“Ono” Hawaiian Food

So, in the interest of clarity, I’m offering the following ….

Traditional Hawaiian Food

Poi (poy) Made from the thoroughly cooked, mashed, corm of the Taro (Kalo in Hawaiian) plant. Traditionally, Poi is not mixed with other foods, and is eaten by twirling one or  two fingers (never three; greedy, eh?) in a bowl of Poi, then popping what’s collected in the mouth. OK, in modern times, not so much, but it is usally offered as a side dish. I’m a slob, and I like to mix it with my rice.

 Kalua pig (kah loouh …. hey, you know how to pronounce pig) Traditionally, and the only authentic kalua pig is cooked in an underground oven called an imu. The heat source is hot rocks, and much of the unique flavor comes from salt, and wet banana and ti leaves. So, you folks who go to a lu’au where the pig is cooked in a pit are treated to the real deal, no matter how much other imitation stuff is going on. (Note: The word kalua literally means "to cook in an underground oven" and also describes the flavor of food cooked that way).

Lu’au  Thoroughly steamed young Taro leaves … also what a festive event is called. A very popular party dish is lu’au steamed with coconut milk and some kind of fish, meat or fowl. “Eh, you like squid lu’au?“

Laulau (think “bow wow“ …only with L’s) Lau is the Hawaiian word for leaf, so laulau is two leaves. This is a handy little food package consisting of a single portion of meat (usually pork) and butterfish wrapped in lu’au (taro leaf), then wrapped in ti leaf … the aluminum foil of the Pacific. Then the whole package is thoroughly steamed. When served, you unwrap the ti leaf and set it aside … please, please don’t eat the ti leaves. You wouldn’t eat aluminum foil, right? Many local people sprinkle little bit “peppah watah” on.  

‘Uala (Hawaiian purple sweet potato) You’ll find this tasty tuber at lu’aus, and most places where they serve “Hawaiian plate.“ This is an ancient food item, and it is believed that it was brought to central Polynesia circa 700 AD, possibly by Polynesians who had traveled to South America and back (or vice versa), and spread across Polynesia to Hawaii.  

Limu (seaweed) This is such a big category it would take several  posts just to touch on the highlights.  Suffice it to say that native Hawaiians … as well as most of the prominent local cultures of Hawaii … have enjoyed limu as part of their basic diet for literally thousands of years. It’s eaten in raw, cooked and dried form, and is very nutritious.

Fish …….Whew! this is getting kinda long. I’ll finish up with my usual, then return midweek with another post on the “ono” foods of Hawaii. Some recipes, too.

News Flash: Running out of ideas for that November ’09 vacation? To get inspired Check this out.

Fun Facts About Hawaii: As such, in the State of Hawaii there are no governments below the county level. So, don’t look for the City Hall in Hilo.
 
Any questions? Please leave a comment.

Aloha a hui hou
    

Many of you are probably old hands at going online and working out the cheapest airline ticket, but, again, it’s surprising how many travelers don’t. Where that shows up is when you do a little shopping online.

Here’s an example I looked up on 4/21/08: San Francisco (SFO) to Kahului, Maui (OGG). Rack price for major airline was $1561.46; best price through Orbitz was $634.00. All other details were approximately the same, elapsed travel time, number of stops (one in this case), departure date and day of the week, roundtrip, etc. The major airline sites wouldn’t keep those prices listed unless somebody was buying.

Whew! The difference could pay for several dive trips to Molokini Island (technically, Islet).

Look, if you’re new at this, remember airfares are determined by a rapidly changing mix of three elements: Competition (between airlines), Inventory (how many seats are available), and Demand (people seeking those seats). Figuring this all out would make an MIT whiz return to Remedial Arithmetic.

Fortunately, you don’t have to do the math. There are excellent online sources available that use powerful computer programs to sort this all out … and present you with cheap airplane tickets to Hawaii. It’s knowing where to click that counts! The process is really not that hard. But, before you start viewing the sites, get organized.

• Make a list of what you need from a "flight site"(ex: flight availability, special services, handicap avail., how to contact, method of payment).
• I should have put this first. Don’t be afraid to scroll and browse around in these sites. There’s no commitment until the site actually asks you for payment. Until then, you’re pretty much incognito.
• Be flexible as possible on departure and return dates. Here’s why:
  • –Fly mid-week. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are best. Why? Less demand. Airlines, by offering cheaper fares on those days, try to encourage you to plunk your money down and fill up those seats.
  • –Stay overnight Saturday (well, that’s a no-brainer if you’re flying to Hawaii.) But,why? Because that puts you into an excursion class which receives a greater discount.
  • –Travel on the actual holiday day (ex: Christmas [well, Christmas has been a good choice in recent years], Easter, Mother’s Day). Hey, why not?
  • Airlines often put time restrictions on discounts. That is, you have to purchase 7, 14 or even 21 days BEFORE you travel. If you’ve missed the cut-off date, don’t panic. Look for other possibilities, but keep checking that original flight you wanted. The airline might just open the discount again closer to flight time.
  • Can’t emphasize this enough. If you’re on a very tight budget, being flexible is absolutely essential…Save your money to have fun on the beaches of the Big Island or Maui.

Here is a partial list of online sites where you can apply the above suggestions:

• Orbitz.com—This site was originated by several large airline companies. The site is fast and powerful.
• Expedia.com—One of the pioneers in the online travel business
• Travelocity.com— One of the big hitters in the travel business.
• Priceline.com—This may be your best bet for low airfares to Hawaii. You can make an offer or bid on
• And, don’t forget your local, friendly Travel Agent for cheap airplane tickets; especially if you’ve had a good money-saving relationship with them. Even then, check your online sources for comparison.

And, just for your convenience, here are the Airport Codes for all the major airports in Hawaii:

• Lihue (Kauai)=LIH
• Honolulu (Oahu)=HNL
• Kahului (Maui)=OGG
• Hilo (Island of Hawaii, Big Island)=ITO
• Kailua-Kona (Island of Hawaii, Big Island)=KOA

OK, get online and find those cheap flights to Hawaii! Aloha A hui hou