file)

Dandoodle Sausage, served with a deviled egg, boiled cabbage, potato, yams and beets

“What on earth is Dandoodle?” you might ask. I had the same question when a family friend named Yates, who lives all the way on the east coast in the state of Virginia came visiting, and said that’s what he was cooking us for dinner.

Dandoodle, also known as “Tom Thumb” is a sausage made by stuffing ground pork shoulder, sage, red pepper, and salt and pepper into the uppermost part of the pig’s large intestine. This gives Dandoodle a unique oval shape that’s quite larger in girth than sausages that use standard casings. They’re usually either smoked or dry-cured; the one he brought for us was dry-cured. It’s a delicacy that can mostly only be purchased from small butcher shops around Virginia and the Carolinas, says Yates.

It’s considered southern food, and is often served with cabbage or collard greens, yams, potatoes, beets, and most importantly, deviled egg. The deviled egg really is the key accompaniment, as the sweet-pickled yolk and boiled egg white really enhances the flavor of the sausage, which has strong, pungent, peppery sage flavoring to it.

I’d say Dandoodle is something you’d either love or hate. Again, the sage and the red pepper really do punch out, and the pig stomach casing does have you thinking there’s indeed “something” different about it, in an innards kind of way.

Do I like it? Heck yeah! I love it! But it’s gotta’ have all those sides in order to taste right. I couldn’t eat Dandoodle as a snack by itself. It needs the sweet contrast of the yams, beets and deviled egg to really shine. And when you eat it together with those things, it’s just fantastic!

So that first plate shown was prepared for us by Yates on his visit to Hawaii last year. This year he brought the same TYPE of sausage (same filling), but just not stuffed in the pig’s intestine. The ones he brought this year were stuffed in standard casings. So he gave me a bag to take home, and I finally got around to preparing them. Check it out…

Dandoodle “knock offs”

I attempted to duplicate the same presentation Yate’s did for us last year. The only difference is that I used Bak Choi cabbage instead of round cabbage. Hey, that Bak Choi was fantastic with this dish! The slightly more pungent flavor married well with the spicy sausages. I found that they didn’t salt these enough though, so I had to add my own, which was no biggy. After that, they were great! He instructed me to boil them for about 15 minutes with the other veggies, then brown them in oil in the fying pan, so that’s what I did. Then sliced ‘em in half for plating presentation as shown above. Gotta’ admit, that does look pretty! And how did it taste? Awesome!

He said you can serve these breakfast style with eggs, but nah, I much prefer it with these accompaniments.

For the deviled egg, I hard boiled the eggs, then cut them in half, took the yolks out, and mashed them together with sweet pickle relish, mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard, minced onion and parsley, then filled the halved egg white back up with the “deviled” filling. I tell ya’, this is such a winner with the sausage. I think with ANY sausage, you should have a deviled egg with it. Pure genius.

Here’s how these “Dandoodle Knock-offs” look uncooked…

I know what you’re thinking, and no, this isn’t going to win any culinary beauty contest anytime soon. lol Main thing is they TASTE good!

Here in this (uncooked) cross-cut view, you can see the specks of red pepper flakes…

Here’s another angle of the finished plate…

I highly doubt you’ll find Dandoodle in any stores in Hawaii, or anywhere else in the US for that matter, besides Virginia and the Carolinas region. Still, I’d recommend using these same accompaniments with other types of savory, spicy sausages you CAN buy here at various markets. Especially those that have plenty of herbs and spices in them.

So next time you hear the name “Dandoodle”, you’ll know what that is. Big Mahalo to Yates for bringing these all the way over to Hawaii for us!

Related links:
• The Best Dandoodle in the World

McDonald’s of Hawaii’s new Peach Mango Pie, $1.09 each (or two for $1.49)

Hot on the heels of the Haupia Pie, and preceeding that, the Taro Pie, McDonald’s of Hawaii is at it again - this time offering our market for a limited time an exclusive Peach Mango Pie.

