One corner of Honolulu that we found ourselves returning to throughout our two-day visit was Kapahulu Avenue. This neighborhood runs from the north side of the Honolulu Zoo (which is at the south end of Waikiki) to the H1 freeway near Chaminade University of Honolulu. The approximately two-kilometer distance is gentrifying nicely, with lots of long-time shops rubbing shoulders with a new Safeway supermarket. On our visits there, we ate a breakfast and a dinner.

Breakfast: Sweet E's Cafe

Located in a small shopping complex kind of hidden off Kapahulu Avenue near the H1 freeway, Sweet E's Cafe is one of the higher-rated breakfast places on Yelp.com. To be certain, I take Yelp reviews with a few large grains of salt. That said, it looked like a good bet for a decent Saturday breakfast before we started driving around the island. 

Arriving early, we found the dining room less than half full. From the reviews, I get the impression that the restaurant is very crowded later in the morning. The interior is pleasant and the servers were helpful, if not exactly warm.

Poached eggs with Kalua pork. My big beef with lots of places is that their poached eggs are overcooked. This time, the problem was that the eggs were undercooked. In my mind, the perfect poached egg has solid but not rubbery whites, with runny yolks. When I cut into the first egg, the whites were still watery inside. It was right on the line between "worth sending them back" and "not worth sending them back," so I didn't. As the watery whites soaked my English muffins, though, I regretted my decision. The pork and the sauce were tasty, so points there, but the potatoes were bland and would have benefitted from some herbs or spices.

Tawn ordered a basic waffle with maple syrup. It was pleasantly crisp, cooked to just the right point.

We also ordered French toast stuffed with cream cheese and blueberries. The toast itself was nicely done but the blueberries inside the toast were tough, leading me to conclude that they use frozen blueberries for the stuffing and only place fresh berries as garnish for the plate.

Overall conclusion: Sweet E's didn't show such a sweet face for us, at least as far as quality. It has the potential to be very good and if we lived there, we would give it another chance to redeem itself. But if you are just visiting, I would suggest you search out Boot's & Kimo's in Kailua.

Dinner: Sam's Kitchen

On Friday evening, we found ourselves looking for a tasty dinner that didn't involve a lot of expense or effort on our part. Turning to Yelp.com, I searched for "cheap seafood dinner" in Honolulu. Sure, that's probably the last place you want to eat - somewhere serving cheap seafood - but we got a result whose high ratings were accompanied by thoughtful reviews: Sam's Kitchen.

Located on Kapahulu Avenue right across from a new Safeway shopping center, Sam's has a slightly retro dive bar appearance. When we arrived about 8:00, we were charmed by its exterior but baffled (and slightly worried) by its almost vacant state.

We entered and found only a half-dozen customers (if that) listening to live Hawaiian music. I felt a little conspicuous walking in during their performance - after all, it wasn't like we could sneak in unnoticed. The lady behind the counter was welcoming, though, so we figured out the menu and placed our order.

Sam's is about as "Hawaiian" as you can get, a fusion of flavors that represent the different cultures that make up the local population. There is a heavy Japanese bent (and it seems that their original Waikiki location is wildly popular with Japanese guide books), but other cultures are represented, too. Dishes are mostly either rice bowls or bento boxes and their garlic sauce is apparently "famous."

Tawn tried the spicy garlic shrimp rice plate, which came with a salad and a half-ear of corn. This was good food - the shrimp is tender and sweet and the garlic packed a punch - and stayed with us for the next day.

I had the fried mahi mahi with macadamia nuts. The fish was very fresh, lightly breaded, and the sauce was tasty. Both dishes were simple, inexpensive, huge, and excellent. So much so that on Saturday night, our second and final night on Oahu, we decided to visit Sam's again.

This time we stopped at the original location on Royal Hawaiian Avenue in Waikiki. This location is take-out only, although it does offer some self-service tables if you can't wait to get back home to eat. The menu is the same and the customers were mostly Japanese.

Tawn ordered a combo plate (left) with the same two items we had the night before, but half a portion each. On the right, I ordered a garlic steak plate. The steak was tasty, although pretty tough.

With two small bottles of wine from the convenience store downstairs, we celebrated our last night on Oahu with a sunset dinner on our balcony.

While in Honolulu, we stayed at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel. Located close to Diamond Head on the south end of Waikiki, the New Otani is situated across from Kapiolani Park. It is a good value for many reasons. Its biggest selling point for me, was the view.

Sunrise from our balcony.

This position is ideal because the hotel is quiet, set apart from the touristy, shopping mall busyness of Waikiki. Plus, you look back at the entire beach and skyline and take it all in. If you were staying in Waikiki proper, you wouldn't have so broad a perspective. Here are some of the pictures I shot during our two nights at the hotel.

Kapiolani Park with Diamond Head in the background.

Graceful palm trees backlit by the setting sun.

Other visitors stop to capture a picture of the sunset.

A trio of pictures from our balcony at different times of the day:

Just after sunset, I spotted the moon above the palm trees.

One final nighttime shot, in black-and-white.

Near the end of our Hawaii trip, Tawn and I flew to Honolulu for two days. Our original plan was to visit Michael, a (nowadays inactive) Xangan whom we first met during our Kauai trip last year. Unfortunately, Michael had some health issues and ended up hospitalized. (He is out of the woods now, thankfully.) That meant two days in Honolulu under our own steam. For guidance, we turned to the New York Times' travel section and their article, 36 Hours in Honolulu.

