Skip to main content

Chinatown and local food ~ Honolulu



Before we went shopping at Ala Moana Center, the biggest shopping mall in Hawaii, we stopped by U-Choice Inn for breakfast ......  
This is a food outlet along the same strip as Don Quijote, a Japanese supermarket which opens 24/7.

We were early and I was amazed with the huge variety of Chinese snacks, ranging from egg tarts, yam cakes, Chinese dumpling ~ 'Choong', pak tong kou, jian dui, hup toh sow and others.  I was surprised too that there was conversation going on at the kitchen in the back ....... the ladies were speaking in Cantonese! (Must be from the older generation)



Our breakfast  -  Manapua is actually our 'Pau' that came in 2 versions, pork and BBQ meat/'char siew'.  Egg tart and the yam cake. 





'Woo kok'.... yam puff.  The yam is thick but with little meat filling.

Now back to Ala Moana ....... live performance at the Ala Moana Centrestage at 1pm daily










Chinatown of Honolulu








These thorny fruits are Breadfruit aka 'Buah Sukun' in Malaysia.  They can be cut up and fried in a batter like 'Goreng Pisang' or Banana Fritters.


I was amused to see the pig head!
 

 After having some light lunch, we made our way out of the food court and I spotted this image of  Kuan Yin, the Goddess of  Mercy.


The famous Ying Leong Look Funn Factory.  Look Funn are flat rice noodles wrapped in a roll and here they have plain as well as with BBQ meat ~ char siew  or dried shrimps fillings.They are wholesalers and supply to many restaurants in Honolulu but do entertain individuals as well.   I don't understand why it's called 'Look Funn' as we refer to these flat rice noodles as 'Cheong Fun'.  


Leonard's Malasadas ~ A Portuguese doughnut covered with either regular sugar, li hing mui sugar or cinnamon sugar.  We bought them from this Malasadamobile located at Waikele Premium Outlet.





Labels:

Comments

  1. ChopinandMysaucepanOctober 15, 2012 at 7:56 PM

    Dear Cheah,

    Honolulu is a beautiful place and the seafood looks quite fresh but I think I will give that woo kok a miss LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahOctober 16, 2012 at 4:33 PM

      I like the Japanese food there but at the same time also curious about what they eat locally.

      Delete
  2. KimmyOctober 16, 2012 at 3:33 PM

    Hi Cheah, I believe the fastest ways to understand the lifestyle and culture of the people of any place is to visit the local markets and try their food. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ann lowOctober 16, 2012 at 3:48 PM

    I saw durians in the market and I love the two pics of the performance, very pretty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahOctober 16, 2012 at 4:36 PM

      Ann, those weren't durians and forgot to ask what they were.

      Delete
    2. Alvin WeeOctober 17, 2012 at 8:26 PM

      HI AH Yee..those 'durian' looking fruits are what we call 'Buah Sukun' or otherwise known as Breadfuit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadfruit)

      Delete
    3. Alvin WeeOctober 17, 2012 at 8:28 PM

      HI Ah Yee...

      Those 'durians' are actually Breadfruits also known a 'Buah Sukun' back in Malaysia. You can cut them up & fry them in batter like in 'Goreng Pisang".

      Delete
    4. AnonymousOctober 18, 2012 at 4:13 AM

      Looks like Jackfruit.

      Delete
    5. Sokehah cheahOctober 18, 2012 at 11:13 AM

      Thank you so much for the information, Alvin.

      Delete
  4. Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak LoverOctober 16, 2012 at 7:37 PM

    Thanks for sharing. I like to visit local market whenever i visit to other countries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahOctober 17, 2012 at 12:15 AM

      Yes, that's where we can see how the locals live and the food they eat. Interesting.

      Delete
  5. lenaOctober 17, 2012 at 12:21 AM

    i didnt know that hawaii is also another place where lots of chinese reside until i read that article you linked to..i am just as amused seeing that head of the pig:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahOctober 17, 2012 at 10:58 AM

      Lena, Chinese immigrants are all over the world. We had an interesting conversation with some local (born in Hawaii) Chinese uncles in the Chinatown foodcourt who can't speak Chinese and they were amazed that we are tri-lingual and can speak other Chinese dialects too. They said they did study some Chinese when they were young but upon returning home, no one to converse with them, so automatically they forgot. They guessed we were Singaporeans, HK, Koreans, Japanese, Taiwanese, China but never mentioned Malaysia!

      Delete
  6. MaryMohOctober 18, 2012 at 2:26 AM

    Oh wow....looks like such a nice and fun place to visit. I would love to go one day. That Portuguese donut looks interesting. By the way, I love your new blog layout. I think it looks neat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahOctober 18, 2012 at 11:14 AM

      Thank you, Mary. You should go to Hawaii for a visit, a far cry from cold, cold, Aberdeen!

      Delete
  7. AnonymousOctober 26, 2012 at 8:54 AM

    thanks for sharing...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for dropping by. Please click on 'Anonymous' if you do not have a blog but do leave your name after the comment because I would like to know who you are.

Popular posts from this blog

Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy ~ 梅菜焖五花肉

Mui Choy is preserved mustard greens and there are two types, one is salty while the other is sweet.  There are many ways of cooking mui choy with pork belly.  Instead of braising, you can steam it with minced pork but here I am using only the sweet mui choy and I braised the pork belly with it.  This is a flavourful dish and you can serve it with plain rice or plain porridge. Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy   ~    梅菜焖五花肉 Ingredients  400 gm pork belly cut into bite size 100 gm  preserved sweet mui choy 3 cloves of garlic 2 slices ginger Seasoning for the pork belly 1 Tbsp dark soya sauce 1/4 Tbsp sugar 1/4 Tbsp sesame oil 1/4 Tbsp oyster sauce 1/2 tsp pepper 1/8 tsp light soya sauce Method Season the pork belly for about an hour or more.  Set aside. Soak the mui choy for 45 mins., rinse and squeeze dry.  Cut into slices Heat some oil in the wok, fry the mui choy.  Add in the ginger slices.  Stir-fry. Add in the pork  belly, fry for a while and
Post a Comment
Read more

Herbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Gao

H erbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Ga o literally translated means 'Tortoise Jelly' is one of my family's favourite desserts.  It's much more economical to prepare this at home for you'll need to fork out between Rm 9 to Rm 11 for a bowl of this cooling dessert in any of those herbal tea outlets.  This soothing jelly, served chilled, is supposed to be able to help reduce our body heat, helps to get rid of toxins and is believed to be good for the skin thus culminating a healthier complexion.
22 comments
Read on for the Recipe

Yoghurt Fruitcake

T is the festive season again and the all-time favourite for X'mas is undoubtedly the ubiquitous fruit cake.  This Yoghurt Fruitcake caught my eye when I was browsing through a Food and Travel magazine.  As I've never baked a fruit cake with yoghurt before, I was very eager to try. 
14 comments
Read on for the Recipe