This iteration of their all-time classic Apple Pie has been available since March of this year, yet I only tried it a few days ago (late May) due to someone buying one for me to try it.

Let’s take a closer look…

Close enough? lol

So what’s this “mystery” yellow-colored filling like? Texture-wise, it’s a somewhat loose, gelatinous glob, with very few random chunks of (I think) real peach fruit in it. You can sort of see one of those chunks to the left side of that cross-cut in the photo above. I couldn’t detect any real mango chunks, but here’s the clincher!…

At first bite, my first impression was, “Hey! This taste like a REAL, fresh mango!”, to the likes of the Pirie variety. Then after about the third bite, on down to finishing the entire pie, the palate acclimated the flavors and it then became a taste experience of eating something “peachy-mango-fruity” “something”, all wrapped up in a great tasting, crunch’ety, crisp’ety, deep-fried crust.

I must admit, a spare tire could be filled in that crust and I’d still enjoy it. lol

It’s sweet, but not too sweet, thanks in part to the acidic element the peach offers; the latter mostly playing back-up singer, with the mango taking lead vocals.

I’m guessing the mango fruit used to make it is the imported South American variety, and not some harvest from your aunty’s backyard. lol That bright yellow color surely must be augmented by the addition of food coloring.

Like the Taro Pie and the Haupia Pie, I give much props to “Mickee-Deez” for the effort. But it still hasn’t dethroned the classic Apple Pie - that’s still the best, IMO.

With that, I’ll give this Peach Mango Pie a solid…

The Tasty Island Rating:

(2) Good. I’m glad I tried it. (Ono)

It’s currently available at most McDonald’s of Hawaii locations. I went back and purchased a few more (for someone else to try) at the Aina Haina location, where they were priced at $1.49 for 2, or $1.09 each…

McDonald’s Aina Haina Shopping Center location - the first “Mickee-Deez” in Hawaii!

At that price, there’s not much to lose, and Just like the Haupia and Taro Pies, I’d certainly recommend at least trying this Peach Mango Pie. If not for anything else, for spare change, you get that fabulous deep-fried crust that can even make a spare tire taste fantastic. lol Seriously though, I thought it was pretty good, in a “Pirie Mango/Peach/some-kind-of-fruity” kinda’ way.

As a visual refresher, here again is (was) the McDonald’s of Hawaii Haupia Pie…

and the Taro Pie…

Lastly, some common mangoes, the first of this 2008 summer season, from a coworker’s tree…

Common Mangoes from Ewa Beach

Related Links:
• McDonald’s Haupia and Taro Pies

KJ’s (fried) Furikake Chicken

Upon reading a local discussion board on the “Best Fried Chicken”, several folks highly recommended KJ’s Local Grindz in Kaneohe.

First let me come clear and say, I’m not a huge chicken fan. But like the next guy, I’m always game for a great piece of golden, tasty breasts and thighs when the mood arises.

Well, yesterday I just so happened to run a business errand in Kaneohe, so while there, I made it a point to check KJ’s out.

Reinforcing what everyone was raving about, the young man working the front counter also recommended the “standard” fried chicken and the Furikake Chicken as their most popular items.

Done. order up 2 plates of that, to go

Now let’s see what we’ve got.

Diner “E” ordered a plate of straight Furikake Chicken, which ran $6.99, and here’s what he got…

KJ’s Local Grindz - (Fried) Furikake Chicken plate, $6.99

And I ordered a mix of their signature Fried Chicken and Furikake Chicken combo plate…

KJ’s Local Grindz - Fried and Furikake Chicken combo plate, $6.99 (no extra charge)

Diner “A” also ordered several pieces of the same two types of fried chicken, Ala Carte.

So. The first thing to expect upon first bite is an outstanding batter, right? Neh. No big deal.