Arriving in the late morning and unable to check into our hotel until mid-afternoon, we started our visit at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. A visit to the Academy is worthwhile even if you have no interest in art, as it is located in a beautiful complex of buildings that is a pleasure to stroll around.

In front of the Academy is an engaging installation by Patrick Dougherty that evokes a wooded glen. The sculpture, composed of twisted sticks and vines, invites passersby to interact with it, coming inside and peering through the various openings.

Our first stop was the Academy's open-air restaurant. Located in a shaded patio with beautiful sculptures and a waterfall nearby, the Pavilion Cafe offers a restful setting in which to recharge your energy. The food, mostly Mediterranean and Asian influenced, is surprisingly good for the setting.

Grilled chicken sandwich with a mango-pineapple salsa

Mixed greens with lamb

Apple-mango cobbler

Ice cream sundae

Tawn plays with his phone while waiting for our meal. Modern art?

Afterwards, we spent an hour and a half perusing the collections, which are very diverse. The emphasis is on Hawaiian and Asian art, but there is a respectable showing from other genres. There is also a partnership with the Shangri La, the Doris Duke estate's Islamic arts museum. Located off-site, we didn't get a chance to see that collection but watched a short video that shared some of the highlights. We will have to catch it next time we are in Honolulu.

Much of the art is incorporated into the Academy's buildings, such as this whimsical steel screen that depicts all manner of animal life.

We worried less about trying to see all the collections and instead enjoyed the cool, serene courtyards of the Academy. Instead of rushing to see the madness of Waikiki or driving about with our suitcases in the trunk of the car, our first few hours in Honolulu were relaxing and refined.

Eventually, though, we had our fill of serenity and drove to the hotel to check in!

Near the end of our trip to Maui for Andy and Sugi's wedding, I had the opportunity to kayak in the ocean. While I had kayaked once before on the Wailua River on Kauai, this was my first time kayaking in ocean water.

(All photos and video courtesy Andy Yang and his big zoom lens)

While Tawn took a yoga class, Andy, Sugi, and I went to Sugi's family compound nearby in Paia. After hosing off a long-unused kayak, Andy and I carried it down a steep and untended cliff, giving me the first of many cuts and scrapes.

Eventually, we launched the kayak in the shallow waters of the cove. Sugi and her cousin watched from the comfort of the lawn some twenty feet above and Andy snapped photos as I headed towards the surf. The water remained shallow - not more than ten feet at its deepest - and I could see the lava rocks and coral as I paddled by.

This one-person kayak seemed much less stable than the two-person kayak I used on Kauai last year. It wobbled readily and I became very cautious when it was time to turn around. A few hundred feet from shore, the gentle swells became large enough to threaten to capsize my vessel. I paddled out and back a few times before leaning too far and pulling too hard with the paddle, dumping myself into four feet of water.

The capsizing wasn't a problem - I'm an able swimmer, wore a flotation device, and could touch bottom. The problem was how to get back into the kayak. Nobody had taught me that! Turns out, it is much more challenging than I had imagined. After a few failed attempts, I floated the kayak into much shallower water to start again.

Eventually, I managed to seat myself on the kayak again and paddled for another fifteen minutes or so before returning to shore. Surprisingly (or not), Andy decided he didn't want to try his hand at ocean kayaking. My repeated falls and poor choice of footwear (flip-flops = bad for kayaking) resulted in a cut knee and scrapes to the tops and sides of my toes. These injuries were worsened when we were carrying the kayak back up the cliff and my left leg fell through what I thought was a solid mass of dried palm fronds. Turned out they were covering a crevice between too tree trunks.

Oh, well - what's an athletic adventure if there aren't some injuries, right?

While I said I was done with the food entries from Maui, there actually is one dessert/snack entry remaining: Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice.

Andy's wife Sugi (I can say "wife" now - yay!) enjoying her favorite shave ice. Since her mother is from Maui and Sugi spent her summers growing up on the island, I put great stock in her number-one rating for Ululani's. After some so-so experiences with shave ice on Kauai last year, I was surprised at how good the dessert can be - if you go to the right place.

Shave ice, often confused by mainlanders with snow cones, is a local Hawaiian specialty. Unlike snow cones, which are made with crushed ice, shave ice is precisely that - shaved - with a texture akin to snow. (I know, it would seem that shave ice should really be called "snow cones," right?) This is important because while a snow cone results in a big pool of flavored syrup sitting at the bottom of a cup of ice, shave ice absorbs the syrup, ensuring that each bite is full of goodness.

Ululani's has four locations on Maui - two near each other in Lahaina, one in the island's main town of Kahului, and the newest shop on the north side of Kihei. We went to the original location on Front Street in old town Lahaina.

Each of Ululani's 40 flavored syrups is made in-house using fruit purees, extracts, filtered water, and pure cane sugar. Toppings are either home made or come from other Maui companies. This local approach is one of their secrets to success. Now, it is true that shave ice can be a sickeningly sweet dessert. The key is to choose favors that create complexity and contrast rather than just add one layer of sweetness on top of another. I chose a recommended combination - Ho'ike - which offers lilikoi (passionfruit), li hing mui (Chinese salted plum), and passion orange. The salted plum adds a tart and salty note that cuts the sweetness, making the shave ice refreshing. 

