I love getting dim sum. If you like seeing food before you order it, there’s no better way to dine out.

And Mei Sum Chinese Dim Sum Restaurant is the place to have it when you’re in downtown Honolulu’s Chinatown district.

Carts of Hong-Kong-style dim sum are rolled around the restaurant right to your table. If you like what you see on the cart, just ask your server for it. Don’t like what you see? Wait for the next cart to come around. Instant gratification!

Going to a dim sum restaurant requires little prior experience or expertise in Chinese cuisine. If you’re unfamiliar with what’s on the cart, most restaurants have a menu with pictures and the names of each dish. If you’re still unsure about an entrée, you can always ask your server.

In addition to Mei Sum’s dim sum, you can also order entrées or starch dishes like noodles and fried rice. But most of the fun comes from checking out what’s on the carts.

We ordered pretty much everything we saw: from char siu bao (barbeque pork manapua), spareribs with black bean sauce, shrimp dumpling and shrimp pork hash (pictured above) to pot stickers, barbeque pork pastry and cold jellyfish (pictured to the right).

That’s right, cold jellyfish, which I was curious to taste. It was a bit chewy, and definitely an acquired taste.

A must-try though? The deep fried taro (pictured left).

The best thing about eating at Mei Sum is that it’s affordable. The price for each dim sum entrée depends on its category: small dishes will cost you $2.15, medium dishes are $2.55 and large dishes are $3.35.

Mei Sum is open for lunch, dinner or takeout. Reservations are highly recommended for large groups.

You’ll find Mei Sum at 65 N. Pauahi St. (on the corner of N. Pauahi and Smith St.). Call (808) 531-3268 for hours and more menu information.

  

Here’s something we're looking forward to. 

The 27th Annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival will work its Maui magic from June 26-29 this year.

The three-day festival is presided over by Master Sommelier Fred Dame—who we enjoy for his genial wit, as well as his palate.

It kicks off Friday with chef demonstrations and a grand tasting with 100 wines, exceptional pupu and a Kapalua beachfront sunset. 

It ends Sunday with the Seafood Festival, a bounty of Island seafood, prepared by star chefs, with, of course, plenty of wines.

In between, there are tastings, cooking demonstrations, dinners and a guest appearance from Chef Frank Ostini, whose Hitching Post Restaurant had a starring role in the film Sideways.

Perhaps our favorite moment.  A seminar Sunday morning called “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” featuring Bloody Mary recipes from the star sommeliers.  Perhaps the seminar should be called, “Hair of the Dog.”

If you love food, wine and Maui (and it’s a short list of people who don’t), you can make reservations here, or (888) 665-9160.
 

Today is Childrens’ Day in Japan—a day replacing Boys’ Day (which once claimed May 5) and Girls' Day in that country.

Here in Hawaii, though, we still believe a single shared day is far too brief to celebrate the many wonderful things about BOTH genders. Plus, we love a good party.

And so we celebrate Girls’ Day on March 3 (3/3), and Boys’ Day today (5/5).

Drive through neighborhoods and suburbs in Hawaii today and you’ll see koinobori—colorful carp streamers “swimming” the tradewinds on bamboo poles outside homes. Count the number of carp on the poles and you’ll know how many boys reside in each home. The largest carp honors the oldest boy, the smallest carp the youngest.

According to Joan Namkoong’s book Family Traditions in Hawaii, koi (carp in Japanese) symbolize masculinity. It’s a tough fish, believed to swim upstream through currents, scale waterfalls and still live a long life. All of these good qualities to prevail upon a young man.

Male dolls representing heroic warriors—replete with body armor, weapons and helmets—are given and displayed.

Kashiwa mochi—a bean-filled rice cake wrapped in an oak leaf—and chimaki mochi—same thing, wrapped in bamboo leaves—are often given to the men of the house.

Sadly, no koinobori greeted my editor and me when we arrived in the office this morning. Surprising, too—us being fine, upstanding males, and all.

But the day is still young.

  

Hawaii’s largest producer of macadamia and kukui nut oil products turns 20 years old this year. As part of Oils of Aloha’s birthday celebrations, HAWAII Magazine was invited to take a tour of its production facility in Whitmore Village on Oahu.

Their expeller-pressed process is a complex multi-step procedure that extracts and purifies the macadamia and kukui nut oils. It also turns the nuts into a “press cake” that can be ground into a natural exfoliant, which is used in scrubs and facial cleansers. Every part of the nut is used, including its shell.

