Bento Box

I had a general idea of what a bento box was, though I had never had one. I had NO IDEA that bentos in Hawaii are so big!! Hubby called me and asked if I wanted lunch from Mickey Ds or a bento from the new Kiawe Grill. I figured a bento was like a plate lunch in a box. (One day I will have to write a post on plate lunch for everyone that doesn't live on the island.) But if I thought plate lunch was big, holy moly, this was really big! A bento box is a Japanese boxed lunch that is meant for one person. But in Hawaii, the bento is not limited to just Japanese food. This bento came with chicken, beef, pork katsu, fish, mandoo (dumplings), spam, and mac salad. This was served over a mountain of rice. I passed on the mac salad. If you can imagine mac salad being flavorful, this was it. I took a couple of bites, and gave it to Hubby because there was so much else to eat! The kiawe grill (also the name of the restaurant) makes a difference in the food. The meat is seared over live flames below the Korean grill. Kiawe wood deepens the flavor of the meat, and actually makes it much healthier than cooking the meat in a pan or in an oven. Mmm...ono! Kiawe Grill just opened their third restaurant on my side of the island! It is one of those local places that people love!

Srping Break with Grandma T. and GG

Grandma T. and GG planned their trip to Hawaii during Son1's break from preschool. Here is a little more about the visit.

One of our favorite things to do is go to Waikiki on a Friday night and swim at the Hale Koa. We usually have dinner at Bibas, and then watch the fireworks at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Grandma T. loves to swim, so this suited her perfectly!

Now this is what I love about Hubby. He sat with Son2 and helped him with a roast beef sandwich, just so I could get in and swim, too. We had just one little problem. There was a little confusion and Grandma T. and GG did not bring a change of clothes. Thank goodness for swimsuit cover ups because the Farmer Family had plans. We were going to dinner, and were going to watch the fireworks! Let's just say they eventually came around! You know what we say when there's a problem? We just flash the shaka (hang loose sign) and blurt out, "Hang loose!"
Another day we went to the North Shore to the Turtle Bay lagoons. This is a different resort than I have previously written about, that also has lagoons open to the public. People do snorkel, and do see turtles. We did not see any that day, though. Hubby and GG sat up on the beach while Grandma T., Son1, Son2, and I swam in the ocean. Now, it just wasn't a four generation kind of a swim without GG. She thought about how her great grand kids were in the water without her. So she sprang up and decided it was time to get in.
We were kind of all over the place, so this was one of the only pictures to prove we had a four generation swim. Clicking on the picture will make us bigger.
At the beach we watched this dog be trained to retrieve a boogie board alone, over and over , far past the water break. He is a Newfoundland, and he was big! The sun started to set, and we headed home. GG and Grandma T. were tired! They relaxed at home, and gave Hubby and I a chance to have dinner out, without children! Imagine that!Another day we rode the The Hawaiian Railway in Ewa Beach. Since they were encountering some construction on the railway, the trip was only 45 minutes. We went a different route than the time we had ridden the train before. One of the engineers punched the tickets with an old fashioned railway ticket punch.
The train headed eastbound rather than ewa bound. (Ewa is pronounced eh-vah. The w in the Hawaiian language makes the "v" sound. The word means westbound.) We saw one of the original sugar cane plantations on the island. See the tree in the upper right corner? It is called a Golden Tree. The blossoms are always golden. They make me smile because they oddly remind me of Fall on the East Coast, with the vibrant and deep gold color. My favorite part of the train ride was watching the old fashioned railway switch signs that tell the trains in which direction to travel. They are original from when the Oahu Railway and Land Company used to operate the narrow gauge common carrier railroad, until 1947. They could be in full use, but are not, since the only train riding was the one we were on. At the halfway point of the trip, the engineer that was the narrator asked if anyone had celebrated a birthday recently. The entire train, consisting of several open passenger cars of people, sang Happy Birthday to Son2. GG was so proud!

Well, all good visits must come to an end. On Grandma T. and GG's last day in Hawaii, they got to visit Son1's preschool class. Their last day in Hawaii was the first day back from Spring Break. GG was so impressed she was moved to tears. But the teachers were also impressed with her. Being a senior member of a family in Hawaii is a huge honor. So, the preschool teacher and teacher's aide asked how old GG was. They were so honored to have Son1's great grandmother in class they took our picture and offered hugs. It was a very sweet moment.