Another part of Ululani's charm is their friendly employees. Sure, I'm a mainlander who barely knows my pu pu platter from my poke. But this young lady was patient, happy to answer every question with a smile, and chatted with us about our visit to Maui while preparing our shave ice. In this picture, she adds mochi (made by Maui Specialty Chocolates) to my shave ice.

The finished product! Yummy!

Sorry for being absent from Xanga for over a week. We returned from the United States with my sister and brother-in-law in tow, and have been showing them around Bangkok, leaving little time for blogging. With that said, let me pick up where we left off in Hawai'i. For the final segment on food in Maui, we visit a lavender farm, a goat dairy, and eat some fantastic fish tacos.

Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm

One of the interesting things about Maui is that it is agriculturally more diverse than you initially expect. While there are wide swaths of land dedicated to sugar cane and other tropical produce, as you ascend the slopes of Haleakala (the volcano that forms the eastern 75% of Maui), you pass through a more temperate zone. The combination of rich soil, moisture-laden air, and the filtered tropical sun provides a fertile growing environment for a wide variety of produce. Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm is a great example of this. 

Situated 4,000 feet above the ocean in the town of Kula, the Ali'i farm stretches over 13 sloping acres. Different varieties of lavender are cultivated and the grounds are largely open for self-guided walking tours. In the early afternoon, the breeze was pleasantly warm but we were protected by a thick layer of clouds that reminded me of the fog of my native San Francisco, but without the need for multiple layers of clothing.

Here, Sugi and Tawn pose amidst a field of lavender on the upper edge of the farm. The farm offers settings for private events including weddings. While the steep slopes might prove challenging for guests with limited mobility, the views (and fragrance!) would be unforgettable and worth the effort.

Close up of one variety of lavender. The air really is perfumed with a subtle, but pleasant aroma from the acres of lavender.

In addition to the lavender, the farm has extensive gardens with many different plants and beautiful flowers. Many of the plants were familiar to me from growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has a similar climate. I was excited to see the fuchsia (on the right) because my father used to grow these in our back yard.

No trip to the farm is complete without a stop at the gift shop for a snack. Beverages include lavender lemonade and tea.

The highlight is the lavender scones served with passion fruit and lavender jelly. A few years ago, I purchased some food grade lavender but rarely used it. Tasting these scones, I was sorely tempted to buy some more and make it a point to cook more frequently with this beautiful flavor.

Sitting on the shady balcony outside the gift shop, we were visited by a flock of small birds who waited not so patiently for scone crumbs. Tawn decided to share his crumbs with them and they gingerly approached and pecked them from his hand.

Surfing Goat Dairy

Just down the hill from the lavender farm is the Surfing Goat Dairy, another example of the agricultural variety found on Maui. A working farm that produces more than two dozen varieties of goat cheese that are used at restaurants across the island, Surfing Goat Dairy proudly claims to make da' feta mo' betta!

One of the younger goats playing on a surf board.

The dairy offers tours and there is a small gift shop that sells a variety of their products. Recommended are the cheese tasting flights, which feature both fresh and aged cheeses.

We sampled six cheeses, a mixture of fresh and aged. From the back left, clockwise: fresh feta, "Ping Pong Balls" (drained chevre, rolled into balls and marinated in garlic olive oil), Ole! (chevre with jalepenos, lime juice, artichokes, and cilantro), Udderly Delicious (plain, salted chevre), Garden Fantasia (chevre with fresh garden herbs), and French Dream (an aged cheese with herbs de Provence). Lots of fantastic cheese here, many of which have won national awards. 

A pleasant, shaded seating area was populated with a friendly farm dog and cat, both of which came over looking for some attention. Despite being outside, both animals had exceptionally soft, well groomed coats. Perhaps the result of drinking plenty of goat milk?

Before we left, I snapped a picture of these kids feeding kids. Ha ha...

Coconut's Fish Cafe

The final entry about Maui food concludes with a stop at Coconut's Fish Cafe in Kihei. This restaurant, which is in a strip mall, looks like nothing to write home about but surprises you with tremendous quality. The must-eat item is fish tacos, which are prepared from fresh, locally-caught fish.

The owner, Mike Phillips, who is in the shop most evenings, supervises operations and comes out to chat with customers. He took this picture for us. He explained that they are just setting up franchises on the west cost of the mainland, with the initial store to be in Santa Cruz. If a Coconut's Fish Cafe opens near you, please make sure you try it. As Mike explained, the only advertising they do is customer word-of-mouth. So from my mouth to your ear: word.

The beautiful fish taco, made with fresh mahi mahi, crunchy cabbage slaw, and a sweet and tangy mango salsa. This taco was so good that I would seriously consider stopping in Maui next time I'm flying back to the mainland US, just to eat here. My only quibble is that the toppings are cut in very large chunks, making them a bit hard to eat. Smaller bits would ensure you get a little bit of everything in each bite, but that's a tiny complaint.

There you have it, the conclusion of my Maui Food Madness entries. I hope you enjoyed them!

Part 3
Part 2
Part 1

Took this photo this morning, the dawn of our last full day in the United States. After a four-week vacation, we will depart San Francisco Friday afternoon en route to Bangkok. In this photo, Tawn curls up on our friend Anita's sofa with a Cafe Bustelo au lait. There is plenty more to share from this trip - heck, I'm still blogging about Maui and we left there nearly two weeks ago! - so stay tuned over the coming weeks.

