Broke da Mouth

Pusit Adobo

It’s graduation time in Hawaii, and I can just imagine all of the Filipino foods at the Filipino house parties.  I can see all the relatives you don’t know, the Tata’s burning hair off the Lechon, the Lechon at the end of the table, the food, the Nana’s and Tata’s speaking loudly as they prepare for dinner , the list goes on and on. 

Tagnawa, in the Ilokano language is the practice of helping each other out.  The Philippines is not as economically developed as the U.S, so many services are not catered or hired.  Instead, if there was a big job to do (building a house, preparing for a party, etc), your neighbors and friends all come to help you out, and the favor is also mutually returned.  It’s a beautiful custom.  It is nice to know that our background came full of talented and smart people.  I’m sure that there are practices like this that are practiced all over Asia.

I think about the future generations and wonder if these practices will be continued.  Is our generation able to effectively pass on these traditions to the next?  The language, the way you raise/scold your children, the way you clean your house, the way you sing, the way you speak and treat you elders, the way you dance, the way you drink, the way you eat, the way you take a shower, there is so much!

To me, for Filipinos, many of these customs should be perpetuated and passed on, especially cooking!  Cultural cooking.

There is something great about Filipino cooking.  It is something that’s hard to explain.  Something intangible.  For any Filipino who loves Filipino food, ask them “why?”,  I bet they will have a hard time explaining. 

In our capitalist economy, depending on your opportunity costs, food places do seem to have the comparative and absolute advantage of providing food for you, rather than providing for yourself.

But cooking is an art, why not practice it more often!  Just think of the smell of food that fills the house as you impatiently wait for your parents to yell “Mangantayo.” or think of the way you always go back to the food table to get ”just one more” lumpia.  Wouldn’t you want your own family and kids to have that same experience and feeling?

 

 

We’ve been cooking alot this summer, fun and relaxing without the stresses from school.  Filipino food is so comforting, there’s Pansit, Pinak Bet, Saluyut, Halo Halo, Gisantes, Longanisa, Paria, Igado, the list goes on and on!  We were having trouble deciding what to cook.  After some time, we decided to cook an all time favorite, Adobo!  Plus, Adobo would probably come up first if you alphabetize a list of Filipino foods!

For our meat of choice, we decided to use “Pusit” or squid.  Why choose squid?  Because I like seafood :).  There are many different geographic diffusions and differentiations of the same dish in the Philippines.  This is our method.

Prep the Squid!

 

 Cutting it up is optional, you can leave whole if you want.

 

 

First we combined the squid, water and vinegar in a saucepan.  Boil and simmer, but don’t over do it!

 

In another pan saute, ginger, garlic, onion, salt, black pepper and tomatoes.  Some Adobo dishes use oyster sauce if you want.

Then combine everything together.

 

That’s it.

So who were the judges, they were my mom and grandma.  They are the chefs in the house and I think it would be hard to please them with my cooking.  They would probably laugh at my efforts.

To my surprise they loved it!!!  My mom took some for work to “balon” and there was none left tomorrow for my lunch.  We liked it also!

Although it was good and everyone enjoyed it, there was something missing to me.  Something different about this Adobo.  Then it hit me, it was too healthy!  That was what was wrong (well, to me anyway).   Call me crazy, but I like it prepared the way that gives me high blood pressure! Now I know what to improve on next time!

As for technique, this was fun to make, but my mom makes this same dish much more efficiently, using less tools, using one pot, and in less time!  I still got a long way to go.

Most Filipino cooks perpetuate the art of cooking Filipino food beautifully, no measuring cups, no cookbooks, no test tasting, no timer, none of that nonsense.  It’s all done in one beautiful and fluid motion, efficiently and tastefully.  This is the kind of knowledge you can’t just get in book, or on the internet. 

Whatever ethnic race you come from, I highly suggest you spend some time with your grandparents and parents to learn the art of traditionally cooking your culture’s food.

What are some of your favorite Filipino (or other culture) dishes to eat?

Mexico Restaurant

Our friend Jenny just came back from studying abroad from China.  So Debbie, Kat, Aj, Jordan, and I decided to go and eat out at a Mexican Restaurant.  Weird huh…

Ugh, just the thought of Mexican food, it makes me think of a dry desert in my mouth.  Why would you want to pay for food that will make you dry, thirsty and sweaty? 

