'Tis NOT the Mango Season

2 rather lonely Shibata Mangoes grow on our tree

Non-productive is the best way to describe this year’s mango season for the trees at our family home in Hawaii Kai. Blame the heavy rains that drenched much of Oahu throughout the early part of the year for this. Before the rains began, our trees were blooming well with the flowers that grow to become mango. Eventually the torrential rains and wind gusts blew all those flowers away, leaving not only us, but many other residents with mango trees around Oahu with barely any fruit.

We have one Shibata and one White Pirie tree. The Shibata tree was a bit more productive, yielding approximately 40 fruits that were able to fully mature. In comparison, the White Pirie only produced approximately 5 fruits that were able to fully mature.

Years prior, those same trees both produced fruit easily over 100 each.

This White Pirie Mango was one of only 5 fruit (known) on our tree to fully mature this year. The red ribbon symbolizes that this is the last one remaining this season.

The Shibata has a firm flesh, even when fully ripe, with a slight tart in its flavor. It’s best suited for picking semi-ripe (still greenish flesh) for making Mango Chutney, Shoyu or Pickled Mango.

The White Pirie is VERY sweet and absolutely delicious when eaten ripe, fresh and chilled. We LOVE the White Pirie!

A slightly over-ripe Shibata Mango that fell

Read more on this subject here: Coming Up Short

Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks

Ala Moana Shopping Center’s new Ho’okipa Terrace on the upper level is home to some exciting new eats, including Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks which opened in February 2006. Today was our office group’s first visit.

Island Fine Burgers & Drinks, facing Mai Tai Bar

The theme of the decor is tropical, with mild hints of Tiki Bar kitsch, yet not overdone. Overall a conveniently comfortable and relaxing escape from the busy mall surroundings.

The menu is entirely ala carte, which consists of seven signature burgers (+1 “gremmie” version) and a selection of appetizers, salads, soup, tacos and other items that I’m going to name “CaliMexiWaiian” cuisine.

We started our lunch with some ice teas, lemonade, an endless platter of Tortilla Chips & Salsa and a basket of Island Fries.

Tortilla Chips & Salsa (“endless” includes free refills!)

The Tortilla Chips are served warm and have a nice, fresh-made flavor with a light toasty crunch. The salsa has a fine texture (not chunky) with the perfect blend of flavors, including a hint of cilantro, and it wasn’t too watery.. just right.

Island Fries with skins left on

The shared basket of Island Fries had a mixed reaction on our table. It arrived piping hot, but some of us were disappointed at the sogginess of it and the way it was unevenly salted. Most odd is that it’s as if they chop the fries into smaller pieces, making it seem more like a basket of leftover “crumbs”. A few actually enjoyed it, so you’ll have to be the judge.

*****time for the burger*****

There’s a choice of 7 signature burgers, all offered with either white or whole wheat bun. The patties are 7 oz. and grilled to medium to order. Fresh iceburg lettuce and sliced tomato and basic mayo.

I ordered the Hula burger. Being a major Swiss ‘N ‘Shroom burger fan, this is what I use as a taste test gauge when sampling new burger joints.

Hula burger – sauteed mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, swiss & mayo on whole wheat bun

Hula burger (cut-away view)

I was quite impressed with the flavor of the patty, considering they’re cooked on flattop griddles vs. an open flame grill. It had a nice sear on the outside, was well-seasoned and cooked to medium-doneness perfection. VERY juicy.

The whole wheat bun is certainly different for hamburger as far as I’m concerned. It has a significantly toasted outer shell and slightly chewy, yet soft enough to work for a hamburger. They also toast the insides to order.. a must! The shell is sprinkled with wheat bran flakes to give it that sesame seed-like appearance and texture.

The main complaint I have is that it was a bit TOO BIG, overloaded and greasy. I suppose that’s better than small, underloaded and dry, but still, balance is a major factor when judging “the perfect burger”. Also, the wheat bun sort of overpowered the toppings.

I’ll need to return again (he he!) and try it with the white bun.

******Other orders on our table*****

One person on our table opted for the Sandpiper chicken sandwich, which she claims was excellent. The grilled chicken was tender and moist, and the toasted wheat bun added a new dimension to the flavor.

Sandpiper – grilled chicken breast, boneless & skinless w/bacon, sauteed mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, swiss & mayo

Another diner ordered the Hawaiian burger, which was given a thumbs up. He said the teriyaki sauce was standard fair, yet the pineapple had a slightly seared flavor that really helped to punch out the flavor.

Hawaiian burger – grilled to medium, with wheat bun (choice of white or wheat available on all burgers & sandwiches), pineapple, teriyaki sauce, lettuce, tomato, swiss & mayo

A spin on the classic B.L.T. called “The Wedge” was also ordered.