Later in the afternoon, the living room turns into our staging area as we pack our bags. While it may seem like a lot for two people, we're actually returning with my sister and brother-in-law in tow. They will each have a bag of their own and then will help us carry this extra luggage.

A Costco run this morning concluded the shopping list with bulk amounts of almonds, pecans, and maple syrup. We also purchased a Kitchen Aid food processor, which sells about about $450 less here in the United States than in Thailand. I love the idea of traveling light, but there are too many things that we can get here (or get more cheaply) that we would be foolish not to carry as much back to Thaliand as we can.

Our Maui dining adventures continues with some Japanese food, a touristy luau, and some organic pizza.

Ramen Ya

Monday evening we ate dinner at Ramen Ya, a Japanese restaurant located in a mall in Kahului. Right across the courtyard is Sugi's aunt's fabric store.

The newlyweds - still all smiles - decide what dinner to order.

The food is what I might call "rough and tumble" - huge portions of moderately satisfying Japanese favorites. Here we have a gargantuan portion of chicken katsu served over fried rice. It was tasty enough but the portion could have served three.

A bowl of ramen, part of a combo set that also included fried rice and gyoza. Nobody complained about the food but it didn't inspire any positive raves, either.

Old Lahaina Luau

Andy Yang had arranged for all of us to make a trip to the Old Lahaina Luau, reportedly the best of the touristy package luau shows. Located right on the harbor, the grounds offered seating for more than 500 guests for their nightly show. The sun was a bit strong in the late afternoon but by the time it set, the location was beautiful and the weather pleasant.

Each table seats eight - here is Andy Yang, his brother-in-law Erich, Sugi, and Tawn. Every group of three or four tables had their own server, all of whom were shirtless men. This was Tim, who was really friendly and took good care of our group. Would you believe he is celebrating his twenty-ninth wedding anniversary this year? He looks younger than that.

Sunset over the harbor. This was a beautiful sunset, accentuated by the live Hawaiian music being performed by a quartet on the lawn.

Food was served buffet style, each table being released in order to avoid long queues. Food included Hawaiian specialties along with "Hawaiianized" chicken, steak, etc. On the left is lau lau pork - pork wrapped in ti leaves and steamed. Working clockwise is kalua pork (which they cook overnight in a pit), teriyaki beef, a creamed vegetable salad, lomi salmon (a salted salmon dish), a dish made with local greens, sweet-and-sour chicken, and mahi mahi. Overall, I give the luau high marks for food quality and variety. Especially when considering the setting, the meal was very satisfying. 

The dessert tray: macadamia nut tarts, chocolate brownies, chocolate passion fruit pots-de-creme, and haupia - a coconut milk based pudding.

Two shots from the show, which came on after dinner. Photos by Andy Yang. The program traced the islands' history and illustrated different types of dancing based on different cultural traditions that influenced modern Hawai'i.

At $100 per person plus gratuity, the Old Lahaina Luau is steep. (All inclusive, including alcoholic drinks) If it is your first time to the islands, though, it might be a fun way to set the mood. Service was very good.

Flatbread Company

A few days later we found ourselves back in Paia, where Sugi's family lives. Andy and I tried sea kayaking (well, I tried, he photographed - more on that soon!) while Tawn did yoga. Afterwards, we stopped for some pizza at the renown Flatbread Company.

Here's the storefront of the Flatbread Company, located in the hippie-ish town of Paia on the north shore of Maui. As the sign says, they serve wood fired love.

In addition to the dough being made from organic flour, lots of ingredients are locally sourced. A chalkboard in the dining room lists local suppliers.

The wood burning hearth is in the middle of the dining room. If you are feeling cold (not likely!) you can walk up to it and warm yourself.

Metaphoto. Everyone is taking pictures. Thankfully, our dining companions knew the cardinal rule of food blogger etiquette: nobody eats until the shooting's complete.

Mopsy's Kalua Pork - Kiawa smoked free range pork shoulder, homemade organic mango BBQ sauce, organic red onions, Maui pineapple, and a blend of Hawaiian goat cheeses and mozzarella, topped with local organic herbs.

The Coevolution - imported kalmatta olives, fresh organic Maui rosemary, red onions, and fire roasted sweet red peppers, and a blend of Hawaiian goat cheeses and mozzarella, topped with organic local herbs.

Both pizzas were excellence. The kalua pork was mutually agreed to be our favorite. What made these pizzas excellent were the crusts, that found the perfect balance between crispiness and chewiness. The secret - Giusto's Organic Ultimate Performer Unbleached Flour from South San Francisco, which has high protein and high gluten.

The second part in my series of interesting places I ate while we were recently on Maui. Today: eskimo candy, touristy seafood, and sensational sushi.

Eskimo Candy

Eskimo Candy is what they call smoked salmon. Eskimo Candy is also a small seafood restaurant located across from a Napa auto parts store in the beach condo town of Kihei, on the south side of Maui. Open weekdays only, there's only a trio of tables and much of the business is takeout. The menu is mostly fish and freshness is the name of the game.