First let’s have a close inspection of their “standard” fried chicken…

This thigh has the bone-in. The meat was tender and cooked through, but the outer part was just borderline dry; not dry, but one more reheat and it will be. Most importantly, the batter just wasn’t anything special. As far as I could tell, this could have been “Shake ‘N Bake” if given a blind taste test. There was perhaps a slight hint of Paprika, but otherwise just salt and pepper in there. The crunch factor was slightly flaky, slightly glutenous. I really think it’s just flour with a few simple seasonings.

Now let’s move on and take a close inspection of the (fried) Furikake Chicken…

Notice this is basically chicken katsu. It’s bonless pieces, cut into strips and coated with panko. Then from here it gets a bit interesting. After they fry it, it’s dipped into a slightly thick, slightly sweet teriyaki sauce that has a strong garlic accent and also sesame oil and sesame seeds.

The “Furikake” is the part that disappoints me. I really was expecting some interesting batter that had the Furikake mixed in it. But in reality, all they do is sprinkle Furikake over the fried chicken after it’s done. What the? I can do that! Shoots, next time I go order a chicken katsu plate at anytown L&L, I can do that! And that doesn’t really do much to validate the name “Furikake Chicken”. This really is more a type of Karaage Chicken that just so happens to have Furikake sprinkled on top.

Aside of that, we all unanimously preferred the “Furikake” over their “standard” fried chicken. Still, even that wasn’t “all that”.

Now I did confess that 15 minute detour, which may have eaten some time out of the “fresh crispness” of these plates. But this isn’t any excuse. I can eat KFC chicken (when it has meat on it) a day or two later and it still rocks.

When you order a plate at KJ’s, they offer either “Mac” salad (that’s what the guy said), or you can opt for steamed corn (kernels; not on-the-cob) or grean beans. I ordered “Mac”…

Mac? No way! That’s Spaghetti noodles! And there’s Tuna in it. Bleck! To top that off, they didn’t put enough salt in it, and it was bland as heck. I don’t even think they use Best Foods Mayo’, but probalby some generic warehouse brand. Not to fear, I drizzled a little olive oil and hawaiian salt on it and it was A-OK! Ah, nothing like doctoring what’s broken.

And of course the plate lunch standard of 2 scoops rice. Which to me is kind of a shortcoming as well. Personally, when I eat fried chicken, I prefer it with mashed potatoes and gravy, southern style. Plain steamed white rice just doesn’t work.

But rice can be a good thing with the Furikake Chicken. If you scroll back up and look at the first picture, you’ll notice the presence of sauce on the plate that dripped from from the Furikake Chicken. I would highly recommend if you go to KJ’s to ask them to put some of that sauce on your rice. That was essentially was the best part about it.

So that’s that. Diner “A” gave the Furikake Chicken a 3-SPAM rating , while giving their standard fried chicken a 1. Diner “E” gave the Furikake Chicken a 2. I’ll go on the average of those scores with a 2.

Part of their name IS “local grindz”, and with that, check out the rest of their menu…

Establishment-wise, they’re your typical hole-in-the-wall plate lunch stand, dominated by a utilitarian service counter, surrounded by about 8 dining tables and multiple chairs…

The front…

KJ’s is located on the backside (east) of Windward City Shopping Center in Kaneohe, in the same area where Long’s Drug’s is…

Adjacent to Genki Sushi, Taco Del Mar and Pizza Hut.

I’m not saying KJ’s fried chicken was bad, but it wasn’t outstanding either as others claimed it to be. If they’re open to suggestions, I’d highly recommend adding mashed potatoes and brown gravy (or white gravy!) as an option for their standard fried chicken. That would totally enhance the eating experience of that chicken. Doesn’t have to be “from scratch”. Even the packaged (just add water) stuff would work. But offer it. Local plate lunch places sometimes need think outside the “2 scoops rice and mac’ salad” box sometimes. Especially here.

If I lived in the area, I’d go back and try some of the other “local grindz” on the menu, such as that “Stuf’ Cabbage”. Now that sounds good right about now!

KJ’s Local Grindz
Windward City Shopping Center
808-235-5799

The Tasty Island Rating:

(2) I’m glad I tried it.

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.