can you believe, i've lived here on Oahu all my life, and i've never been to the infamous KCC farmer's market..... until now! as i write this, i've now been to it TWICE! despite the fact it is now a huge tourist trap, i've grown to like it a lot. there is fresh local produce at every turn, really delicious food that uses said local produce, and other things that i'm sure will be interesting for anyone who visits - locals or tourists alike. from what i understand, the KCC farmers market began as a small one, where local people would come early every Saturday morning to pick up fresh produce. eventually, it began to expand, more and more, featuring food vendors, as well as farmers. now, it is HUGE, and brings visitors from all over. check out this crowd!! and they have much more than produce! there are also several plant, and flower vendors! here are some mini orchids...... each flower is about an inch in diameter! clearly.... someone is not amused that she is in my picture. i guess if you're that young, you probably want to do other things with your early Saturday morning :P they also provide beautiful hibiscus buds for people to put in their hair. so pretty! walking around, i stumbled on this SEA ASPARAGUS vendor! i was pretty excited because i've had their sea asparagus pesto before, and it was delicious! i had to stop and get some......... i scored some SEA ASPARAGUS! Their "Ocean Pesto", which i have eaten before, was just as delicious as the first time i tried it... and i also picked up some of their pickled sea asparagus. the vendor that sells it is a nice guy, but beware... he's a junk change counter. he almost short changed me $3! some of you might be asking.... "what is this sea asparagus you speak of?" well, taking a look at the website from the company i bought it from (Marine AgriFuture, LLC a.k.a. Olakai Hawaii), it says that sea asparagus is a delicate sea vegetable that they grow hydroponically.... said to "detoxify your liver and improve muscle function". i don't know about all of that... but i do know it is really delicious! try it! here's a serving suggestion.... i grabbed some bagel crisps, and put both the pesto and pickled sea asparagus on them. they were great! here are the fried green tomatoes and fried zucchini from "Two Hot Tomatoes". they were...... ok. i've had better during my visit to Georgia. hell, i've had better here in Hawaii as well. the ones seen here, were not cooked all the way through, so they were hard :( i was a little disappointed.... perhaps i'll try them again on another day, just to check - maybe it was a fluke? next stop - Kukui brand sausage! they also sell their sausages in Marukai market (membership only), and i think the southern restaurant SOUL sells them on their menu. here, they grill them for you! you can either get them on a stick, or on a bun..... i got the pastele sausage on a stick! while it looks weird, and when you bite into it, it looks.... questionable - do not worry! it was amazing. if you like pasteles, you'll love this sausage! try their kim chee sausage too - that one is killers :D more food? YES. here is the tomato, basil, mozzarella, pesto pizza. SO. FREAKING. GOOD. so fresh, so tasty, so.... expensive. this one slice was $7. it is not something i would buy every time i go, only because its pricey, but it IS worth the $7 you pay for it. i'm sure some of you are wondering.... what the hell is that? is it fudge? no. is it cake? no. its HALVA. what is halva? HALVA is a greek confection make of primarily flour, butter or oil, sugar and either nut paste, or sesame paste. this one uses sesame. it was really good! when its fresh, its a whole different flavor. they sell packaged halva in Whole Foods, but this fresh one from DA SPOT is way, way better. try it for yourself!!! what are those alien like creatures up there? they're delicious that's what. delicious, fresh, ABALONE! this vendor grills them when you order them, then, if you want, there is a guy on the side that will cut them out of the shell for you, AND slice them into smaller pieces. you can also dress them with the condiments they provide, including: ponzu, tabasco, and lemon juice! what a delicious bite! sure to please shellfish lovers. the shell is also very pretty, if you'd like to keep it. I've recently become addicted to the "Lava Mocha" found at Island Vintage Coffee in Ala Moana center. because i've been drinking so much of that stuff, i felt like grabbing some coffee. here i tried their iced mocha. this drink was good..... but not $4.50 good. maybe next time, i'll try their espresso, or just their plain iced coffee..... i didn't want to write them off just yet! the INFAMOUS Pig and the Lady!!!! i've always wanted to try their pop-up restaurant, but never got the chance. here they are serving up some great dishes! i was so excited! browsing their selections, my eyes fixed on their Banh Mi. i usually don't like sandwiches, but i have a special weakness for Banh Mi's....... this one was a breakfast type one, so of course i was sold!! it was about 6 inches long, filled with a ton of great fixins..... fried egg, pork pate, Vietnamese ham, veggies, garlic butter.... OMG...... what an amazing breakfast sandwich. yes, it was and $8.50 sandwich, but it was WORTH IT. hands down, one of the best breakfast sandwiches i've ever had. wow. here, my dining friend got their chicken curry. it looked good, and smelled good, and from what i was told - was delicious. they also give you pieces of really good french baguette. to sop up all the curry.
a couple more nice things about The Pig and the Lady...... #1. they have a seating area behind their cooking area, so if you'd like to sit and eat, you can do it here!! and #2. we were fortunate enough to sit next to "THE LADY" of "The Pig and The Lady"....... it is the owner/cook's mother! she explained to us, her older son is "the pig" because he's messy, and that she is "the lady"!!! i would have took a picture with her, but i thought that would be weird :( she was SO SUPER NICE!!! what a treat :) the KCC Farmer's Market is full of fun times, new experiences, great produce and delicious food. you will not be disappointed! ********************************************************************* KCC Farmer's Market Parking Lot C (Off of Diamond Head Road) Kapiolani Community College 4303 Diamond Head Road Honolulu, HI 96816-4421 Hours of Operation Every Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Website: http://kapiolani.hawaii.edu/object/farmersmarket.html UPDATE! - they are now "testing" having the market on Tuesdays, until August 14th, from 4pm to 7pm. see the news about it HERE.