An order of fish and chips served with slaw. The catches of the day are listed on the board and are available in many forms, including fried in a light beer batter and served with fries. This was opah (also known as moonfish), a firm white fleshed fish that is a byproduct of longline tuna fishing. Really good.

The prize catch, though, is their poke rice bowl. Poke (pronounced "poh-keh") is raw fish (usually tuna) salad. Eskimo Candy serves four types: a spicy poke, one with fukikake (dried seaweed and sesame seeds), one with shoyu (soy sauce), and one with wasabi. The fish is really fresh, cold, and firm - the best quality poke I've eaten. 

Also worth trying (although not seafood) is their chicken teriyaki.

Lahaina Fish Company

Lahaina is the largest town on the west side of Maui, an old whaling town that dates back to the 1800s. It is a major tourist area with a charming downtown of shops and sights to see. We had lunch at the Lahaina Fish Company, a restaurant that sits on the harbor and is listed in the Lonely Planet as a worthwhile place to eat.

The breeze was pleasant and the service reasonably attentive. The food, though, wasn't very interesting and the prices were about what you would expect in this touristy an area. Two items that are worth mention:

A poke taco appetizer consisted of four very crisp tortilla shells served with okay poke and garnishes including edamame guacamole. It was passable but the shells were super crunchy, a bit too much so.

One of the specials was described as an "Ahi Sashimi 'Katsu' Rice Bowl". Of course, this is a contradiction in terms. Sashimi is raw and katsu is fried. Sure enough, they used middling quality ahi tuna, wrapped it in nori, lightly breaded it then briefly fried it. It was served with fresh seaweed, carrots, dried seaweed, and a few other greens on a large serving of rice. The so-called "wasabi ginger buerre blanc" dressing didn't add anything to the dish and the portion of rice was so large that the last quarter of the bowl (despite mixing the ingredients) was plain white rice.

Sushi Paradise

After eating abused ahi sashimi in Lahaina, it was a relief to come to Sushi Paradise.

Located in a strip mall in the condo town of Kihei, Sushi Paradise puts on an unflattering face.

The inside is small and spartan but it gets busy. If you don't make reservations, you could easily face a wait of up to two hours. Tawn and I shared a "Paradise Dinner" for $60, which includes a selection of sashimi and sushi, sunomono, miso soup, chawanmushi, and a choice of rolls. We also ordered a few specials, which inflated our bill.

The sunomono, or pickled seafood salad, featured fresh tako, or octopus. The key to very tender tako is that it has to be massaged before it is cooked. Otherwise, it is just a lump of rubber.

Our selection of sashimi: red snapper, salmon, yellow tail, squid, octopus, tuna, surf clam, mackerel, and sweet egg. Some of the best quality fish we've had outside of Japan. Hard to speak too highly of this restaurant.

One of the specials was a very lightly torched albacore tuna served with avocado. Not only very tasty, also very beautiful to look at. The very essence of Japanese cuisine is that food should be pleasing to all the senses. This dish achieved that.

Chawanmushi is a steamed egg custard dish. Our had spinach in it, which was mostly near the bottom of the tea cup in which it is served. The key to this dish is that it has to be strained to remove any clumps or scrambled bits. If it is cooked to the correct point, it is gently solid with a velvet texture. As you might expect, Sushi Paradise has mastered this technique.

Another special was lightly fried fish belly (don't remember the type) topped with a mixture of soy sauce, scallions, and grated radish. Deceptively simple but very complex flavors.

Our sushi plate: tuna, red snapper, yellow tail, salmon, shrimp, eel, sweet egg, plus a spicy tuna roll. All very fresh fish. The shrimp was perfectly done, crunchy but not tough. As you would imagine, I'd recommend you go to Sushi Paradise next time you are on Maui.

Stay tuned for more Maui Food Madness...

As with any time spent with Andy and Sugi, food was a focal point. Maui proved to be a good place for eating. Here is the first of at least two parts highlighting some of the eats. I'll say that this first batch of food wasn't as good as what I'll cover in some upcoming posts.

Da Kitchen Express

Located in Kihei, in south Maui, Da Kitchen Express is an outpost of a larger Hawaiian food restaurant in Kahului. The menu is pretty much all rice plates, typical lunch food on the islands.

I enjoyed a kalua pork sandwich. Kalua is a term that means to cook in an underground oven called an "imu". These days, it is usually just a slow cooked pork shoulder. Pretty tender but needed some seasoning.

There was also some beef teriyaki eaten by another member of our party. The pieces were a little tough but exceedingly tasty.

Best of all, macadamia nut cream pie for dessert. This was made elsewhere and brought in, I'm sure. Nonetheless, it turned out better than any of my attempts at it... yet!

Komoda Bakery

Located in the former ranching town of Makawao, which dates from the 1800s, Komoda Store and Bakery has been around for several generations.

The inside is a bit disorganized, looking like you are on both the wrong and right sides of the counter all at once.

Komoda is known for their cream puffs, delicate but fist-sized pastries that sell out early. The filling is a standard pastry cream.

The bakery is also known for their malasadas, a Portuguese pastry that is basically a donut hole. Komoda makes malasadas with a guava filling. Truth be told, I am not a huge donut fan and haven't figured out what is so special about malasadas. I like saying the name, though.

Another fun item they sell is donuts on a stick. They are cooked on the stick, not put on afterwards.

Sugi takes a picture as Andy poses with the stick of donuts. He then notices Kenny looking on an lures him into a PG13-rated photo.