Oils of Aloha owners Barbara and Dana Gray (pictured right) started the company in 1988 in the historic Koga Theater in Waialua on Oahu. You may be familiar with Oils of Aloha’s skin, hair and sun care products. Perhaps you were one of our “Postcards to Hawaii” or “2007 Best of Hawaii” ballot winners who received Oils of Aloha’s products. (And you can win a gift from Oils of Aloha simply by filling out our 2008 Best of Hawaii ballot.)

What most people don’t know is that Oils of Aloha also makes macadamia cooking and salad oils.

To our surprise, our entire lunch (except for the kalua pig and poi) was made with macadamia oils, including the macadamia smoked salmon, Pele’s Firehouse chicken, Kauai Herb Bruschetta and—our favorite—Haleiwa Heat Deep-Fried Turkey. Even the salads and desserts were made with the macadamia nut oil.

Here’s the recipe for the Haleiwa Heat Deep Fried Turkeys. It calls for a lot of turkeys and whole lot of macadamia nut oil.  It's  designed for parties, but we couldn’t figure out how to reduce it and still get the same effect.

Haleiwa Heat Deep Fried Turkeys

What you’ll need:

4 turkeys (10 to 12 lbs. each)
Injection Mixture (see below)
Flavor injector needle
Dry Rub (see below)
4 to 5 gallons Oils of Aloha Hawaii’s Gold Macadamia Oil for deep frying
10-gallon pot, propane tank and large strainer

Haleiwa Heat Injection Mixture

1 gal. Oils of Aloha Haleiwa Heat Macadamia Oil
12 oz. soy sauce
1 jar (1.62 oz.) paprika
3/4 cup salt
1/4 cup pepper
Combine all ingredients and stir occasionally while injecting to keep the ingredients blended.

Dry Rub

1 jar (1.62 oz.) paprika
3/4 cup salt
1/4 cup pepper
Combine all ingredients and blend well.

Directions:

Remove parts from inside the turkeys. Rinse and pat dry. Stir Injection Mixture to keep ingredients blended. Fill needle and inject four times on top of each leg from front to back. Inject half a needle into each wing joint. Inject a needle into each drumstick and thigh. Sprinkle part of the Dry Rub into cavity of each turkey, then rub remainder on outside. Heat macadamia oil to 375ºF, preferably outdoors.
Very carefully and slowly lower turkey into hot oil and cook until golden brown (allow 3-4 minutes per pound). When cooked, the turkey will float to the surface with a perfect crispy, brown skin. Carefully remove from hot oil and allow any excess oil to drain back into the pot, then place the turkey on an oven rack. Allow turkeys to rest for 20 minutes before carving. Makes 20 servings.

For more Oils of Aloha macadamia nut oil recipes, click here.


 

A mysterious package arrived for me at front desk. I felt like a mad scientist when I opened it and a fog rose from the Styrofoam box packed with dry ice. When the fog cleared, I saw five whole boxes of Mikawaya’s Mochi Ice Cream.

Mikawaya is based in Los Angeles, but mochi ice cream is a Hawaii favorite. It’s a perfect combination of textures: ice cream, still hard despite its journey across the Pacific, wrapped in soft mochi (Japanese sweet rice cake).
The frozen treat, available online and at many stores, comes in seven flavors: Mango, Strawberry, Vanilla, Kona Coffee, Chocolate, Red Bean and Green Tea (there's also a Taro Mochi, but it's seasonal and currently not available). Our favorites were strawberry and mango, a perfect afternoon treat.

If you want to be more adventurous with your dessert, you can also try this recipe.

Mango Mochi Ice Cream with Raspberry Sauce

1 box Mikawaya Mango Mochi Ice Cream

Raspberry Sauce:

1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries (thawed)

1/4 cup white sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons water

In small saucepan, combine raspberries and sugar over medium heat. Cook until raspberries are broken down (about 10 minutes). In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and water until combined.  When raspberries are broken down, slowly whisk in cornstarch mixture. Bring to boil and cook 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Chill well.

Serve individual Mango Mochi Ice Cream on plate. Drizzle with Raspberry Sauce.


 

You may have heard that many of us here in Hawaii eat Spam.

Fried Spam, eggs and rice for breakfast. A Spam musubi before lunch. A spam musubi FOR lunch.

Guilty as charged.

In a state where every McDonald’s restaurant has a Spam breakfast platter on the menu, is it any wonder we put aside a day each year to celebrate our obsession with the canned pink luncheon meat from Austin, Minnesota?

Hawaii’s largest Spam festival, the Waikiki Spam Jam, makes its sixth-annual appearance Saturday, from 4 to 10 p.m. A good-sized portion of Waikiki’s main drag, Kalakaua Avenue, will shut down for the street festival. There’ll be a couple of entertainment stages. Merchandise booths will sell Spam T-shirts, sunglasses, dolls, straw hats and other paraphernalia. The winner of a Mr.-or-Ms. Spam beauty contest will get a year's supply of salty pork goodness.

