Hawaii Traditions

Metromix eats: Guilty pleasures

Gail — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:28 +0000

What is the one food that you know you shouldn’t be eating but you just cannot seem to give it up? What’s your Guilty Pleasure?

Some of the guilty pleasure dishes mentioned were, pork neck bone soup, cold pig’s feet, one-ton chips, gourmet mac and cheese, cinnabons, and hank’s haute dogs. People are very passionate about what their guilty pleasure is, they show emotion and seriousness while talking about what foods offer them pleasure.

Photo Credit: Metromix

Full story on Metromix Honolulu

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The Things that Entertained Us: Magnum P.I.

STA — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:00:15 +0000

From Hawaii Five-O to 50 First Dates, to Dog the Bounty Hunter, our islands have been the backdrop for numerous movies and TV shows. The beaches, sunsets, and swaying palm trees all serve to create an environment that lends itself to storytelling. Of all the movies and TV shows that have come and gone, Magnum PI has left an indelible mark on the islands. I was fortunate enough to watch the series run from 1980 through 1988. As the series progressed, so did its popularity, culminating in Emmy Awards wins for Tom Selleck (Magnum) in 1984 and Jon Hillerman (Higgins) in 1987. At its peak, Magnum PI drew over 18 million viewers.

As a local, I enjoyed watching the stories unfold as the back ground of our islands rolled before my eyes. I spent half the time following the story, the other half trying to figure out what part of the island was filmed. In truth, I was thrilled to see our islands on national TV, even though all I had to do was look out the window. Magnum PI captured our islands while intriguing us with unorthodox stories. My favorite episode, entitled Home From the Sea (1983, 4th season), finds Magnum stranded in the ocean after a surf ski accident. Treading water for hours as he fends off sharks, Magnum thinks of his father who during his childhood, trained him to tread water for long periods of time. While he fights for his life, Higgins, TC, and Rick all have a sixth sense feeling that Magnum is in trouble. They stop their activities to find and rescue Magnum. This episode was one of many that set this series apart, a series that may not have come to fruition had it not been for Tom Selleck’s integrity and commitment to personal values.

In 1980, the role of Indiana Jones in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark was offered to Tom Selleck. After much deliberation, Selleck honored his commitment to Magnum PI and gave up the coveted role which eventually went to Harrison Ford. A conflict in scheduling prevented Selleck from taking the role of Indiana Jones and ironically, filming for Raiders of the Lost Ark began and finished in Hawaii long before production of Magnum PI began. This unfortunate but interesting footnote is now a just a bump in Tom Selleck’s illustrious career. Thanks to a bit of misfortune, we are now the lucky recipients of another great TV series based in Hawaii. For more information on Magnum PI, visit the following links below and please share with us your favorite Magnum PI moments at Hawaii Traditions.

Magnum Mania

Amazon Magnum P.I. Series

Magnum P.I. DVD Set

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Local Snacks: Ice Cake

Jan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:36 +0000

I grew up across the street from Sheridan Park in Makiki , where they just happened to make the quintessential local, small kid time snack treat. It could be had, back then for just .10 cents. I’d pay my dime, peel back the paper wrapping along the top edge and bite down, my entire mouth immediately stained a bright red. Have you guessed this local children’s treat, yet? It’s the ice cake!

More humble than its glorified cousins—the shave ice and the icee— the ice cake was, a popular kid-time treat because anyone could make it at home without any special equipment or ingredients. The simplest concoction imaginable, ice cake is most commonly a mix of strawberry Malolo Syrup and water, poured into a disposable paper cup and positioned on the door or on the plastic bottom shelf of the freezer, so as not to tip over.

Back in the 1970’s, many of the mom-and-pop stores carried this icy treat in their shops. What made this simplest of Hawaii snacks so endearing was its innocence, its simplicity, and the fact that it was accessible to all, with nearly every child being able to easily pay its asking price. Today, the ice cake doesn’t seem as prevalent as it once was, or perhaps, I just don’t know where to look for it. So, if you have a special place to buy homemade ice cake let us know about it, here, on Hawaii Traditions!

Photo Credit: Rebekah’s healthy lifestyle

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Melissa Chang tweets and eats around Chicago

Gail — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:00:02 +0000

Melissa Chang is a blogger for the Honolulu Advertiser, she has a column called Urban Mix Plate. Chang blogs about socializing and dining out at various different places in Hawaii , Mainland and foreign countries too.

Melissa Chang traveled to Chicago for a conference, they talked about current and future mall marketing, social media and phone apps. And finding all the good food spots made Chang’s visit to Chicago even more enjoyable! These are some of the places she visited while in Chicago:

Full Story on Urban Mix Plate

Photo Credit: Urban Mix Plate

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Advertise

NEENZ — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:14:25 +0000

Hawaii Traditions is owned by media marketing company, Pono Media and was launched on February 14, 2009 and we post articles daily. Our readers are from Hawaii and the US West coast, primarily California and Washington. Currently, we have more than 10K pageviews per month.

We accept the following industry ads:

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Please email us to begin your advertising campaign.

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Eat a Rainbow

Gail — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:00:43 +0000

Eat a Rainbow is a month long campaign to raise awareness of Colo rectal Cancer. It will consist of informative television, radio and print ads.

The American Cancer Society will be having a series of cooking demos as part of their Eat a Rainbow Campaign. Eating healthy is one of the measures for Colo rectal Cancer, fuits and vegetables are highly recommended when considering a diet.