McDonalds

I didn't go to McDonald's while in Hawai'i but Andy W did. He likes eating trying the local specialties that McDonald's features in many places. Here in Hawai'i it is the Island Breakfast, which features scrambled egg, rice, grilled SPAM, and grilled Portuguese sausage. My verdict: no more special than any other McDonald's breakfast... which is to say, not very.

Krispy Kreme

Just outside the Kahului airport sits a Krispy Kreme. Yes, I know that Hawai'i is one of the 50 United States but it seems a cultural intrusion to have Krispy Kreme there. Curious, though, I wanted to see if there was anything local on the menu. There was.

The only local offering was the pineapple fritter. Frankly, it was hard to tell it apart from a regular apple fritter. After eating about a half, I tossed the rest in the trash and kit the road.

Stay tuned for the next part.

The evening after Andy and Sugi's wedding, the newlyweds were off at a family dinner so Tawn and I invited Andy W and Kenny over to our condo for dinner. Sugi's family had sent us home the night before with a pair of very ripe Maui Gold pineapples, so Tawn offered to make pineapple fried rice.

Chef Tawn busy in the kitchen. We had to buy a few items such as the raisins, the pack of which I carried with me back to Kansas City to leave with my sister's family, since the friend we're staying with in San Francisco doesn't like raisins.

Dinner started with a fresh mango and pineapple smoothie. Healthy treat to whet the appetite.

Filling the hollowed-out pineapple with the fried rice. The top shell is placed over the rice and then it is baked in the over until fragrant.

A short video of Tawn removing the top of the pineapple!

The finished product! It was really tasty.

For dessert: green tea ice cream.

Some more photos from our week in Maui.

View from our condo's lanai (balcony) in Kihei on the south side of Maui. This is on the northern end of town looking south.

From the deck on the building's roof looking north towards the neck of Maui.

Tawn watches the sunset from the beautifully manicured lawn.

Sunset over the west part of Maui on our second evening there. You can just see the windmills that line the ridge of the mountain.

Last Sunday fellow Xangan Andy was married to Sugi at the King Kamehameha Country Club on Maui. I shared one picture a few days ago, but let me share a few more for my family and friends who know the couple.

Beautiful view of the wedding site, which offered a sweeping vista from one end of the Maui neck to the other.

The flower girl (Sugi's niece Taylor) and ring bearer (Andy's nephew Cayden) needed a little encouragement.

The bride is escorted by her father, Mike. As soon as she started down the aisle, tears started flowing. And lest you think that Andy is some tough guy, he started crying, too.

Sugi and Andy exchange rings. A Shinto priest from the temple close to Sugi's family's house in Pa'ia performed the ceremony.

Sealing the deal with a kiss. The flower girl, Taylor, is barefoot because she said her shoes hurt her feet.

The newlywed couple walk down the aisle.

The bride's sister and matron of honor, Jessica, escorted by the groom's best man Travis. The flower girl is Taylor, Jessica's three-year old daughter.

The bride's mother and father. Beautiful Japanese-themed dress and cloak!

The bride and her nearly 95-year old grandfather, who was the hit of the party.

The couple immediately after the ceremony!

Tawn poses with the flower girl while she still had her sandals on!

Andy W (obscured by request), Kenny, me, Tawn, Sugi, Andy, Fei, and Travis. Fei and Travis went to high school in Omaha with Andy.

The groom and bride address the guests. I was the emcee for the event and, with only a short while to practice, had to introduce all the out of town guests and family members!

The beautiful wedding cake. They went for a small cake because the main desserts were pie including my favorite macadamia nut cream pie!

Tawn and I pose with one of the cutest children at the wedding, Chinasa. The friend of Sugi's college roommate, Chinasa was this perfectly calm one-year old who didn't mind everybody holding her. No fussing, no crying. But she kept a poker face the whole time and was slow to smile!

It was a beautiful wedding - one of the nicest I've been to - and we were really glad we made the effort to fly over to be a part of it. Congratulations to Andy and Sugi and may you have many happy years together!

It is our last evening on Maui. I'm a bit bloody, bruised, and battered from kayaking in the ocean in the cove outside Sugi's aunt's house. More about that soon. Nonetheless, it has been a lovely trip and I'd like to share some pictures with you.

We arrived in Maui last Thursday. Andy and Sugi's wedding was Sunday afternoon and in lieu of a rehearsal dinner on Saturday, Sugi's family invited the out of town guests to their oceanfront home in Pa'ia, on the north shore of the island.

The family compound, which is where Sugi's grandfather Ohata originally had his medical clinic and home, faces onto Pa'ia Bay with a view of Kahalui and the 'Ioa Valley in the distance. Pardon my clumsy stitching in the above photo. At least, you have an idea of how spectacular the view from their backyard is.

There were at least thirty guests from out of town. With Sugi's more immediate local family members, the crowd was close to fifty. One of the first orders of business was to rehearse the wedding ceremony, which the celebrants did on the lawn.

While everyone practiced, I shot some pictures, including this cute three-year old who is the daughter of Andy and Sugi's friend Linda, who was also the wedding's photographer. June, being the daughter of a photographer, was ready to strike a pose on request.

The sun was still strong at this point in the afternoon - going on 6:00 - so Tawn was seeking whatever shade he could find.