The Wedge – B.L.T.: bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheddar & mayo on wheat bun

Doggy Bag

Stack up the condiments, 7 oz. patty and substantial bun and these burgers are huge. So much that everyone on our table could only finish half the sandwich, opting to take the other half home in single portion doggy bags (including a square piece of foil wrap), as shown above.

The Ala Moana location’s prices average about a dollar more than the menu pricing shown on their website. We shared the fries and tortilla chips family style, and with that, our bill came out approximately $13/person including tip.

Our waiter was attentive and friendly and our food arrived quickly – an expected result of their well-staffed kitchen.

Our entire party had an overall satifactory experience, and we all agreed to return again and try other menu items.

Resources
Website: Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks
Other reviews:
Honolulu Advertiser
Star Bulletin

Omiyage from Maui: Butter Rolls & Manju

Komoda Store’s famous Butter Roll (left) & Home Maid Bakery’s Maui Crispy Manju Deluxe (broken in half to the right)

Whenever family from Maui comes to Honolulu, they usually bring us these popular Valley Isle treats.

Komoda Store is a popular bakery with the locals, featuring everything from glazed Doughnuts, to Cream Puffs and these ono Butter Rolls.

The butter rolls have a slightly sweet and VERY “buttery” flavor. The texture is very soft, akin to that of Portuguese Sweet Bread (Pondulce). These rolls are in high demand, and if you don’t get there early enough to stand in line for them, you just be leaving empty handed. They really are ono!

Home Maid Bakery’s Manju are a Japanese dessert and delicacy which is another local favorite. The flaky, toasted crust is kind of like a layered Filo dough, with a sweet Azuki bean-based filling. Like most pastries, they’re best piping hot fresh offf the press, but also keep rather well and still enjoyable served at room temperature.

Home Maid Bakery
1005 Lower Main Street
Wailuku, HI 96793
808-244-4150
www.HomeMaidBakery.com

T. Komoda Store
3674 Baldwin Ave
Makawao, HI 96768
808-572-7261

The Colony at Hyatt Regency Waikiki

Main entrance (manager & host not shown)

My girlfriend and I celebrated her belated Birthday this evening at The Colony, located on the second floor lobby of the Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa in Waikiki. The colony is one of four celebrated restaurants owned and operated by The Hyatt. The cuisine is American fare, with an emphasis on their award-winning steaks.

As one might expect at a Hyatt-owned restaurant, the quality and service was top notch, and so was the premium pricing on the menu. The ambiance is semi-formal to casual, with some visitors sitting there dressed lke they just got back from a day shopping. This particular evening was a medium-slow crowd, which was kinda’ nice.

The dining room with open kitchen

A complimentary house-made Onion Roll is brought to the table first.

Sliced Onion Seed Dinner Roll with butter and fresh tomato salsa

For appetizer, we shared this Hawaiian Ahi Sampler…

The fish couldn’t have tasted fresher.. Excellent in every way.

We each ordered the the Mixed Grill of ribeye steak and lobster for me, prawns her. Absolutely FLAWLESSLY ONO!

The lobster was sweet and cooked just right. With the drawn butter.. yum. The dry-aged USDA prime ribeye was char-grilled to medium-rare perfection. We both had the Green Peppercorn Sauce on the side for the steak. Awesome. Tastes kinda’ like a tex-mex version of A-1… with that ribeye… ono!

Mixed Grill: Ribeye Steak with Lobster Tail, drawn butter and Green Peppercorn sauce (this plate also has the prawns [behind butter] from my girlfriend’s dish)

The entree includes the usual choices of starch, which for me was a baked potato. Nothing to write home (well maybe here) about.

Baked Idaho Potato with sour creme, bacon bits, chives and butter

We also had a side of Mushroom Ragout. Another stand-out winner. I could have just ordered a huge plate of that and been happy!

Mushroom Ragout: Portobello and Button Mushrooms infused with Garlic, Chardonnay Wine and Molokai Thyme

I enjoyed a glass (o.k., make that two) of Cabernet Merlot with my meal. Perfect. She had a beer.

While I can’t claim their steak is the best in town, it certainly is a contender. Overall we had a delicious meal and excellent service. Since the staff knew we were locals, they kind of let lose and joked around with us more. That was fun! Really great staff and clean, well-managed restaurant.

The Colony
Steaks & Martinis
Dinner nightly 5-10pm
2nd Floor, Diamond Head Tower
Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa Waikiki
(808) 923-1234

Other Hyatt Waikiki restaurants include:

Ciao Mein
Creative Italian and Chinese Cuisine

Mushashi (now CLOSED as of 2008)
Contemporary & Traditional Japanese Cuisine

Terrace Grill
Casual Family Dining