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​Just about everyone knows - Hawaii has a Spam problem.  Now, just to be clear - most locals would define it as the opposite of a problem - more of a gift to the world.  Moreover, we’re not talking about unwanted emails - we are talking about the potted meat pork product.  Here are a couple of facts that you’ll probably hear your taxi driver, a tour guide, or a hotel worker say with interest:

1. The state of Hawaii consumes more Spam than all the other states combined. 
2. Hawaii is the only state where you can get Spam, eggs, and rice for breakfast --at McDonalds!
3. In Hawaii there are twelve varieties of Spam
4. There is a hidden and dark Spam underworld in Hawaii. 

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​Now, as to the dark and dangerous Spam underworld - it’s true that during the war Spam could be traded on the black market for just about anything - and to some extent that continues today.  Most shops limit Spam purchases to five cans per visit in order to keep shelves full and customers returning.  In 2017 and 2018, there were some major issues with shoplifters stealing Spam to sell for easy cash that could be turned into drugs or booze - so a black market still sort of exists.  Many shopkeepers began putting Spam behind the counters to prevent this theft.  The truth is that the stories were exaggerated by the media - but have a little bit of truth to them. 

So, let’s get some Spam!
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If you’re looking for a world class farmer’s market on Oahu - you don’t have to go all the way into the country.  You can just head up towards Diamond Head and visit the best farmer’s market on Oahu.  The Kapiolani Community College Farmer’s Market happens every Saturday from 7:30am - 11:30am.  If you are a member of the Farm Bureau you can get in earlier. 

This is so much more than a farmer’s market.  It’s more like a showcase of Oahu cuisine, agricultural products, and even entertainment.  There are usually musicians performing and you can sample Oahu grown coffee, honey, fruits, vegetables, shrimp, fish, and much more.  It changes every week.  In addition, some of Oahu’s most innovative chefs have gotten their start at the KCC farmer’s market.  Some people say that the food from the renowned Oahu eatery, The Pig and the Lady tastes better at the KCC because it’s where it started!
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​This farmer’s market goes every weekend whether it is rain or shine.  It’s usually crowded but that’s a huge part of the fun.  The people watching is half the joy of coming to the KCC farmer’s market.  People from Asia, the USA, Europe, Australia, Africa, the Middle East - all shopping, smiling, tasting, and enjoying some of the best that Oahu and Hawaii have to offer.  It’s a global shopping experience!

To get there grab a taxi or a ride share - or if you are in Waikiki just walk.  The address is 4303 Diamond Head Road.  There is no entrance fee - but make sure you bring cash - many vendors don’t take credit cards. 

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There are several fruits that really say "Hawaii" - pineapples, bananas, mangos, coconuts, and we dare not forget the humble papaya.  Papayas have long been recognized as the universal breakfast fruit in Hawaii and is enjoyed by people of all classes.  It grows easily and with virtually no care and has very simple needs in terms of the soil, amount of water, and other conditions.  Insects are not a problem for it and it takes up little to no space in a garden. 
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​Still, even with all of these uses and more, the best use of a papaya is for your breakfast!  Simply cut it in half, clear out the seeds, squeeze a bit of lime juice on it, and dig in with your spoon. 
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While not as important to native Hawaiians as it is to the islanders of Samoa or Tonga - the Niu, Hawaiian Coconut Palm is still a revered, respected, and an important plant.  Technically called the Arecacea or the Palmae by some botanists, the actual name is Cocos nucifera L.  There are no other members of the Cocos genis...the coconut stands alone!

No one knows exactly where the coconut came from!  People argue about it.  Some say it came from tropical America and others insist that it is an Asian species.  The truth is that it is everywhere and useful to people wherever it is.  The plant it is most closely related to isn’t in Asia or the Americas - it is in Southern Africa!  There are ancient temples in Indonesia and India dedicated to coconuts - but it is far older than the temples.  The word ‘copra’ meaning dried meat of the coconut is actually a sanscrit word. ​

The word niu comes from ancient voyagers who carried the fruit with them on long voyages for the meat and water it contained.  From Madagascar to Hawaii the niu is known by some variant of this name.  The coconut likes warm weather and because of that is usually found on the sunny hot sides of Hawaiian Islands.  Coconut trees live to be around 70 years old and can grow as tall as 100 feet!  Leaves are 10-20 feet long and have around 100 leaflets on them.  It takes about 10 years for the first coconuts to appear.  Maturation of the fruit takes almost 10 months. 

Ripe coconuts have three ‘eyes’ - these are softer tissue and tell smart humans where to access the meat and water inside.  Coconut milk is actually the juice derived from crushing the meat - the water inside the fruit is not coconut juice at all.....it's known as coconut water!

​Coconuts were valuable to Hawaiians as food, water, voyaging supplies and more.  The trunks were sometimes made into canoes.  The leaves would be woven into baskets and mats.  The mid-ribs of the leaves were used to string kukui nuts in order to make torches.  Old flower clusters were used as rakes.  Every part of the fruit could be used.  The fibres from the husk could be made into ropes and twine.  Coconut shells were made into cups and containers.  Pieces of the shell would be made into tools and implements like combs. 

In addition to being food, the meat of the coconut was sometimes chewed by fishermen and spat into the sea - the oil would calm the ripples and allow the fishermen to see his prey better. 

Here's a quick demonstration on how to open a coconut.  Brought to you by your thirsty staff here at Private Tours Hawaii:

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​There are many more uses of the humble coconut.  Just watch out for them falling on your head. 
And, as always.....Aloha from Paradise!!