And yes, Virginia, a dozen or so Honolulu restaurants are setting up food booths to sell Spam-enhanced culinary creations to the famished multitudes bound to show up.

You might ask, “Derek, I'm staying in Waikiki this weekend, should I go?” To that, I might answer, “If you’re not a vegan or on a low-cholesterol diet … why not?”

Spam folklore has it that Hawaii residents were introduced to the stuff during World War II when fresh meat was hard to come by in our isolated archipelago. Apparently, it was love at first bite. These days, it’s said we consume 7 percent of all Spam sold in the United States annually, and 16 times more Spam per capita than any other state. Pretty scary for a state with just a half-percent of the U.S. population.

Spam cookbooks abound, giving credence to fans who wax lyrical about the canned meat product’s limitless culinary applications. But most local folks—present company included—dig it most in a Spam musubi: a tasty, extremely portable snack consisting of a marinated slice of fried Spam snuggled in a block of sticky rice wrapped with dried seaweed.

(That’s a Spam musubi I enjoyed this morning, in the top photo.)

We’ve got more information on this weekend’s Waikiki Spam Jam here. But if you need a good laugh or proof that Spam-maker Hormel Food Corporation has a sense of humor about its much-maligned “mystery meat,” click here, and toss a query at the all-knowing “Book of Spam.”

And click here for a "How to Make a Spam Musubi" video we found on YouTube.

 

Many of you asked. Some of you guessed after my weekend post. Now, I can finally answer.

Yes, after some none-too-subtle campaigning on my part, I attended the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele Kona beer dinner on Saturday.

It was departing executive sous chef Thomas Bellec’s grand finale at the Lodge—a five-course dinner menu, paired with craft beers from Kona Brewing Co. He’d done a couple of wine dinners, and even a scotch dinner in the past—all in the Lodge’s country manor-reminiscent interiors.

But the beer dinner seemed apt for a more casual setting. So taking advantage of good upcountry weather, dinner was served under the stars on the Lodge’s croquet court.

The Four Seasons pulled out all stops. Guests were seated at elegantly-appointed picnic tables equipped with padded seats. Tiki torches lit the area. Heat lamps offset the chilly evening tradewinds. Pashminas were handed out to whoever wanted one. A guitarist strummed gentle Hawaiian tunes.

How to break the ice? How about a trio of cocktails, all beer-infused—a mai tai with a float of Amstel Light (so-so), a bloody mary with a kicky bite of Corona and lime (good), and a fresh-squeezed lemonade mixed with Hangar 1 vodka, kafir lime and a float of Corona (best).

After a couple of each over a half-hour, conversation flowed.

I sat across from Mark and Barbara Zigmond, owners of Lanai City’s Pele’s Other Garden restaurant—and right next to Tom Roelens and his wife Sara. Roelens was ending his third week as general manager of both Four Seasons resorts on the island—the Lodge at Koele and the Manele Bay Resort. 

He was still giddy about getting the job, regaling us with tales of his Belgian childhood, where quaffing beer as a minor was legal, and his father occasionally brewed up a batch of the stuff in the family living room.

“We kids looked forward to days we could come home from school for lunch,” said Roelens, after one story.

Responded Zigmond, to much laughter, “Yes, but did you learn anything after lunch?”

Chef Bellec's aim was to match each course with the right beer. Kona Brewing’s light, citrusy Wailua Wheat beer, for instance, complemented  the dressing on the green salad with Lanai venison pastrami.

Roelens enjoyed the subtle spice, fruit and smooth finish of Kona Brewing’s wonderful 3K Belgian Triple ale so much, that he ordered a second round for our table before we could finish our beer-glazed brie and roasted pear on egg brioche.

Another high point? The brewer’s Pipeline Porter—rich with roasted coffee aroma and a smoky dark chocolate finish—paired with one of the richest entrées I’ve ever encountered.  It was, first, an applewood-smoked bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin on, second, a bed of kalua pulled pork, plus parsnip puree and Brussels sprouts fricassee, all in beer infused demi glace. I'm still surprised I survived it.

Four Seasons Resort Lanai public relations director Brad Packer said it was his dream to host a similar dinner at the Lodge … with tequila.

I’ll bring the limes and salt, dude.

And HawaiiMagazine.com readers will, again, know about it before it happens. Cheers!
 

One of the cooler things about my job is escaping the office on Oahu every couple of months, flying to one of the neighbor islands and getting to call what I do there work.