After the rehearsal, the tiki torches were lit and the luau began. Above, Tawn poses with the bride and groom to be, Sugi and Andy. To their left are another pair of Xanga friends, Andy (ungrandvoyage) on the far left and Kenny (kenpcho) second from the left. Andy has always kept his identity hidden on Xanga (sound familiar, Matt?) so he asks that we obscure his face when posting pictures that include him. Tawn and I have met Kenny a few times before but this was our first time meeting Andy.

Several adorable children running around. In addition to the photogenic June (center) we have Sugi's niece Taylor on the left and Andy's nephew Cayden on the right. I enjoy watching children interact, especially young children as they can so easily play together and so easily ignore each other.

Another shot of the children, who were helping Sugi's youngest niece, Malia (in the yellow outfit), as she wobbled around the yard.

We also met Sugi's college roommate Amaka and her adorable baby Chinasa. Chinasa was so cute because she was totally willing to be held by one stranger after another without fuss, but she looked at each one of us with this poker face, as if she was trying to size us up without revealing her feelings.

As the sun set over west Maui, the photographer has Sugi and Andy pose for some photos. While the sunset was subdued that evening, the pictures turned out well and - most importantly - we had a very Hawaiian welcome that made all of the guests feel very much a part of the family.

Aloha from Maui! Yesterday we attended the wedding of Andy (known on Xanga as yang1815) and Sugi. More on that later but for now, we wish them a long and happy life together!

This blog is always a bit delayed. We're actually already in Maui and have been in San Francisco for the last week - and yet I am still writing about things that happened last month in Bangkok! Anyhow, our flight over on EVA Airways, a Taiwanese airline, was smooth.

Our airplane in San Francisco after our arrival. Temperatures were cold and breezy, as only a San Francisco summer can be!

Flight over - "Elite" class, which is EVA's premium economy cabin. Airfare is higher this summer than when I traveled over this past December. Nonetheless, I'm at an age (and height) where a little extra space makes the trip much more enjoyable.

While EVA's food is generally good, this flight's food was exceptional. Out of Bangkok, I had a Penang curry beef dinner with a duck pate over salad, fruit, and ice cream for dessert.

Closer look at the beef curry - instead of small pieces it was a petite steak. Very flavorful.

Strawberry ice cream, complete with little strawberry seeds. Of course, it arrived frozen so solid that I had to wait ten minutes to be able to make even the slightest dent in it!

Tawn on the air train to the car rental facility in SFO. Because we arrived in the early evening, there was no wait at immigration and customs. We breezed through immigration in less than three minutes and the bags started arriving within fifteen minutes of getting off the plane. In fact, we were in the rental car driving away from the airport within an hour of landing. Pretty impressive!

Thailand's hot season, which felt hotter than normal this year but according to the weather service was not, is just winding up. One of the few positives to the hot season is that many restaurants serve a seasonal specialty known as khao chae (ข้าวแช่). Tawn and I joined a few friends to sample this delicacy.

We dined at Lai Rote, a old-timey restaurant located on Sukhumvit Soi 39 across from Samitivej Hospital. It is a traditional Central Thai restaurant and its name means "many flavors."

Making khao chae is a three-day process. The rice is parboiled, which leaves it with a "toothier" texture than is typical for jasmine rice. It is then soaked with jasmine petals in a container that has lit jasmine candles floating in it. The delicate floral flavor permeates the rice. Finally, the rice is served in ice water, a cool treat during hot season.

The side dishses are the real attraction, though. They vary depending on the house's specialties but what you see above is pretty typical. It includes (working clockwise) elaborately carved green mangoes, cucumbers, grachai (fingerroot), hua hom yat sai (fried stuffed red onion), prik yuan sod sai (young banana peppers stuffed with pork and wrapped in a crispy, eggy shroud), muu wan (sweet dried shredded beef), plaa wan (sweet dried shredded fish), pad hua chai po (thin strands of dried pickled radishes stir-fried with egg), and luk kapi pad (fried fermented shrimp paste balls).

Unlike most Thai food, the khao chae side dishes are quite bland and not spicy at all. It derives from so-called "palace cuisine," the types of elaborate food traditionally served in the Thai royal palace. In addition to the khao chae, we ordered some other dishes:

khao tang na tang - Fried rice cracker with a minced pork and peanut topping.

khanom pang na gung - little toasts with shrimp pate and sesame seeds served with plum sauce.

yam tua pluu - a spicy salad of wing beans and toasted shallots with a peanut and roasted chili dressing.

For dessert, I had a less-common dish called khao maow grob. It features grains known as meang lak (hydrated lemon basil seeds) served with syrup and crushed ice, topped with toasted rice grains coated with palm sugar.

Here's a close up of the palm sugar coated toasted rice grains. Just like very crunch Rice Krispies. One of the more interesting Thai desserts I've had.

The meal was a refreshing break from our hot weather. Thankfully, by the time I've gotten around to writing this, rainy season has started to arrive and the heat is breaking.

Near the end of school break (which runs from March to mid-May in Thailand), Tawn's cousin Pheung got it into her mind that I would be a good person to teach her son Mark to ice skate. I guess the logic was that since I come from a country that has snow and ice, I must be well-suited for such instruction. Of course, I come from sunny California, but that didn't stop me from agreeing to a skating date.