Lots of people have been telling me to try “Real” Mexican food.  I thought about it lately, and maybe…  I was just in the wrong mindset.  I basically judged all of Mexican food with the experience I had from Taco Bell. I mean, thats being unfair.  If I was Spanish,  I would be angry at me too.  I agree that I was being stupid, but I’ll give it another try.  So an authentic Mexican restaurant was the goal.  There is one in Kalihi.  About a 10-15 minute walk from my house.  Off on foot we went to…

Mexico Restaurant
1247 N. School St
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817 

Going into through the door, you feel like you immersed yourself into another world.  The atmosphere is lively and fun.  There was a singer, and customers dining here were speaking Spanish.  This seemed like a good sign. Call me a tourist, but I had trouble choosing what to order.  I didn’t know what this was, and what that was.  After about 10 minutes, I was able to make my mind up. 

First in came three huge mugs of Horchata’s.  I was expecting it to come in a small sophisticated style cup,  boy was I wrong…

I’ll be ordering this every time I come here, it’s that awesome.  I got to learn how to make this at home.  This is an excellent drink, tastes like nothing I have had before!   If you love cinnamon, I think you’ll like this.

As we wait for out food, Jenny tells us of her adventures in China, from her trip to the restaurant to try donkey, to her experiences of the Forbidden City and Great wall of China. Then came our food, steaming hot food on huge plates! Mmmm.

There it was, my Crab Tortatta.  In all of its glory.  I take a bite and have an epiphany.  Wow!!!  Have I been living under a rock my whole life!  It wasn’t dry at all and I could taste all the flavors in my mouth   I noticed was that I tasted real crab, not imitation crab, the oceany and iodine-y taste of the crab is something that I really love,  something that imitation crab cannot give you!  This was good!  I knew I that a bigger gluteus maximus would await me tomorrow morning.

Debbie had the Shrimp Quesadilla.  The plate was packed with quesadillas.  They were huge, maybe about half and inch to three-quarters of an inch thick.  The shrimp were cleaned and peeled but left in its full body form.  There wasnt any type of modification or filler to the body of the shrimp or quesadilla to make it that fat.  It was just simply lots of shrimp with lots of quesadillas.  Great value for money!  

The shrimp was good and garlicy and biting into the quesadilla introduced lots of flavors into my mouth.  Everyone couldnt believe that I could eat so much.  It was as if my hypothalamus had just quit trying to control my appetite.  I ate this thing up like there was no tomorrow and I could feel my stomach expanding as I went.

For dessert, Kat ordered the fried banana ice cream and we scavenged off of her!

We all left the restaurant that night with happy hearts and an extra 5 pounds in our stomachs!  Am I a convert?  Maybe.  Well, maybe I am.  This is an amazing restaurant, lively and fun, with great food,  and because of this restaurant,  I am now a big fan of Mexican food!

Ha Long Noodle House

Woke up today with a sore throat and feeling under the weather.  So you know what that means, SOUP!  Soups are very popular in Asian Culture, it is meant to give you a sense and feel of comfort and strength.  It’s something everyone needs when they are sick.
 
So we made our way to Ha Long Noodle House in Dillingham.  We have eaten here before and were referred here by our friends Diamond and Lorna.  We’ve been to many different Phở places in Hawaii, but there’s something different about this place, something good.

Maybe that something is the fact that the walls are splashed in bright green.  That words like lemon, basil leaves, and bean sprouts pop right out of the wall.  It could even be that the menus are shaped as circles and you can choose to eat with wooden chopsticks or green plastic ones.  This is truly a cute, quaint place to dine.  The seats are very comfortable and a single rose is placed in a vase on each table.  It’s contemporary design provides a fresh, hip ambience for those dining in.  Definitely something you wouldn’t expect to see in Kalihi.

Upon ordering my dish,  I was asked if I wanted the beef in or out of the Phở.  This gives you the option to eat the beef in the way you prefer.  The basil leaves and bean sprouts are plentiful.  All the sauces are there on the table so you can customize the soup to your preference of sweet or spicy. I ordered the Beef Combination Soup (Phở Đặc Biệt).  The broth was a mouthful of beefy goodness.  The Phở wasn’t tongue-burning hot, but it was at the perfect temperature to soothe my scratchy throat.  Debbie had hers with only the meatballs (Phở Bò Viên).  Together we spent about $17.  There were many other choices on the menu including appetizers, salads, vermicelli, rice plates, and desserts, but we were just too full to order anything else. 

