On the Tenth Day of Christmas

 On the tenth day of Christmas my tutu gave to me, ten cans of beer,

Lion Coffee Started in the Mid-1800's

 

It takes eleven minutes to roast the beans for Lion Coffee with the above machine. There is a separate room filled with liquid flavor and another machine for flavoring. The original company was formed in the mid-1800's and it is the oldest trademarked coffee company in the United States that is still in operation. It was started in Illinois and brought to Oahu. The company is small in size but they roast, package, and distribute their coffee internationally. Their coffee is served exclusively with Hawaiian airlines, local hotels, and sold in many local markets. These facts and many others interesting ones were revealed to me though their daily tour. Click here to see more photos on facebook.

Waianae McDonald's

The Waianae McDonald's was just renovated a few months ago. I always admired the mountain range in the backdrop and the vibrant colors of the American flag, Hawaiian flag, and the McDonald's waving proudly. There is also the word, "Aloha" right above the new entrance on the left that may be unique to this one shop.

The People of the Neighborhood Gather

Click here to see other photos from the Makiki farmer's market on facebook

The farmer's market in Makiki gathers every Thursday evening at St. Clement's church on the corner of Makiki and Wilder street. Small in size but big on prepared foods, there are booths that sell Thai dishes, kettle corn, stews, crepes, etc. . . Of course a farmer's market wouldn't be much without fruits and vegetables so with fresh papayas, pineapples, melons, lettuce, onion, and other produce, the people of the neighborhood gather to have dinner, buy produce, and to socialize.

Kamehameha Swap Meet

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The Kamehameha swap meet is open to buyers and sellers three times a week on the weekends and on Wednesdays. There may be a deal on something that may be worthless to someone but a gem to yet another. For sale were yellow ballet shoes hanging on a bike, power and hand-held tools, bright aloha print clothing, mechanical parts mixed with baby items, vintage fans placed next to vhs tapes and glass vases, coconut juice straight from the nut, a section for meats and vegetables, etc... It has been over ten years since the last time I had visited this swap meet and it is exactly the way I remembered it to be less the collectors who had their hands in a little bit of everything.

Taco Tuesdays

Click here to see 9/27/11 outtakes at Honolulu Photo of the Day on Facebook

Every Tuesday there is a line up of a new generation of lunch wagons in the downtown Kakaako district. It is Taco Tuesday, which is a spin off of a mainland trend. There were a variety of tacos to choose from at several wagons. I ordered the Japanese style taco from Shogun Tacos. It had pork, sprouts, an oriental sauce, and cabbage, wrapped in an 8" tortilla.  Although it had it's own unique flavor I had hoped for something that tasted more interesting and exciting. I did notice that the Korean tacos were sold out, thus it would lead me to believe that the Korean tacos could be their specialty. Also in the line up were a local plate lunch wagon, burger wagons, other taco trucks, and an ice cream wagon. The customers ranged from business people to students from the nearby medical school. It's a must try if you haven't been there already.

More than a Cafe

Click here for 9/25/11 outtakes at Honolulu Photo of the Day on Facebook

Patisserie La Palme D'or  located at the Ala Moana Shopping Center serves a variety of unique handcrafted drinks and desserts. I had an iced tea with a layer of passion fruit jelly at the bottom that was both visually appetizing to the eye and also satisfying to the taste. What I enjoyed the most about this beverage was stirring the jelly into the tea. Figuratively speaking, I take great pleasure in stirring things up in more ways than one thus, this drink was quite fitting to my personality. Thank you to Erika and Javin for concocting this refreshing drink for me on this hot afternoon. It went down in two and a half gulps. Gulp, Gulp, Gul... and gone!