There are several ice rinks in Bangkok, the newest of which is a regulation size rink called Sub Zero at Central Plaza Rama 9. We showed up for the mid-afternoon session, which runs for two hours. While I've probably skated no more than a half-dozen times in my life, I knew enough to explain to Mark and Tawn that you need to keep your legs close together and your feet parallel to the floor. Sadly, that was the sum total of my ice skating knowledge.

Mark was pretty insistent on getting up without any help each time he fell. It took him a while to learn that you can't get up from your butt without turning over onto your knees first. Otherwise, your feet just keep sliding out from under you!

We had a fun few hours going in circles, although by the end my feet hurt. I guess if I do this only once every half-dozen years or so, that's okay.

My friend Nat prepares the most fantastic dinners. A few weeks ago he bounced an idea off me: sous vide unsliced bacon and then deep fry it. Before I knew it, a date was set and a dozen guests invited.

The Preparation

Nat was at the market and they had a whole, uncut bacon - smoked pork belly. He bought it, certain that it would make an interesting sous vide main course. Sous vide cooking is a technique where the food is vacuum sealed in plastic bags which are then cooked in a water bath for long periods at a relatively low temperature.

Not certain how long would be ideal, he ran a test batch with three bags, pulling a bag out every 24 hours to check the texture. Seventy-two hours was perfect.

After pulling the bags from the water bath, they were plunged into an ice bath to halt the cooking. Once cooled, the slabs of bacon were removed from the bags and patted dry with towels.

The final step, to ensure a nice, crisp exterior, was to deep fry the pieces of bacon for a few minutes.

The end result, a soft, silk chunk of bacon with a crispy exterior. The day before dinner, Nat asked my suggestions for a sauce. I suggested a lychee sauce since it was lychee season and the astringency of lychee would cut through the richness of the bacon. What I received for my suggestion was the assignment to cook the sauce! 

Once I arrived, I started turning fresh, seeded lychees through a food mill in order to extract all the juice. This was cooked in a pot with chicken stock and chopped onions and allowed to cook for an hour before I seasoned and thickened the sauce.

A nice rocket and tomato salad was prepared to garnish the dish. Bitter greens in a vinaigrette would contrast with the rich bacon and sweet/tart lychee sauce.

One item was sitting on the counter, waiting to be turned into amuse bouche - appetizers. Do you recognize these?

Poaching on the stove is a dish of tiger prawn quenelles, made by taking a choux paste (same one you use for cream puffs) and mixing it with finely ground, raw prawn meat and seasonings.

The Dinner

As usual at Nat's house, dinner brought together a wide variety of guests, people with different backgrounds, occupations, and interests - all of whom share an appreciation for good food.

Charming salt and pepper shakers.

Amuse bouche: escargot in garlic crust. Very tasty!

Soup course: chilled leek and lemongrass soup. The lemongrass was very subtle, just sneaking up into your nose when each sip of soup was already swallowed.

The tiger prawn quenelles served with a prawn roe sauce and steamed asparagus. Very light texture with rich flavor.

Palate cleanser: mojito sherbet.

Main course: Deep fried sous vide bacon with lychee sauce served with a rocket salad with soy vinaigrette. Alas, the plate was a little cool and my sauce thickened a bit too much by the time I took this picture. Nonetheless, the meat was very tender and the sauce's flavors worked nicely with it. Of course, the serving could have been a third this size and we would have been fine!

Linda and I pose for a picture mid-dinner, only to discover a moment later that Cha had inserted himself into the shot!

For dessert, sticky toffee pudding with a toffee sauce and homemade yamazaki ice cream. Decadent!

Recently, a friend was cooking at a dinner for eighty people, one of these social events where everyone pitches in to help cover the costs of the food. Being from the panhandle of Florida, she was preparing a Cajun-inspired menu and asked if I would help with the dessert. While I was originally going to make sweet potato pie, plans morphed and we ended up with pumpkin bars, which turned out nicely nonetheless.

Sweet potato pie would have been much more authentic for a Cajun dessert but local sweet potatoes are very small and the larger imported sweet potatoes are ridiculously expensive. I opted instead for pumpkins, which are plentiful and much less expensive. Scaling up from a recipe that serves maybe 16 people, I wasn't sure just how much pumpkin I needed, so bought six.

After cutting them, steaming them, and peeling and mashing the flesh, I had a lot of pumpkin puree. In fact, it was about half again what I ended up needing. That's okay - you can freeze pumpkin puree.

Instead of a usual pie crust, I decided on a recipe that used shortbread. Shortbread is not only easier to make than pie crust, it also adds a different dimension to the texture - providing a crispier base versus a tender and flaky one.

Instead of pies, which would be more difficult to transport, I opted for four large aluminum trays that came with plastic covers. I spread the shortbread dough on the bottom and then baked it for about 15 minutes until it started firming up and tanning.

The filling was pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cream, egg yolks, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger powder, and cloves. I whipped egg whites in a separate bowl and folded them into the mixture, creating a lighter texture.

The filling baked in about thirty minutes. After cooling to room temperature, I put the four trays in my refrigerator and carried them to the event the next afternoon. A little chilling helps film up the pumpkin pie and makes it much easier to cut and serve.

The end product, shown from a smaller test batch I did two days before. This version didn't have the egg whites whipped separately, so the filling isn't as tall as in the final version. Still just as tasty, though!