Photo Credit: Ed Morita on Flickr

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Who makes the best acai bowl?

Gail — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:00:37 +0000

Acai is a organically grown palm berry that comes from Brazil. Filled with protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals makes it a great breakfast or snack throughout the day.

A basic Acai bowl comes with organic granola and sliced bananas, some fresh fruits, honey and organic soy milk. Even for a person who is not normally a healthy eater may find this delicious healthy snack a treat.

Full story on: Metromix Hawaii’s Who makes the best Acai Bowl?

Photo Credit: Metromix Hawaii

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“An Ocean of Slippers”: A New Hawaii Traditions Series on Celebrations, Hawaii Style

STA — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:00:53 +0000

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years in Hawaii has become an amalgamation of celebrations with each culture adding to the metaphorical mixed-plate of local culture. You need look no further than your next family get together to get a glimpse of our local color.

An ocean of slippers greets you at the door along with the familiar pungent smell of mosquito punk. As you enter in, you are bombarded with hugs and kisses from family and a few strangers; you retreat to the ever growing buffet table, a symbolic representation of cultural diversity. If “Food is a central activity of mankind and one of the single most significant trademarks of culture.” (Kurlansky), then what can be said of Hawaii’s culture? Our schizophrenic buffet table confounds us with endless choices of Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Chinese food, to name a few, and with little room on our ever shrinking dinner plate (round or compartmentalized) to negotiate this gastronomic challenge. We load our plates, eat to the point of bursting, and utter the all too familiar words, “I’ll never eat again.” We dispose of our plates, disgusted by our gluttonous behavior, walk by the buffet table only to see the food we missed as more people joined the party and added to the buffet. Hey, maybe there’s a little room for manapua. Is that meat jun?

Choices, choices, choices….What should we eat? Where should we go? Enjoy our new Hawaii Traditions series entitled, “An Ocean of Slippers”, as we explore Hawaii’s celebrations and holidays and the unique ways of our island culture.

Photo Credit: ke◎la on Flickr

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The Things that Entertained Us: Kikaida

STA — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:00:19 +0000

Even though the Kikaida series ran for only two years, the ripple effect across generations is remarkable. Recently while shopping at Ala Moana, I notice a long line snaking its way out of Shirokiya. Many who were in line, both young and old, were dressed in Kikaida costumes, heroes an villains alike. All were in line to meet action hero Ban Daisuke, the actor who played the role of Kikaida. It was a chance for many to get a picture, an autograph, an opportunity to recapture their childhood. I noticed many fathers my age (no age disclosure) carrying their little ones, anxiously watching their children’s expressions as they lived vicariously through their experiences. As I watched the Kikaida torch being passed from one generation to the next, I wondered how the series found such a resurgence in popularity and why Kikaida remains such a big hit with locals. If you can remember the numerous Japanese children’s programming televised in Hawaii: Ikkyusan, Candy Candy, Ultra Man, Robocon, Kamen Rider, and of course, Kikaida, you are dating yourself. These are the shows that influenced generations both past and present and gave birth to numerous reenactments of Kikaida battles on elementary school playgrounds.

Quite recently, Kikaida found its way back on KIKU television. As I watched the reruns, a flood of childhood memories poured in as I recalled each episode. The opening theme song sent me running to the television as a child and to this day, evoking powerful emotions of better days, carefree pleasures, and loss of innocence. Viewed today, the special effects are corny, the time period dated, but the memories, priceless. For locals, Kikaida marks the passage of time and reminds us that although we are getting older, our hearts are still youthful. As I sleep, perchance to dream, I hear the distant sounds of Jiro playing his red guitar and Professor Gill blowing on his staff. War is once again imminent and the battle between good and evil continues in the playgrounds of my mind.

For more information on Kikaida, please visit the following links below. If you have fond memories, past or present of Kikaida, please share them with us at Hawaii Traditions.

Generation Kikaida

Generation Kikaida Store

Amazon

Photo Credit: Generation Kikaida

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The Things that Entertained Us: Andy Bumatai

Jan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:00:38 +0000

In the late 1970’s and 80’s Andy Bumatai was one of the comedians I grew up watching on KGMB. Shows like “All in the Ohana” and “High School Daze” made us laugh at ourselves because we could either identify with the characters ourselves, or we knew someone just like one of those fictitious characters. Who could ever forget “Honey Girl”, “Junior Boy” or the “cafeteria ladies” Bumatai crafted in these televised shows?

Andy Bumatai began his career in 1977 as a stand up comic and soon after accepted a gig with Booga Booga —Hawaii’s premier comedy trio—replacing Rap Replinger. A few years later, Bumatai went on to do more stand up comedy and then did two TV Specials for KGMB for which he is most well known for: “High School Daze” followed by “All in the Ohana”. With “All in the Ohana”, Bumatai is noted as being ahead of his time for creating and performing all five of the family characters, a forerunner of today’s smash comedies such as Eddie Murphy’s “The Nutty Professor”.

Through the years that followed, Andy Bumatai has continued to entertain both mainland and local audiences with his comedy, from Don Ho’s Showroom, to Brew Moon, to the Glass Kat in San Francisco. Today, Bumatai is back in Waikiki appearing with the Society of Seven four nights a week. For more information go to: Andy Bumatai and the Society of Seven

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