​​If you’ve spent any time at all in Hawaii and not enjoyed the feeling of breaking open a steaming manapua - then you really haven’t spent time in Hawaii at all.  Actually, to be fair - there are many residents (and visitors) who never do this - I’m not sure why - it feels pretty important to the Team here at PTH!  Whether you are eating with friends and family or just grabbing one from 7-11 for a quick snack on the way to work - the manapua is a part of Hawaii life. 

First of all - what is a manapua?  Essentially it’s a steamed bun with a savory filling.  Trust me when I tell you it’s a staple of Hawaiian food - but it hasn’t always been here.  The origins go back to the first Cantonese to arrive in Hawaii.  They brought char siu bao with them - that we call manapua in Hawaii.  The Cantonese variety are almost always filled with savory pork in rich sauces...but in Hawaii - there can be many other fillings.  Pork, sweet bean curd, curry, barbecue chicken, and even sweet fillings are not uncommon.  Manapua have also grown bigger through the years - the small snack size has bloated into something like a small loaf of bread!
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​The buns themselves are a yeast and baking soda dough that is steamed with the pre-cooked filling in it.  Everyone who loves manapua has their favorite place to get them - and some of us guard those secrets closely.  That’s why many malihini (newcomers) and visitors to Oahu never learn about the manapua. 

From the 1970s onwards Manapua became mobile as trucks began to go through neighborhoods selling manapua, snacks and sometimes even firecrackers!  This was the ‘Manapua Man’.  The Manapua man is now famous in song and story!  The manapua itself however, has resisted being exported, unlike other Hawaiian treats like poke bowls and musubi.

When you talk about food or plants in Hawaii, one of the first things that will come to mind is the coconut.  Called, Niu in the Hawaiian Language, this was one of the most important plants in the world to the ancient Hawaiians. 
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​Hawaii’s favorite local restaurant is unqeustionably Zippy’s.  There are more than 25 locations today with most of them on Oahu but newer locations on Maui and on the Big Island of Hawai’i.  There is also a location coming soon to the ‘9th Island’ of Las Vegas. 

The first Zippy’s to open was back in October of 1966 at 1725 S. King Street in Honolulu.  The restaurant was started by local brothers Francis and Charles Higa.  Legend has it that one of the brothers wanted to open a carwash and the other wanted to create a restaurant specializing in their grandmother’s chili.  The two compromised and used the car wash name to open a fast/casual restaurant that locals have flocked to ever since. 

Back in 1951 when the North Shore of Oahu was more about sugar cane than surfing, the town of Hale’iwa wasn’t a big tourist attraction.  Instead it was a place where people lived, worked, went to school and enjoyed escaping from the sun on a hot day.  To be fair, the Hale’iwa Hotel was, at that time, a very luxurious place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu - and some people did that.  Those folks, however, may not have been the clients of the Matsumoto General Store.  The Matsumoto General Store was a little family owned shop that you could buy razors, crackers, dishes, gas and just about anything else you might need for your everyday life. 

It was here though, in 1956 that Mamoru and Helen Matsumoto brought a little hand cranked shave-ice machine from Japan so that it could shave the finest snow from a block of ice and provide a cool treat for families in the summer heat.  It was the first shave ice machine on the North Shore according to their son, Stanley.  He was five years old at the time.  Shave ice is an ancient treat that comes from Japan and dates back to at least the 9th century - but of course - the world had never seen anything like the Hawaiian Shave Ice that the Matsumotos created. 

​When visitors come to Hawai’i, they are often most impressed by the beauty of the landscape, the richness of the culture and the tastiness of the food.  There are few foods more delicious or traditional than Kalua Pig.  The word kalua is often misunderstood or mispronounced by visitors as either Kailua - which is a town on windward Oahu or as Kohlua which is a coffee liquor - while both are worthy - neither of them is kalua - a Hawaiian word that describes a type of cooking.  To kalua something means to cook it in an imu, a underground pit oven.  

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​In Hawai’i, the process to make Kalua Pig is thus: a large pit is dug and a hardwood fire burned in it.  When the fire is roaring, specially selected pohaku (stones) are added to the fire and burned until red hot.  At this point, pounded banana stalks or other vegetation are thrown on top of the rocks.  Next, the slaughtered whole pig (preferably a Hawaiian feral pig) which has been wrapped in banana leaves and the leaves of the Hawaiian Ti plant is put on the banana stalks.  More banana stalks are put over the pig and then more coals and hot rocks are placed on top of it before the pit is filled in with dirt and left for the day (or night).   Finally the pit is excavated and the pig removed and shredded. 

The little Oahu town of Wahiawa isn’t on the radar of most visitors to Oahu, but maybe it should be - with a world class botanical garden, the ancient Hawaiian birthing stones, and a rich history in pre-contact, plantation and modern times - the little town has a lot to offer.  Most people think of it as mostly a support town form the nearby military bases of Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Field.  However, right in the midst of what looks like a typical military town (lots of fast food, pawn shops, liquor stores) lies one of Oahu’s hidden gem coffee stops and a rich repository of the history of surfing. 

Surfer’s Coffee Bar is a neighborhood non-profit coffee shop where 100% of the proceeds go to local and global non-profit organizations - one of which is Surfing the Nations - the global surfing outreach group started by Tom Bauer, who also started Surfer’s Coffee Bar and has decorated it with his amazing collection of surfer memorabilia.  Great coffee, free wifi, a laid back surfer vibe and an increasingly thriving and creative neighborhood in what was once the red light district of Oahu.  Surfing the Nations has reclaimed a whole city block so far.  This location currently boasts an antique shop, the coffee bar, local restaurant and the headquarters of STN.