Like I said earlier, there’s something different about this place.  Perhaps it was the very warm and friendly service of the staff that stood out.  Everyone there was incredibly kind and treated us like we were friends instead of just customers.  This place was such a pleasant environment.  The food was well prepared, satisfying, and comforting.  The minute I got home, I fell asleep.  All in all, a very good place to eat phở.  

Ha Long Noodle House
City Square Shopping Center
1286 Kalani Street, B107
Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone: (808) 845-3687
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am to 9pm
            Sun 10am to 3pm

Additional Information:

Lots of parking stalls available in the shopping center or park nearby on the street if you have to.  Dress is casual wear, but you can dress up a bit if you want.  It’s accessible for wheelchairs and they accept credit cards and cash.  

Ono Hawaiian Foods

 

 June 17, 2010 

 Hawaiian food. The second thing that comes to mind is, “Ono!” The first thing that comes to mind is, “expensive” Luckily, there’s a hidden treasure in Kapahulu that serves the onolicious food without eating up your wallet. Right off of Kapahulu Avenue, lies Ono Hawaiian Foods.

 Right in front, there’s about room for five or six cars to meter park. Other than that, you got to find other street parking. We were lucky enough to pull up to an empty spot right in front of the restaurant. Facing the entrance, a line forms from the door and extends out to the right side of the sidewalk. As soon as we stood in line, it started pouring. We gawked through the window at the warm, happy people dining inside while we waited in the wet cold. One of the workers was kind enough to lend a few umbrellas to us and the other eager, hungry diners waiting in line.

 After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, we finally got called inside. As soon as the door opened, we could smell the delicious aromas wafting across the room. The place was really small, just a little bit bigger than my room, but it was very comfy. There was a real “old Hawaii” feel to the atmosphere. The walls were covered with old memorabilia and pictures of famous entertainers, athletes, pageant queens, and politicians.

The menu is simple, just one page. There are three full meal plates for $14.25, one of them was the chicken long rice plate that included the chicken long rice, pipikaula, lomi salmon, haupia, and rice or poi. There was also a combination full meal plate that was priced at $18.00. The rest of the food is ala carte. The prices weren’t too bad, kind of cheap when compared to the other Hawaiian food places. Josh and I shared a laulau, squid luau, a large lomi salmon, and two bowls of rice. Together we spent a total of $21.60 (including tax). Not bad, not bad at all. So let’s get down to business and talk about the important stuff.

The squid luau (see above) had a thick, liquid consistency. Kind of hard to explain, but it has a very, distinct and unique taste to it. Easy to eat, goes down the throat very smoothly. If you’re not from Hawaii, you gotta try it! If you’re from Hawaii, you gotta eat em again!  The large lomi salmon (see above) was great to mix in and eat with our rice. Look at how big it is! But it came with a price, $5.70, same as the laulau.  

Pork Laulau

Look at this huge laulau!  Mind you, Josh has very big hands.  None of that choke leaves and skimping on the meat, nope, this laulau was packed with meat.  It tastes like how real laulau should taste.  The fat from the meat is still there when you open it up to eat, very tender.  And the best thing about it, this laulau was only $5.70.

 Overall, the five of us had a pretty good time. The place was small, but we didn’t feel uncomfortable or squished at all. The price wasn’t too bad. The service was good, the staff was very friendly. And yes we had to wait in line because it’s a first-come, first-serve type of deal, but it was well worth it. The name doesn’t lie, the food was ONO. We were stuffed.

You know da place is good when da bites is worth da bucks! We’ll definitely come here again soon.

Ono Hawaiian Foods
726 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
Phone: (808) 737-2275
Hours: Mon-Sat 11 am – 8 pm

Other info:
Can’t make reservations. Casual dress (slippers and shorts is just fine). They don’t take credit cards but there is a Bank of Hawaii ATM right across the street. They don’t serve alcohol. They are wheelchair accessible. Nice family-feel environment. Though it’s a small place, I’ve seen both couples and even a large group of ten in here. Also, if you don’t want to stand in line, you can order the food to take-out and take home.