I’m on the island of Lanai this weekend, taking in some scenery, activities and food. You’ll see everything I collect while I'm here in future HawaiiMagazine.com Web posts and HAWAII Magazine articles.

For now, though, some photographic evidence of what I was up to on Friday.

Vog from Kilauea enveloped most of Hawaii on Friday, obscuring views of Oahu and Molokai on the morning flight to Lanai. The effect it had on the view of the manicured gardens at the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele when I checked in, however, was wonderfully dramatic.

A view of the island's only town, Lanai City, from a bluff above the Lodge at Koele. With just over 3,000 residents, a handful of businesses and comprised mainly of homes, it's not your classic definition of a "city." But you'll meet some of the friendliest people in Hawaii here.

I rented a Jeep 4x4  to explore the island's beaches for a future HAWAII Magazine feature. With only 30 miles of paved road on the island, Jeeps are pretty much the only rental available. Fortunately, they're the best way to see Lanai (other than on horseback, which I'm also doing a bit of this weekend for a HAWAII feature). This is a beach road on the island's north shore.

Polihua Beach, on Lanai's north side, is your reward after a lengthy and extremely bumpy drive down a single-lane Jeep trail. Stretching more than two miles, it's Lanai's longest white sand beach. It's also one of the island's most remote. On a typical late afternoon visit, you'll find about as many people exploring its breathtaking grandeur as you do in this photo.

My dinner after a long day of "work"—a meat lover's pizza at Pele's Other Garden in Lanai City. It's always a joy visiting owners Mark and Barbara Zigmond, and sampling their terrific homemade Italian entrees, pizzas, deli sandwiches and desserts. Great people. Must-have-food on Lanai. Check out Mark's must-read "My Corner of Paradise" feature in our Jan./Feb. 2008 issue.

 

Little Village Noodle House has been one of my favorite restaurants. This week, I’ve eaten lunch there twice.

It’s hard to resist this place because the food is excellent and the restaurant is within walking distance from our office.

The menu is divided into 12 sections: Appetizers, Soups, Salads, “Beef, Lamb & Pork,” Poultry, Seafood, Vegetarian, Rice, Noodles, Taste of Hong Kong, Desserts and Beverages. Everything is meant to be shared “family style.”

My list of must-haves includes the Honey Walnut Shrimp, Dried String Beans, Peking Duck, Pan Fried Beef, Eggplant with Garlic Sauce, Pecan Spinach Salad, Orange Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork. I could go on and on, because everything I’ve eaten here has become one of my favorite dishes. 

But if I had to choose just one dish, it would have to be the jumbo-size Honey Walnut Shrimps (pictured left). According to their menu, the shrimps are tossed in a garlic-and-green-onion cream sauce and topped with honey walnuts. It’s almost like a seafood candy treat.

Little Village Noodle House is open for lunch and dinner. I strongly recommend making reservations before you go, because the popular restaurant has a tendency to get crowded. There’s even take out if you’re in a hurry.

 

The cover feature of the new issue of HAWAII Magazine is all about the “15 Things We Love About Hawaii” right now.

Among them, you’ll find the Big Island-made chocolate we’d fly from our Oahu offices to savor. The Hilo designer whose Hawaii-inspired fashions and prints we’d pick up while we’re there. And the hula dancer whose graceful movements we’d most want to accompany an oceanside mai tai and Waikiki sunset when we return home.

We've already clued you in about our love for Lost actor Michael Emerson in a previous “15 Things We Love About Hawaii” post. The love currently quenching our thirst for a carbonated beverage like no other, though? Artisanal sodas from Waialua Soda Works.

Trust us. You haven’t had a great vanilla cream soda until you’ve had a Waialua Soda Works vanilla cream soda. HAWAII editor John Heckathorn and I emptied a small office supply of the stuff in an afternoon binge session. (Our original plan was to share a single bottle.) And I’m still unsure whether associate editor Sherie Char got to enjoy any at all. (Burp.)

Here’s an excerpt:

Waialua Soda Works is all about homegrown Hawaii ingredients. There’s Big Island vanilla and Kauai honey in its vanilla cream soda. Island-grown fruits, when available, infuse its pineapple and mango sodas. Maui sugar cane sweetens its root beer. … The contents are handmade and hand-bottled by Jason and Karen Campbell (who) make old-fashioned artisanal soda in the former plantation village of Waialua on Oahu’s North Shore.

Read the full text of our Waialua Soda Works write-up and the 14 other things we love about Hawaii in the May/June 2008 issue of HAWAII Magazine, on newsstands now.