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Happy Father's day to all the Dads out there! My dad is a fun guy. even with all the health problems he is facing right now, he still manages to keep his sense of humor. what better way to show him appreciation, than by taking him out to eat! to celebrate my dad, my mother and i took him out to a fancy-pants lunch at Mariposa (located inside Neiman Marcus at Ala Moana). Mariposa does not give bread baskets. instead, each guest is given a large, airy, flaky pop-over, and some strawberry butter. this was great! it was light, so i wasn't too full before my actual meal came. the strawberry butter was a little weird, but surprisingly tasty! browsing the drink menu, my eyes spotted a drink called a "Texas Cooler"... the main ingredient is prickly pear! i had to try it! it is a non-alcoholic drink, despite looking like a crazy cocktail. this was really tart, but in the good way. it has bits of mint, and you can see some of the prickly pear pulp swirling around in the drink. neat! and very visually striking.... this is not tea - it is a tiny tea cup full of rich chicken broth. while it looks plain and boring, it was very delicious. it leaves a rich, full feeling in your mouth, and the flavor was amazing. My Father, Mother and I all decided to get the pre-fixe Father's day special menu. it consisted of a starter salad, choice of main (either a prosciutto wrapped steak { i'm sorry i forget the exact cut used} OR a crab fettuccine), and dessert. above is the starter salad. fresh local tomatoes, goat cheese, onions, spinach and other greens, chunks of artichoke, and mustard type vinaigrette. superb! My father opted to get the prosciutto wrapped steak. this came on top of risotto, in a red wine sauce. it looked great! however, my dad had ordered this medium, but while he was eating, kept saying that it was like eating raw meat :( i guess it came out more rare than he liked. my mother and i both got the crab fettuccine. this came with small chunks of crab throughout, bits of asparagus, and some greens mixed in. this dish was ok.... i would have enjoyed it more if they went a little easy on the dill. the chef went dill crazy with this. my mom really liked this, but did mention they didn't put enough crab in it. and finally dessert. this is their impressive looking rum cake, with ice cream, and pineapple-caramel sauce. the decoration you see there is not a flower..... can you guess what it is? it is a dried pineapple slice! kinda cool huh? lets see that from the side! the ice cream was the best part. it had some chocolate toffee type bits in it.
so good! overall, a nice lunch with the parents, and I'm pretty sure my Dad liked his lunch... especially the dessert part :) ****************************************************** Mariposa Level Three Neiman Marcus 1450 Ala Moana Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96814 Hours: Mon-Sun 11am-9pm Sunday Brunch: 11am-3pm High Tea (Sunday): 3pm-5pm Phone: (808) 951-3420 Website: http://www.neimanmarcushawaii.com/restaurant.aspx Garlic AND ginger? yep! at first i thought this was the very first festival for "Garlic and Ginger".... but then taking a look at the website, apparently they brought it back per "popular demand". good thing too! i missed the first one! check out this crowd! geez! even with $3 admission, and over-priced booze.... they still managed to draw a huge crowd! luckily, i got in for free, courtesy of YELP! :D first thing in my mouth - dried, smoked aku. SO GOOD! this was about $5, so not too, too bad. the smoke flavor wasn't too strong, and it was nicely fishy. Next up - Beef and Pork Garlic Sugo on Baguette with Arugula and Garlic Vinaigrette. what a mouthful! this sandwich was pretty messy, as you can imagine. because there were so many dishes to try, i shared this with a friend. i thought it was pretty good, and so did my sharing partner.... but my 2 other friends that tried it did not agree. one said it was too sweet, and another just thought it was horrible.... perhaps i tried the only good sandwich that was made? ah well.... where do i begin?! i know..... the bacon.... always start with bacon. this was several rashers of roasted garlic candied bacon. so good, i got them TWICE. up top you'll see the Braised Bone-In Short Ribs with Country-Style Garlic Mashed Potatoes topped with Fried Garlic. this was AMAZING. the meat was very tender, the mashed potatoes and gravy were fantastic, and the fried garlic just pushed everything right over the edge into awesomeness. in the right corner you'll find the Hot Ginger Chicken Slider with a Cucumber Asian Slaw and Kim Chee Aioli, with Maui Onion Potato Chips. this was just ok.... i think it was because i wasn't in the mood for more sandwiches at that point. BRING ME MORE MEATS! that very pretty dish you see up there is the Fried Garlic Ko Chu Jang and Garlic Glazed Pork Shank; Kahuku Corn & Edamame Succotash, House Made Pancetta, Polenta Fries. this was hands down my favorite dish at the festival. the pork was tender, the edamame succotash was delicious, and the polenta was even better. everything about this dish, from presentation (at an outdoor festival for crying out loud!), to flavor was incredible. as you can see.... it is not a proper festival without drunkards. here is the booze table, where a friend of mine got a ginger flavored cocktail that was so horrible, she couldnt even give it away for free. WOW......
aside from that, the food was damn good. OH before i forget! i also tried... but did not take pictures of..... Garlic ice cream from Dave's ice cream, Grilled Garlic Steak with Roasted Garlic Mash and Cold Shrimp Salad with a Ginger Miso Sesame dressing, Ginger seared fresh island fish topped with roasted garlic and served with vegetable orzo salad. sorry for not taking pictures of all the other dishes..... i was too busy eating them! |