Once Son1 was home from preschool, we spent our last hours together on the North Shore. From the time we left our house to the time we got to our first stop, the Dole Plantation, the rain was pouring down. We were afraid the rain wasn't going to let up. We rode the Pineapple Express, and both boys loved the minutes on the train with GG and Grandma T.

We rounded a bend and the rain came to an abrupt stop. I looked out across the pineapple fields and saw this rainbow. If you look above it you can faintly make out the second double rainbow. One day I just may tell you why I think God made these for me. But right then, we all looked out at those rainbows in awe. We arrived at the train platform and headed for the big Dole store. Hubby met us there shortly after work.Our last stop on the North Shore was historic Haleiwa Town. This is the largest commercial center on the North Shore, with a residential population of just over 2,000. This is also where our family favorite, the Grass Skirt Grill, is located. GG loves coconut, so of course we ordered a plate of coconut shrimp. They served it with two sauces, an orange and a more spicy sauce. This is one of their specialties.

More importantly, they serve the best teriyaki cheese fries. To the Farmers, these are the best fries on the island. We just giggled and giggled watching Son2 devour these. Once he got a taste, he just couldn't help himself, probably because I have him on such a fresh diet. Mmmm, saturated fat!

Their burgers are also our favorites. By request, they also come with a half an avocado as a topping. To die for!

The owner of the Grass Skirt Grill also owns the Surf shops next door, called Strong Current. This is his Woody.

This was a great way to end the visit, with full bellies and wide smiles. The boys were sad to say goodbye to Grandma T. and GG. But we have this saying in Hawaii...A Hui Ho! Until we meet again!

Hot Malasadas

The other night Hubby brought home a special treat for our family, Hot Malasadas! They are known to be quite ono in Hawaii!A Hot Malasada is a Portuguese pastry. A lot of our Hawaiian food has Portuguese influence. These pastries are a fried dough on the outside, until golden brown. Still, they are moist and fluffy on the inside. Usually they are rolled in cinnamon and sugar or just sugar. Hubby brought some Hot Malasadas filled with coconut and chocolate. GG thinks they taste heavenly!!

This Week's Ono

Here is a little about this week's ono at our house. Ono is the Hawaiian word for delicious.

Since we have instituted the new Farmer grocery habit, I wanted to make our shopping interesting. Each week I buy something new to our family.These are pluots. They are a hybrid of 3/4 plum and 1/4 apricot. Pluots are very sweet because of their high sugar content and their intense flavor. They are also very, very juicy. Pluots are also rich in Vitamin A.
This is misoyaki butterfish. It is quite popular here in Hawaii. It combines the Japanese flavors of miso and sake with a taste that is uniquely Hawaiian. It is really popular at Roy's, but costs you probably three or four times what I paid for it at Costco. The butterfish is actually a sablefish, but because the skin of the fish is oily, it melts in your mouth like butter.
We also went to our favorite pancake paradise that is right down the street from my house. This is Son1's favorite breakfast, eggs over hard, and jasmine fried rice which is onolicious. Rice is a staple that can be eaten with every meal here. This fried rice is sweet and is made with bacon. They make the best fried rice ever!
Ooooh we had never had this before. Every day the restaurant makes a special biscuit of the day for $1.99. This day was peaches and cream biscuit day. It was so huge. It took up the entire dessert plate. Mmmm it was butter topped, sweet, fluffy, with whole peach pieces and layers of whipped cream in between. We have gone there for almost a year and have never been there on a peaches and cream biscuit day.Then there was the day Hubby made cashew chicken with vegetable stir fry just to give me a break. So yummy that Son1 ate his veggies pretty easily. The boys usually don't see their dad until the early evenings since he leaves at 5:30am. When he is home, they want to be right with him.

Ono in Hawaii

Ono is our way of saying something is delicious here. If it is onolicious, it means it is super delicious, in a local kind of way. Here is a little bit of this week's ono at our house.

My neighbor is on the state's professional competitive skin diving team. He shares fish with us every now and then. This time he brought us what is known in Hawaii as Ulua. Since the fish was under twelve pounds it is called Papio even though it is the same fish. If it is over that then it is called Ulua. The Ulua fish is the most sought after shore catch.The fish has white fillets. Hubby breaded it here for us and it was definitely onolicious!
Hubby brought home a special treat for Son1. An island favorite with the kids is Choco Boy. It is actually a Korean snack in the shape of a mushroom, like Choco Boy. The stem is made of a shortbread cookie and the mushroom cap is made of chocolate.