Good Fun in Haleiwa

I had the best time today with Erick, Shun-Wah and Celia. It's so neat spending time with pals who share the same passion for photography.

Here's Erick's camera-on-a-stick technique. Neat yeah, except I wouldn't dare trust my grip doing that.
We had lunch at Haleiwa Joes, my first time there.

Celia and I had the Salmon Salad. It was really good.

Erick had the Ahi Melt. It was better than mine.
Shun-Wah had the Grilled Cajun Fish Sandwich.
Of course for dessert we went to get some Matsumoto Shave Ice.
This truck and car passed by while we were waiting in line.
Stan Matsumoto took over running the store in 1976.

Aala Park Skatepark

I've been wanting to shoot skateboarders in action so today I made a quick stop at Aala Park Skatepark. I spent only about 15 minutes there 'cause I was actually on my way to meet my sister. I don't think I'll be going back there again 'cause it got kinda scary when I noticed some pretty shady characters in the parking lot. I had fun though, so maybe I'll try again at some safer neighborhood park somewhere else.

Kona Begging

This is what Kona does when he wants what you're eating.

Korean Cuisine Blog

A couple weeks ago I made some Soon Do Bu. I found the recipe from the Korean Cuisine blog. The author of the blog is a very brave young woman who was very recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Her post for today is entitled, Dear Appah. It touched me. Below is an excerpt from the blog's "About Me" section.

I’m just a Korean-American mommy and wife that loves to cook, but hates thinking about WHAT to cook. Most of the recipes on this site are things I took note of through trial and error over the last four years of marriage. All the dishes on this site were marked with the seal of approval from my Korean husband (aka the MR) and three year old son (aka Munchkin).

In November 2008 I was diagnosed with a somewhat rare cancer called Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma. My tumor was removed surgically and now I'm resting up for radiation. I was told that there is no drug available out there that combats this cancer. The best people with ACC can do is hope that the cancer never comes back. Some DR's liken ACC to a chronic condition because it likes to come back even 10-15 years after initial treatment.I don't know whether I will live 5 years, 10 years, or 25 years, but I choose to believe that I will defy all statistics and live until I'm 80. I am not a statistic. I am an individual!My new mantra lately has been, "I want to live. I need to live. I will live."

Pot Roast

This recipe is from my mom and it is sooooo simple. You poke pukas in your pork butt and stuff garlic cloves into the pukas. Season generously with garlic salt and pepper.

Brown on all sides for "half an hour". I don't really know if you HAVE to brown it for half an hour or not. I didn't really time it. After browning you just add 1 cup of water, cover and simmer for 2 hours. That's it. It comes out nice and tender, and you end up with enough juices to make a nice gravy.

And while you're at it, steam up some sweet potatoes. Don't forget to KEEP YOUR EYES ON THEM AND DON'T LET THEM BURN.

Old Hawaii

A friend e-mailed me this collection of Old Hawaii photos. More can also be found at Good Old Hawaii.

Ala Wai Canal Aliiolani Palace 1887

Civic Auditorium

Elks Lodge 1920

Fort Street and King Street

Fort Street 1862

Kalakaua Avenue

KC Drive Inn 1942

Lau Yee Chai in Waikiki

Makee Island in Kapiolani Park (where the zoo is today).

Moana Hotel 1920

Waikiki 1859

Waikiki 1880

Waikiki 1938

Waikiki Theater

It just so happened that while I was at Costco today, I found this book, Honolulu Then and Now. It is so interesting to me. I know I cannot post pictures from the book, but I think I won't get into trouble if I just tell you about it. As you leaf through the book, the "Then" pictures are on the left and the "Now" pictures are on the right. The author does an amazing job of providing historical data throughout the whole book.

On page 18 there's this 1880 photo of Merchant Street. It looks like a Wild West town complete with horse and buggy.

On page 46 there's a 1900 photo of a burned down Chinatown after a fire purposely set to control the outbreak of bubonic plaque spreads when winds picked up and changed direction.

On page 56 masted ships are docked at Fair Haven ("Honolulu" in Hawaiian) in 1890.

On page 58 a camouflage-painted Aloha Tower looms behind arriving servicewomen and men in a 1940 photo.

On page 108 there's a photo of Manoa Valley with just a scattering of a few houses and farmland captured sometime between 1890 and 1905.

On page 130 an 1890 photo shows a racetrack at Kapiolani Park!

On page 140 captioned beneath a 1900 photo of Hanauma Bay the author describes how the City and County of Honolulu purchased Hanauma Bay and its surrounding areas, including Koko Head and Sandy Beach for $1 in 1928!!

On page 142 the USS Arizona shrouded in black smoke starts to sink. My first thought was, H*ly Cr*p I wonder who took that photo? I think I would have been digging . . . but then again, maybe not.

Anyway, it's an unreal historical account and for $11.99 a major steal. Costco . . . go now!

Julie's Dduk-Gook

Co-worker Julie brought this for lunch the other day. I tasted it and it was sooooo ono. She said it's called dduk-gook and they usually eat it for New Year's.
Rice cake (sliced): leave in cold water for about 30 minutes
Beef brisket or rib eye (ground or thin sliced - season with sesame oil, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic)
Egg (beaten)
Green onion (thin sliced)
Korean seasoned nori (break and put into soup before eating)
Soy sauce and sesame oil seasoning

1. spray some PAM or put sesame oil in pot to cook prepared beef
2. pour water into the pot, boil, season with salt or soy sauce
3. put sliced rice cake, cook until it's tender
4. pour beaten egg into soup, DONE
5. garnish with prepared seaweed and thin sliced green onion
6. enjoy your soup!

Thanks for the recipe, Julie!

Cy's Moi

Here are a couple of my brother's "fishing tales":

I caught these 2 moi at you know where but don't tell anyone =O. It was summer 07 using oama for bait trying to catch papio. When I caught the first one I was like wow sooooo lucky =) . Then I caught the second one. I was like oh right I going score like 10 more. But that was it for that day.

I remember fishing at you know where one day using yozuri lures. Live oama is the best bait, but wasn't oama season. I started fishing at 5: 30 am not even one nibble, so I started to walk in. I guess was about 7 am with the tide rising. I was right by the shore. I thought one more cast before I go home. Then bang, papio one after another. Everytime I threw out the lure one more papio. I kept looking around hoping no one would see me catching all this fish. But I was the only one fishing that day. I caught 16 that day. All about 1 lb, 2 lbs. Just think if I never throw out that one cast before going home.

My brother Cy and his rare moi catch.