HAWAIIAN OUTPOST BLOG

After a hard week of work, many Hawaii workers enjoy the tradition of Pau Hana. Pau Hana literally translates to "done with work". Most people celebrate pau hana on Friday to kick off the weekend. But you can do it whenever you want. One popular pau hana locacation is the Mai Tai Bar at Ala Moana Shopping Center. There's usually a live Hawaiian music band and pitchers of beer for just $6. Now that I think of it, I never saw anyone actually drink a mat tai there. For those who want to do the tourist thing and order a mai tai, I am sure they can make one for you. Most of the people in early evenings are tourists or family people. Later in the evening more singles show up and it can get a little crowded. Some people go for the cheap beer. Others go for the live music. And some go to people watch. But most people go there to celebrate the end of the work week and the start of the weekend.

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Hawaii's mild year-round weather make it an ideal place for golf. I am not really a hardcore golfer. In fact, I am so junk that I don't even consider myself a real golfer. But it's fun and relaxing so I jumped at the chance to go with some friends to the Clipper Course at the Kaneoha Marine Corp Air Base. They told me that it is a very windy but scenic course so I should bring a camera (and a lot of balls). Just as promised, I was treated to a beautiful and intimidating tee shot midway through the course.

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The famous Kilauea Volcano has been errupting since 1983. From time to time, lava from Kilauea reaches the ocean giving you a glimpse of nature at work. Recently, the fumes were so bad that local officials considered evacuating areas close to the volcano.

http://starbulletin.com/2008/04/09/news/story02.html#full

Under the right conditions, the volcanic haze (aka "vog") can reach Oahu. You can actually follow this trail if you fly from Kona to Honoulu. Because the air is usually so clean in Hawaii, the sunsets are usually just a beautiful gradient of orange and yellow. But the vog in the air scatters more light showing off more colors resulting in purplish sunsets. Here's the view from a building near Pearl Harbor.

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One of the fun things about a garage or white elephant sale is that you are sure to be taken back to years and maybe even decades past. So as I headed to a senior bazaar white elephant sale, I was excited to see what kind of aloha shirts I'd find.

The first shirt that caught my eye was a "reverse print" shirt that is still quite popular in Hawaii today. A reverse print shirt is one where the shirt is manufactured with the "inside out" side of the fabric on the outside giving it a faded look. I grew up in Hawaii in the 80s and for as long as I can remember, the reverse print shirts have been a part of Hawaii's fashion. Though perhaps not quite as popular today as it was back in the 80s and 90s, many men still go to work in reverse print shirts today. I think the shirt below is from the 80s.  

faded reverse print Hawaiian shirt

As I dug deeper into the pile of Hawaiian shirts, braving the dust and old-clothes smell, I found many shirts that look like they're from the 70s when polyester was king. Another thing that struck me is that many of these Hawaiian shirts contained Asian-inspired designs. Interesting. Maybe one reason is that the 1970s were a boom-time for Japanese tourists in Hawaii. As a kid in Hawaii, our stereotypical image of a tourist was a Japanese male wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt with a giant camera.

I am not sure if these shirts are from the 70s because I was too young to really get out and about during those years and don't remember what people wore. But they look like 70s to me.

Smooth, shiny, polyester 1970s Hawaiian shirts

The best thing about these shirts is that I got them for $1 each. That's right! A buck apiece! Many people I showed these shirts to say they like the shiny brown one on the right. Anyways, I look forward to finding more shirts and adding them to my collection.

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Entertaining friends at a house party can be fun, especially if you have a theme. One theme that's sure to have a bit of an exotic feel is a Hawaiian luau. In the coming weeks, I will show you how easy it is to make key dishes for your very own luau. If I am ambitious enough, I might just host my own luau party, complete with Hawaiian food, music, and decorations.

If you want to impress your guests with your culinary prowess, kalua pig is the way to go. Not only is it very easy to make, it's also got a high yum factor. Unlike poi, lomi salmon, and other dishes that people either love or hate, almost everyone likes kalua pig. For those of you who have health concerns about eating kalua pig, this recipe contains cabbage. So you're actually eating a salad AND pork together in the same dish.

KALUA PIG (serves 6-8 people)
Ingredients:
Pork butt chunk - 4 to 6 lbs
Head cabbage - 1/4 head or to taste
Hawaiian salt - 2 to 3 tablespoons
Liquid smoke - 2 tablespoons
Aluminum Foil
Roasting Pan

The traditional way of cooking kalua pig is an underground oven full of hot rocks. For those of you who don't have a large underground rock oven in your back yard, here's how you can make it in the comforts of your own kitchen.

First, take the pork butt and score it all over. Rub Hawaiian salt and liquid smoke on all sides. Place the seasoned butt onto a piece of aluminum foil and put the chopped cabbage on top and around the pork. If you are a hardcore carnivore, you can skip the cabbage. Wrap it so that no steam can escape. Place it in a roasting pan and roast in an over preheated to 450 degrees F. Cook at this temperature for 1 hour, then reduce the heat to 400 degrees F and cook for another 3-4 hours or until done. Shred the butt and add more Hawaiian salt if necessary.

That's it! Easy, huh?

 

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Spring is finally here and while the seasonal change in weather is mild in Hawaii compared to most other places, it is still noticable. As we leave the "cold season" behind, we can look forward to sunnier beach weather. This picture taken at Ala Moana Beach Park reminds me of something my cousin from Oregon told me when we were kids. As we stood under the sun, it started to rain. With a sad and confused look on her face, she said, "It's sunny and it's raining...I don't get it". Of course, the trade winds in Hawaii routinely blow rain from the mountains over sunny parts of the island so this was nothing new to me. Shortly after I took this picture, rain started falling on the sunny beach where I stood.

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